The beauty and excitement of sports: Forming connections and friendships on the field

When we think about sports we mostly think of the game and the athletes playing it, but it is so much more than that with many ways to be involved with a sport.

First, I want to introduce myself and my situation.

When I was about two years old, I was diagnosed with Spinal Muscular Atrophy a form of muscular dystrophy.

This is a disorder where over time my muscles would deteriorate and eventually, I would lose my ability to walk. I am not going to sugar code it growing up with this was not easy and I faced many challenges. The funny scenario was that even though I would never be able to play sports, I began to found myself falling in love with sports.

Finally, I couldn’t take it anymore and I needed to find a way to get myself involved with sports because I had no interest in anything else.

My mom would always try to get me to try new things like playing an instrument, but I could just not find myself interested at all.

In elementary school and throughout schooling throughout my whole life I always found myself hanging out with kids who participated in a sport which sparked my attention because I felt I could help.
In the eighth grade one of my best friends Devan Debay was considering not playing for our local football team the Pelham Razorbacks.

Devan played for the program since the third-grade level and was about to give up the last year. I could not let that happen, it was really bothering me because my whole life all I wanted to do was just strap up my pads and go play with my friends.

I knew I had to try and convince him to play somehow, but it was not going to be an easy task. At the time the problem was

Devan wanted to play hockey and move on from football.

The problem that every kid runs into when playing sports growing up is that it gets kind of political in a way.

For example, if the head coach had a son on the team, he would get the ball more, or if someone was involved with the organization for a time might have a pull on who plays and who doesn’t. I know this sounds a bit crazy because we were only 13 years old, but sadly it was a reality.

These issues couldn’t get in the way, I had to let my passion kick in and make sure this kid hears what I have to say.

So, one day I called Devan over to my house asking if he wanted to hang out. He did not know but I was going to use this time to do everything I could to have him play football.

I wanted to take a friendly approach I did not want him to feel like I was mad or disappointed that he wouldn’t play.

I made sure before he goes to my house I pulled out one of our old Razorback state championship sweatshirt, a helmet, and a football. I kind of wanted to use these as symbols to him. When he first entered my room, I told him he can we talk for a couple of minutes, and that is where our conversation began.

I started off by saying how I truly felt about my situation and asked how he thinks I feel when I see all our friends playing a sport or even doing an activity that I couldn’t do?

I was not trying to make him feel bad, but I wanted to him to kind of step into my perspective before I started talking about him playing his last year.

I remember Devan had a pretty good answering, “Well Tom, I know it sucks that you cannot play but you have to realize you give us motivation to keep going.” After he said that I knew I could have a chance of talking him out of quitting. I started by putting the sweatshirt on and bringing up the memories we had as kids.

When it wasn’t serious and playing football was a lot about having fun. I said, remember every Saturday morning from the past 7 years when your parents would come into your room and wake you up to play and you could even hear the excitement in their voice?

Do you remember all the hard work staying at Muldoon Park until almost 9 p.m. every night and then waking up and going to school? It was not all for nothing and I needed to him to start realizing that.

The conversation began to drift because I think he knew what I was trying to accomplish so I decided to keep it real. Devan was always short growing and was smaller than everyone even me, so you can figure that football would be a hard task for him. The thing is, it wasn’t, Devan was stronger than almost everyone even though he was half of our height.

That is one of the beautiful things about sports, as much as you think all that stuff matters it doesn’t. I remineded him how his toughness always got him through things in life. No matter how small he was he would still somehow end up making plays and at the end of the day that is what matters.

Our eighth grade Razorback team had a lot of issues going into the year, we went from a 40-kid team all the way down to 18 because a lot of kids felt the way Devan did.

I needed him to remember all the excitement, running out of the tunnel, getting our names announced, or even scoring a touchdown.

I asked him, in those moments how did you feel? He answered with, “I felt like I was on top of the world.” That is when I knew what I was saying was getting through to Devan. I then brought up this was our last year to all play with the kids we all grew up with.

As kids were moving on to private high schools, and different sports times were changing, and I wanted him to feel that.
How are you going to feel on a Saturday night when we are all under the lights as a family and you are on the sidelines? He said,

“Not good, and I hear what you are saying trust me I just feel like I might not get my opportunity.”

