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| HCConnectiion Online |
Thursday April 19, 2007
Bill’s Bulletin is a feature of HCC Connection Online where President William F. Messner shares news about all-college initiatives and the college’s expanding involvement in the region.
I know I join with all our students, faculty and staff in expressing our shock and sorrow at the recent events at Virginia Tech. Senseless tragedies such as this serve to make us ever mindful of how important it is for all of us to reach out to others who may be experiencing difficulty and make sure those individuals are accessing the many support services we have available here at HCC. Please know that Holyoke Community College has had for many years an emergency management team that has policies and procedures in place to handle urgent situations. Although one can never anticipate all possibilities, we have an experienced team in place who know how to address potentially dangerous events in a professional manner. In light of these recent events, I have asked this team to reconvene and review our procedures to ensure they are as comprehensive and complete as they need to be. We have also been in touch with state authorities prior to the Virginia Tech incident to obtain their assistance in reviewing our emergency readiness. The tragic events of April 16 underscore the need to continue these efforts. The college’s counseling center has also offered to help the campus cope with the emotional aftermath of this incident. If there are students who would like to discuss their personal reactions and concerns around the tragedy, they may schedule an appointment with a counselor by visiting Frost 224 or by caling (413) 552-2232. Your comments, concerns and questions on this issue are always welcome. I would ask that you forward these to Vice President for Administration and Finance Bill Fogarty.
Got 60? Good things happen to those who “Got 60.” Holyoke Community College, the state’s oldest community college, is turning 60 this year.
From now until June 7, the college will be announcing several “Got 60?” contests, where you will be able to win prizes just for having some relationship to the number 60: born in 1960; married 60 years; have 60 in your address; 60th person in line at the cafeteria, etc. Keep your eyes peeled for the HCC Cougar and for the “Got 60?” emails. You could be a winner at any time. The college will also be getting ready for its 60th birthday party, which will be held in the Bartley Center from 5 to 9:30 p.m. Tickets to the event are $20 and should be purchased prior to the event. To receive a formal invitation or to find out more, send us a note at 60thgala@hcc.mass.edu. or call Suzanne Doyle at (413) 552-2546.
If this milestone still seems a little arcane, you might want to ponder the following facts, culled from the book “History of Holyoke Community College Volume 1: 1946-1975” by former HCC faculty George H. Ashley III:
Do you have another piece of Holyoke Community College history that you want to share with HCC Connection readers? Send it to nmunoz@hcc.mass.edu. You may win one of our HCC gift packs if we choose your HCC factoid for publication.
One person said it was Jill Ross. Another person was sure that our mystery person was Dorothy Blair. But most of the 24 guesses we received for last month’s contest correctly identified our mystery person as Colleen Cameron, the smiling face who greets all visitors to the president’s office. From among all of the correct submissions, we picked Eileen Dwyer. Congratulations Eileen! While the photo of a teenage Colleen was fairly telling, many of you said you guessed her identity when she said that Ruth Buzzi would play her in the movies. There’s something about her inextinguishable optimism and pluck that Ruth Buzzi seems to capture. We are taking a break from the "Says Who?" contest for this issue, but it will be back on May 3. This week, we’ve got another challenge for you: send us your best piece of HCC trivia so we can make use of it for our 60th anniversary celebration, which is June 7. If you want to submit your HCC trivia for the “Got 60?” contest, send it to nmunoz@hcc.mass.edu.
