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Features, Home Page News Bytes

Who comes to the rescue when charities need help?

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A feature on the Andrew Curry Green Lake Swim

2020 was a rollercoaster of emotions and struggles for everybody. It was difficult for people to continue to do the things they love, while staying inside in attempts to protect themselves and the people around them. There are many organizations that are still trying to recover from the damage that COVID-19 did, one of those organizations being nonprofit charities.

Since the outbreak in March of 2020, nonprofit charities have experienced extreme declines in contributions, in person events, ability to serve in person, and more. Many events to help clientele one on one, were cancelled. Directors of these organizations were set back months, and left helpless because of this devastating situation that was out of their hands. The demand for help got higher, while the available volunteers and resources were dwindling. Charity organizations did the best they could throughout the past year to stay afloat and provide help to those in need.

Michelle Merrit is one of the directors of the Andrew Curry Green Lake Swim, offering help to locals who experienced the impact of the 9/11 attack. She is 22 years old and started working as a volunteer for charities when she was only 14. Similar to other people her age who volunteer, she never expected helping others to be as rewarding as it is. She volunteered at many charities like The George McGee Foundation and the Key Foundation throughout her high school career. She was introduced to ACG Lake Swim in 2015 and has been helping out there ever since, until she was promoted to a director position in 2020. Merritt says, ‘I have always loved working for charities and giving back to the community. The Andrew Curry Green Lake swim is a charity that helps the families of 9/11 victims in the local area. Andrew Curry Green was a friend and a brother to many and sadly passed away on 9/11. We run this charity to remember him and give back in his name’. After being a loyal member of the Lake Swim community for many years, it was difficult for her to watch it endure the struggles of 2020.

This local charity, Andrew Curry Green Lake Swim, is known for hosting events with many opportunities to help people across M.A. and N.H.. Merritt says ‘The financial aid that we give to help these families is always heartwarming. But the best part is seeing how tight knit and close the local communities are with each other. It really has become a staple and a highlight of the community’. The mission for this charity came about in 2004 when the directors wanted to remember Green’s legacy in a perfect way. The mission statement is, “To create a place to remember how Andrew lived.” Lake Swim has been extremely successful since it has been open, so when the COVID-19 outbreak happened, it was a bummer for everyone involved.

Similarly to everyone else, Lake Swim has dealt with a lot of stress this past year due to COVID-19. Many events that were planned throughout the duration of 2020 were cancelled and it became very hard for team members of Lake Swim to find willing volunteers. Merritt says, ‘It has been extremely hard this past year for the charity. Our 2020 event was cancelled due to COVID-19. The event was the lake swim, canoe race, and cookout on Northwood Lake, N.H.. Each participant has to raise money or be sponsored to swim the three miles across the lake. With new restrictions it limited the size of gatherings. So we felt that the best decision was to cancel the event’. The lack of preparation that many institutions, including charities like Lake Swim, had before chaos struck in the beginning of 2020 made it that much more difficult to pick up the pace when things started to become normal again.

As time passes, more restrictions are being lifted and more vaccinations are being distributed, which allows charities just like Lake Swim to see a brighter future for themselves. People began volunteering again around August 2020 which allowed Lake Swim to plan some events to help the families of 9/11 victims. Though things are not completely back to normal there is hope for all of the charities who struggled the past year. Merrit says, ‘The struggles we faced and extra hard work we had to put in made the aftermath that much more beneficial. It gave us a drive to make the next events more engaging and personal for everyone. In 2020 everyone struggled, and with Lake Swim we were able to create virtual community events that provided some normalcy. It was a difficult process but in the end became very beneficial for us’. The experience of the past year made volunteers like Merritt remember why they donate their time to work for this charity, it gave them more drive and passion to create new innovative events.

Merritt and all the other members of Lake Swim are happy to see the progress pick up again after the unwarranted chaos of the past year. The future for Lake Swim is bright and it is still open to new volunteers or donations to whomever is interested. There are plenty of ways for a person to help this charity, like donating your money, your time, or the direct link to their informational website to learn more. Merritt and all other members of the team at Lake Swim says help of any kind is welcome, especially after the hard year everyone collectively experienced. To receive any further information about Lake Swim, anyone can send inquiries to Merritt directly at mmerritt@gmail.com or visit the Andrew Curry Green Lake Swim website here.