What he was missing is that is what sports is all about working harder than others and proving yourself to everyone. You are one of the strongest tacklers I have seen play football and you are shorter than everyone on the field, you are the underdog, and you need to use it as motivation as you have your whole life, I told Devan.

Finally, he did end up giving in and agreeing to play his final year. It was a great decision because that Razorback team will never be forgotten by anyone who was on that team.

Devan even told the head coach that the only reason why he was playing was because of me and our conversation coach answered with, “Well next scrimmage make sure you bring him I’ll get him a jersey and he will be on the team, he is one of us now.”

My life changed forever being a part of that team got me to fall in love with sports and everything about it.

There is no better feeling than stepping on a field with your brothers and fighting it out for your own town. Although we lost more than half of our team, we went on to win the State Championship.

That is why sports is so beautiful and brings so much excitement to not only the players, but the coaches, the fans, etc.

It does not come down to who has the biggest muscles or who can life the most weights or speed, none of that.

What matters is you love going out and putting in your time and effort for your team no matter what.

What matter is you giving your all even when up against someone bigger or stronger than you.

That is the beauty of it all.

Nakia Richardson meets virtually with NECC students

Nakia Richardson recently did a virtual zoom meet on Thursday April 14, with the principles of public relations class, along with other students and staff who also attended in the Center for Liberal Arts.

The virtual visit was similar to Genesis Garcia’s virtual Zoom visit which occurred a couple weeks ago, also taking place at the Center of Liberal Arts.

Nakia Richardson is an on air-host, entertainment journalist, TV producer, content creator, and more.

She’s previously worked with BET and MTV, and has hosted during red carpet events on TV.

Richardson’s visit at NECC is due to her relationship with her former professor and current professor at NECC Kimberley Lyng.

Richardson graduated from Pine Manor College in 2007, where she had a class with professor Lyng.

Richardson originally just wanted to be a television host and an actor during her time in college. When she was out of college that was her plan, but it wasn’t that simple. She got connected to a job by one of her friends, but the company asked her to be a production assistant.

“They asked me to be a production assistant, and I didn’t even know what that was,” Richardson said. “I didn’t want to be behind the scenes at first and just wanted to be in front of the camera.”

She still agreed to the job and worked behind the scenes, which gained her experience and helped for her career.

She was also able to network with companies like Viacom, BET, and MTV while working behind the scenes. Even though at first behind the scenes didn’t interest her, she agreed due to the experience and help it could provide for her, and ultimately it paid off.

Richardson now encourages people to take any job that you may get offered in your field with the amount of benefits it can provide.

“It’s good to be behind the scenes and know all of the things for more opportunities. You may love it. Feel it out, and if you don’t like it then you can just leave, but you never know until you try.”

Richardson also encourages people who want to do multiple jobs to pursue them. “It’s OK to want to do 50 different jobs when you’re young. It’s a great problem to have,” Richardson said. “I wish someone told me that when I was young. And people in your industry will ask you and want you to do multiple jobs, even if you’re only applying for one.”

After giving the students her back story and how she gained the success she has, she then fielded questions from multiple students and talked with them. Some interested in the television and hosting aspects, while others were interested in the behind the scenes and journalistic aspects.

Richardson likes to do her own thing and stand out from the crowd. She is one of the first women to wear braids on the red carpet on TV, something that before she did was not really seen. While it shocked some, it encouraged many to be comfortable in their own skin like Richardson is, and more and more women rocked braids on the red carpet due to Richardson’s influence.

Again another influential and successful person made an impactful visit to NECC, and provided valuable words for those in the communications and PR field.

The visits allow for students to learn more and possibly network and work with these successful people

NECC Cabaret

NECC held its 24th Cabaret on April 5.

The event featured performances by students from the music program at NECC. The event went from 7-9 p.m. and served refreshments as well.

The event was put together by Professor Alisa Bucchiere who has hosted all 24 of the cabarets.
The event featured performances of students singing, playing different instruments, and showing off their musical skills, as well as some original material.

