Daily Archives: May 6, 2015

Campus Life

A Look at NECC’s Spring Semester

 

Another spring semester comes to a close on both NECC campuses.

There have been many successes, events, causes and sporting events that have been going on between the Lawrence and Haverhill campuses. The beginning of the semester was rocky because of the semester due to the unpredictable and what seemed to be never ending snow.

For most students and this semester, the consistency of snowstorms throughout the month of February were disruptive to their class schedules. Classes that would normally meet on the Monday, Wednesday and Friday schedule did not have many Monday classes in the beginning of the semester.

Also, Tuesday and Thursday classes were affected only meeting twice a week, some Tuesday classes either had cancellations or the campus all together was shut down.

Instructors had to change around their lesson plans to format the rest of the semester.
To make up for lost class time, some have had to cancel out some topics they planned to teach.
Other instructors may have had to attempt to squeeze together what was supposed to be learned on the lost days.

The snow caused the closure of both campuses, delays in classes, crammed schedules and difficulty managing an extra workload in some courses.

“In the middle of this crazy winter, I actually looked forward to getting out of the house and going to school,” said NECC business transfer student Hannah Latham.

Many students commented about the impact the snow has made on their spring semester class work.

“I had classes rescheduled, and we tried to cram in what we could every class. It was a game of catch up all semester,” said NECC Health and Wellness student Marjorie Vaccaro.

As the semester continued into the late winter and early spring months, NECC was lively as ever.

Early in the semester on February 25, guest speakers David Forsberg, Governor Charlie Baker’s campaign manager, and Charlie Baker III, a Democratic campaign strategist visited NECC’s Haverhill Campus. Each discussed and spoke about how to have a successful campaign and winning an election.

More recently on May 1, there was a surprise visit by Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren on the Lawrence Campus. Senator Warren spoke to students a part of the PACE Program funded by a TRiO grant from the U.S. Department of Education.

Also, “College for a Day” on April 15 as well as Spring Jam were widely successful.

A large amount of possible students attended the event, as well as current students.

Many participants were checking out the events hosted by the Student Engagement Center and Student Life on the quad for Spring Jam.

Currently, it may be crunch time for assignments and studying for exams for students.
That last project, paper or presentation has to be submitted this week before grades close.
Also, if the instructor or professor offers, extra credit assignments for that extra boost in a grade are due.

Students reflected on how they think they did overall this semester.

For some students. their final average could be unknown — some keep track of their grades, and others just go along with the course.

“Overall, this semester has been really good. I liked the fact that they were able to accommodate me with my schedule. I can work and go to school which not a lot of students do,” said Latham.

Another student commented on his overall grades for the spring semester.
“I think I did pretty well. I struggled with a couple classes. About 3 out of the 5 could be A’s or B’s. I’m not sure,” said NECC Communication student Matt Couture.

NECC offers a variety of summer courses to help students lighten their load for an upcoming semester or complete their degree more quickly.

Registration is taking place now for Summer classes.

Courses are open to NECC students as well as to students from other colleges who are home for the summer.

“I am taking two online classes this summer. I’m behind two courses and I’m using them to catch up,” said Couture.

Many students who attend NECC take advantage of the summer classes offered on both campuses because of its convenience and can be beneficial to some students.

“I might take an online course this summer, to get ahead,” said Vaccaro.

Also, now is the time for current students to register for Fall classes and to complete financial aid paperwork (if it is needed).

Registering for classes and completing financial aid paperwork before leaving for the semester may make for a less stressful summer.

For more information or to register for classes contact NECC Enrollment Services at (978) 556-3700 or email them at admissions@necc.mass.edu.

Interested students can also drop by the One-Stop in Haverhill or Lawrence during their walk-in hours: Monday through Thursday 9 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. and Friday from noon to 4:30 p.m.

Sports

Knights Baseball Closes Out With a Bang

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The Knights closed out the year with four straight road wins over NHTI, Massasoit Community College and Quinsigamond Community College. Over the four games, the Knights outscored their opponents 40-12, which has been the case for much of the season.

On April 29, the Knights traveled to Concord, N.H. to face off against NHTI. In a shortened game (five innings), NECC blasted NHTI, 16-4. After four innings, the scored was still close (5-3 Knights), but an 11-run top of the fifth changed everything.