 

 

Features, Home Page Featured News

Public speaking in a pandemic

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We are taught from a young age that public speaking would be an important aspect of not only our educational lives, but future careers.

It is daunting for several people, and the idea of talking in front of more than five individuals can cause physical pain.

At Northern EssexCommunity College, there are a lot of opportunities to present in front of crowds.

The Covid-19 pandemic had changed how students learn in more ways than one.

There are a lot of things that could go wrong in the process of public speaking.

Clara Petry, second year student is not unfamiliar about going over those things in her head.

“My worst fear would probably be messing up in front of everyone, or maybe being judged. One thing that I strongly dislike about making presentations is when I can see the audience and they may appear uninterested.”

It is easy to get lost in the anxieties about performing rather than learning what the teacher prepared.

“I honestly believe that there is no need for public speaking .Sure, it is a great opportunity but from my experiences, I get more anxious about making apresentation and perfecting it rather than the actual topic of the presentation itself,” said Petry.

A full year o  fonline school has given an entirely new perspective on how things were done in the past.

“One good thing about online school is what for some classes, I have had to record a presentation.What I like about that is that I don’t have to view my audience,” she said. “On the other hand, one thing that I don’t like about online classes is the whole zoom thing. It makes me nervous to speak out and show my face, which many students can probably relate to.”

Although there is not much in this moment that professors can fix about how presentations work, there are things that could be done to take the pressure off of the individuals.

“It would help if the audience was more engaged, which would be nearly impossible because no one really cares about presentations to  begin with (which makes things worse),” said Petry. “There is so much pressure on the person who is presenting, either the speech being worth half your grade or even just making sure it’s perfect. Taking the pressure off would help ease the nerves.”

Another student has a similar take on the idea. Jordan McGovern is a third year student at Northern Essex Community college, and her major is in early childhood education.

“My worst fear for public speaking is that all of the attention is placed onto me. If I slip up even a little bit,  everyone will notice right away,” she said.

There are things that she does to calm her nerves before  making a presentation.

“A tip that has helped me would be to take deep breaths and to take your time speaking in front of people,” she said. “What also helps me is trying to picture I’m somewhere else while presenting, and before the presentation it helps to take my mind off of things by listening to music, coloring or some type of exercise.”

Besides her own personal tips, there are things that professors could do to make the situation less tense.

“Professors can talk their students through the whole process with public speaking,” McGovern said.

Unlike the previous student, McGovern thinks that public speaking is a necessary evil.

“Yes there is a need because in the future, you have no idea what your job could be like and public speaking could possibly be a very important skill that can make or break your career.”

Even though everyone’s future is uncertain with online school, the transition made things a lot easier.

“The transition to online school does help those who suffer with social anxiety because they can do the school work in the comfort of their own house with no judgment,” she said.

Another factor that could lessen the nerves is from the audience’sperspective.

“The audience can help the speaker feel less anxious if they are patient with the person speaking and let them get through the speech in their own way,” she said.

The switch to online school is not a total negative thing. For example, those who have tod eal with social anxiety and fears of public speaking are able to do it from the safety of their own home.

No longer do we have to obsess over the reactions of our peers, or stay up days before the presentation takes place. There are several students just like these two who either benefit from the transition to online school, or could use the guidance of the audience and professors around them.

Opinion

The Isolation impact: Quarantine’s effects on mental health

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The monotonous infinity of days passing, a lack of social and physical contact, all while having remote access to any substance you could possibly want to purchase. During the pandemic, about 4 in 10 adults in the U.S. have reported symptoms of anxiety, depression, and trauma, with many reporting specific negative impacts on their mental and physical health, such as difficulty sleeping and eating, increases in alcohol consumption and substance use, and worsening chronic conditions.

During the current global situation, both children and adults are experiencing a mix of emotions. They have been placed in situations and/or environments that are new and scary, which can be potentially damaging to their health. Many blame job insecurity and removal from social settings for the increase in depression and anxiety, while others say that fear of catching COVID-19, and being cooped up in the house with your family without taking any time for yourself is to blame.

