All posts by Observer Staff

Features, News

LGBTQ+ Milestones

 
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The LGBT community reached some historic milestones this summer. On June 26, the United States Supreme Court ruled same-sex marriage a constitutional right with a 5-to-4 vote. In his decision, Justice Anthony M. Kennedy stated, “No union is more profound than marriage, for it embodies the highest ideals of love, fidelity, devotion, sacrifice and family. In forming a marital union, two people become something greater than once they were.”

Prof. Kristi Arford said she was at her computer first thing in the morning when she read the headlines about the ruling. “That was a really important moment!” she said. Colby Patrie was getting ready for an anime convention when he heard the news. “I ran into the living room to watch the news and watched President Obama’s speech,” he said.

The trans community made some strides of their own, continuing to get more and more time in the spotlight. On a smaller scale, the Massachusetts Trans Political Coalition started a bill to give trans people protections not already promised to them. Protections against harassment in public places, discrimination in the workplace and protection in general of their well being. Mike Givens, public relations for the MTPC said that the bill met some difficulties town by town and so they decided to take it to the State House. On Sept. 17 the MTPC and supporters will hold their “Lobby Day” on the grand staircase of the Massachusetts State House.

“I Am Jazz,” a TLC show, debuted July 15. The reality show depicts the life of Jazz Jennings, a 14-year-old trans girl who came out to her parents at the age of 2 and to the rest of her community at her 5th birthday party when she made the bold decision to wear a one-piece rainbow bathing suit.

Jennings came out to the public back in 2007 and has since co-written a children’s book to help younger kids–and anyone else who cared to read it–understand what it means to be transgender. She is a major spokesperson for the trans community doing panels, speaking at ceremonies and keeping up her own YouTube page.

Caitlyn Jenner created a media frenzy when she came out as trans during an April 25 interview on 20/20. The fire was further fueled when she revealed her postoperative appearance on the cover of Vanity Fair’s July issue.

Jenner fielded a lot of hate during this time. When she was awarded the Arthur Ashe Courage Award at the ESPYS on July 15, many took to social media to voice their displeasure. Facebook and Twitter were abuzz with criticism that called for a reevaluation of the meaning of courage. Different memes on the internet juxtaposed Chris Kyle with Jenner with the caption, “Hero. Not a hero.” Some memes went as far as to slander people for judging Michael Jackson for his plastic surgery and praising Jenner for hers.

In contrast, Some Internet users fought against hateful language with loving messages, creating memes positioning pictures of Jenner back in her Olympian days and her Vanity Fair cover with the caption, “American hero.”

Patrie the second-year art student, reached a milestone of his own this summer.

“I spent my whole life wondering why I had to wear these stupid dresses … It wasn’t until years later when I learned what transgender was and everything fell right into place,” said Patrie who came out publicly as trans on July 29. He names Jenner as his biggest influence. “She was once known as the manliest man you could ever be, tough, strong, an olympian. For her to come out was the bravest thing she could have ever done. and you see the difference in photos. (Bruce was) always frowning, covering their face, you could see there was pain.”

NECC’s own LGBT presence is known as the Gay-Straight Alliance and is overseen by Arford. Arford has been teaching at the school for seven years in the areas of anthropology, world religions, sociology and sex and gender. Three or four years ago she took on the role of GSA faculty adviser.

Growing up Arford said she didn’t know any trans kids but, as previously mentioned, she teaches a course on sex and gender and uses her knowledge to try and explain the taboo still surrounding transgender people, “Our culture’s ideas of sex and gender are based on an ‘essentialist’ binary, with roots in religion.  If you believe that God created males and females, and only males and females, with very distinct characteristics and ‘natural’ roles to play, then you most likely believe a person cannot choose to change that, and that one’s assigned sex cannot be wrong. One problem with this thinking is that it doesn’t recognize the difference between sex and gender, and does not acknowledge gender roles as social constructs that vary widely across time and place.” Patrie adds, “People are afraid of what they don’t know, and start thinking the worst.”

As the world continues to turn and change, Arford said, “People are becoming more aware, and more people are challenging the gender binary. I guess that’ll probably be the next big cultural shift we’ll see, a move away from the binary understanding of gender, toward more fluidity and variance in gender expression.”

