Helping others has always been a cause that Northern Essex Community College Disability Services Specialist, Jillian Knox, has deeply valued from a young age, as well as throughout her career working with special needs students in various situations and settings to help them achieve their goals and overcome obstacles.

Knox, a native of Salem, MA, first attended college at the University of New Hampshire where she later obtained her Bachelor’s in Science. Following that, she went to the University of Massachusetts Boston where she obtained her Master’s in Education. “At first, I thought I wanted to work with little ones, but as I thought more about it, I knew I wanted to work with students that had some type of disadvantage whether it be low income, language barriers, or students with disabilities,” Knox stated.

Since graduating from college, Knox has held a number of positions before coming to Northern Essex including working with low income individuals at the University of Massachusetts Boston, working in the Human Resources Department at a large law practice, and working as a school consular with students with various types of learning disabilities like Autism and various psychiatric conditions.

Although Knox enjoyed the school counseling position, she found it very difficult to separate her work life from her personal life. “I found it difficult to take care of myself off the job, and eventually just got burnt out after hearing about many devastating situations,” Knox explained.

Following her departure from the school counseling position, she found work as the MACEI Coordinator at Northern Essex, a program that helps and provides opportunities for students with various types of developmental, learning, and intellectual disabilities.

After filling this role, she later transferred within the department to her current position as Disability Services Specialist, a job she very much enjoys. “It’s a very respectable place to work,” said Knox in describing her office atmosphere in the Learning Accommodations Center. Knox explained that her colleagues are very supportive and respectful of each other’s opinions and ideas. She later explained that she enjoys seeing her students succeed in terms of graduating and moving on in their education, or seeing them overcome any academic barriers they may encounter along the way. “This is the best job I’ve ever had,” she stated.

Knox, who currently resides in Haverhill, MA, is married and has a three-year old daughter, who she enjoys spending time with outside of the office. Knox has many hobbies she enjoys outside of the office as well including gardening, cleaning and organizing her home, interior design, crafting, going for walks, being at the beach in the summertime, reading, camping, attending concerts, but above all enjoys being outside in the springtime, and seeing her plants sprout from the ground.

Additionally, Knox has two siblings that she stays in frequent contact with, especially her sister who lives in New Jersey and has two daughters.

Knox is also a huge music fan. She enjoys listening to anything from Nirvana and Pearl Jam, to Fleetwood Mac and Tom Petty, to anything from the 80’s. She also likes more recent music including anything from the Weeknd and wrapper, Lizzo.

As we mark the one year anniversary of the lock down, and the switch from in-person attendance to online, college students are getting used to the process of everyday self management of an (overly) full online work load.

Some students I’ve talked to feel that, after a full year of online and hybridized learning, they’ve mastered keeping up with their classes after the rocky adjustment period.

For most though, the initial stress hasn’t gone anywhere.

Michael Wilkinson, a Junior at UMass Amherst studying biochemistry, said that “I think I’ve just gotten used to it at this point. Checking 50 emails a day, keeping track of what needs to be done in every class every week, trying to balance in-class time with out of class time … It’s still stressful, but I have a hold on it now. Planning breaks from the computer definitely helps.”

Wilkinson currently takes six classes, from hybrid to fully online. When the switch from in-person to online learning happened, during his sophomore year, he said that “I felt a bit lost at first, taking so many intense classes. It took me a while to fully adapt, especially to the new stress. It was relatively easy to keep up with everything before, but then it was like, wow, I have to work three times as hard to understand what I’m doing, with half the help. Now it’s second nature.”

Josh Doyle, a communications major at UMass Lowell, commented more on how he manages stress.

“Taking breaks and spending time not doing school work or looking at screens definitely helps. Going outside and designating certain ‘work times’ helps from getting burnt out too,” Doyle said. “I’ve been managing online classes for over a year and I think I’ve gotten better at managing a balance.”

Doyle and Wilkinson have different class loads, but both manage their stress in the same ways. Taking scheduled breaks from screens, trying to be outside as much as possible, and keeping in touch with friends regularly helps.