One group that is struggling with mental health issues but is constantly overlooked are first responders and health-care workers.

With the rate of physician suicide being nearly double that of the general population, doctors and nurses have to deal with all of the same burdens that everyone is, all while taking care of those sick and dying.

They are dealing with high amounts of stress at due to a surplus of patients, understaffing, and high patient mortality, as well as everyday stressors such as the fear of contracting and spreading COVID, inability to see family members and friends, lack of sleep, and malnutrition. While many have sought out treatment, there are still a large number who refuse to due to fear that the stigma around mental health issues will ruin their careers.

Some ways to deal with the stress of the pandemic are taking breaks to unwind, practicing a hobby, listening to music, working out at home or outdoors, connecting with family and friends over Zoom/Skype, and maintaining a consistent sleep schedule.

If you are experiencing symptoms of stress, depression, and/or PTSD, there are many resources at your disposal such as, www.samhsa.gov, www.mentalhealth.gov, www.nimh.nih.gov, and many others. If you are contemplating suicide, please visit suicidepreventionlifeline.org and use the webchat feature, call 800-273-8255, or visit afsp.org to find a local support group and/or therapist.

Features, Home Page News Bytes

From graduate to essential worker: Respiratory therapist profile 

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Northern Essex Community College alumna Meghan Finn, 32, is now a respiratory therapist at Northeast Rehabilitation Hospital in Salem, N.H.

Finn graduated from Timberlane High School in 2006 and set her sights on becoming a cosmetologist.

“I graduated from Timberlane High School, class of 2006, and moved on to a cosmetology school,” she said.

She attended Continental Academie of Hair Design in Hudson, N.H. in the fall of 2007 through the spring of 2008. Finn learned how to cut and style hair. However, after a year, she did not like the profession, and changed jobs.

Finn first found her way to NRH in Salem, when her friend talked about a job opening as a secretary.

“I heard about a secretary job from a friend at Northeast Rehab in Salem in 2009 and they were close to where I lived,” she said.

Finn spent the next few years as a secretary at NRH before deciding to become a respiratory therapist in 2013.

“I saw for myself what people endured from various illness and realized I wanted to help them treat them and to recover,” she said. “I wanted to become a respiratory therapist to help people who are feeling sick and have breathing problems.”

Studying and training in the field was not easy.

“I needed to take a year of prerequisites, which is an introduction to this career. Classes were hard and intense. There was a lot of biology, science and chemistry involved,” she continued, “I spent much of my time in the science lab and the writing center. There was so much writing involved I visited the writing center very often.”

Respiratory therapy can be a stressful career but can also be very fulfilling to a person that enjoys and takes pride in helping others.

“Being a respiratory therapist is bittersweet for me because on one hand there will always be people with breathing problems like asthma, but I will be able to help those people,” Finn said.

There are many options for a respiratory therapist.

“The career path to this job requires an associate degree in respiratory therapy or you could also move on to a bachelor’s degree. A respiratory therapist could choose to specialize in clinical care, pulmonary function testing or an asthma educator.” she said.

A global pandemic is something Finn never imagined would happen, nevertheless she learned how to adapt to it in March 2020.

“It was stressful and scary. At that time, we knew very little about the virus. As time went on, we needed to adapt to new rules, new protective equipment and protocols, so it really kept us on our toes.” she explained.

Finn gave advice for current and future students, “Take advantage of all available resources like the math and writing center. The writing center was very helpful for me, by proofreading my papers and the people there are very nice.”

 

Opinion

Small daily tasks that aim to help our planet

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With Earth Day recently being celebrated, we are reminded of the planet’s struggle to survive.

Informative posts, fundraisers, and clean up events have been circulating on social media in attempts to make some sort of impact on issues like climate change, pollution, and other environmental issues that we face today. With so much information constantly circulating, many feel overwhelmed or disheartened about the situation.

Taking action on these issues can be difficult with the feeling of hopelessness looming over our heads. In leu of this common emotion, below is a brief list of seemingly small, mundane tasks that you can do at any time (not just on Earth Day) that will make a difference in your community’s overall environmental wellbeing.