Jerry Hernandez and Ryan Decker combined for a six-hit outing on the mound for the Knights.

Colby Maiola was 1-for-3 on the day with an RBI and three runs scored. Michael Crisostomo belted his first home run of the year, a grand slam, and finished with four RBIs. Jacob Rayner (3-for-4) and Ellidio Reyes (1-for-4) each had two RBIs in the win. Rayner also hit two doubles. Ryley Warnock went 3-for-4 with a triple and two runs scored.

The Knights went right back to work the next day, traveling to play at Massasoit Community College. While NECC didn’t have as big of a day on offense, they still managed six runs. They also brought Ryan McAuliffe out on the mound, and he delivered.

McAuliffe went seven strong innings, giving up just two hits and no runs while striking out five. Gianni Esposito came in to finish the game off, going two innings. He gave up one run on one hit and struck out three.

Third baseman Colby Ingraham was the big man on offense in this one, going 3-for-5 with four RBIs on the day. Warnock and Crisostomo each recorded two hits, while Keith Linnane
went 1-for-3 with an RBI.

The Knights closed out the season with a trip to play a doubleheader on the road against Quinsigamond Community College. The Knights took both games, winning the first game 6-2 and the second game 12-5.
Zarif Pajazetovic got the win in the first game, going four innings of five-hit, one-run baseball with three strikeouts. Robert Barry came in relief and pitched three innings. He gave up one run on two hits while striking out three.

Warnock had another big day at the plate, going 3-for-4 with an RBI and two runs scored. MacDaniel Singleton recorded two hits and an RBI. Reyes, Rayner, Cole Josselyn and Nicholas Turco each recorded an RBI in the win.

The second game was a bit closer despite the 12-5 score. After five innings, the score was tied 5-5. Then the Knights had one of their patented big innings, scoring seven times in the eighth inning to run away with the game.

Anthony Dally started the game, giving up five runs on seven hits in five innings of work. Esposito came in and pitched 1.1 innings of shutout ball, and then Warnock stepped in to finish it off. He ended up going 1.2 innings and giving up no runs and no hits to collect the win.

Maiola led the team with three hits on the day, while four players (Warnock, Ingraham, Reyes and Singleton) each recorded two hits. Reyes and Maiola each had two RBIs, while Reyes, Ingraham and Singleton each had one. Linnane also drove in two runs in the win.

The Knights have finished the regular season with a 25-2 record. They will resume play in the
Region XXI playoffs next week.

Features

Professor Dave Fagerstrom

 

Professor Dave Fagerstrom, who served as an instructor of economics and college success for nearly six years at NECC, passed away on Friday, April 24, 2015 at the age of 68.

Fagerstrom was born in Stamford, CT and later moved to Massachusetts with his family, where he graduated from Watertown High School in 1964. Shortly after his graduation, Fagerstrom joined the U.S. Navy as an electronic technician and ended up serving in the Caribbean and off the coast of Vietnam during the Vietnam War.

After his military service, Fagerstrom went back to school and earned his BA at UMass Lowell and his MBA from Suffolk University in the mid 1970s. He then went on to a successful career in market research and analysis, which spanned over 30 years.

After years of acquiring experience in his field, Fagerstrom became an adjunct professor at NECC in the fall of 2009. In that role, he combined his knowledge and skills in economics with his passion for teaching, which enhanced the learning experience of his students through applying his extensive familiarity with the subject. However, Fagerstrom’s love for teaching wasn’t limited to just the classroom setting.

“He [was] always very caring when it [came] to his students,” said Ginger Hurajt, writing professor and current head of the Student Affairs Committee and Honors program at NECC. “He [was] always in his office with his door open, willing to help his students,” she added.

In addition to teaching at NECC, Fagerstrom also taught economics courses at night at Southern New Hampshire University and the American College of History and Legal Studies.

Even with his very busy teaching schedule, Fagerstrom always managed to find time to become involved at NECC, to include: being an active member of NECC’s Contemporary Affairs Club, serving as a union representative for adjunct professors at NECC, and serving as a member of the Staff and Faculty Inquiry Group (SFIG), where he helped establish universal course design.