Campus Life, News

Opportunity Works

 
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Northern Essex, as a community, has experienced hot weather, summer classes, and construction this past summer. The stairs for the main entrance at the Spurk Building are pearly white, classy, and ready for the upcoming semester. Adjacent to the Spurk Building is the newest addition to the NECC’s community: Opportunity Works.

In 1974, a group of Greater Newburyport-area residents began to discuss their concern about the lack of support services available to adults with developmental disabilities and their families.

According to their website, Opportunity Works began with “the vision of empowering people with disabilities to experience the freedom to live, work, and enjoy a valued role in society.”  Thirty nine years later, their vision is continued through dedicated workers like Melissa Merrow.  Melissa Merrow, Director of Program Operations, has been with Opportunity Works since 2009. She started off as the Day Habilitation Manager, then was promoted to Director of Specialized Day Services a year later.  Just this past June she was promoted again, this time to Director of Program Operations. She has a Bachelor of Science in Psychology, Business Minor from Salem State University.

“We partner with many people in the greater National Board Professional Teaching and Merrimack Valley area,” said Merrow. “For example, our individuals volunteer at various churches and food pantries in the area. Volunteering gives them a sense of giving back to the community and also the confidence they need to obtain jobs in the community versus the volunteering.”

“We also visit local nursing homes monthly as a ‘Random Act of Kindness’ day! We go over and play cards, talk, enjoy their company, fulfilling for both agencies! By our individuals getting out into the community more it also gives the public a better understanding of who Opportunity Works is and what we do. We ensure people are reaching their maximum independence through personal and professional interests.”

Their vision, according to the website, is to set “leading standards of excellence among individual service providers in supporting people with disabilities and their families, empower the people we serve to fully achieve personal growth and a valued role in society, promote a positive and supportive work environment for employees, realize planned growth of existing programs, while ensuring our commitment to our core values, engage the community in supporting Opportunity Works to achieve our mission.”

Merrow also mentioned how Opportunity Works has many volunteer sites. These include things like the new “Special Stars” dance program this month. There’s also an annual International Week, where each program room is a different country, allowing members to “travel the world,” and a Holiday Bazaar, where donations received help the individuals make crafts and buy gifts for their families for the holiday season.

“We offer the Project Search program, there are only two in the state of Massachusetts. We are now offering college classes at NECC (Northern Essex Community College) for our individuals,” says Merrow. Opportunity Works has two locations, in Newburyport and Haverhill. The Newburyport location is at 10 Opportunity Way, Newburyport, and the Haverhill location is located at 671 Kenoza Street, Haverhill.

Features

Tarah MacGregor: A Face of NECC

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23-year-old Tarah MacGregor has been a student at Northern Essex for five years. Her ready smile has made her popular among the students and faculty, and you can often hear her laughing in the hallways as she goes about her many projects.

McGregor has taken her college experience to a higher level by getting involved in activities that she is passionate about. Home-schooled until age 13, MacGregor loves science and travel. The latter passion drew her to Italy, Belize and Ecuador with the study abroad program, which is directed by professor Marcy Yeager.

“I’ve been on more trips with Marcy than any other student,” MacGregor laughed.

Besides annual international trips, MacGregor supplements her NECC education as the student ambassador for the honors experience. As such, she works closely with Honors Coordinator Ginger Hurajt, as well as all the other honors students, to help facilitate the most rewarding experience for everyone involved. McGregor has the outgoing personality needed to fill this role as the honors committee representative, and she infects those around her with positive energy.

The Honors Experience is designed to boost a student’s academic standing by allowing any class to be designated as an honors class with the completion of an additional project related to that subject. The project is self-directed, but must be approved by Hurajt and the class professor.

MacGregor stressed that while the project has to relate to the subject, there is a lot of freedom for a student to choose whatever might be interesting to them and relate it to the class material. The student works closely with the professor throughout the semester to develop a research paper and project that will be presented at the end of the semester to both the class and the honors board. The class then appears on the student’s transcript as an honors class. Along with two honors classes, the honor student will participate in a poster session, an honors colloquium and a service learning project.

MacGregor is very familiar with what it takes to successfully complete the program. She said that the requirements are not really overwhelming, but she recommends that people fulfill only one requirement per semester and spread it out over three semesters. She said, “I always tell people to work a couple of hours a week writing or researching, since they have the whole semester, and they will be fine.”