 

  1. Beach Clean-Up: with the weather getting warmer, beach trips are becoming more of an everyday occurrence. On your next visit to the beach, bring an extra trash bag! Not only can you use this for your own waste, but for any litter you might see on your stroll down the coast. This simple task can make the world of a difference. This way you can enjoy your time outside while also helping keep the oceans clean.
  2. Re-use Emptied Food Containers: When an old butter container or ketchup bottle is emptied, these can be reused! Using more durable plastics as Tupperware for left over foods is a great way to recycle things that might’ve otherwise ended up in the garbage. Glass jars can be refurbished into food containers or even drinking glasses. the possibilities are endless
  3. Switch to Reusable Products: Going along the same lines as reusing old food containers, making the switch to reusable grocery bags or coffee filters will save you money while making a difference! Single-use plastic or paper bags and filters are wasteful; reusable products are typically made with recycled materials.
  4. Make small changes to Your Diet: Participate in meatless Mondays! Within recent years, research has shown that the meat/livestock industry is one of the biggest contributors of harmful carbon emissions Experimenting with fun, vegetarian recipes is a great way to be a part of the change—who knows, maybe you’ll come to appreciate a meatless diet more after!
  5. Stay Informed: Read up on your communities’ environmental efforts and assist in any way that you can. Advocate for your community in local government issues discussing environmental issues. Your voice matters in this fight for change!

 

Home Page News Bytes, Sports, Uncategorized

Knights baseball team prepares for Regionals

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After a 29 game regular season, the Northern Essex baseball team finished with a final record of 19-10, winning their last 16 of 21 contests.

The Knights opened up their season inMarch, going down to New Jersey and Pennsylvania to play two top 10 nationally rankedopponents: Northampton Community College and Rowan-Gloucester.

After losing all four games to Rowan-Gloucester, NECC came back with a commanding 3-1 series win the followin  gweekend at Northampton.

After a few rough patches early in the season, the Knights started to put the pieces together when April came around.

The weekend of May 22nd is when the Northern Essex baseball team plans to head back down to Rowan for the NJCAA Regionals with a chance to go to the World Series in Tennessee.

With about two weeks before their next scheduled game, they are going to intersquad weekly to keep the competitive edge in the team.

Coach Mejia is looking forward to getting the chance toplay Rowan again.

He is confident in his team’s ability, and the level of baseball that they wereplaying in March is incomparable to how they have played in recent games.

This past baseball season was unlike any other due to covid restrictions and different state’s laws regarding social distancing.

Northern Essex usually kicks off the season with 10-12 games in Florida during spring vacation, and then returns to conference play against othe rcommunity colleges for the remainder of the season.

For the 2021 season, Northern Essex was one of the only community colleges to pursue having a season.

Every team in the conference that Northern Essex competes in cancelled their season, including rival Community College of Rhode Island. This caused the Knights to play NCAA sanctioned schools when they were available, making it tougher opponents and less games.

Even though there have been many ups and downs to the season, the Knights have continued to persevere and stay focused on their goals.

Editor’s Note: Thomas Cattaneo is a member of the NECC Knights baseball team.
Sports

The Knights are hot come playoff time

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The Northern Essex baseball team has picked up their level of play in recent games,winning 11 out of their last 13 games.

After losing on a walk off walk to Eastern CT, the Knights went on a 5 game win streak before dropping two games in a double header to UCONN AveryPoint.

Dylan Duval, a returner and team captain, has done a phenomenal job being a leader on and off the field.

Whether he is catching all 14 innings in a double header, or making sure that al lof the team equipment is taken care of, he is one of the most focused guys on the field.

Duval is a huge factor in the Knight’s success.

“The older guys on the team that have been around for a few years are so important to theprogram. They set the tone for the younger guys and show them how high expectations arearound here.” said Captain Hunter Wilichoski. “We have a bunch of kids that have been here for a few years because of either injuries or Covid, they know how things work around here.”

CoachMejia has very high expectations of his players, and rightfully so. Considering that he has made it to more NJCAA World Series’ than he hasn’t, losing is not taken lightly by anyone.