“Even though Dave was not a full-timer, he turned up to meetings out of genuine care and concern about teaching and the policies of NECC,” said Meredith Gunning, professor of philosophy at NECC. Gunning also remarked that she has always been “impressed” by Fagerstrom’s open-mindedness and kind-heartedness when dealing with others.

“He would send me articles on religion and philosophy out of sheer curiosity and as a way of sparking deeper learning,” said Gunning. On a professional level, she also remarked that his progressiveness and willingness to work alongside others of different disciplines created a more welcoming atmosphere within NECC’s Global Studies Department.

In addition to Fagerstrom’s involvement with committees and student clubs, he was also a member of NECC’s Veterans’ Writing Group—the first person to join, that is, according to Paul Saint-Amand, founder of the Veterans’ Writing Group, professor of English at NECC and Vietnam-era U.S. Air Force veteran.

“At our first [Veterans’ Writing Group] meeting, it was only the two of us, so we had a real chance to share our service experiences,” said Saint-Amand. Since joining the Veterans’ Writing Group, Saint-Amand stated that Fagerstrom became very interested in writing about his experiences, and has, in effect, “dug deep” into the art of memoir writing. “Dave has begun to bring [his] experiences together as a book,” said Saint-Amand.

As a result of his passion to write, Fagerstrom had begun a writing initiative for his College Success students, where he asked them to write at least several hundred words between each class period as part of an ongoing, journal-like assignment. Always striving to be an example to his students, Fagerstrom pushed himself to write upwards of over one thousand words between each class as both a personal challenge and as a way to motivate his students.

Fagerstrom’s written adventures include many exciting tales from his time in the U.S. Navy, to include his involvement in Caribbean training operations, almost being cast out to sea by what’s known to sailors as a “rogue wave,” and his experience in helping provide long distance gun support for troops on the ground in Vietnam.

His choices in story writing reflected his great pride in his military service and his status as a veteran. In active support of his service and all those who’ve served, he often wore his U.S. Navy service cap, which had the name of his ship, the U.S.S. Warrington, spelled across the top of it; and he would also stroll about NECC with his large wooden walking stick, which had a Vietnam service bead-pattern dangling near the top of it. Many might agree that Fagerstrom was very recognizable from far off to all those who knew him.

The effect Professor Fagerstrom has had on NECC and all of his past students cannot rightly be measured, but many would agree that he has performed above the standard with honor, as both an American and an educator. He has been an invaluable source of knowledge and kindness at NECC, and his aura will be sorely missed.

Fagerstrom’s funeral was held on April 30th 2015 in Haverhill. Donations in Dave Fagerstrom’s memory may be made to the Wounded Warrior Project, P.O. Box 758517, Topeka, KS 66675. Online condolences may be sent to www.dcsfuneralhome.com.

Uncategorized

Leadership Morale

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Leadership is difficult, and it requires fortitude and savoir faire to lead a team, but the moment a leader phones in and burns out, the team will begin to deteriorate as well.

Keeping morale as a leader is important because the moment a leader stops caring, it’s going to take a toll on the team. A leader is responsible not only for making sure that everything goes smoothly, but for setting to tone of the workplace. If there is an optimistic, progressive tone in the space, everyone is going to be more willing to work than if the tone is stagnant and burnt out. A leader has to ensure that progress will be made, and this is not possible if no one is interested in the progress, including the person in charge.

This is particularly important in journalism because news can be a very stressful job, and there are a lot of pitfalls and setbacks when you’re trying to get a story, especially if it’s on a difficult topic. The content of stories can be hard to swallow, and the people you have to interact with to get the story can be a big source of stress, so the leader has to keep it together and show courage and hope in the face of adversity to keep the team going.

Journalists for a paper, whether they realize it or not, work together as a team. Everyone is pitching in to share the status of their community, and they’re building the pieces of a puzzle that will paint a picture of where the community is at. The leader provides the materials that the team members need to paint this picture and ensure the journalists are serving the community the way it needs to be served.

News

Tutoring Center’s Schedule for Finals Week

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The Tutoring Center’s schedules for final-exam week are now available online at www.necc.mass.edu/academics/support-services/tutoring/tutoring-schedules/tutoring-final-exam-schedule.

The Tutoring Center is open to all NECC students at no additional cost.

