Press Releases, May 2008

HCC leaders Recognized for Their Achievements
VP for student affairs, two program directors, cited by peers
May 1, 2008

HOLYOKE - Three members of the Holyoke Community College community were recognized recently for excellence in their respective fields.

Doreen Larson, vice president for student affairs, received the 2008 Professional Development Award from the Massachusetts Women in Higher Public Education. The award was in recognition of Larson's dedication, perseverance and leadership as a top administrator and in support of her goal to attain a presidency at a community college. Larson began working at HCC in July of 2005.

Maureen Conroy, director of the college's Office for Students with Disabilities and Deaf Services, received an award from the Federation for Children with Special Needs that recognizes her efforts and advocacy to make the college accessible to people with disabilities. She has worked at HCC for 18 years in various positions, all related to making the campus accessible to people with disabilities and deaf persons.

Isolda Ortega Bustamante, director of Engaging Latino Communities for Education (ENLACE), was recognized by the Five Colleges Committee for Community-Based Learning for her leadership in the Holyoke Bound Orientations, a program for students to study, volunteer and work on civic projects in the city. The ENLACE program strives to increase educational opportunities for Latinos to enter and succeed in college.

HCC Hosts Conference for All Faculty
Focus on Successful Practices to Increase Learning
May 7, 2008
HOLYOKE – A half-day education conference for community college professors titled “A Community of Learning: Best Practices at Community Colleges Across Massachusetts” will be held at Holyoke Community College on May 15 from 9:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. in the Kittredge Center for Business and Workforce Development Room 303.

Donna Killian Duffy, professor of psychology and coordinator of the Carnegie Academy for the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning at Middlesex Community College, Bedford and Lowell, is the keynote speaker.

Breakout sessions include “Tools for Assessing Community Engagement at the Course, Program and Institutional Levels,” “Community :Service Learning in Learning Communities” and “Service Learning 101: An Introduction to Best Practices.”

The conference is free. For more information, contact Jen Dolan, coordinator of Service Learning, at (413) 552-2714 or at jdolan@hcc.mass.edu, or Lisa Mahon, assistant professor of English at (413) 552-2369 or at emahon@hcc.mass.edu.

HCC Veterinarian Program Hosts Rabies Clinic
Low cost rabies shots for cats and dogs
May 7, 2009
HOLYOKE -Holyoke Community College's Veterinary Technician Club will hold its annual low cost rabies clinic on May 10 from 10 a.m. to noon at the Nuestras Raices Farm, 24 Jones Ferry Road.

Under supervision from a certified veterinarian, college veterinarian students will give cats and dogs rabies shots. There is a $10 fee for the shots. The average cost for a rabies shot is around $45.

Latino Organization Honors HCC Leader
Myriam Quiñones, coordinator of Multicultural Academic Services
May 13, 2008
HOLYOKE -- Myriam Quiñones, coordinator of the Multicultural Academic Services program at Holyoke Community College, has been selected by the Latino Scholarship Association to receive the 2008 Community Champion Award.

The association will present her with this award at its annual dinner at the Delaney House in Holyoke on Tuesday, May 27, 2008.

The Community Champion Awards are given to individuals whose work has improved the quality of life for Puerto Ricans and other Latinos in thePioneer Valley.

A member of the HCC community since 2001, Quiñones has served as ESL support program advisor and most recently as ESL support program coordinator.

Her educational journey began at the New England Farm Workers Council, where she received a GED soon after coming to Holyoke from Yauco, Puerto Rico. She obtained her A.S. from Holyoke Community College in 1995. Three years later, she obtained her B.A. in education and psychology from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst. This month, she earned a M.Ed. in social justice education from the UMass/Amherst.

She has served on the board of directors of Solutions CDC for four years, the Girls Inc. mentors program advisory board, the Kellogg Foundation Educational Initiative, and is the president of the board of directors of ENLACE de Familias.

Quiñones has been active in political, educational and social justice initiatives, particularly those affecting the Latino community of Holyoke. In 1994, she participated in a grassroots, women-driven initiative called Las Luchadoras. A video documentary was produced as a result of this project and is still presented as an educational tool for community organizations and groups throughout the Pioneer Valley. She is a member of the Holyoke LGBTQ Task Force, a group working together to serve and support the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and questioning youth of Holyoke.

She lives in Holyoke with her partner Jossie Valentín, and two daughters, Yarenis and Natalia.