The event was five dollars to attend. About halfway through at 8 p.m. the event took a break for people to get refreshments.
“Cabaret is basically, it has evolved into singer songwriter,” said Bucchiere. “It originally, this is the 24th one I have done not counting COVID. When we shut down all of the performances on campus for a good six or five semesters depending on what the venue was, and that grew out of, I had so many soloists in my choir. They needed another vehicle to perform because they had so much music, which is a fabulous place to be in. Having so many performances ready to go and perform and not enough vehicles to have all these performances happen so that is how Cabaret grew out of. It came into existence I want to say Spring of 2010 is when the very first one happened.”

“Cabaret always tends to be a really awesome time we have a lot of great performers at the college that usually provide a really really wide diverse range of musical styles so it is always really cool to see what people are, you know going to do, what instrument they are playing what kind of song they are doing usually everyone brings the best they have to offer.”said Troy LaBranche a student in the music program.

“We have a very diverse set of talent here and it is great to see how different musicians interpret different songs and like what they are choosing to put out there and how they all come together, like perform together in different groups,” said Sara, a student in the music program.

Cabaret now “has people bringing their own work sharing it and what I really love is having the story behind why they wrote the song what was the inspiration behind, because you don’t get that sometimes with recorded music or music you are listening to unless you are diving deep in a instagram page of them being interviewed about their music,” said Bucchiere.

“To have that eureka moment brought to you before you hear the piece, it is goosebump city. I love that part,” said Bucchiere

 

 

Battle of the Band goes off without a hitch

A group of people stand on a stage.
The bands, judges and organizers of the Battle of the Bands. Photo courtesy of Alisa Bucchiere

Current students and alumni were excited to bring their talent to the first ever Battle of the Bands over in Northern Essex’s Tech Center on April 13.

The competition was fierce with bands such as Dragonfruit, Neck Dive, Four Symbols & Out of Water displaying their talent and chemistry on stage. The judges deliberated for a while after the bands had concluded playing their sets and named Neck Dive the winner of this year’s Battle of the Bands.

The organizer of this event, Alisa Bucchiere is also the head of the Music program here at Northern Essex and announced each band as they made their way onstage. The winning band Neck Dive not only received bragging right until the next Battle of the Bands but also a recording session in a studio.

When asked how they thought the first ever battle of the band went, Noah Rothgaber who played drums for Four Symbols said,

“I think it went great, I think everyone else did such a good job and I’m very proud of how our performance went.”

A member of the Audience, Cam Whealan who attends Middlesex Community College but tagged along with a friend that goes to Northern Essex was asked how he enjoyed the first ever Battle of the Bands to which he replied, “I thought it was a great time. I saw a lot of talented young musicians up there with a good variety of types of music including a Led Zeppelin cover band (Four Symbols) which I though was really good and I really thought the last band (Out of Water) was especially talented, they had some really interesting musical compositions in there. I think all the bands offered something interesting, a lot of really high energy. It was a really nice time.”

With the 1st Battle of the Bands being a success, they plan to make this an annual event, fun for all students.

The bands and their members were Out of Water, Christopher Drew, bass, Bruce Palmer, drums, Meg Collins, vocals, and Santino DeMonte, guitar; Neck Dive, Cade Dones, bass/vocal, Jasper Smith, drums, and James McNulty, guitar/vocals and Four Symbols, Noah Rothegaber, drums, Sean Smith, vocals, Josh Shultz, bass/piano and Santino DeMonte, guitar; and Dragonfruit, Austin Parent, guitar/vocals, Jackson Bonfiglioli, bass, Shaina Perates, vocals, and Alyssa Fantauzzi, drums.

 

Professor Profile: Tom Greene

Photo of face of NECC Professor Tom Greene
Professor Thomas Greene Photo courtesy of NECC

Fifty-four-year-old Thomas Greene is the chair of the NECC English department and professor as well as a short-story writer, gamer and vampire history fanatic.

Greene also has an established a lengthy academic profile. Greene first obtained a bachelor’s degree from Trinity college in San Antonio

“My undergraduate school was a small liberal arts college…in my hometown..where I graduated with a BA in English and a teacher certification for high school English and History,” said Greene.

He went onto to earn a master’s of fine arts and a Ph.D. in creative writing and British literature from Umass Amherst. “UMass offered me money, so I moved to Amherst and earned an MFA in Fiction Writing from Umass Amherst, followed by a Ph.D. in British Literature, also from Umass Amherst. The MFA only took about 3 years, but the Ph.D. took 9 years, which was about average for my program at the time.” Greene said.