As an honors experience student herself, MacGregor has taken some of the honors colloquium classes. These are mixed-discipline classes, some of which repeat and others that are offered for only one semester, depending on student interest. MacGregor said that the classes that focus on composition and the sciences tend to be well attended, including Women and Mythical Literature, taught by Hurajt. Other classes which heavily examine issues of philosophy and psychology — such as The Pursuit of Happiness and Searching for Euphoria — may only draw a handful of students and run for one semester only.

“It’s important for new students to find out about (the Honors Experience) right away,” said MacGregor. “Some will only be here for four semesters, and they need three of them to complete this.” The completion rate for students taking two or more honors requirements in the same semester are significantly lower. “Maybe only about 40 percent,” MacGregor said.

Scholarships are among the benefits of completing the program, as is guaranteed acceptance into the honors program at any Massachusetts university when transferring. Honor scholars have their own lounge on campus with a computer and printer and they receive special recognition at graduation.

More information about the Honors Experience can be found at www.necc.mass.edu/academics/enrichment/honors/, or you can visit their Facebook page at Northern Essex Community College: Honors Experience. Messages left on that page will be directed to Hurajt or MacGregor. For more information about the study abroad program, go to www.necc.mass.edu/academics/enrichment/study-abroad/ or contact Marcy Yeager, myeager@necc.mass.edu.

Campus Life, News, Sports

NECC Knights

 
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When the last edition of the Observer came out this past May, the NECC Knights had just finished the regular season with a 25-2 record, winning 16 straight to round up the season. The team qualified for the number 1 seed in the in the Region XXI tournament, where they crushed the competition and won.

 

On the first day of the competition they defeated Massasoit, 9-1, in a game that would only make it to the 7th inning before the mercy rule was called because the Knights were clobbering the Warriors.

 

The next day the Knights kept rolling, beating Holyoke 10-4, and then the day after in the championship game of the tournament they went on to win against Holyoke again with a final score of 17-7. The Knights made it to the NJCAA DIII World Series for the fourth straight year, three of those coming under Coach Jeff Mejia.

 

“It is a new location this year and it should be interesting. I’m really looking forward to getting to North Carolina. We know the routine now and that should definitely help us,” said Mejia prior to the World Series. “It’s been a great run. These kids always step up. The tighter the game is, the better they play.”

 

Unfortunately, the Knights’ winning season would not transfer to N.C.  They lost the two games they played, leading to an early exit. The first game they lost to Tyler Junior College, 5-1, and they lost in the elimination game the next day against Century College, 10-7.  Their losses in the World Series did not take away from their amazing season.

 

The NECC Knights won many individual awards. Mejia won Coach of the Year, and MacDaniel Singleton, Keith Linnane, Ryley Warnock and Jake Rayner all earned Gold Glove Players of the Year awards. Seven players made it on the Division III All-New England team as well.  All the sophomores from the team have transferred to four-year colleges which is no easy task.

 

The NECC Knights are looking forward to their fall practice season, where they will get ready for the regular season in the spring and look to dominate on the field once again.

Campus Life

A Look at NECC’s Spring Semester

 

Another spring semester comes to a close on both NECC campuses.

There have been many successes, events, causes and sporting events that have been going on between the Lawrence and Haverhill campuses. The beginning of the semester was rocky because of the semester due to the unpredictable and what seemed to be never ending snow.

For most students and this semester, the consistency of snowstorms throughout the month of February were disruptive to their class schedules. Classes that would normally meet on the Monday, Wednesday and Friday schedule did not have many Monday classes in the beginning of the semester.

Also, Tuesday and Thursday classes were affected only meeting twice a week, some Tuesday classes either had cancellations or the campus all together was shut down.

Instructors had to change around their lesson plans to format the rest of the semester.
To make up for lost class time, some have had to cancel out some topics they planned to teach.
Other instructors may have had to attempt to squeeze together what was supposed to be learned on the lost days.

The snow caused the closure of both campuses, delays in classes, crammed schedules and difficulty managing an extra workload in some courses.

“In the middle of this crazy winter, I actually looked forward to getting out of the house and going to school,” said NECC business transfer student Hannah Latham.

Many students commented about the impact the snow has made on their spring semester class work.

