During the coronavirus pandemic, Observer staff had to figure out a new way to deliver the news. Enter WordPress. Was I familiar with WordPress? I had heard of it, but I had never seen or used it. This was fine though, because since students, i.e., the Observer student staff, were not allowed on campus, it meant we did not have access to the servers which would allow us to post to the Observer website.
Mary Jo Shafer, our fearless advisor, took on the task of uploading stories written and/or edited by staff and correspondents. The Observer went on like this until the fall of 2021.
Now that we are able to be back in the newsroom, all four, maybe five of us including our advisor, have all learned to post to our website for ourselves. I was very excited to use WordPress and the magic that is posting instantaneously online. It’s more than just a social media post; it takes more work than a simple tweet. As a writer, a journalist, to see your work and thoughts come to life on paper or in this case, on a screen, is the ultimate reward.
Now here we are. It’s October 26. We are working on a 24-page print edition.
“What is “print”? What is InDesign? I have to use THIS Mac again?”
Here I am on THIS Mac. Working with no end in sight, or so it seems. Everyone else has gone home. It’s just Mary Jo and me.
My first print edition as editor-in-chief. I agreed to a 24-page special addition. I agreed to write an editorial. It feels like I am relearning all the things and adding in some new things too (thanks Shaun!). It is slowly but surely all coming back to me. All coming together.
During the height of the pandemic, because we are still in it, I had doubts, as I am sure many of you did. But being back here, on campus, in the newsroom, it all feels right. It is reassuring to feel at home. I hope that everyone else feels this way when they are here at NECC. I wish I could stay forever- it’s like when I was a Brownie in the Girl Scouts and didn’t want to leave so the troop leaders let me stay an extra year. But for now, I will continue to soak in everything I can, and say yes to every challenge.
In the word of Ms. Frizzle, this is the place to, “take chances, make mistakes, and get messy!”
I think we can do this again. And we will! The Observer will release another 24-page special edition on December 2. Stay tuned!
Ms. Frizzle and Liz on another class adventure. Courtesy Photo
One of the new signs at the Haverhill campus commemorating its 50th year at the current location. Photo by Melissa Bouse
Northern Essex Community College is celebrating its 60th anniversary this year. It is also the 50th anniversary of the Haverhill Campus and the 30th anniversary of the Dimitry Buidling in Lawrence.
NECC has come a long way from its first years at Greenleaf Elementary School in Bradford which was repurposed to accommodate its first graduating class of 181college students. The 142 men and 39 women, ages 18-19 were taught by five full-time faculty and eight part-time faculty.
Students chose from six associate degrees: Liberal Arts, General Liberal Arts, Business Management, Accounting, Secretarial, and Electronics Technology.
Today NECC consists of a sprawling rural campus in Haverhill as well as an urban campus in Lawrence.
In the fall of 2020, the student body consisted of 4,715 students, of which 69% were studying part-time, 65% were female, 42% were Hispanic, and 30% were over the age of 25.
Students are now taught by 79 full-time faculty and 261 part-time faculty and have over 60 majors to choose from.
Over the last six decades NECC, colloquially known as NECCO, has strived to evolve with its students and the various local communities it serves.
A notable way in which NECC has grown is by being one of the 19 colleges and universities participating in the statewide Massachusetts Early College Initiative. The college has designated programs with Haverhill High School, Lawrence High School, and Whittier Regional Vocational Technical High School and partners with 25 other local high schools.
In the fall of 2020, there were 548 students enrolled in Early College Programs, a 37% increase over the fall of 2019 when 398 students were enrolled.
Police recruits on campus. Photo courtesy of NECC Newsroom
The college is home to one of the most successful police academies in Massachusetts. Since its inception in January 2015, over 500 recruits have graduated from the academy, serving more than 58 municipal police departments, eight colleges and universities, the Massachusetts Port Authority, and the Somerville Housing Authority.
NECC also provides space for the Essex County Sheriff’s Training Academy for corrections officers and runs the educational programming for Essex County inmates, through a partnership with the sheriff’s department.