If you are concerned about the state of higher education in Massachusetts, you are invited to a special event on April 25, sponsored by the Public Higher Education Network Of Massachusetts (PHENOM). On that day, HCC students, faculty, and staff will join PHENOM members from across the state in a huge rally at the Massachusetts Statehouse. Together, the groups will educate legislators about the need for well-funded, affordable, universally accessible, well-staffed, and democratically governed higher education opportunities. To get a seat on the bus, call Gustavo Acosta at (413) 552-2022 or email him at gacosta@hcc.mass.edu There is also a sign-up sheet for the bus located at the receptionist’s desk in the third floor of the Frost building. For more information on PHENOM’s goals, visit: www.phenomonline.org
If you would like to get involved in this effort, there are many opportunities. First, you may fill out a PHENOM post card, available at the entrance to the Frost Building, at the Welcome Center, at the Student Activities Office, in the library, and at the entrance to the cafeteria. You need not have postage; just drop the post card in the receptacle and it will be delivered to the Statehouse on April 25. You can also sign and send an electronic message to your representatives by visiting www.phenomonline.org The HCC PHENOM chapter is looking for volunteers to help get the word out. You can make a brief presentation about this issue in front of classes; staff an information table; leaflet folks in the campus courtyard and at the bus stops; or help organize the April 25 event. If you would like to reserve a seat on the bus, volunteer for any of these activities please contact Gustavo Acosta at 552-2022. or gacosta@hcc.mass.edu
Ah, golf without the sand traps...
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Trikke T8 |
There will be prizes awarded to the top players in two divisions: pro and amateur.
First prize in the pro division is a Trikke T8 cambering vehicle.
First
prize in the amateur division is an assortment of golf discs with a
carrying bag. There are also second and third place prizes in each
division, plus a prize for a hole-in-one.
Sponsored by the HCC Disc Golf Club, the tournament is most decidedly open to the expert as well as the novice, says Jay Ducharme, club advisor.
“We want people to see how much fun this is,” says Ducharme, an admitted disc golf junkie. “And the fees go to the Bartley Fund, which helps all of the athletic programs at the college.”
Ducharme said the college has, over the years, been able to purchase and install nine disc golf "holes" around campus, each at a cost of around $300. He is hoping that the tournament will raise enough interest (and funds) to get another nine baskets installed before next season.
CAPS Center celebrates 30 years
HCC got an early start on its 60th birthday celebrations on April 17 when the college feted the Center for Academic Program Support (CAPS), which is now entering its 31st year.
Known on campus as the CAPS Center, the program has been providing coaches, tutoring, and mentoring to generations of HCC students who need a little boost to succeed at college-level coursework. Seven current and former administrators in the program were feted during the two-hour program, which was held in the Kittredge Center for Business and Workforce Development.
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CAPS student Bienvenu Kulungu |
From left, some of the CAPS honorees: Hannah Gray, Claire Bouley, Tom O'Brien, Elaine Ironfield, Isabel Huskey |
CAPS honoree Carrie Buckner |
Those recognized were: Claire Bouley, retired English and Modern Languages faculty; Carrie Buckner, retired Tutor Coordinator, Hannah Gray, retired dean of Academic Support, Isabel Huskey, current dean of Student Services, Elaine Ironfield, retired vice president of Institutional Development; Robert Lussier, current CAPS tutor; and Tom O’Brien, current CAPS tutor.
“For 30 years, CAPS has institutionalized the sort of support that is found throughout our campus,” said HCC President William F. Messner. “It’s made the difference for so many who came to us underprepared but ready for a challenge.”
Several of the CAPS Center’s current and former students backed up Messner’s sentiments.
“When I came here in 2005, it was hard to adjust to a new country,” said Congo native Bienvenu Kulungu. “The CAPS Center, the people there, they helped me to adjust, so that I can continue my medical studies.”
After visiting Harvard University Medical School on a CAPS-sponsored field trip this year, Kulungu, 20, was accepted into a summer 2008 internship program there. In the meantime, Kulungu will graduate from HCC this June and continue his undergraduate pre-med studies at UMass Boston next fall.
“It is a long way from here to become a medical doctor,” he said. “So getting the Harvard internship will really help me,” he said.
For some, like Daniel Reyes, the CAPS Prorgram remained a touchstone for support long after graduation. The Puerto Rico native is about to finish his undergraduate degree in hospitality managment at the University of Massachusetts, but he told the audience of a time not so long ago when he was too insecure about his language skills to feel comfortable answering the phone.
