All posts by Marthy Martinez, Correspondent

Opinion

The NECC Shuttle? The greatest addition to the college

 

Fact: According to a 2016 study regarding the diversity in age for community college students, 27 years old was the average age of a community college student.

According to a 2024 blog about the number of licensed drivers within the United States of America, 19% of 20-to-24 year olds in the United States do not have a driver’s licenses.

And, in some cases, some adults do not even have their learner’s permit.

Now, how do middle-aged people attending community colleges and middle-aged people who cannot drive correlate at all? Well, it is very simple: How are middle-aged people getting to and from community college if they do not have a mode of transportation (and do not do online courses)? That is where the shuttle system comes to play.

Well, the Northern Essex Community College shuttle system, of course. Sorry to any of those other community colleges that may or may not have a shuttle system. But, this community college sure does! In comes the Northern Essex Community College shuttle system. And, if you have gotten to know me this semester, you have probably seen me on the shuttle heading between the Lawrence and Haverhill campuses multiple times by now.

Fact: According to a 2021 research study by the Washington, D.C.-based Seldin/Haring-Smith Foundation, only 57% of community college campuses in the United States have transit stops (within walking distance).

To say that the Northern Essex shuttle has not helped me at all would be one of the biggest lies that I have ever told in my eighteen years existing on this planet.

This simple, efficient mode of transportation has been responsible for my continuation to learn and excel in my classes, as half of them are on the Haverhill campus, including my Journalism class.

How else would I be able to learn and elaborate on how to become a top-tier writer and journalist?

The Northern Essex shuttle is also quite the underdog when it comes to conversation about the greatest positive additions that the community college has to offer.

Sure, an award-winning student-led newspaper like the Observer is spectacular, but how are students going to enable themselves to keep going if they have no way of heading between campuses to discuss among their peers and the public?

The transportation sure goes a long way. The popularity behind the shuttle is hidden fairly well, too.

As a frequent shuttle user, I have seen the shuttle be packed very frequently. However, the size of the shuttle is understandably fair, as there are enough seats to house nearly twenty people at a time.

And, trust me, there are a ton of Lawrence-based students that do not have other modes of transportation besides the shuttle to get to their 8 A.M. classes.

With a favorable addition to an educational institution such as a transportation service, though, comes criticism and disadvantages. And, although I do hold the Northern Essex shuttle system deep in my heart, there is one thing that I can share about it: when you forget to wake up to your alarm. Just joking. The shuttle is as perfect as it is (minus whenever you cannot fit on it due to no more available seats, so you have to wait for another shuttle to come as you sit there and think about life. That’s the worst).

I could ramble on and on about the Northern Essex shuttle system and how it has helped me continue to further my knowledge and perspective on community college as a whole, but I think that, with summer coming up, I want to at least be able to drive the short 15-minute distance between my Lawrence home and my classes on the Haverhill campus. I might just have to close my Northern Essex shuttle chapter. For good.

Opinion

Community college? Better (and smarter) than universities

 

Fact: According to the IPEDS Fall 2021 Enrollment survey, over 10.2 million students are enrolled in community colleges, which accounted for thirty-five percent (35%) of all undergrads nationwide.

Fact: According to a May 2019 study by the Pew Research Center regarding a rise in share of undergraduates that come from poor families, the share of dependent students who are in poverty skyrocketed from 13% in 1996 to 27% in 2016.

With these things in mind, it is clear to ask one question: How is money involved with community colleges? I mean, sure, not everyone who attends a community college has to be dirt-poor and living in a one-bedroom shed in the middle of nowhere. That is not what I am trying to say.

Yes, any person of any income or class is free to attend a community college. The statistics show. Over one-fourth of the current undergraduate population is consisted of community college students. However, that does not mean that students out of high school do not want to attend four-year universities. In this practical sense, community colleges are now seen for one particular blessing: affordability.

Fact: According to a September 2023 article from Mount Wachusett Community College regarding the pros and cons between universities and community colleges, it states that two-year in-state community colleges cost nearly $4,000-a-year, compared to the nearly $10,000-a-year for public four-year in-state universities. And that was IN-STATE. Imagine the tuition for out-of-state students. Whew. I am not trying to bash on four-year universities. Yes, they are beautiful, and can most definitely offer the same level of education (or even higher) to that of a community college’s curriculum.

Trust me, I know. But you may ponder at what I would know about a four-year university. I’m a recent high school graduate (Class of 2023), and I’m at Northern Essex as a freshman (Class of 2025). What could I POSSIBLY know about the state of four-year universities and their impending future?

Well, you see, I went to a four-year university in the Fall of 2023 prior to Northern Essex. The best that I could say, is that, the sense of community is one-hundred-times better at a four-year university.

The idea of dormitories on a college campus is a revolutionary find in itself, as I found myself to make long-lasting friends and acquaintances through the many connections that I had in my dormitories and classrooms. Hell, I was even making buddies at club volleyball practices. However, although I was having fun, I knew I could not stay for long. Due to the fact that Clark University, my previous school, is a rather pricey private university, I did not have the funds to be paying for an education like theirs. Because of my idiocy, I decided to file a Sallie Mae loan. Worst decision of my life.

Instead of being a smart individual, and taking a cheaper route towards a diploma by doing the community college, THEN four-year university pipeline, I decided to financially screw up my future by signing up for a Sallie Mae loan.

Although I won’t have to start thinking about it until nearly 2027, all of this could have been avoided had I decided to attend community college first.

And, believe me, I knew about Northern Essex long before my high school career dried up. Hell, all of my older siblings (three in total) and my mother had attended Northern Essex at some point of their lives, including one of my siblings currently. It was not like it wasn’t an option for me, anyways.

