Daily Archives: October 21, 2015

Features

Smarthinking: Online Tutoring Services

 

Smarthinking is a free online tutoring service available to any student registered at NECC.  This service is not staffed by NECC tutors, but is actually a separate business which was purchased by the Tutoring Center.  There are over 2,500 certified expert tutors worldwide.

The service has been available at NECC since 2008 and is an effective way for online students or students with busy schedules to find academic support.  You don’t even need to register to access Smarthinking.  Simply log in with your NECC email and student ID number to get access.

The maximum time students can use Smarthinking for each semester is four hours.  This may not seem like a lot of time, but considering that most students use it for essay submissions, it actually lets students submit five essays per semester, each for a 45-minute charge.  If needed, you can contact the Tutoring Center when you run out of hours and they will assist you with finding the help that you need.

“In general, the students have been very satisfied with it,” said Lynne Nadeau, the Director of Tutoring Services.

The second most popular feature on the website after essay submission is the Drop-In Tutoring contact.  This allows students to chat with a tutor via “whiteboard” to get help on a specific subject.  Nadeau suggests that students go in prepared, knowing exactly what they need help with, in order to avoid using up excess time.

The tutoring is offered for a variety of subjects.  Algebra, nursing, biology, Spanish, and reading name just a few of the subjects Smarthinking offers tutoring for.  Accounting and sciences are among the most popular subjects.  Additionally, the website offers links for academic resources.  These provide study guides and tutorials for several subjects and don’t use up any of your allowed time.  You can also view archives of past study sessions to study for exams.

Overall, Nadeau said she has seen “quite an increase in students who use the services in the past couple years.”  She believes this to be a “generational thing,” as more students are enrolling in online classes and spend more time on computers in general.

Features

Transfer Day: PACE Students

 

Every year, NECC hosts a Transfer Day for students to meet with representatives from different colleges and this year, 58 colleges were represented. Rossalie Catalano, the Transfer & Academic Advisor, said that she was very pleased with the turnout this year.

At the Haverhill campus, attendance to the transfer day almost doubled from last year due to the weather being pleasant this time around.

One program at NECC that helps students with the process of transferring is called PACE.

Kristen Arnold, PACE Program Transfer Advisor, says, “Transfer Day is an awesome opportunity for NECC students to gather lots of information about their potential transfer schools very quickly and without leaving campus. We always encourage all PACE students to attend Transfer Day, and our students who attend always report that it was helpful to them.”

PACE stands for Pathways to Academic and Career Excellence, and are a TRiO Student Support Services program.  They are one of 1,027 TRiO-SSS projects all over the U.S.  Each year, they select 250 NECC students to be part of their program, and provide extensive academic, transfer, career and scholarship advising.

Arnold says, “Most of students have to be first-generation (neither parent has a bachelor’s degree) and income eligible to join PACE.  Our mission is to help students successfully graduate from NECC and transfer to four-year colleges. Some of the services we provide include student success workshops, which we offer in-person and through Blackboard, field trips to four-year colleges, and intensive/supportive one-on-one advising.”

This week, PACE will be traveling to UMass Lowell, South campus. Students that are apart of the PACE program go on college visits for free, food and travel expenses included.

“As the PACE Transfer Advisor, it’s my job to help students develop a transfer plan and follow through with all the steps required for a successful transfer.  It’s an exciting but sometimes daunting time for students, and I love being able to help them understand the process, complete the necessary steps, and review the information each school provides so they can make the best decision about where to go,” says Arnold.  

Students tend to go to transfer and get lost in the paperwork, deadlines, and miss out on serious scholarship opportunities that the PACE program points out for you. Other opportunities provided through PACE include: resume critique job searching, professional development and more.  

Arnold says, “Gathering information about financial aid, scholarships and transfer credits are critical to making an informed transfer decision.”

One of the popular schools to transfer to from NECC is the University of Massachusetts Lowell. Deborah E. Smith, Associate Director of Transfer Admissions at UMass Lowell, says, “(Students) can speak to a transfer counselor at their community college. We are a research institution with amazing faculty, opportunities for internships and coops, and a diverse population.” Students can also visit the transfer admissions office at the University to find out if UMass Lowell is their next step in their college career.

“The main reasons students transfer to UMASS Lowell are price, program and place,” says Smith. Check out UMass Lowell at their transfer Facebook page: Facebook.com/umltransfer.