Aerial view of the El-Hefni Building in downtown Lawrence. Photo courtesy of NECC Newsroom
The El-Hefni Building in Lawrence houses the 22 health programs at NECC, in which a third of students are enrolled. The health programs include high demand fields such as nursing, respiratory care, sleep technology and more.
NECC news articles and program from 1968. Photo courtesy of NECC archives
The Nursing program recently celebrated its 50th anniversary. It was the first health program offered by the college and started in the fall of 1968.
The college recently purchased three new manikin simulators and replaced the aging dental assistant lab, thanks to a $400,000 state grant.
To better serve its wide range of students, NECC launched an evening option for the dental assisting program in the spring and is working on offering a new series of micro-credentials for current health care workers in areas such as advanced cardiac life support, pediatric advanced life support, and more.
The new Lupoli Family Culinary Arts Institute occupies two floors in The Heights in downtown Haverhill, a new 10-story luxury building, opened in fall of 2020. With sweeping views of the Merrimack River, the space features classrooms, laboratories, and state-of-the-art kitchens.
The Heights Building in downtown Haverill houses the new Lupoli Family Culinary Art Institute. Photo courtesy of NECC Newsroom
The institute is home to the college’s 29-credit Culinary Arts Certificate and 63-credit Associate Degree in Hospitality Management.
Noncredit culinary courses are offered to the community through the Center for Corporate & Community Education.
NECC holds closing the equity gap in higher education as a number one priority.
The college is known for its student services, which support students at every step of their education, with academic and career advising, financial assistance, tutoring, leadership, and more.
With a student population that is 42% Hispanic, NECC continues to make serving students of color a priority, developing best practices for helping these and other populations that are under-represented in higher education to be successful.
In 2001, NECC was the first college in New England to be designated as a Hispanic Serving Institution by the U.S. Department of Education, based on the number of Hispanic students served.
The college’s academic and student affairs areas recently restructured to better serve students. There are now five academic centers, organized by major, where students can meet with faculty and academic and career advisors, access tutoring, register for classes, attend presentations, and meet informally with other students who share similar interests.
NECC now runs the MassHire Merrimack Valley Career Centers in Haverhill and Lawrence, which offer employment and training services for job seekers and employers.
In the fall, in partnership with three Fortune 500 employers, NECC launched new micro credential programs, short-term noncredit programs that will lead to immediate jobs with good salaries.
The first two programs will be in sales and customer service and business analytics, both of which have been identified by employers as areas of great need, where the training can be short term.
Most recently, NECC is collaborating with the YWCA of the North Shore to jointly build a facility on the Haverhill Campus and with Whittier Regional Vocational Technical School to have a permanent home on our Haverhill Campus.
Dean of Liberal Arts Amy Callahan has been with NECC for over 21 years. She has pushed for a revitalization of the Liberal Art department for several years as part of the faculty and now as Dean. She planted the seed to hold an outdoor showing of “tiny beautiful things” at the Haverhill campus.
“Everyone is going to love it!” She recounted telling Director of Public Relations Ernie Greenslade.
Callahan says that NECC has affected her in many ways over the years but that she “has become a much better educator by paying attention to her students.” She hopes to continue expanding the Liberal Arts department by adding various internships and catering to the needs of students and the community.
Greenslade, who is a Lawrence native and has worked at NECC for 33 years says, “The most exciting part of my job is interacting with students. I’m so inspired by students’ stories.”
NECC wants to hear from you. A social media campaign is currently running in celebration of the milestone. Use #NECC60 on social media posts regarding NECC and the anniversary.
A mosaic is also in the works in honor of the anniversary. Photos and messages can be sent to necc-anniversary@necc.mass.edu. All submissions are eligible to be included in all anniversary coverage.
On Wednesday November 3, 2021 the NECC Knights men’s basketball team had their home opener against UMaine- Augusta.