He describes the most difficult part of obtaining his degrees: “The most difficult part of my education was learning to understand what a Ph.D. dissertation was, and how it should be written. Because I went straight from undergraduate school, I was only about 25 when I enrolled as a Ph.D. student, so it took me many years — while I was also taking classes — to understand what the dissertation was supposed to be and what the standards and expectations were.”

Teaching hasn’t always been Greene’s profession, prior to teaching he had been a technical writer for a computer company

“While I was at UMass, I did the coursework necessary to earn a certificate in professional writing and technical communication in the program that was just taking off there. As part of the program, I worked a summer as a technical writer at Digital Equipment Corporation in Littleton, MA, and then they asked me to come back the following year (which was the last year before I graduated). That certificate and experience was enough to land me my first professional writing job at Kaplan Test Prep in New York, as well as qualifying me for short-term contracts for companies like Compaq, Oracle, Bedford-St. Martins Press, and some nonprofits associated,” he said.

After graduating with a Ph.D in 2001 from UMass Greene had soon moved to Brooklyn with his wife and worked for Kaplan Test Prep for about 18 months. After he taught at CUNY Kingsborough Community College. Greene lived in Brooklyn for about five years, from ‘03-‘07.

When asked. how it was to teach in New York post 9/11 Greene said “New York is a great place to work or study when you’re young, and there are some die-hard people who live there and make it work. But my wife and I were examples of a really widespread population of people who move to New York, live and work there for about 5 or 6 years, and then move away. The impossibility of ordinary people being able to own property there, and the inconvenience and chaos of living in a crowded city just isn’t doable, I think, for most people who aren’t actually from there. I go back and visit sometimes, and I enjoy it, and I’m glad I lived there, but I don’t want to go back,” he said. “When I lived there, the city was still recovering from 9/11 and a lot of the people I met had firsthand memories. Heard a lot of stories about people’s kids who had been traumatized. Also, every time you went to a stand-up comedy club or fiction reading, the stories were all about 9/11. I feel like it was the city processing the trauma, so that now it’s still remembered, but not as directly or as emotionally as it was back then.”

Greene eventually joined NECC in 2008 and settled into a small 19th century home inSalem, with his wife.

Teaching seems to be something that runs in his blood, when asked what brought him to teaching and what he likes about it,

Greene says, “My parents were public school teachers, and they always told me and my sister, ‘You can do whatever you want with your life, but don’t be a teacher,” he said. “My sister recently retired from her career as a math professor. But seriously, I always just liked explaining things and answering questions, so this is a job where I get paid to do what I enjoy. And also, even though the pay isn’t anywhere near what technical writers make, it’s a career where I can feel — at the end of each day — like maybe I’ve done something worthwhile that might make the world a little better.”

Writing is another passion of Greene’s. After submitting stories tregularly for decades, a magazine accepted and published his science-fiction, short story “Another Man’s Treasure,” in the May 2014 issue. Analog Science Fiction and Fact Magazine is the longest continuously published science fiction magazine in the country, and is considered one of the most influential in the field. It is one of only a handful of speculative fiction digests that still publishes print editions, with a circulation of about 27,000.

“Another Man’s Treasure” is a science fiction story set in a dystopian America of the near future.
The story is about Maggie Moreno, a widow and single mother who scratches out a living as a prospector in an abandoned 20th century mega-landfill. When the local thugs pressure her to risk her life to bring in better salvage, she’s forced to resort to desperate measures to save herself and her children.