“It was not easy coming here from Puerto Rico, but the CAPS Center gave me everything I needed. They helped to succeed when I didn’t know what to do,” he said. “And they were there for me even in December (2006), when we lost everything in a fire. They helped me to get my life back together.”
For others, it has been a launch pad for confidence.
“I thank the CAPS Center for being my family, my support. I am confident that I will succeed because I have people who believe in me, here at HCC,” said Togo native Kokui Dzefi, “And I consider myself a smart person because I am taking advantage of the program, which is free.”
Dzefi started as a student at the CAPS Center, but now works there as a peer tutor. She will continue her studies at the University of Massachusetts next fall.
HCC celebrates GED graduates
They work hard to receive it, but, for the many who earn a general education diploma (GED), there’s often no ceremony, no flashbulbs, no pat on the back.
Until April 12, 2007.
That’s when HCC held a special reception to congratulate the more than 200 students who have passed the GED exam since July of 2006.
“The idea was to let these students know that there’s a place for them at HCC,” said Assistant Admissions Director Linda Scott. “We know how hard they’ve worked and we know we have what they need to succeed.”
Scott’s enthusiasm was underscored by Springfield resident Heidy Fontanez, a 2000 HCC graduate whose successful career began with a GED certificate. Now the executive assistant for Agawam’s Bethany Assembly of God, Fontanez could not get employers to take her seriously when she dropped out of school at age 14.
“Everywhere I went for a job they said: ‘But you have no experience and you have no education.’”
Fontanez solved her employment problem by earning a machine operators certificate, but she wanted more.
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Admissions Director Marcia Rosbury-Henne, left, is seen here with Heidy Fontanez, a one-time HCC/ GED student who is about to earn her bachelors degree in theology.
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Recent GED graduate Cristina Joubert, left, got some impromptu advice from HCC's Coordinator of Multicultural Academic Services (MAS) Myriam Quinones after the April 12 reception
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“When I was in high school, I was elected student body secretary, but I didn’t stay long enough to realize my potential,” she said. “I knew I could do more.”
Eventually, that hunch led Fontanez to HCC, where she took the GED exam and enrolled in a program designed for non-traditional aged women students. She is now getting ready to receive her bachelors degree in theology.
“Can I tell you something? It was hard. It was very hard,” Fontanez said
of her bid for a college education. “It was hard because I was a wife. I was a mother of two boys. And I was tired. I was very tired. Sometimes I would just sit in the parking lot, crying in my car.”
Those words resonated with Cristina Joubert, 26,
one of the GED graduates who attended the April 12 reception. The mother of two dropped out of high school 10 years ago, after getting into an argument with her mother. The two women mended their relationship, but it took awhile for Cristina to mend the break in her education. She worked at minimum wage jobs for several years until her fist child was born.
“That’s when I realized I had to do better,” said Joubert, a Holyoke resident. “So I got a CNA (certified nursing assistant) license and began studying for my GED. If I can just figure out the childcare, I’d like to go to HCC. I’d like to become a nurse.”
Interested? Probably not.
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From left: Chicopee residents Mark Hoffner and Michael Pray in a scene from Glengarry Glenn Ross |
But you will get a kick out of seeing the HCC Players production of the Pulitizer prize-winning play “Glengarry Glen Ross,” at the Leslie Phillips Forum April 19-22.
Admission is free for all members of the HCC community. Curtain times are 8 p.m. for April 19-21 and 2:30 p.m. on Sunday, April 22.
Glengarry Glen Ross follows two Chicago real estate salesmen, Ricky Roma and Shelly Levene, who are pit against one another in a high-risks sales contest. The person who sells the most property wins a Cadillac. The second place seller wins a set of steak knives. And the hapless chump who comes in third is fired – along with all of the other less-successful sellers. Egged on by their young colleague, the two men become involved in a frantic battle of betrayal that reveals a lot about the shifting values of American society.
