A sampling of some of the Kindness Rocks created during a recent event in the Center for Liberal Arts. Photo courtesy Faculty Adviser Mary Jo Shafer
The Center for Liberal Arts, located in C209, is a space reserved for liberal arts students to study, do homework, and even just chat. The comfortable chairs placed around the room and the free snacks, as well as the Coordinator, Sarah Regan-Kelly, make the environment quite welcoming. So, it is no surprise that many creative events that bring the community together are held here. On Thursday October 5th from 12 to 1:30 PM, the Kindness Rocks event was held. The Kindness Rocks event invited students and faculty alike to create and design their own kindness rocks for a kindness rock garden. A kindness rock is a decorated rock that can be anything from a positive and uplifting message to a colorful drawing or design and everyone was allowed to make as many as they liked. As it read on the flyer, the garden is meant to spread messages of hope and kindness to everyone at NECC.
In C209, rocks of all shapes and sizes were spread out along a table with a variety of paint markers (and cupcakes). Everyone was given free rein to let their creativity shine. Groups of students gathered around every desk, table, or otherwise flat surface with their rocks, and the room bustled with conversation. Paper plates were used as placemats to keep the room clean, and markers were passed from hand to hand as everyone’s ideas came to life. The event was coordinated by Professor Clare Thompson. “I do Kindness Rocks with my English 101 students at the beginning of every semester,” she said, “And then I decided I wanted to create an entire kindness rock garden.” You may even be able to find her students’ kindness rocks scattered throughout the campus. Lily Dewar, an Early College student from Haverhill Highschool who attended the event, said she “loved the idea as a whole and the positivity of it.” She also really enjoyed the event from an artist’s standpoint, although she found the small canvas to be a bit challenging. Other students expressed similar sentiments of the event as they painted. Regan-Kelly holds many such events in the Center for Liberal Arts. She encourages anyone and everyone to come check them out.
STEM week at NECC began on Oct. 16 and went through Oct. 20. STEM is the acronym for Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics, during STEM week the academic centers at NECC provide an opportunity for students to brainstorm and discuss their future academic plans, explore career opportunities, and gain exclusive knowledge in the field of Science,Technology, Engineering and Mathematics
On Tuesday Oct. 17, learners met in the Center for Liberal Arts, room C209 to learn about the benefits of AI for career exploration.
The event was hosted by Katie Yeaton-Hromada who is the NECC Career Services and Internship Program coordinator.
A few NECC students were asked to pass around three different colored sticky notes to every learner in the room which were used to answer three introductory questions about AI.
The one question being what is AI and what are some examples of AI? The students were then told to put each sticky note in a different area around the room where students were able to see their peers’ answers.
Most of the students in the room were aware of what AI is and many students had used artificial intelligence apps like ChatGPT, Alexa and Siri while a few other students had not ever thought of having the need to use it.
“I know about it but I do not use it,” said Luna Cordero a student at NECC.
Students were then informed of different ways of using AI, or artificial intelligence, that can be used in a beneficial way.
For example, asking AI what are some career options a person could qualify for with an associate degree in communications?
During the exploration it was emphasized how important it is to remember that AI shouldn’t be one’s final destination when researching for career opportunities and information.
“AI is a starting point, not your finish line,” said Yeaton-Hromada.
Students and those who use AI should “always check for accuracy, bias information, watch out for lies and (students should ) never share personal information with any artificial intelligence data,” she said.
At the end of the presentation students were introduced to a few reliable career exploration resources that can be used instead of AI.
Pathful Explore is one resource shared that is a career exploration and preparation tool with informative interview videos and career assessments.
NECC students can create a free account by using their NECC student email.
Massachusets STEM week is organized by the Office of Education Executives and the STEM Advisory Council. STEM week is known as a statewide effort that is made to bring knowledge and interest to all students in hopes to encourage students to envision themselves in STEM education and employment opportunities. For more information on career exploration resources email and book an appointment with NECC Career Services and Internship Programs coordinator Katie Yeaton-Hromada.