NECC students also have access to Smarthinking online tutoring. For information about Smarthinking, visit www.necc.mass.edu/academics/support-services/tutoring/tutoring-schedules/smarthinking/.

Call the Tutoring Center at 978-556-3411 or emailtutoringcenter@necc.mass.edu with any questions.

Arts and Entertainment

Peace Poetry Winner

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The seventh annual Peace Poetry contest came to a close on Friday night with a reading and award ceremony in the Hartleb Technology Center to honor the participants.

The event began at 6 p.m. with a welcome speech from Vice President of Academic Affairs Dr. William Heineman, followed by a keynote address from local performing artist and poet Letriah Masters.
Host and coordinator Paul Saint-Amand then invited each of the participants to the front of the auditorium to read their poem for the audience.

The 300 seat auditorium was nearly full, but even the youngest participants managed to deliver their own individual message of peace with poise and conviction.

After reading their entry, winners were given a certificate by professor Liz Espinoza and received a stem of daisys from NECC student Justin Merced.

This year, the project began in the fall with a contest among Lance Hidy’s Introduction to Digital Photography students to provide the photograph for the poster and cover design. Students and faculty were asked to vote on their favorite entry.

The picture of the hands cupped around the peace sign, submitted by NECC student Nicole Chetsas, won the vote by a landslide. Inspired by her success in this contest, Chetsas is now considering a career in photography.

“I’m going to be switching my major over to it. I’m trying to get into the New England School of Photography,” she said, “I’m taking a year off to save up and build my portfolio.”

The poetry and drawing portion of the contest was open to people of all ages throughout the greater Merrimack Valley area. It began in the fall with the advertising posters at NECC encouraging participation and an invitation to other local schools to submit entries as well.

According to Saint-Amand, about 600 entries were received. The entries were read by student and faculty volunteers who narrowed it down to the final 73 poems and 11 drawings printed in the chap book.

“If we try to put too many pages in, it won’t even close.” Saint-Amand said of the winnowing process.
Among the poems included in the book is, “Imagine“ by local poet laureate Gayle Heney. Formerly the keynote speaker for this same event, Heney now hosts a local television show called “Write Now” in which she interviews successful writers.

“It’s been a great opportunity to ask writers questions that I want to know the answers to,” Heney said. The show airs in Haverhill, Andover, North Andover and Methuen.

Four students from the Islamic Academy for Peace were also included among the accepted entries. This was given to them as a class assignment and it is the first year that they have participated. Selma Dakiri, seventh grader, got the inspiration for her poem by thinking about “How people are treated by their skin color, and how they don’t treat people equally.”

Eighth grader Kelthoum Fathi said that she was thinking about “Simple acts of peace that we do everyday.”

“I wanted to talk about peace in general, all over the world,” said Mahmoud Qesmi, also an eighth grader.

“My poem had a bunch of different languages,” said seventh grader Adiba Ubaidu, “because peace is needed everywhere in the world, so I thought it should be included.”

Their parents said that they are very proud.

Uncategorized

Students Share Shopping Secrets

 

Staying up-to-date with fashion can be quite simple. Thanks to today’s technology, at a click of a button you can browse new fashion trends and splurge on the latest designer apparel.

Anabel Lopez, 20, says she’s guilty of splurging on items that she now regrets buying. “When I was a sophomore in high school, I got a new job at a bank and was making a decent amount of money, and every weekend I would just go all out buying unnecessary things. Everything from sneakers to designer bags to a bunch of fancy clothes I don’t even wear,” said Lopez. Lopez admits her shopping tendencies led her to be financially unstable.

“I have definitely learned from my mistakes. Everyone wants to looks good but saving is the smarter thing to do.”

Lopez believes she manages her money a lot better now and has even learned some new tips on saving money.

“So I have this little trick I do when I go out shopping now, I always go to the sale section first, that sounds really cheap, but it keeps me from being tempted from buying things that are way over my budget,” Lopez said.

Michael Garcia, 22, has also struggled with managing his money. “Garcia says he has worked at GameStop since being a freshman in high school and owns hundreds of video games. “My bad shopping habits all come from video games. Just last year alone, I think I’ve spent $1000.00 on video games,” said Garcia.