GOVERNOR DEVAL PATRICK TO DELIVER ADDRESS AT
HOLYOKE COMMUNITY COLLEGE'S 61st COMMENCEMENT

May 13, 2008

What: Holyoke Community College's 61st Commencement
When: Saturday, May 31, 2008
Time: 10 a.m.
Where: O'Connell Memorial Soccer Field, HCC

(Rain location: The David M. Bartley Center for Athletics and Recreation).
To confirm location on May 31, call (413) 552-2600, ext. 1418

Holyoke, MA - Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick will deliver the commencement address at Holyoke Community College's 61st commencement on Saturday, May 31.

The 10:00 a.m. ceremony will be held outside at HCC's O'Connell Memorial Soccer Field, or in the case of rain, in the David M. Bartley Center for Athletics and Recreation.

President William F. Messner will also present Governor Patrick with a 2008 Distinguished Service Award. "The governor is a firm supporter of public higher education, and we are delighted that he has chosen to share his commitment to educational access and excellence with us and our graduates," said Messner.

Dr. Ned Barowsky, of Holyoke, a chiropractic physician and retiring chair of HCC's board of trustees and chair of the college's Gift of Opportunity campaign, and Pamela Murray (class of 1995), of Westfield, retiring alumni representative to the board, will also each receive a 2008 Distinguished Service Award, which recognizes contributions to the college that have enhanced the undergraduate experience and improved life for all on campus.

Greetings will be offered by the Honorable Michael Knapik, State Senator, Second Hampden and Hampshire District, and by Gloria Lomax (class of 1975), president of HCC's Alumni Association.

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The class of 2008 student orator will be Sarah Vázquez, 26, of West Springfield, a liberal arts major heading to Mt. Holyoke College in South Hadley to study philosophy.

The class of 2008 vocalist Shakira Henley-Fernández, 38, of Holyoke, will perform "One Moment in Time," the 1988 Olympics theme song made popular by Whitney Houston. Henley-Fernández will be continuing her studies at Hampshire College in Amherst, where she will pursue creative writing and women's studies.

The 2008 recipient of the Elaine Marieb Faculty Chair for Teaching Excellence and the class of 2008 valedictorians and salutatorian will be recognized during the ceremony. Dr. Heriberto Flores, newly-appointed chair of HCC's board of trustees, will confer associate degrees certificates to approximately 850 graduates.

Members of the media interested in attending are asked to contact Anne Sroka at (413) 552-2259, or Natalia Muñoz at (413) 552-2183. The event will be American Sign Language interpreted.


HCC Program Certifies Bilingual Health Care Workers
Will Aid Senior Citizens in Area From Around the World

May 15, 2008
HOLYOKE – The Ludlow Area Adult Learning Center run by Holyoke Community College recently awarded certificates to students from Chicopee, Ludlow, Springfield and Wilbraham to become bilingual health care counselors for senior citizens.

Through the program, called “Serving the Health Care Needs of Elders” (SHINE), seniors in the region with native languages other than English are gaining access to information and becoming informed and engaged health-care consumers.

The program provides 40 hours of training to bilingual students to offer health care counseling to seniors. This is the most diverse SHINE training program to have been offered in the state and the first to target adult basic education students.

The program is funded by Massachusetts SMP, a statewide agency that advocates for the elderly; HCC; and the state Department of Education.

The names of the graduates with their country of origin listed first followed by the city in which they reside. Sengnaly Soumphalphakdy (Laos, Springfield); Zofia Orzol (Poland, Chicopee); Serpil Durdu (Turkey, Ludlow); Amy Chan (China, Wilbraham); Seungwon Kwon (South Korea, Wilbraham); Sandra Pereira (Dominican Republic, Springfield)., Aldina Lavaredes (Portugual, Springfield.)

HCC Alumni Dinner Set for June 5
Longmeadow and Amherst residents to be feted
May 15, 2008
HOLYOKE – The Holyoke Community College Alumni Association will hold its 31st annual Alumni Award Dinner and Scholarship Benefit on June 5 at 5 p.m. at the Kittredge Center for Business and Workforce Development, at the PeoplesBank Conference Center, third floor.

Sheila Donohue (class of 1981), of Longmeadow, an IBM executive, and Jerry Levinsky (class of 1973), of Amherst, a former legal counsel to the Massachusetts Commission Against Discrimination and now legal counsel to the Mass Fair Housing office in Holyoke, will each receive a Distinguished Alumni Award.

The event is open to the public. Tickets are $40 per person and sponsor tickets are $55 and up. Persons wishing to attend are asked to call Joyce D. Desorcy, Annual Fund Coordinator, at (413) 552-2704 by May 25, 2008.