“It’s a huge sense of validation when a magazine buys a story. Especially when you’ve spent (as I did) 27 years trying unsuccessfully to get published, with no particular feedback most of the time from the magazines rejecting your stories, it can be tough to keep going. So now, even though my stories are accepted more often than they’re rejected, it’s still as joyful and validating as that first successful piece was,” he said. “

Greene says “I wouldn’t call myself a novelist, because I’m still trying to make the transition from writing short stories to writing novels. Like with the dissertation, for me the hard part is to understand the scale and scope of a novel, as well as to get a clear idea of what readers are getting from what I’m writing.My first attempt at a novel I wrote for a contest when I was 16. It was bad, I didn’t win, and I don’t hardly consider that this attempt counts. My second attempt was when NECC gave me a sabbatical to draft a novel back around 2014. That novel got some interest from literary agents, but I hadn’t done a good enough job of creating the protagonist vividly, so that novel failed to sell. So far, my failed novel and all my published work is hard science fiction — that is, SF that has no fantasy or imaginary elements involved. But I have ideas for fantasy stories and more “soft” sf stories that I might get to in the future. I collect all my ideas in files that I store on the cloud and come back to them when I need something new to write. My process is that I try to write or revise something every day. Sometimes I miss a day or two, but writing even a little bit every day keeps me on track, and those little blocks of time really add up.”

When asked if he is actively writing he said “Right now I’m revising a draft of a novel I wrote during the lockdowns, a prequel to a novelette that I published in Analog magazine a few years ago. This time, I’m working with an online writers group of other pro and semi-pro writers, meeting monthly and getting feedback on each chapter as we go. I hope this will help me stay on track with what readers are getting from my novel, and I hope it will work out this time.”

“What is your fascination with the supernatural and what makes it easier to write it for you?” asks the reporter Greene replies

“For me, the supernatural in fiction is a metaphor for something in life that is otherwise difficult to describe. For example, a haunted house is a metaphor for a troubled family. A dragon is a metaphor for the greed and selfishness that all people experience sometimes. The metaphor is a lens that allows you to understand the thing it’s describing in a new way — in a way that you couldn’t understand it if it weren’t described by that metaphor, because the metaphor creates distance, emotionally, that entices you to allow the truth past your psychological defenses.I believe that I am drawn to supernatural fiction, fantasy, and folk tales because, as a person of mixed race, I always feel like an outsider to some extent. I’ve never had the experience of completely ‘belonging’ with a group of same-race people in that way. But this experience is really difficult to describe in real-world terms — and most people who have only a single race aren’t even aware of any issues around it. So supernatural and fantasy fiction gives me both a way to feel a sense of belonging, and a set of tools to express my experience in a way that might be understandable to others.”

Lastly is a fun fact about vampire history that Greene would like to share: “One fun fact about the original Dracula story that most people don’t know is that he’s not destroyed by sunlight. In the novel there are scenes of him walking around London in daylight with no problem. The whole thing about bursting into flame was added later by Hollywood — I suspect because fire looks cool on film. But my idea about vampires is that they represent particular fears that modern, urbanized, industrialized city-dwellers have that result from the way that we have to live around strangers (which is unprecedented in most of human history) and that therefore we need to trust that these strangers aren’t sometimes actually undead monsters, lurking around, waiting to drink our blood.”

From immigrant to business owner

Customers sit at the counter at Mark's Deli.
Customers enjoy their breakfast around familiar faces.

Editor’s Note: Journalism student Kia Dimakis wrote this profile of her grandfather, Antonios Dimakis, and his business, Mark’s Deli. Her father, Stavros Dimakis, is the current owner of the business.

Mark’s Deli’s original owner, Antonios Dimakis, recently turned 90.

Known for its bustling businesses in the downtown area, Haverhill has many old stories of immigration and many outstanding community members that have come from other countries to make lives for themselves in America, choosing to settle in Haverhill.

No different, Antonios “Tony” Dimakis came to the US from Chios, Greece in 1970. “I had nothing except a one-hundred dollar bill in my pocket, and the clothes on my back,” said Dimakis. “I got off the bus in downtown, saw a payphone to call my brother, and noticed a ‘help wanted’ sign on the diner,” he added.

Dimakis went on to purchase this diner, Mark’s Deli, in 1975.

Dimakis left behind three children and his wife at the time, who had to stay in Chios while he found work in America. “I did not meet my father until I was five years old,” said his son, Stavros, of Haverhill—the current owner of the diner. “I remember walking into the diner for the first time; I had never seen anything like it. Greeks didn’t eat eggs and bacon for breakfast,” he laughed.

Antonios, luckily, already spoke some English before he came to the states — having a background in the Greek military, it was a requirement. Dimakis said of this “I am very lucky to have known the language a little, otherwise, it would have been much harder. Haverhill is my home, yes, but some people did not like an accent — somebody different than them —e specially in the 1970’s.”