“Playing video games is something I’m good at and also very knowledgeable about. So it’s very hard for me knowing there’s a new video game coming out and being able to resist from buying it,” said Garcia.
Garcia says that his obsession with buying new video games will not cease, but is much more controlled when it comes to spending his money.

“Unfortunately, I work at GameStop, so there’s a lot of temptation but I try to avoid buying games in store and buy online instead. One of my favorite websites is eStarland.com, they offer great prices and give cash or credit to people with old games or consoles to trade,” Garcia said.

Sabrina Johnson, 20, said she is proud of her spending habits.

“I take pride in the fact that I’m able to afford life, save money and buy myself nice things, but that all comes with knowing how to manage your money properly,” said Johnson. Johnson said she checks her mobile banking account app and budgets herself every week.

“In order to save money, you need to be disciplined, and to be disciplined, you need to set goals. I usually pay my bills and take 30% of my earnings and put it into my savings, then I set up a budget for spending for the entire week and stick with that budget even if I run out,” said Johnson.

Features

Students Prepare for a Bright Future at NECC

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As the spring semester of 2015 draws to a close, it is also the end of many students’ time at NECC, and the beginning of new exciting adventures for those graduating and moving onward with their academic careers.

One of those students is Molly Fitzgerald, a communications major. Fitzgerald plans on attending Salem State University to get a bachelor’s degree in communications.

One of Fitzgerald’s most inspiring experiences was her internship last spring semester with Coca-Cola Bottling Company in Northern New England.

“I actually put the franchise on Facebook. [I liked] the experience itself, and I kinda found out what I wanted to do. I realized I wanted to go into PR (public relations) and communications.”

As with all experiences, there are good times, as well as trying times. Often a particular subject or teaching style can come along for students that pushes them to succeed despite a difficulty.

“My environmental issues course was really hard, and so was my statistic course, but other than that it was really easy. The professors weren’t really my teaching style per se, so it was kind of difficult to grasp what we were learning,” said Fitzgerald.

Her plans for the future are to pursue a bachelor’s degree in communications, with a concentration in public relations.

Fitzgerald urges students who either want to go to school or go back to school to consider NECC as a great first step, especially if they don’t know what they want to do.

“I went to two private schools before this, and I am one of those people who fell into the huge holes of student debt and I came to NECC, and I had to start all over, but I actually found what major I wanted, and I kind of found who I was as a person. (It’s) definitely a good starting school if you’re not sure what you want to do,” said Fitzgerald.

The overall experience for Fitzgerald has been a positive and motivating one, and her future is looking bright.

“(My experience was) really good. I think that the professors and the teachers are some of the best around, and you’re going to get the same education here that you would get anywhere else.”
Another student who will be moving on to pursue bigger dreams is baseball star Ryan Mcauliffe, business major.

He plans on going to St. John’s University in Queens, NYC to play baseball. Some of his most cherished memories include going to the world series with the Knights and receiving first team All-Region.
“Winning obviously, and just hanging out. It’s a beautiful place we got here,” said Mcauliffe. There were some struggles too — he was enrolled in seven classes this past semester.

“Well, obviously this past semester I’m in 22 credits, over the summer I had to take 12 credits, last spring I had to take 18 credits so I mean obviously classes here have been a struggle,” said Mcauliffe.
Mcauliffe, like Fitzgerald, also recommends students to NECC. “It’s good to get your grades up. Out of high school I had like a 2.4 GPA, and to pass the clearinghouse to play division 1 I had to come here. My GPA now is a 3.0. So, I mean obviously coming here you save money, you get a good 2 year degree. The baseball is very good,” said Mcauliffe.

Mcauliffe anticipated a rougher ride on his two year degree pursuit, but he has made it.

“Honestly (the programs were) pretty good. I thought it was going to be a lot tougher … but I mean, it helped me manage my time with baseball and school. Taking all those classes helped me manage time well. I thought I did pretty good here,” said Mcauliffe.

News

NECC Parking Accrues More Controversy

 

NECC’s parking permit policy is in its third semester of employment and it is still stirring up controversy. The passes themselves cost $8.50 for students and adjunct faculty per semester and $17 for full-time faculty for the academic year. Although they are inexpensive when compared to other colleges’ parking passes, some faculty, staff and students still dislike them based on the principle of the matter.