The players were practicing their shot before the game. I was there a hour early before tip off and both teams were already practicing. Even though this was their first game of the season it was big they were trying to do something that the 2017-2018 men’s basketball team accomplished, that was winning a game on opening night.
Before the game I talked with the head coach, Darren Stratton and he told me that it is going to be a test. “With Umaine-Agusta there one of the top team out of there conference which they are a four-year school where they have junior, seniors that been playing together for a long time where we have a lot of freshmen so I think tonight is a good test…” Stratton said.
The first game of the season is going to be where this team is really at and how the Knights perform in the first game of the season it is going to determine how well they work together competing against other teams.
He also mentioned “I expect a lot nerve I think I have a lot kids playing their first game first collegiate game… we have to fight through but as the game goes on I expect us to perform well tonight.”
Sports Editor Jose Rodriguez, interviewing NECC basketball head coach. Photo by Bryan Thomas
They had a big crowd watching and 115 people were in attended. NECC Athletic Director Dan Blair was announcing the starting lineup for both teams and then the national anthem.
In the first period the Knights started the game strong they begin the game with a 12-0 run. They were leading 42-15 at the half.
I had a chance to talk with coach Stratton after the game he told me “I think we played and we feed of our emotions and it carry us in our defense intensity the first half I feel that we had a lot of mistakes we made for it with our energy…” Stratton said. Although the Knights had that big lead in the first period, they also had seven fouls against UMaine-Agusta.
In the second period, which was the last period of the game they started slow and UMaine Augusta was taking advantage of the opportunities that the Knights didn’t capitalize. They outscored the Knights 51-36 in the second half. UMaine-Augusta came aggressive.
They had a different game plan in the second half to control the Knights. At one point in the game, it seems like UMaine-Agusta was going to take over the lead, but the Knights never gave up the lead thanks to a 12-0 run to begin the game back in the first period they had the lead for the entire game.
In the entire game overall, they had 17 fouls — seven in the first period and 10 in the second half. Some of the fouls that happened in the second period should not happened. They got sloppy and got lazy in the beginning of the period but as the second half progresses they got a little bit better.
They also had 27 turnovers. They need to improve on the turnovers because if they don’t and they lose by a close game that’s going to be the reason why. It was just the first game of the season but as the season continues, I expected them to get better on the turnover and be a little more aggressive as they were in the first period.
According to neccknights.com, Philip Cunningham of Haverhill who played 28 minutes during the game he had 15 points, 11 rebounds, 2 steal and 4 assist to begin the 2021-2022 campaign.
How important was having fans for the first time in two years since last year they weren’t fan in attended because of COVID?
“It felt pretty good after COVID I know a lot of people were struggling I know we had a lot of time in the gym, so we put on the work and we had good result,” Cunningham said.
Allowing fans back in the arena it gives fan excitement to cheer on their team and on top of that it helps fans to forget the hard time that happen with the virus as little by little everything is going to go back on the normality. He also mentioned “This is a big win this is a young team I’m probably youngest so it probably a big win for my first college game.”
Most player’s on the team are new comers so this season there are a lot of new faces for the Knights basketball team. That they are expected to perform well and every time they are in the court they are expected to win. He was the star of the game leading on points, rebound and assist during the game.
According to neccknights.com, Metin Yavuz of Istanbul, Turkey who played 19 minutes to begin the 2021-2022 campaign with 14 points, 6 rebounds, 3 steal and 0 assist.
I asked him about the second half “In the second half we couldn’t came up like what we wanted to as a team we could’ve done a better job but at the end we manage to win and that was the important thing…” Yavuz mentioned. Even though the second half it wasn’t productive like they wanted to but it was enough to get the win.
Professor Stephen Slaner will debate Professor Andrew Morse on the new treaty prohibiting nuclear weapons Wednesday, Dec. 1, at 12:30 p.m. The professors will examine the topic of whether the United States should ratify the treaty. The debate will be moderated by SDS Vice President Andrew Venditti.
The debate will be held via zoom: https://zoom.us./j/93042984046. Password: 654936