“I had classes rescheduled, and we tried to cram in what we could every class. It was a game of catch up all semester,” said NECC Health and Wellness student Marjorie Vaccaro.

As the semester continued into the late winter and early spring months, NECC was lively as ever.

Early in the semester on February 25, guest speakers David Forsberg, Governor Charlie Baker’s campaign manager, and Charlie Baker III, a Democratic campaign strategist visited NECC’s Haverhill Campus. Each discussed and spoke about how to have a successful campaign and winning an election.

More recently on May 1, there was a surprise visit by Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren on the Lawrence Campus. Senator Warren spoke to students a part of the PACE Program funded by a TRiO grant from the U.S. Department of Education.

Also, “College for a Day” on April 15 as well as Spring Jam were widely successful.

A large amount of possible students attended the event, as well as current students.

Many participants were checking out the events hosted by the Student Engagement Center and Student Life on the quad for Spring Jam.

Currently, it may be crunch time for assignments and studying for exams for students.
That last project, paper or presentation has to be submitted this week before grades close.
Also, if the instructor or professor offers, extra credit assignments for that extra boost in a grade are due.

Students reflected on how they think they did overall this semester.

For some students. their final average could be unknown — some keep track of their grades, and others just go along with the course.

“Overall, this semester has been really good. I liked the fact that they were able to accommodate me with my schedule. I can work and go to school which not a lot of students do,” said Latham.

Another student commented on his overall grades for the spring semester.
“I think I did pretty well. I struggled with a couple classes. About 3 out of the 5 could be A’s or B’s. I’m not sure,” said NECC Communication student Matt Couture.

NECC offers a variety of summer courses to help students lighten their load for an upcoming semester or complete their degree more quickly.

Registration is taking place now for Summer classes.

Courses are open to NECC students as well as to students from other colleges who are home for the summer.

“I am taking two online classes this summer. I’m behind two courses and I’m using them to catch up,” said Couture.

Many students who attend NECC take advantage of the summer classes offered on both campuses because of its convenience and can be beneficial to some students.

“I might take an online course this summer, to get ahead,” said Vaccaro.

Also, now is the time for current students to register for Fall classes and to complete financial aid paperwork (if it is needed).

Registering for classes and completing financial aid paperwork before leaving for the semester may make for a less stressful summer.

For more information or to register for classes contact NECC Enrollment Services at (978) 556-3700 or email them at admissions@necc.mass.edu.

Interested students can also drop by the One-Stop in Haverhill or Lawrence during their walk-in hours: Monday through Thursday 9 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. and Friday from noon to 4:30 p.m.

Sports

Knights Baseball Closes Out With a Bang

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The Knights closed out the year with four straight road wins over NHTI, Massasoit Community College and Quinsigamond Community College. Over the four games, the Knights outscored their opponents 40-12, which has been the case for much of the season.

On April 29, the Knights traveled to Concord, N.H. to face off against NHTI. In a shortened game (five innings), NECC blasted NHTI, 16-4. After four innings, the scored was still close (5-3 Knights), but an 11-run top of the fifth changed everything.

Jerry Hernandez and Ryan Decker combined for a six-hit outing on the mound for the Knights.

Colby Maiola was 1-for-3 on the day with an RBI and three runs scored. Michael Crisostomo belted his first home run of the year, a grand slam, and finished with four RBIs. Jacob Rayner (3-for-4) and Ellidio Reyes (1-for-4) each had two RBIs in the win. Rayner also hit two doubles. Ryley Warnock went 3-for-4 with a triple and two runs scored.

The Knights went right back to work the next day, traveling to play at Massasoit Community College. While NECC didn’t have as big of a day on offense, they still managed six runs. They also brought Ryan McAuliffe out on the mound, and he delivered.

McAuliffe went seven strong innings, giving up just two hits and no runs while striking out five. Gianni Esposito came in to finish the game off, going two innings. He gave up one run on one hit and struck out three.

Third baseman Colby Ingraham was the big man on offense in this one, going 3-for-5 with four RBIs on the day. Warnock and Crisostomo each recorded two hits, while Keith Linnane
went 1-for-3 with an RBI.

The Knights closed out the season with a trip to play a doubleheader on the road against Quinsigamond Community College. The Knights took both games, winning the first game 6-2 and the second game 12-5.
Zarif Pajazetovic got the win in the first game, going four innings of five-hit, one-run baseball with three strikeouts. Robert Barry came in relief and pitched three innings. He gave up one run on two hits while striking out three.