Lt. Dan Tirone, operations commander of security for the Haverhill campus, said that the permits are disliked but very helpful. In situations where someone has left their lights on or has gotten into an accident, the permit system makes it easier to locate the owners of the cars involved and handle the situation. Tirone said, by administration’s standards, the main purpose of the permits is to keep tabs on who is on campus.

If a student, staff or faculty member gets a new car or has to take a car that isn’t theirs to the school, they have to notify security that there is a vehicle in the lot that belongs to someone with a permit, without a visible permit. “It’s imperative to come in if you have a different car and let us know so we can give you a temporary pass,” said Tirone.

Tirone said that there are two or three rounds a day in the different lots to look for violators of the parking policy, depending on how busy campus is that day. Weather conditions rarely affect rounds.
“I’m not going to put my people in harm’s way but weather doesn’t matter. That would be unfair to people paying for permits. People without permits could be taking those spots closer to their building that they’re actually paying for,” said Tirone.

“We see more people going for free parking more in the fall in Haverhill,” said Tirone. The nicer weather makes the walk from the Tech Center to wherever people are heading a lot easier.
The Buckley Garage in Lawrence isn’t a very far walk no matter the weather. Lt. Tirone said, “Lawrence [security] has to be more careful because they’re downtown with meters. More people try to sneak in.”

The only people exempt from buying permits are those with handicap placards and plates. State law states that as long as these drivers are parked in handicapped spots, they cannot be ticketed.

When cars without permits park in permit-only areas and get ticketed, they can be issued a fine. The fines collected throughout the year do not disappear but can be appealed in person at the security office or online where the permits are sold. Unpaid fines do not affect your ability to sign up for classes, petition to graduate or anything else having to do with academics, but they do accrue interest.

For those still against paying for permits, Tirone says there are roughly 300 or 400 non-permit parking spots next to the Hartleb Technology Center in Haverhill, and the Buckley Garage offers free parking for the Lawrence campus.

Editorial

Meta Toolkit

 

A news employee wears a lot of hats, especially on a small, student-run paper like this one. That can be a really good thing! It’s a great opportunity to learn a whole lot of valuable skills and acquire some very useful knowledge.

To take the best possible advantage of that, there are some other skills you’ll want to keep in mind.
Getting good at things is a skill you can get good at. It’s called rapid skill acquisition — you can learn how to identify the core principles in any discipline, and, with a little time, effort and enthusiasm, get pretty good at it. Not great. Maybe not even professional. But good enough that you could put it on your resume.

If you sign up for the Observer (and there are openings) you’ll have the opportunity to get reasonably competent in some very valuable computer skills. You’ll get experience with programs like Adobe InDesign and Photoshop, and with WordPress.

These are the programs that professionals use to edit photos, to design publications. They’re very powerful programs, and one of the things you should keep in mind is that if you think something ought to be possible using them, there’s a really good chance that it is. You may have to do some Googling to figure out what the feature is called, where to find it and how to use it. (Though with experience you’ll get the hang of exploring to find the things you’re looking for.)

But when you know it should be there, you’ll often be able to figure out where to find it.
Also: Learn keyboard shortcuts. You can’t imagine how much time you’ll save.

You can also learn how to Google. Like, really Google. It’s one of the best research skills you can develop for getting good introductiory information about any given topic.

I’ll let you do some digging on your own but the main points are: use search settings to narrow your range; learn search modifiers (putting site:[url] returns only results from a particular website. Putting a phrase in quotation marks returns only results that contain those words in exactly that order.); and word choice.

Word choice is possibly the most powerful one. Definitely a good one to learn as a writer: get the hang of guessing what other people would say about the thing you want to find, and you’ll be able to effectively search for it. (And you’ll be better at writing about things in a way that helps people find it. Which is called Search Engine Optimization, or SEO. Which is a skill you can put on your resume.)

In some small part, journalism is about becoming a kind-of-expert on a dozen things a week for long enough to explain the basic idea to non-experts. That’s a really cool thing to be able to do! And it’s a thing you can learn how to do, and get better at.

It’s really important to understand that you can improve your ability to acquire skills, and you can improve your ability to learn and use information.