Dimakis acknowledges his privilege in being of European descent in the US, but he also describes the struggles of being an immigrant—ones which his children felt the most.

His son explained that he learned English by watching TV, trying to copy the accent so that the other children would not make fun of him. “I’m lucky that because my dad owned [Mark’s Deli] we had connections to people—cops, teachers, students’ parents. It’s hard being an immigrant. I admire my father so much for the groundwork he laid for us. And how he has served this city for decades.”

Mark’s Deli is one of the rare few buildings left in Haverhill that is untouched by renovations. Serving the community since 1975, it does not look much different than it did almost 50 years ago.

A regular customer since its opening, Pete Miller, chimed in, saying “I think it’s important for places like this to stay open. It’s a staple in our town, you know, and a great place to work, eat, meet people. It’s got everything.” He joked.

Although Dimakis turned 90-years-old and has been retired for years, he still frequents the diner daily. “I like to come in, see all the familiar faces, have my cup of tea, and enjoy the fruits of my labor. For years, this is all I have wanted,” he said.

Dimakis is a firm believer in the support of immigrants making a living in Haverhill. He claimed immigrants are “the backbone of the city, and the heart of delicious foods.” When asked about the importance of support for young immigrants in positions such as his own in the past, Dimakis said “without support, there is nothing. They are our future, our friends, our neighbors.

And this is what I have made sure my family business stands for. Our door is always open, too,” he laughed.

 

Spring semester 2023 draws to an end

Spring flowers on the Haverhill campus of NECC
Trees and flowers are starting to blossom this spring. Photo by Kim Zappala

The spring college semester is always an exciting time of year, and nowhere is that more evident than at Northern Essex Community College (NECC). As the days grow longer and warmer, students and faculty alike are filled with a sense of anticipation as they prepare to wrap up the academic year and embark on new adventures.

For many students, the end of the spring semester means the end of their academic journey at NECC. As they finish up their final classes and take their last exams, they are filled with a mix of emotions – excitement for the future, sadness at leaving behind friends and mentors, and pride in their accomplishments.

As the final weeks of the semester wind down, NECC is abuzz with activity. The library is filled with students cramming for exams and finishing up last-minute assignments. The student center is alive with chatter as friends gather to commiserate about the stress of finals week. And the classrooms are full with lively discussions as professors wrap up their lectures and prepare their students for their final exams.

One of the highlights of the end of the semester at NECC is the graduation ceremony on May 13. For many students, this is the culmination of years of hard work and dedication, and it’s a day they will never forget. As they don their caps and gowns and march across the stage to receive their diplomas, they are filled with a sense of accomplishment and pride. Family members and friends cheer them on from the audience, and the air is filled with a sense of celebration and joy.

But the end of the semester isn’t just about saying goodbye, it’s also about looking ahead to the future. For those students who will be returning to NECC in the fall, the end of the semester is a chance to reflect on their successes and challenges over the past year, and to set goals for the future. Whether they are planning to transfer to a four-year college, pursuing a new career path, or simply continuing their studies at NECC, they are filled with a sense of optimism and excitement for what lies ahead.

For the faculty and staff at NECC, the end of the semester is a chance to take a breath and reflect on the hard work they have put in over the past year. They have dedicated themselves to helping their students succeed, and the end of the semester is a chance to see the fruits of their labor. As they wrap up their classes and prepare for the summer break, they are filled with a sense of pride in their students and in their own accomplishments.

Of course, the end of the semester isn’t all sunshine and roses. It can be a stressful time for everyone involved, from students cramming for exams to professors grading piles of papers. But even amidst the stress and chaos, there is a sense of camaraderie and support that pervades NECC.

Students help each other study, professors offer extra office hours to answer questions, and staff members go above and beyond to make sure everything runs smoothly. It’s a time when everyone comes together to support each other and help each other succeed.

As the spring college semester comes to an end at NECC, it’s a time of mixed emotions – excitement, sadness, pride, and anticipation. But more than anything, it’s a time of celebration and accomplishment. Whether they are graduating, returning in the fall, or embarking on a new journey altogether, everyone at NECC can look back on the past year with a sense of pride and satisfaction. And as they look ahead to the future, they are filled with a sense of optimism and excitement for what lies ahead.