Kim Lyng, liberal arts professor and program coordinator and Performing Arts and Communication Department Chair, looks at an AI version of herself on the computer in her office in the Spurk building. Lyng recently debated this “AI Kim” on the impact of artificial intelligence on educatioin in an event organized by CIS Professor Devan Walton. Photo by Editor-in-Chief Kim Zappala
AI promises to revolutionize the way we do everything, including coursework, but NECC faculty and some students have concerns about this future.
With a new semester underway, and new developments in generative AI technology made public at a regular pace, these concerns are renewed around our campus.
Professor Devan Walton, who teaches computer and information science courses here at NECC, says that other faculty reach out to him regularly.
“Probably twenty distinct emails, and double that in-person. They express a lot of anxiety about AI, they’re anxious about the future. This could be the end of everything. So, I ground them in reality.”
What is that reality?
Many of us are familiar with programs like ChatGPT, a generative text model that can generate text based on written prompts you feed it. Students and teachers alike worry about its ability to write essays. And these fears aren’t without merit, Walton says. “Depending on the model, you can make work indistinguishable from a top-mark student.”
The only issue is when the AI experiences what experts call “hallucinations,” where the AI generates content that is demonstrably false.
But advances in the programming and training of these models makes them more and more accurate with each iteration.
“More sophisticated, paid models, the rate that it creates false content is much lower, except in math,” Walton notes
Educators aren’t alone in having concerns about AI.
Olimar Gonzalez is a Nursing major at NECC, who says that using AI to write a paper is plagiarism.
But it’s also become more prevalent in everyday life.
“When I did a Muhammad Ali essay, I looked up stuff on Google, and it started to type up an essay.” She also said that she had an English Composition professor that made his students turn in all their papers on Turnitin to check all their written work to make sure it wasn’t written by AI.
Lauren Iannitelli is a Nursing major that works at Mass General, and says that she has used ChatGPT to study. Even then, though, she’s wary of its uses. “I feel it could turn on us in a way. I like the idea, but taking over jobs, I don’t think it should do that” Iannitelli says. “They advertise AI at my hospital. What if we can’t afford it, and we’re left without people that know what to do?”
Gonzalez agrees. She says “Now there’s a machine that does the chest compressions. And there’s the EMT guy, waiting for the machine to do it instead of doing it himself.”
It’s important to note the benefits AI tools can have in the classroom, professor Walton says. “It can identify weaknesses in an activity or curriculum” he says. “You can give ChaptGPT an assignment, ask it to make it more accessible, and it can answer that.”
As technology advances, what can we as a community do to address it? Walton believes that AI tools and their use will become an inevitability. “I think as it becomes more accessible, it’ll become the norm to expect students to collaborate with AI. AI collaboration will expand the types of problems we can address in the classroom. This AI future might not be great, might not be bad, it’s hard to say. When people say it’s bad, I understand that. But I also hope for a future where students can use it to tackle larger problems, and lead to a brighter future.”
So what does he recommend? “One thing I recommend people do is try using these tools. Most people with a lot of anxiety haven’t used them. Having used them and understanding their limits and capabilities can help.”
Emily Makrez recently finished NECC as part of STEM Week to talk about fermentation. Photo by Daniela Valdivia-Terres
A speaker recently vistied NECC to share how she left her office job and dove into the fermenting world for good.
Probably you have tried pickles or had a salad with a vinegar-based dressing like Italian dressing. If so, you have already enjoyed the taste of fermented vegetables on your palate, and your digestive system rejoiced about that.
The science behind fermenting food and its consumption is so valuable that during the STEM week, one of the stellar presentations was “Fermentation and you,” by Emily Makrez, an expert in this matter.
After Makrez’ presentation and Q&A’s, she taught how everyone could make their own fermented veggies at home in a simple way. On top of that, the audience delved into a mouthwatering taste test in the TC Building on Haverhill Campus, on Oct. 18.
Why fermented food is beneficial to us
It helps our digestive system enormously! According to Makrez, fermented food unleashes the nutrients as they help to break down the nutrients to digest better.