But, that is the thing. Through my experiences, I felt that students nowadays are more pressured to attend four-year universities and join their affluent friends instead of settling down and taking a easier (and cheaper) route to a diploma.

I have friends who I knew in high school that have gone on to attend top universities such as Stanford and Columbia, and I have friends who I have known since elementary school that have gone on to attend community colleges.

But does anything separate them apart as people? Not to my knowledge. At the end of the day, college in the United States of America is expensive.

And, frankly, I’d rather take my chances to go attend a two-year community college and nab an associate’s degree for less than $6,000 than swim in $100,000+ student loan debt.

Fact: According to a November 2020 study, 2.3% of processed applications for federal student loan forgiveness programs have been accepted. I think I can take my chances.

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How professors ended up at NECC

 

 At any institution around the world, whether it is a four-year university, communitycollege, high school, middle school, or elementary school, the bread-and-butter of these places are centered around the students, whose job is to learn, and the faculty, whose job is to instill knowledge that help their students succeed in their future careers. 

This message is equally shared by the faculty and staff present in the boisterous community of Northern Essex Community College, who reflect on their determination to learn from their time as college students to evoke a positive environment in their classrooms. 

A shared reality between many of the professors here at Northern Essex is the uncertainty of what career to focus on after college. For many of them, they chose different programs to major in when compared to the programs that they teach now at the community college.

Professor Mary Jo Shafer, coordinator of the Journalism and Communications program in the department of Performing Arts and Communication, attributes her Bachelor’s degree in American Studies and Creative Writing and past work at newspapers in shaping her career as a professor at Northern Essex. “It’s funny, I never really thought much about teaching,” stated Shafer. “People would always say, “Oh, maybe you should go into teaching.” and I would be like, “No.””  

Shafer, who would later receive her Master’s degree in Journalism from the University of Alabama, said she eventually realized that her career as a newspaper editor involved teaching as well, as her qualities of leadership in a newsroom helped cement her role as a teacher to the young reporters under her wing.

The mutual relationship between students and faculty can also be attributed to the attitudes of professors, who try to make their classes worthwhile and entertaining. 

However, for some professors, such as Professor Lori Heymans of the Math department, some subjects are difficult to extract enjoyment from them. “I try to be as interactive and kind of fun in class, but when you teach Math, fun and math don’t really go together,” stated Heymans. “But, I try to have an environment where the students can kind of trust me, so they can be able to ask questions.” 

Heymans, who has herBachelor’s in Electrical Engineering and her Master’s in Math, furthermore remarked on how she aims to help her students through multiple resources, including office hours and the MathCenter. 

In the world of professors, one factor solely stands out that strictly focuses on challenging their teaching: student feedback. 

Although some professors would vehemently cringe at the attempts of their students trying to criticize their work, other professors, such as Adjunct Professor David Rattigan, who teaches Public Speaking classes, encourage student feedback, but with certain limitations. “There are times that whenever I look at the criticism from students, it’s the student who doesn’t show up for the first class, and then says, “Well, I don’t know what the class was about. “Well, you didn’t understand what the class was about because you didn’t show up (to class)enough.” stated Rattigan. “Sometimes, I think that student feedback could be better informed. I think when a good student gives me feedback, I value it more.” Rattigan, who simultaneously teaches classes at University of Massachusetts, Lowell, additionally reflected on the relationship between the student and their professor, stating that the relationship peaks when the student and professor are working towards a common goal in the classroom. 

The faculty within a school system are either cherished or despised by their student body. Nevertheless, in any school environment, whether it be a four-year university, community college, or high school, the incessant message that faculty and staff aim to plant in the minds of their society is fairly simple: to support the people that help shape their budding community.

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The idea of NECC: How current, former students and parents of students see the college

 

Situated in Haverhill and Lawrence, Massachusetts, Northern Essex Community College may be considered one of the top community colleges within Massachusetts when it comes to athletics and academics, but it may owe this spectacle to the positive reception it handles from their student body, past or present, and the figures that help shape their budding community. 

One key factor that may highlight the reception behind Northern Essex is the comfortability of proximity, as stated by Nellysha Martinez, a current Art & Design student at NECC from Lawrence, Massachusetts. 

“The greatest appeal of NECC that I found was how close it was to home,” stated Martinez. “The Lawrence campus was the closest to me, but, ironically, I ended up taking my first classes at the Haverhill campus and being split between both campuses.” Martinez also commented on how the addition of free public transportation, such as the MVRTA buses, are essential in their continuation to further learn at NECC. 

Another positive factor to showcase regarding NECC is their affordability, especially for students who transfer into the institution due to financial burdens at previous colleges and universities. Haverhill’s Jason Almanzar, a 2017 graduate of NECC who originally attended Providence College, cited NECC as a safe option when it comes to issues of paying for tuition. 

“I view NECC as a more cost-effective option over traditional four-year universities,” expressed Almanzar. “The total cost of attendance reduced my education by over 80% and allowed me to continuously work towards my degree without the fear of sudden interruptions due to financial issues.” Almanzar also noted the variety of majors available at NECC to be beneficial in choosing what to pursue once he transitioned back into a four-year university. 

Furthermore, regarding the topic of affordability, Lawrence’s Germinudy Lopez, who has had her children attend NECC over the years and was a former student herself, elaborates on how NECC can be seen in the perspective of a parental figure. 

“As a parent, I can say that the school is affordable and gives students different opportunities,” detailed Lopez, who quotes her own experiences at NECC as a gateway for her children to consider the school once college application season is on the rise.