Arnold says, “My goal for each student is that they leave NECC and transfer to a college that best fits their needs and goals for a price they can afford.  Academically, they each have the tools in their toolbox to be successful, no matter where they end up.”

Features

Student Loan Debt Burdens Learners

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debt
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Financial experts urge NECC students to start reducing their loan debt while still attending school.

According to U.S. News, the average college student graduates with around $30,000 in student loans.

Students who have entered into an unsubsidized loan may not be aware that they can start making payments on the 4.7 percent interest portion of the loan as soon as the money has been disbursed to their school. Therefore, if a full time NECC student was to finance their entire associate degree through unsubsidized loans, at around $1,800 per semester for two years they would end up paying approximately $10,000 in full term loan payments.

However, many students eagerly accept the full amount offered so that they “get money back,” not looking ahead to realize that by the end of their debt repayment, that extra money that they used to buy Christmas gifts or new clothes has just brought their academic debt up to around $13,000.

“I worry about students getting into long-term loans,” said NECC Professor James Sullivan. “You do want to establish credit, but once you start opening credit cards, it seems like magic money. But you don’t want to spend what you don’t have.”

On Oct. 13, just six days after many students received financial aid refunds, NECC held its third annual bank fair on the Haverhill campus. Although they were giving out free pens and plenty of literature on various types of accounts, many of the banks who participated in the fair do not offer student loans. With high tuition and the general cost of living, it may seem ironic for a college student with little to no disposable income to be putting money in the bank for later.

However, establishing a checking account (no matter how low the balance) could help students develop stronger budgeting skills.

“It’s hard to do but you have to live within your means,” said Sullivan.

“You’ve got to stay on top of any and all loans right from day one,” said NECC graduate Lisa Morelli, now CEO of Andover Federal Credit Union. “I can’t tell you how many times my members accidentally miss their student loan payment because they don’t read letters from their lender… because they’ve been getting the same statement since they graduated ten years ago. But the truth is, their account was transferred to another lender who did not have their account set up properly.”

Opinion

The Benefits of Planned Parenthood

 

Margaret Sanger was the founder of an organization called the “American Birth Control League,” which provided safe birth control options for women. In 1942, the name was changed to Planned Parenthood and expanded their services to include much more than birth control.

Today, Planned Parenthood is a non-profit organization that is partially funded by the federal government. In addition to birth control and abortions, Planned Parenthood offers women’s health education, mammograms and pap smears, as well as STD/STI tests.

Planned Parenthood has been receiving negative attention lately because an anti-abortion group posted a video of Deborah Nucatola who is the senior director of the organization. The video showed Nucatola talking about how the organization sells fetal tissue and organs for profit but never specified where the profit is coming from. I found the video to be very inappropriate because not only was Nucatola unaware that she was being filmed, but also because there is evidence that the video was doctored.  It is accurate that Planned Parenthood sells tissue and organs for scientific research, but it is done legally and not for profit. Even in light of questions about the legitimacy of the video, some politicians are threatening to defund Planned Parenthood, using the argument that all life is sacred and that life begins at conception. Absent from this argument is the practice of fertility clinics who routinely destroy embryonic tissue.

Hannah Heckman-McKenna is a theater major at NECC and she feels strongly about the function that Planned Parenthood serves. “Regarding fetal tissue… I must say that anybody freaking out about this is clearly unaware of how important fetal tissue can be in research. The vast majority of us have benefitted from something that used fetal tissue in testing and development. Many vaccines, including that for polio and rubella, relied on fetal tissue. Even those refusing vaccines, instead relying on herd immunity, have fetal tissue research to thank for not contracting these horrific ailments. Beyond vaccinations, fetal tissue is used in developing treatments for AIDS, cancer, diabetes, and spinal cord injuries,” she said.  

As a woman, I think it would be wrong to defund Planned Parenthood over a video that isn’t even completely accurate. Planned Parenthood provides necessary services that are beneficial to women because of the services that they provide for a reasonable cost. Women can go to Planned Parenthood and either have insurance cover the expenses or they can apply for free services through the Family Planning Benefit Program.