Warnock had another big day at the plate, going 3-for-4 with an RBI and two runs scored. MacDaniel Singleton recorded two hits and an RBI. Reyes, Rayner, Cole Josselyn and Nicholas Turco each recorded an RBI in the win.

The second game was a bit closer despite the 12-5 score. After five innings, the score was tied 5-5. Then the Knights had one of their patented big innings, scoring seven times in the eighth inning to run away with the game.

Anthony Dally started the game, giving up five runs on seven hits in five innings of work. Esposito came in and pitched 1.1 innings of shutout ball, and then Warnock stepped in to finish it off. He ended up going 1.2 innings and giving up no runs and no hits to collect the win.

Maiola led the team with three hits on the day, while four players (Warnock, Ingraham, Reyes and Singleton) each recorded two hits. Reyes and Maiola each had two RBIs, while Reyes, Ingraham and Singleton each had one. Linnane also drove in two runs in the win.

The Knights have finished the regular season with a 25-2 record. They will resume play in the
Region XXI playoffs next week.

Uncategorized

Leadership Morale

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Leadership is difficult, and it requires fortitude and savoir faire to lead a team, but the moment a leader phones in and burns out, the team will begin to deteriorate as well.

Keeping morale as a leader is important because the moment a leader stops caring, it’s going to take a toll on the team. A leader is responsible not only for making sure that everything goes smoothly, but for setting to tone of the workplace. If there is an optimistic, progressive tone in the space, everyone is going to be more willing to work than if the tone is stagnant and burnt out. A leader has to ensure that progress will be made, and this is not possible if no one is interested in the progress, including the person in charge.

This is particularly important in journalism because news can be a very stressful job, and there are a lot of pitfalls and setbacks when you’re trying to get a story, especially if it’s on a difficult topic. The content of stories can be hard to swallow, and the people you have to interact with to get the story can be a big source of stress, so the leader has to keep it together and show courage and hope in the face of adversity to keep the team going.

Journalists for a paper, whether they realize it or not, work together as a team. Everyone is pitching in to share the status of their community, and they’re building the pieces of a puzzle that will paint a picture of where the community is at. The leader provides the materials that the team members need to paint this picture and ensure the journalists are serving the community the way it needs to be served.

News

Tutoring Center’s Schedule for Finals Week

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The Tutoring Center’s schedules for final-exam week are now available online at www.necc.mass.edu/academics/support-services/tutoring/tutoring-schedules/tutoring-final-exam-schedule.

The Tutoring Center is open to all NECC students at no additional cost.

NECC students also have access to Smarthinking online tutoring. For information about Smarthinking, visit www.necc.mass.edu/academics/support-services/tutoring/tutoring-schedules/smarthinking/.

Call the Tutoring Center at 978-556-3411 or emailtutoringcenter@necc.mass.edu with any questions.

Arts and Entertainment

Peace Poetry Winner

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The seventh annual Peace Poetry contest came to a close on Friday night with a reading and award ceremony in the Hartleb Technology Center to honor the participants.

The event began at 6 p.m. with a welcome speech from Vice President of Academic Affairs Dr. William Heineman, followed by a keynote address from local performing artist and poet Letriah Masters.
Host and coordinator Paul Saint-Amand then invited each of the participants to the front of the auditorium to read their poem for the audience.

The 300 seat auditorium was nearly full, but even the youngest participants managed to deliver their own individual message of peace with poise and conviction.

After reading their entry, winners were given a certificate by professor Liz Espinoza and received a stem of daisys from NECC student Justin Merced.

This year, the project began in the fall with a contest among Lance Hidy’s Introduction to Digital Photography students to provide the photograph for the poster and cover design. Students and faculty were asked to vote on their favorite entry.

The picture of the hands cupped around the peace sign, submitted by NECC student Nicole Chetsas, won the vote by a landslide. Inspired by her success in this contest, Chetsas is now considering a career in photography.

“I’m going to be switching my major over to it. I’m trying to get into the New England School of Photography,” she said, “I’m taking a year off to save up and build my portfolio.”

The poetry and drawing portion of the contest was open to people of all ages throughout the greater Merrimack Valley area. It began in the fall with the advertising posters at NECC encouraging participation and an invitation to other local schools to submit entries as well.