2023 PACE awards

Students standing in a row with awards from PACE program.
PACE students show off their awards. Front left to right: Anthony Severino, Joanne Callahan, Daniela Valdivia-Terres, Rosa Araceno, and Maria Cubias Photo courtesy of Campus Life Editor Daniela Valdivia-Terres

It is the end of the spring 2023 semester, and it is time to celebrate students for their hard work and determination with the PACE awards. The amazing staff at PACE had a hard job of determining which awards students would receive. PACE staff member Jessica Rocker came up with the idea to award students for their academic and personal achievements. Students appreciate that their hard work gets the spotlight with PACE staff and their peers. “It’s nice to get together and honor the students that have worked so hard all year.” said PACE staff member Sheila Corsaro “Our students are the best.”

The ceremony on April 25 started off with a dinner. Students were allowed to bring a guest to share in the celebration. The event provided a dinner consisting of pasta, meatballs, vegetarian pasta, salad, bread, rolls, cookies, and cakes for everyone to enjoy.

After dinner was the awards ceremony. The students and their guests were able to share in each other’s accomplishments and successes that the staff at PACE wanted to highlight. Guests looked on with pride as each student went up to receive their award.

Once the awards were handed out, former NECC students were kind enough to take the time and join the Alumni Success Guest Panel. Jeurys Santiago, Sandra Melendez, and Stuart Farnham shared with students their college experiences and what life has been like since receiving their degree. They spoke about things such as being persistent in applying for scholarships to pay for school as well as how to balance college while working a job. Students were able to ask questions that they thought would be valuable to their own college journey and beyond, and the alum were happy to answer with well thought out responses and advice.

Alumni panel members sit at a table.
NECC alumni Stuart Farnham, Sandra Melendez, and Jeurys Santiago share experiences and answer students’ questions. Photo by Campus Life Editor Daniela Valdivia-Terres

PACE staff members find that the alum provide valuable advice and encouragement for students who might not be sure of the direction they want to go after receiving their degree.

Seeing the success former NECC students have had is very inspiring. “

My favorite part of the event is the alumni panel because, to me, it’s very inspiring to see where students go and what they do after they get their start at Northern Essex,” said PACE staff member Kristin Arnold.
PACE staff member Christine Carbone agrees. “The Awards Night Alumni Success Panel is a wonderful culmination of the year, bringing together current and past PACE participants. PACE alumni offer up their invaluable words of wisdom to current PACE students who also receive awards for the efforts they have shown through the year. The evening is very uplifting and inspiring for all.”

Arnold, Carbone, Rocker and Corsaro put together a successful event that will leave students with fond memories for years to come. Students appreciate the dedication the PACE staff puts in to make sure that every student has all the resources they need to have a great college experience as well as the tools to be successful when they leave NECC.
PACE Outstanding New Participant Award: This award applauds those new participants who have been an especially important addition to the program, embracing all TRiO has to offer. The recipients are Le Xuyen Chi Bui, Emma Ruggiero, and Le Tran.

PACE Perseverance Award: This award celebrates those participants who have demonstrated significant determination in the face of personal or academic obstacles to attain their Academic goals. The recipients are Maria Cubias, Erin Magner, Karen Stokes, Kendall Tobin, and Darlyn Vasquez.

PACE Academic Achievement Award. This award recognizes the academic success of participants who have successfully earned and maintained a cumulative GPA of 4.0. The recipients are Angel Calcano, Jennifer Clayton, Maria Cubias, Alliyah, Claribel Minaya, Tanya Nozier, Andrew Parent, Kanthi Patel, Mathew Quill, Pedro Rodriguez, and Jessica Wright.

PACE Most Involved Participant Award: This award is based on exemplary PACE participation and involvement during the academic year. The recipients are Joanne Callahan and Emma Ruggiero

PACE Student of the Year: This award is based on exemplary PACE program participation, academic achievement, and community involvement. The award went to Skylar Underwood.

PACE Most Inspirational TRIO Student: This award recognizes TRIO student(s) who have supported and inspired other TRIO students to reach their potential.  The recipients are Joshua Buffman, Kyara Cruz Santos, Rosa Melvin-Conn, George Tournas, and Nicole Vangelist.