“Other than abortion, it provides mammograms for cancer screening, pap smears and birth control. If a person really wants to prevent abortions, birth control is really the only way, so I don’t understand why this is even an issue. My mother went to Planned Parenthood when she got pregnant with my older sister to confirm the pregnancy and get started with her prenatal care. They do a lot of good in a lot of different ways. This apparent desire to keep women under the control of men through our reproductive rights and our desire to find cancer … it is getting extremely tiresome,” said Heckman-McKenna.

Sports

Cross Country Program

 

The cross country program was revived earlier this semester when Athletic Director Sue MacAvoy hired Thom Bradley to coach and bring in students to the team. The recruiting process started off slow, but one student has been there from the start.

Jared Shepard was the lone NECC runner for the first two meets of the season, this being his first year of organized cross country. Unfortunately, during the second meet, Shepard got injured.

“My first meet I ran a 30:56 (5 miles) and my second meet I improved to a 30:10. I actually sprained my ankle about 4 miles into that race, and have been having problems with my leg since then, so I am unable to run right now,” Shepard said.  Shepard is staying in high spirits though, looking forward to running again.

“The day of the meet I have a big breakfast; a few eggs, bacon, some fruit, et cetera. I drink a lot of water, from the time I wake up until the time I run I probably have 4 or 5 bottles, and a few more after I run. I stretch for 15 to 20 minutes, then do some jogging and running to loosen and warm myself up. Right before the race starts I do a few sprints and then I line up and we go,” Shepard said.  Sue MacAvoy has only good things to say about Shepard and his efforts.

“Jared Shepard is trying to get this program off the ground, is attending practices daily and even runs in the President’s running club on his own time to get a little extra workout in and promote the team on campus,” MacAvoy said.  Since Shepard got injured, three more runners have been added to the team.

“Thankfully, more people signed up. I ran the first two meets by myself, but now there are two girls, Sarah and Leah, and another guy, Austin, who is a very talented runner and Spartan Racer. We have a great team and we all get along well when we’re together,” said Shepard.  The 3 new runners all had impressive debuts. Austin Thiele ran 32:38 in his 8K race. Leah Finnegan ran 28:29 and Sara Wullf ran 32:50 in their 5K race.

The team has two meets left in the season, one on Oct. 1 and the other on Nov. 7. Shepard hopes to get healthy soon to start running again, but if he can’t finish the season he will be looking forward to spring when he takes on the track season, another program NECC has recently revived.

 

Campus Life, Features

Benefits of the Tutoring Center

 

Lynne Nadeau, the Director of Tutoring Services at NECC, says the Tutoring Center is a great place to come if you’re having trouble with your classes.

“The center is a great resource for students who may need extra help in many different subjects such as math, science, writing, reading, business, computer science and accounting,” she said. “It offers English as a Second Language help, which is excellent if you’re a student who needs help learning the English language or a student who just wants to sharpen their English skills … the ESL Center can provide you with the help you need.”

Students who are concerned with paying a fee for all the services that the tutoring center has to offer need not worry. The services are free for all NECC students.

The tutors helping students are all qualified and professional. They consist of professional tutors, faculty from NECC and even students. The students at the Tutoring Center help their peers succeed in classes that they themselves have excelled at.

Becoming a student tutor has some benefits. First, you get paid for your tutoring services, which can be extra income for students who need some money. Second, you get to help students who are currently struggling with a class and make a difference in their academics. However, it is important to mention that the writing center consists of professional tutors only, no peer tutors.  Students who are interested in tutoring can speak to Nadeau — her office is located in the C building, C200A.

Students who don’t have time to come by the tutoring center but are currently enrolled in online classes can also access the benefits of the tutoring center. Smarthinking is an online tutoring service, with access to all the same resources found at the NECC campus.

Margaret Pothier, an NECC faculty member who works in the Tutoring Center, offers advice about the best time to take advantage of services.

“It can get busy in here. The best time to come by is mid-morning, around 10 or 11 a.m.”

The tutoring center’s schedule varies depending on the subject or amount of faculty available, so make sure that you check the times the center is open on the website.

NECC’s Lawrence campus also has a tutoring center as well. The center in Lawrence was recently expanded as part of a larger campus renovation.

“Students who want to avoid the crowd at the Lawrence Tutoring Center should go during the day, as it gets busier at night,” said Pothier.

“By coming into the Tutoring Center, you receive help from knowledgeable people and have the chance to improve greatly as a student,” said Joe Scascitelli, a faculty member who works in the math lab.  “There is an open door policy at the tutoring centers. Students who come in will be in a comfortable, laid back environment and be helped by experienced tutors with strong knowledge in their subject areas.”