According to Saint-Amand, about 600 entries were received. The entries were read by student and faculty volunteers who narrowed it down to the final 73 poems and 11 drawings printed in the chap book.

“If we try to put too many pages in, it won’t even close.” Saint-Amand said of the winnowing process.
Among the poems included in the book is, “Imagine“ by local poet laureate Gayle Heney. Formerly the keynote speaker for this same event, Heney now hosts a local television show called “Write Now” in which she interviews successful writers.

“It’s been a great opportunity to ask writers questions that I want to know the answers to,” Heney said. The show airs in Haverhill, Andover, North Andover and Methuen.

Four students from the Islamic Academy for Peace were also included among the accepted entries. This was given to them as a class assignment and it is the first year that they have participated. Selma Dakiri, seventh grader, got the inspiration for her poem by thinking about “How people are treated by their skin color, and how they don’t treat people equally.”

Eighth grader Kelthoum Fathi said that she was thinking about “Simple acts of peace that we do everyday.”

“I wanted to talk about peace in general, all over the world,” said Mahmoud Qesmi, also an eighth grader.

“My poem had a bunch of different languages,” said seventh grader Adiba Ubaidu, “because peace is needed everywhere in the world, so I thought it should be included.”

Their parents said that they are very proud.

Features

Students Prepare for a Bright Future at NECC

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As the spring semester of 2015 draws to a close, it is also the end of many students’ time at NECC, and the beginning of new exciting adventures for those graduating and moving onward with their academic careers.

One of those students is Molly Fitzgerald, a communications major. Fitzgerald plans on attending Salem State University to get a bachelor’s degree in communications.

One of Fitzgerald’s most inspiring experiences was her internship last spring semester with Coca-Cola Bottling Company in Northern New England.

“I actually put the franchise on Facebook. [I liked] the experience itself, and I kinda found out what I wanted to do. I realized I wanted to go into PR (public relations) and communications.”

As with all experiences, there are good times, as well as trying times. Often a particular subject or teaching style can come along for students that pushes them to succeed despite a difficulty.

“My environmental issues course was really hard, and so was my statistic course, but other than that it was really easy. The professors weren’t really my teaching style per se, so it was kind of difficult to grasp what we were learning,” said Fitzgerald.

Her plans for the future are to pursue a bachelor’s degree in communications, with a concentration in public relations.

Fitzgerald urges students who either want to go to school or go back to school to consider NECC as a great first step, especially if they don’t know what they want to do.

“I went to two private schools before this, and I am one of those people who fell into the huge holes of student debt and I came to NECC, and I had to start all over, but I actually found what major I wanted, and I kind of found who I was as a person. (It’s) definitely a good starting school if you’re not sure what you want to do,” said Fitzgerald.

The overall experience for Fitzgerald has been a positive and motivating one, and her future is looking bright.

“(My experience was) really good. I think that the professors and the teachers are some of the best around, and you’re going to get the same education here that you would get anywhere else.”
Another student who will be moving on to pursue bigger dreams is baseball star Ryan Mcauliffe, business major.

He plans on going to St. John’s University in Queens, NYC to play baseball. Some of his most cherished memories include going to the world series with the Knights and receiving first team All-Region.
“Winning obviously, and just hanging out. It’s a beautiful place we got here,” said Mcauliffe. There were some struggles too — he was enrolled in seven classes this past semester.

“Well, obviously this past semester I’m in 22 credits, over the summer I had to take 12 credits, last spring I had to take 18 credits so I mean obviously classes here have been a struggle,” said Mcauliffe.
Mcauliffe, like Fitzgerald, also recommends students to NECC. “It’s good to get your grades up. Out of high school I had like a 2.4 GPA, and to pass the clearinghouse to play division 1 I had to come here. My GPA now is a 3.0. So, I mean obviously coming here you save money, you get a good 2 year degree. The baseball is very good,” said Mcauliffe.

Mcauliffe anticipated a rougher ride on his two year degree pursuit, but he has made it.

“Honestly (the programs were) pretty good. I thought it was going to be a lot tougher … but I mean, it helped me manage my time with baseball and school. Taking all those classes helped me manage time well. I thought I did pretty good here,” said Mcauliffe.