PACE Learning Scholar: This award recognizes a student who demonstrated growth and change in enhancing their learning strategies during the course of this semester. This person exemplifies a growth mindset and exhibits characteristics of a lifelong learner. The recipients are Joanne Callahan, Rebecca Charabaty, Daniel Holt, Megan Lesiczka, Anthony Severino, and Victor Van.

PACE Futuristic Award: This award goes to students who have put a lot of time and effort into ensuring after they leave NECC they will continue to grow as an individual either in their academic and/or professional careers. The recipients are Rosa Aracena, Jordanna Cepeda, Logan Hicks, Shaun Hood, Pascale Percy, Raquel Quezada, and Jureicy Sanchez De Jimenez.

PACE Partnership for Equity Award:This award recognizes non-TRiO staff or faculty who have served as an integral component to the success of the TRiO program. The recipient is Janel D’Agata -Lynch.

PACE Citizenship Award: This award applauds those participants who model the virtues and qualities of a student leader and promotes the success of other students and TRiO. The recipients are Sarah Pachano, Lisa Rivera, Yomerly Rodriguez, Daniela Valdivia-Terres, and Kimberly Zappala.

Eight tips from Career Services for NECC graduates

Flier that says Congrats Class of 2023! Scan the QR code to learn more about Career Services. Questions? Email Career Services, careerservicse@necc.mass.edu
Photo courtesy of Career Services

Congratulations soon-to-be NECC graduates! You have accomplished a great deal in your NECC journey – taking courses during the pandemic and navigating through a cyberattack this semester. It can be both exciting and intimidating to take consider life after graduation but we are here to help with any questions related to career. Whether you plan to join the workforce, transfer for your bachelor’s degree, or a combination of both, we hope you find this information helpful.

Here are our top eight tips for you to consider as you prepare for the next steps in your career.

  1. Connect with Career Services. We work with all NECC students and graduates! Our most popular meeting topics include: career exploration, resume and cover letter feedback, job and internship search tips, and interview preparation.

And yes…Career Services will be open this summer and available for both in-person and Zoom-based virtual appointments! 😊

  1. Create or update your resume. You’ve graduated! Let your resume reflect your achievement, and express your strengths, skills, and accomplishments. Keeping your resume up to date is a proactive approach and ensures you will be ready if an opportunity arises.
  2. Create a cover letter. A cover letter is commonly included with your resume in an application. Develop a one-page cover letter to be used as a template for future applications. Creating this cover letter now will save you time in tailoring your materials for each application
  3. Activate and complete your Handshake profile. Handshake is our school’s job and internship board. It is also home to many employer-hosted events that can help you explore career options and learn more about companies. Complete your profile, and start browsing opportunities. Statistics show 80% of students who fill out the career interest section of their profile get messaged. A complete profile increases the likelihood an employer will directly message you.
  4. Network! Regardless of your next steps, networking is important in all industries and all occupations, and the sooner you get started, the better off you will be. Networking is a broad term for meeting and connecting with people in occupations and companies you’re interested in pursuing. This includes people you’ve attended classes with and met during your time at NECC- connect now so you don’t lose touch! Not sure where to start? Read the next two tips.
  5. Create a LinkedIn Account. LinkedIn is a professional social networking platform and is a helpful networking resource. You can connect with friends and family already on the platform to get started. Follow companies you admire or are considering to work for in the future. As an alumnus of the college, you also have access to a great network of Knights. Follow Northern Essex Community College on LinkedIn and connect with other graduates.
  6. Attend career and job fairs. NECC hosts career events and MassHire Merrimack Valley Career Center hosts events throughout the year. You can also check out the events hosted by your local chamber of commerce. Check out these websites to get started:
    1. NECC Career Services: https://www.necc.mass.edu/succeed/career-services/college-career-workshops/
    2. MassHire Merrimack Valley: https://masshiremvcc.com/events/
  1. Patience and persistence. Easy to say, hard to do. When you are applying to jobs or internships, it can be a long process. Your patience will be tested and you may apply to many places. Remember to connect with your resources – like Career Services, your professors, LinkedIn, etc. – and keep moving forward.