Two HCC staff recognized by NASPA

Two Holyoke Community College administrators, Doreen M. Larson and Irma Medina, received awards for their leadership and outstanding performance in student affairs administration.

NASPA, a professional organization for student affairs administrators in higher education, honored HCC’s Pathways Program Coordinator Irma Medina with the Richard F. Stevens Outstanding New Professional Award for Massachusetts. The award is given to an individual who has served four or fewer years in the field, yet has made significant contributions to the institution and the profession. Under Medina’s leadership, Pathways, a program that assists low-income and under-represented HCC students seeking transfer to selective four-year institutions, has served over 400 students in the past three years, with a significant number of them getting accepted into Mount Holyoke College, Smith, and Amherst College.

Interim Dean of Social Sciences Tracy Ross, supported Medina's nomination with a letter of recommendation. "Irma challenges students to push beyond the constraints in their lives and leads through example," stated Ross. "When she is met with the sometimes difficult challenges and multiple systems students must negotiate on their path from a 2 year to a 4 year experience, Irma joins her students at each hurdle. She goes above and beyond the duties described in her position on a daily basis, maintains contact and continues to provide support long after students have made their often radical transformations from 2 year to 4 year students."

Doreen M. Larson, vice president of student affairs at HCC and NASPA’s Region I liaison to community colleges, received the first ever Region I Community College Leadership Award. The region includes Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island and Vermont.

Kevin Hearn, associate vice president of Dean College and director of NASPA’s state advisory board, said Larson was deserving of the award because she had been an invaluable resource to the state and region in fostering membership growth of NASPA. "As a senior student affairs officer, her experience with, and understanding for, the complexity of traditional and non-traditional issues has empowered the board to position itself and its efforts in a manner most conducive for continued growth and development of its members."

The awards were announced at the Region I conference in Newport, R.I. held Nov. 8-11.

Photos above, left: Doreen Larson, right: Irma Medina.

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