Sept. '26 News Blog
News briefs from the HCC campus and beyond
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Studio B Delight
People who live near the sea usually know the old saw: “Red sky at night, sailor’s delight; red sky in the morning, sailor take warning.” For his musical alter ego, Ben Ostiguy, by day the special programs coordinator of HCC’s Thrive Center and Food Pantry, adopted the second part of that adage. “Red Sky At Morning” was written on the white board behind him as he performed recently for the WCCH tiny desk series, “Live from Studio B.” “My songs tend to be melancholy,” he said, before the cameras started rolling. Ostiguy used to play in college bands and beyond. “Blues, grunge rock – loud bands in the ‘90s,” he said. Lately, he’s been playing more acoustic, folk stuff, mostly for friends and at parties or around the campfire. Or sometimes in his kitchen, where he wrote “Slow Rain,” one of the two original songs he played during his Studio B show. “I usually don’t sing on a stage or have an audience,” he said as he was warming up. “I’m feeling a little butterflies.” Ostiguy’s performance will eventually be posted on the WCCH YouTube page (@103.5WCCH), where past “Live from Studio B” shows are archived. Who knows? Ostiguy said, “Maybe this will be the start of my second career, touring the nation.” Above: Ben Ostiguy, center, and the WCCH "Live from Studio B" production team.
Who Are You?
On his website, the musician and performance artist Michael Donniell describes himself as a “showman,” “community builder,” “leader,” “writer,” “entrepreneur,” and “freedom fighter” – in that order. At HCC, where he goes by Michael Williams, he is a communications, media and theater arts major. “My legal name is Michael Williams; Michael Donniell is my stage name,” he said one recent afternoon outside the cafeteria, where, earlier in the day, he was stationed in front of a make-shift stage with an old-style turntable and an Ibanez acoustic guitar, recruiting students to join the Authentic Expressions Club during the fall semester’s Involvement Fair. “There’s been a lot of demand,” he said. This is Williams second semester at HCC and his first attempt to start a new HCC club. When he’s playing out as Michael Donniell, he plays guitar and performs mini-rock shows, he said, “but there’s a message. There’s a long-term vision, so it’s more like theatrical production." He thinks a lot about the message. The sign on the red curtain he'd put up said, "Who Are You?" He envisions the club as musically based but also contemplative. “We live in a world where individuals are told who they are, given a name, given a belief system,” he said. “Society and the constructs around it enforce those belief systems. Individuals are not necessarily given the choice, and when they're confronted with the reality of wanting to choose a different path, they oftentimes experience inner tension and turmoil. So, authentic expression is created to help individuals heal and develop the internal strength and the willpower to choose their authentic self, despite external turbulence and noise.” Above, Michael Williams, a.k.a Michael Donniell, at the Involvement Fair. You can see more photos from the fair in our Facebook photo album.
Welcome Back Action
As HCC celebrated its 80th anniversary during the annual Welcome Back Barbecue on Sept. 16, a reporting team from WWLP-22News showed up to capture the festivities. Operating the TV camera was someone no stranger to campus – Simeon Brown. Brown, who lives in Chicopee, graduated from HCC in 2017 with an associate degree in liberal arts, then transferred to the University of Massachusetts Amherst for his bachelor’s degree in communications. He’s been a news photographer at WWLP for five years. “It’s definitely surreal being back here,” he said, after posing for the photo above with President Timmons. “All these students could be where I am in a few years.” Click here to see the WWLP report ...
Fair Prize
In 1969, Clarence “Sonny” Eugene Stewart bought a 1939 Ford Woody Deluxe station wagon from a guy in Sudbury, Connecticut, for $500. With paneling made from real mahoghany, the wagon came disassembled in 50 boxes, plus the chassis. “He rebuilt it, soup to nuts,” said his son, Tom “Stewie” Stewart, HCC’s director of athletics, who inherited that pristine, antique machine in June after his father, a former dairy farmer and Eukenuba dog food distributor, died at the age of 95. “Only 46,000 miles on the original chassis; 5K on the new engine,” said Stewart, now a member of the Natural Woodie Club, an international organization dedicated to classic vehicles. Earlier this month, Stewart’s Ford Woody Deluxe won the Best-in-Show award at the Blandford Fair’s 4th annual car show, number one among 137 entrants. “There were some nice cars there,” he said. “Muscle cars, hot rods, trucks, SUVs, imports, antiques. Bel Airs, Corvettes, Mustangs. That was kinda cool.” He said some of the other car owners were … not pleased, but those weren’t the words he used to describe their demeanor. Above, Stewart, his Ford Woody, and their trophy.
HCC Voted Best Again
For the fifth year in a row, Holyoke Commnunity College has been named the Best College/University in the annual Springfield Republican / MassLive Reader Raves poll. HCC and winners of the other 2027 Reader Raves awards will be recognized at a gala celebration at the Log Cabin in Holyoke in October. The Reader Raves award caps another hat-trick in media honors for HCC, which was also awarded the 2026 Best in the Valley award as best two-year college from the Valley Advocate (for the fourth year in a row), and the Readers Choice Award for 2026 as best two-year college by the Daily Hampshire Gazette (for the 13th year in a row).
PHOTO: President George Timmons and students celebrate HCC's Number 1 status.