Digestion starts by chewing and mixing every bite with saliva. Every bite should last at least 30 seconds to activate the full process. However, most people chew for between 15-20 seconds. Adding fermented food, like kimchi or pickles, makes it accessible to absorb all the nutrients of everything we eat.
Also known as “good bacteria,” fermented food enhances our nutrition. It produces vitamins such as B1, B2, B3 and the list goes on. Also, some of them produce enzymes that have been researched for cardiovascular diseases and Alzheimer’s.
Not eager to add them to your diet yet, then try having just a tablespoon of vinegar daily or drinking Kombucha instead of soda. Same as fermented vegetables, they are great for detoxification. In addition, they can break down certain pesticide residues.
They are good probiotics. Fermented foods increase the diversity of microbes in your gut, restore the balance of bacteria, support your digestive health, and decrease inflammation.
Favorite fermented food
Koji grows on beans or grains like rice with Aspergillus oryzae (a kind of mold.) It is found in Japanese food products, like miso, soy sauce, sake, or mirin. Koji is Makrez’ favorite. She shared the history, where to find it, and how to use it. She called Koji the “Edward Scissorshands of Food Molds” because it produces enzymes that break down carbohydrates and proteins.
Makrez explained the process of vinegar and how she made her own combinations with ginger or celery for instance. She shared some of her delicious creations with the audience.
Start DIY fermenting
Makrez is passionate and knowledgeable about fermenting and fearless to try new libations and mix all kinds of vegetables macerating in a jar.
She also loves teaching.Makrez broke down in simple steps how to start to ferment but first, she suggested starting with root vegetables, like beets, carrots, radish, etc. These kinds of vegetables are easy to ferment. Celery, potatoes and fruits are good options too.
How she left the job she hated to attune to nature
With a psychology bachelor’s degree, and a master’s degree in community social psychology of UMass Lowell, Emily Makrez was working in the “real world” in a job she “hated.”
About five years ago, tired of it, Makrez questioned what was important in her life. She arrived at the conclusion she wanted to connect with nature and the environment and focus on climate change.
That is when she went for a second master’s degree, this time in alternative medicine at Bastyr University, in Kenmore, Washington.
While still working, Makrez started farming, taking care of the soil, trying to create a nice biodiversity ecosystem in her farm home in Dracut. Looking for ways to preserve the large number of vegetables she grew, she tried canning, but it did not work, so fermentation came into play. She fell in love with this sustainable way to preserve food, and the opportunity to create products that help people to improve their health.
When she finally quit that depressing job, a year ago, she surrendered to the experience of fermenting food and its benefits. Her parents asked her “are you sure you want to be a farmer? Are you going to leave your salary job? Do you really want to do this?” Makrez with bright eyes and a happy smile said “Yes! I wanna try at least.” She added, “It feels really good but it’s also scary!”
Makrez turned her house into a laboratory where she combines and measures every recipe with precision. She later sells them through her business “F-Word Farm.” By the way, the “F” is for what she stands for: Farming, Foraging and Fermenting.
Her brand labels bottles of vinegars like the sweet and lightly acid, Heirloom Red Celery Vinegar made with celery she grew herself.
Makrez is a multifaceted businesswoman now. Her farming has extended to loofa sponges, all kinds of tomatoes, peppers, onions among others. Her produce and F-Word Farm products are placed in local restaurants and local businesses that she has partnered with. She also participates in Farmer’s Markets. And now, her family fully supports her.
“I’m doing too many things, but I love the education part of it,” noted Makrez.
She enjoys teaching about any subject related to fermentation in hands-on workshops.
She has been teaching in libraries and senior centers, but now she is starting to teach team building through working in groups creating their own fermented foods in the corporate world. It is definitely a great and healthy way to strengthen a work team relationship.
Curious about Emily Makrez and/or the Fermenting world? Follow her on Instagram as: @fwordfarm or don’t miss her next Farmer’s Market on Oct. 29 at the Rockingham Mall, Salem, New Hampshire, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m..