The Knights ended the regular season by winning 2 games of a doubleheader against Eastern CT,ending the season with a final record of 19-10.

With about three weeks before playoffs, NECC looks to tighten a few things up beforeheading down to New Jersey for regionals. They are looking forward to their rematch with national powerhouse Rowan-Gloucester on the weekend of May 22nd.

Editor’s Note: Thomas Cattaneo is a member of the NECC Knights baseball team. 

Sports

Knights baseball team loses tough battle

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On Sunday, May 2nd, the Northern Essex Knights had a home game doubleheaderagainst the Uconn Avery Point Pointers.

Prior to these two games, the Knights had matched u pagainst the Pointers on three other occasions, beating them all three times.

Three wins out of thefive total games against each other meant that the Knights had won the season series against the Pointers but were very excited to get out and play for a series sweep and win all five games against them.

Before the doubleheader sophomore Hunter Wilochowski said, “these guys are  here to compete. Something I have picked up is that this team has played better every time we have played them. All of us gotta stay sharp today.”

It seemed that the Knights had the righ tmentality and mindset when they showed up to Haverhill Stadium that morning.

The Knights hitting was very slow throughout the day, only generating a mere four hits and one run throughout both games. As the day went on, the Knights ended up trailing by 3 runs at the end of both games.

After a six game win streak, the Knights dropped two to the Pointers at their homefield to still win the season series but bring their record to 17-10.

“Nobody likes to show up tothe baseball field and lose both games at your home field,” said sophomore Dylan Duval in the huddle with his teammates the next day of practice.

Duval also said,“we all talked about how we all believed we would win these games. That is the mistakewe made. We underestimated a team that has fought with us in games all year. Theyshowed up and wanted it more than us. We need to carry the right mindset we have before the game onto the field and with every single of us everytime we step on the fiel dor into the batter’s box. We need to stay focused for a whole day of baseball because onc ewe lose focus as a team, we allow ourselves to be beaten.”

The Knight’s plan is to focus on this part of their game for the rest of the year. They all feel tha tis what the last piece of the puzzle they need to complete to make them the best team they can be as they get ready to enter their regional tournament.

Maintaining focus throughout your entire time at the field is a must as a team that wants to succeed.

It seems that the Knights have had this problem when it comes to them occasionally losing games throughout the year.

Sophomore Levi Burrill said, “we are the best team on the field every time we step out for a game. We have theskill taken care of. Our main focus is learning how to become great players and work together asa team to win games.”

It seems that this mindset is everyone’s main focus so hopefully theseguys are onto something and can carry this mentality to their regional games.

Due to thepandemic throughout the past year, many of these players have not played consistent games likethis since 2019.

Getting a feel back into the game and away from the training aspect of the sportis a major adjustment. Now that these guys have 30 games under their belt, they should be ready  to leave the losses behind them as they strive for a College World Series.

Editor’s Note: Joe Muzio is a member of the NECC Knights baseball team.

 

 

Features, Home Page News Bytes

Students use social media to speak up, stay informed

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In the wake of the George Floyd protests and the unrest that occurred as a result, social media became an increasingly valuable resource and played a vital role when it came to organizing and coordinating protests.

Though social media being used as a tool for political activism is nothing new this was the largest event in recent history in which it was so widely utilized for both the spread of information, and second by second updates, live from the scenes in Minnesota andother cities across the United States.

Several local march attendees and students can attest to the influence social media had on them when it came to both learning and organizing, and the unique influence social media content related to the protests had on them.

“It was really crazy, especially right after the video came out and started going around,” said student Nicholas Currie- who attended a march in Boston last year. “We were getting updated every minute on what was happening in the city, but by the time the riots started up later that night it was kinda hard to tell if everything they were saying on twitter was actually happening or not. Getting out of the city was hard because people were saying they were shuttingdown the T and people were panicking. It was a really bad situation.”

The inclusion of the chaos that ensued as a result of unclear information raises an interesting point regarding the instant, unverifiable coverage provided on social media and the consequences it can have. What once would have been vetted by a newspaper can now be published instantly.