Campus Life, Features

NECC Haverhill Transfer Day

 

Northern Essex hosted its annual transfer fair on Wednesday, Oct. 14.

Rosalie Catalano, transfer and academic advisor at NECC, says that the event was held in hopes of drawing in a crowd of at least 100 students for the 58 colleges in attendance. This year they exceeded 100 attendees and it drew a crowd twice the size of last year’s.   NECC holds the fair to bring representatives from four-year schools all over New England to campus to answer students’ questions and concerns.  Justin Anderson, academic advisor for University of Massachusetts Boston in Allston, Mass., said he fielded questions about online courses, tuition and housing.  Alexandra Parker, assistant admissions director at Emerson College in Boston, said that most students came to her table seeking information on programs. She said she picked and champions Emerson because of the “opportunities” on and off campus and the scholarships they offer.  Emily Buckow, academic advisor from Curry College in Milton, Mass., said that students who came over to her table asking about the programs they offer. There are 21 total programs to choose from at Curry. They handle anywhere from 350 to 400 transfers every year.

“It’s great to have a conversation with the students,” said Buckow of her fondness of college fairs. Buckow noted that she could not speak for the other representatives, but said that she is a “direct connection” for students in the transfer process.

Kristopher Schooner, second-year Theater major, is looking at “so many places.” Among his picks are New York University-Tisch, Boston Conservatory, University of New Hampshire, Plymouth and Emerson.

“It is definitely difficult,” said Schooner about transferring as a Performing Arts major. Schooner explained that not all conservatories accept all transfer credits. He never thought he would have started out at a community college but after being declined from 14 colleges out of high school, his high school management teacher gave him college vouchers. Schooner spent a semester at Manchester Community College but was unhappy and unfulfilled with the lack of a performing arts program. Last January, Schooner said he had an “a-ha!” moment that led him to NECC.

“The performing arts classes here help me build on my skills,” said Schooner, who hopes to get all of his general education classes out the way before transferring. His only worry: “Is this program going to adequately prepare me for moving to New York to be a performer?”

“I feel like I’ve been redoing senior year of high school,” said Schooner, “with a college course load.”

Nina Cabral, third-year Dance major, was a little disappointed when she attended the college fair.

“None of the schools have dance programs,” said Cabral, who spoke to representatives at UNH, Dean College and Salem State but wasn’t floored by any of their propositions. Her eye is set on University of North Carolina School of Arts. She said she’s auditioned there before and gotten in twice. When she goes out on her auditions, she makes sure to check all the boxes including “school opportunities” because she doesn’t want to miss out on anything.

Cabral said, “I have to stop limiting myself to my zipcode,” and decided she will be applying to Juilliard and Boston Conservatory along with UNCSA.  Cabral, who was homeschooled until college, has never applied to a four-year school before. She worries about her credits transferring and having to be in school for too much longer.

“I’m doing something, but I’m wearing a blindfold,” she said of the application process and the accompanying uncertainty.

Rami Saleh, second-year computer engineering major, is a student taking advantage of MassTransfer to UMass Lowell.  Saleh moved to America in November of 2013 from Lebanon. After transferring his life from one country to another, Saleh thinks transferring schools should be “so easy.”

“I went to one school in Lebanon,” said Saleh who was new to the concept of different grade level schools when he moved to America. He chose UMass Lowell for its convenience. For all other students, like Schooner and Cabral, concerned with transfers, Catalano said, “We are constantly tweaking to make sure that things transfer.”

Sports

Nowinski Coming to NECC

 

Former professional wrestler and Harvard University graduate Christopher Nowinski will be coming to NECC’s Haverhill campus on Wednesday, Oct. 21, to educate and promote awareness on sports-related concussions.  Nowinski worked as a wrestler for World Wrestling Entertainment from 2001-2003. He won the WWE Hardcore Championship twice, becoming the youngest Hardcore Champion in the company’s history. Playing sports in college and wrestling, Nowinski was surrounded by concussions all the time, whether he was getting them or watching friends suffer from them.