Making HCC more welcoming to veterans
Making HCC more welcoming to war veterans will be the subject of a campus-wide discussion on April 24 at 1 p.m. in the Leslie Phillips Forum. All members of the HCC community are invited to attend.
The talk will be facilitated by Master Sergeant Alberto Perez, a chaplain’s assistant in the Massachusetts Army National Guard and social worker Jaime Perez, from the Springfield Vet Center. The discussion will focus on how the HCC community can help veterans and active duty military personnel feel comfortable on campus and in the community.
Increasingly, veterans from the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq are enrolling in college upon their return. This talk will focus on how we can make that experience work.
Master Sergeant Alberto E. Perez has conducted similar workshops for the families of military personnel who are returning from combat. Jaime Perez (no relation) recently returned from Iraq where he served as a Captain in the Combat Stress Control Unit.
Setting an example
Some of your favorite HCC celebrities will be hung up on the wall, beginning April 24.
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Joe Tolisano with his favorite tome: "The Art of War" |
That’s when the HCC Library will unveil its "Celebrity Read" posters, a series of seven posters designed to promote reading outside of the classroom. The unveiling will happen in the library at 2 p.m. You’re invited.
The seven celebrities appearing on these 22-by-34-inch posters are John Gauger, Arvard Lingham, Gladys Montero, Vivian Ostrowski, Monica Perez, Sheryl Stoodley, and Joe Tolisano. All of the celebrities will be holding a book that holds special meaning.
Think your mug could induce a few people to read? The library will be creating a new set of posters next year.
The Celebrity Read poster is an initiative of the American Library Association, which first issued the posters featuring Bill Cosby in 1985. Software for this event was donated by the Vice President of Academic Affairs Lisa Wyatt Ganson.
There is life outside the classroom
Don’t forget to check out some of the exciting events happening on campus, including:
April 25, 11 a.m., Kittredge Center Room 301
Author and historian Jefferson Wiggins will be on campus to speak about his journey from rural Alabama to the U.S. Army, where he became one of the first African-American officers. Another Generation Almost Forgotten, Dr. Wiggins has made history,hisstory, a source of inspiration to us in 2007.
April 25, 11 a.m., upper level cafeteria
“Racism Matters, White Privilege Matters: Students Call for True Equality”
Students from Vanessa Martinez' Anthropology 250 class will host this conference for the HCC community
April 26, 2:30 p.m., upper cafeteria
Campus Climate Discussion: Heterosexism/Homophobia at HCC
April 27, 7:30 pm, Forum
Annual CCGS Choral Festival
featuring choruses from HCC, Westfield State, Western New England College, Springfield College, and Bay Path College
May 2, 10:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Courtyard
Spring Fling
HCC Connection is published every other Wednesday (or thereabouts) and is distributed to the campus community,
and friends of the college, and local media.
To be added to our email distribution list, please email: Kimberly R. Wilson, kwilson@hcc.mass.edu
To submit campus event information
for inclusion in HCC Connection, email Natalia Munoz, nmunoz@hcc.mass.eduwith
details including date, time, location, cost if any, open
to public or not, web links (if appropriate) and contact
information (name, phone number, and email). Deadline: end
of day Friday before publication.
Natalia Munoz
Assistant Director of Marketing and Public Relations
Holyoke Community College
Phone: (413) 552-2183 Fax: (413) 552-2479
cell: (413) 348-8515 (emergency)
nmunoz@hcc.mass.edunmunoz@hcc.mass.edu
Holyoke Community College
is the Commonwealth’s oldest community college, serving almost 9,000
students annually in 82 associate degree options and 42 certificate programs,
and over 4,000 in noncredit and workforce development courses. The college
has the highest transfer rate of any community college statewide, holding
articulation agreements with 27 colleges and universities. Recognized for
its Honors Program, distance learning curriculum, learning communities,
and service to students, HCC anticipates opening its state of-the-art Kittredge
Business Center in Spring 2006.