This becomes especially concerning when turbulent situations that depend on accuratereporting are subject to false information that can lead to intense panic. What starts as a rumor can end up having a major impact on a crowd and the decisions they make in the moment toavoid a perceived threat.

Although many are aware of the downsides of social media and the potentially false information that can be spread as a result, it’s also worth noting the methods in which social media help encourage social change and help people not necessarily in the immediate area to understand current events and the context behind them.

The protests in the aftermath of the George Floyd murder were ignited by the release of the video of the murder itself.

Many people who otherwise wouldn’t have been spurred to action were moved by the spread of the video itself

Although the spread of falsehoods can be seen as a negative due to the misinformation that can be spread, it’s also important to remember the potential it has to make activism more dynamic and less reliant on planning, creating new potential for community action and thespread of otherwise obscure information.

Student Sean Bailey described the experience as “shocking, watching the people there not doing anything made me realize how important it is to be active and protest. I’d never reallybeen to any type of march before, but after that I would’ve felt guilty if I didn’t do anything; I’mreally grateful that I was able to be there in that moment because there’s nothing like it.”

Theworldwide outcry that occurred is an indicative of the power of social media and the impact media can have in the same manner articles and op-eds can.

Even those not necessarily willing or able to take to the streets admit to the influence thesocial media had on them

“I don’t really watch tv or cable news, so social media was reallyimportant when all that was going on,” said Christian Merino. ‘I’m glad I was able to just see the live footage, seeing edited versions on the news wouldn’t have made me feel as much as I did. Looking back it was really wild seeing what was happening minute by minute in the street, especially when the president started commenting on it through twitter.

Although opinions vary greatly on social media and its impact on the news cycle, it’s necessary to weigh the opinions of people actually at the scene relying on social media itself to be informed before official news organizations can provide verification.

 

 

Features, Slider

News daze: The impact of local news on individuals 

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In a time where the country is being plagued by crucial problems – from the ongoing fight for racial equality to the ups and downs of the COVID-19 pandemic – many people are staying glued to their television screens in anticipation for what is going to happen next.

Many students at Northern Essex Community College have mixed feelings about the ways in which local television news is impacting their emotions as well as their day-to-day routines.

Brendan Maye is not an avid viewer of local news, but he tries to stay updated with local coverage as much as he can. Maye feels that most of the news he hears about is good, but also helpful in updating viewers about what is happening around the world.

“I connect with good stories about COVID-19 because I feel we are finally going in the right direction,” Maye says.

Although Maye is not impacted emotionally by the stories he hears about, he has strategies in place for when he needs to escape sad news coverage.

“I try to think positive thoughts and hope for good things to happen,” Maye explains.

Chelsea Daigle enjoys staying updated with news by reading articles. She has recently tried to incorporate local television news into her daily routine in efforts to stay informed. Daigle primarily focuses on stories regarding vaccine distribution as well as local stories about individuals who are making a difference in their community.

Daigle feels that most local news is very negative but says that capturing negative stories is not always a bad thing.

“To bring attention to people who are struggling is very important. Just maybe someone may read it, want to help out, and do something about it.” she says.

However, at the same time, Daigle argues that being completely immersed in negative news is not a good thing.

“Our brain has a psychological aspect where we instantly hang on to bad moments instead of the positive ones.” She continues, “The most awful part about it is hearing the negative things happening all around the country and waiting for it to happen to our communities.”

To stay optimistic, Daigle says that she spends her free time involved within her community making connections with other individuals and various organizations including schools where she can interact with students, something she greatly enjoys.

“Having a social outlet is very important to take your minds off things,” Daigle concludes.

If you or someone you know in the NECC community is struggling with mental or emotional stressors related to the pandemic, NECC can help.

NECC community members may direct any issues of note to reportconcerns@necc.mass.edu.

If you are a student with a question specifically geared towards academics or student life, contact expectmore@necc.mass.edu.

Students are encouraged to contact our NECC community resources coordinator, Janel D’Agata-Lynch, communityresources@necc.mass.edu to be connected to resources available in our community.

For questions or to set up a counseling appointment call 978-556-3730, or email counseling@necc.mass.edu.