After his wrestling career, Nowinski went on to publish “Head Games: Football’s Concussion Crisis” in Oct. 2006, which looked at the effects of head trauma among athletes. Many NFL players and wrestlers took part in the book. It became so popular that is was made into a documentary.  Nowinski has made appearances on ESPN and CNN to talk about his book and is now coming to NECC to talk more in-depth about long-term head trauma and concussions. He will be in the Hartleb Technology Center at 7 p.m. with a 60 minute presentation and a question-and-answer period afterwards. The event is free and open to the public.

For additional information contact Carolyn Knoepfler, PhD, NECC’s assistant dean of math and science at 978-556-3541 or cknoepfler@necc.mass.edu.

 

Features

Curly Hair is Back

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After years of grueling hair-straightening regimens, NECC students are saving precious time by unplugging their flat-irons and embracing their natural curls.

“I save at least an hour when I wear my hair curly,” said NECC student Ana Guerra. “I would have to straighten it the night before and then re-straighten some of it in the morning.”

NECC student Constantine Photis fully supports his classmates to go natural. “If you were born with curly hair that conforms to the rest of your head and body, let it be curly. Just let it be,” he said.

Hairstyle trends seem to have a major shift every decade or so, making it difficult for some to give up their beloved mullets, poufy bangs or faux-hawks. However, today’s college students are on the cusp of an “anything goes” time for hair.  The ’70s gave us the feathered look of teen idol David Cassidy and Cher’s iconic, pin-straight look which was almost impossible to achieve at home — unless you trusted a family member to literally iron your hair on the ironing board in the kitchen. Keep in mind that the styling tools we use today were not stocked at the corner store.  By the end of the ’70s, the unisex Afro became a popular and highly sought after style. However, unless you were born with natural curls, the methods used to create the look were a lot more dangerous than a hot metal plate and involved strong chemicals.

Ah, yes. The perm. Although the wife of inventor Charles Nessler often had her hair accidentally burned off by his early, failed attempts, his cold-wave method for permanently altering the hair was a major trend throughout the ’80s (especially for “hair bands” like Bon Jovi) and is still used today.  Although Jon Bon Jovi’s music career survived the ’90s and beyond, perms started to fizzle out and with the release of 1995’s movie Clueless. Actress Alicia Silverstone had young women chasing after smooth, straightened locks. This trend that lasted 20 years and is finally on its way out.

Unfortunately, the media has had a tremendous influence on how people style their hair. NECC student Bianca Mercado is proud to wear her naturally curly on campus but has experienced emotional distress in the past over having curly hair due to constant images of smooth-haired “beauty” flooding TV and movie screens. “I was always so concerned with fitting in,” said Mercado.

Whether you feel that you need an invitation or not, with trendsetting celebrities like Beyoncé and Bradley Cooper showing us their au natural selves, some may find it easier to try to new things.  Professional hairstylist Jess Hamilton of Haverhill offered some helpful tips for students who want to sport their naturally curly hair on campus.

“Moisturizing products are essential for eliminating frizz and you’ve got to trim those ends at least every six weeks,” she said.

 

Campus Life

COG Involves Community in Fundraiser

 

By Carly Colombo

NECC’s Community Outreach Group, also known as COG, is holding a bake sale Oct. 28 in the Spurk building lobby from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Proceeds from the sale will benefit breast cancer patients at Holy Family Hospital.

“We’re trying to create more events open to the public outside our club,” said COG Secretary Nicholas Stuart.  Unlike previous bake sales, this sale gives contributors a chance to win 2 “SCREEEMFEST” tickets (good through Oct. 30) at Canobie Lake Park in Salem, N.H. An item must be bought from the bake sale, then users must take a picture with one of the club members dressed in a costume, and post it to Facebook with #COG to enter.

“We want others to see what we’re about and what we do by getting more people involved,” said COG President Lisa Pasho. Kayla Mignanelli, COG’s treasurer, explained that breast cancer patients at Holy Family don’t have anything to keep them busy while going through hours of chemo. “They don’t even have a TV,” she said.

The club has held bake sales and other events in the past to raise money for animal shelters, veterans and other causes in the area. The meetings and events are run completely by students.  With more events involving the public, the club hopes it will make a bigger impact on the amount of money raised and student participation. The team is always accepting new members if students want to join. Meetings are held every Monday at 12 p.m. in C116.

“It gives you a sense of meaning and connection in an otherwise somewhat isolated community college environment,” said COG Vice President Paul Kelly.