Both students are also avid hikers, and Wilkinson that “it’s really the perfect destresser. It’s ‘pandemic friendly’, and a good change of scenery from endless screen time. I think I’ve hiked just about every mountain around Amherst at this point.”

Kaitlin Morris, a UMass student who is fully online and taking classes from home, said that “it’s all about self care. Doing the things you like to do when you can, and planning out when you’ll do work in each class. It keeps me from getting stressed out about anything specific.

“Taking classes [fully] remote can be a bit tough at times, not being on campus, but having a planner for everything helps with remembering things. I try to get out of the house as much as I can, too. It can get pretty stuffy, but as long as I take time for myself it isn’t a big deal.”

Organization seems to be the key to success in online classes. Planning out when to focus on classwork and when to take breaks, constantly checking up with individual classes, and staying on top of deadlines are all important to maintaining a stress free student life.

It’s that time of the year, mid semester, so some NECC students are looking at four-year colleges, meanwhile other NECC students are getting ready to graduate and moving on to work.

Stacy Romasco, 38, of Salem, N.H.,  a Respiratory Therapist and a Northern Essex alumnus, recently shared some of her experiences during and after graduating from NECC.

Romasco is employed at Northeast Rehab in Salem, New Hampshire. I work in the dish room as a dishwasher of Northeast, so I was already familiar with Romasco. Romasco attended NECC courses between spring of 2002 through fall of 2004 with a mix of summer courses.

Romasco described the courses necessary to complete her associates’ degree in science and respiratory technology: “I got the basics out of the way: math, science and English. Then I moved on to science labs to gain an understanding of the entire human body.”

After graduating from NECC in the spring of 2004 with an associate degree, Romasco went right into the workforce. “I began my career in September 2004 at Holy Family Hospital, then I moved to Merrimack per diem in 2005. I was hired in 2010 at Northeast Rehab where I have spent the rest of my career,” she said.

In 2011 and 2012 Romasco returned to NECC to take non credited photography courses. “

We started with basic camera settings, then moved to lighting, camera angles then more advanced camera settings. Our professor set up weekly class exhibits to critique each other’s pictures,” she said.

Using what she learned from her NECC course and prior knowledge, she applied that towards taking wedding pictures creating a “part time small business.”

Also, Romasco gave advice for NECC students.  “Take advantage of the resources available for academics and don’t be afraid to talk to your professors if you’re struggling, they are there to help you succeed.”

Romasco also recommended a few four-year colleges like UMass Lowell and Salem State.

Self-esteem has a big impact on your mental health. Body image can also affect your mental health. Body image is how you think and feel about your body. Having a negative body image can cause low self-esteem which can harm your mental health. Society wants everybody in the world to have the perfect body. Not being too overweight or underweight is awful and society tends to criticize those with not the perfect body Society thinks women are the only ones suffering from body image issues, Men are suffering too. Northern Essex Community College students recently expressed their thoughts on this topic.

Robert Smith is a student at Northern Essex Community College, in his third year of college. He is from Massachusetts. Smith states, “I do think that society cares too much about this. We are all told that we have to look and act the same but that is not the case. I believe that companies exploit this to sell their products and make profits.’’

Most people with a positive body image are more likely to have good mental health. People are constantly trying to look better, feel better, be better. Some turn to working out and subscribing to healthier diets and others develop not-so-healthy habits like starvation and consuming big amounts of alcohol. Either way, when a woman doesn’t have “that” body, society expects her to change. This shouldn’t be the case. This can cause sadness and insecurity among people which can lead to mental health problems. People’s self-esteem has changed since the pandemic, they feel more insecure and not happy since there are in lockdown and cannot find a way to workout. (Covid-19 and self-esteem). Smith says, “I think that it depends on the person. Many things make up self-esteem and I feel that it is individual-based.”

Some people overthink body image and get concerned about what others think of their bodies. Smith states “I believe that people do this to fit in with what is popular at the time.” It is also that people are identifying images on social media as a key factor that makes them worry about their body image. Conversations with their friends also have a major role in causing young people to worry.

Pop culture has the opportunity to teach people to have better self-esteem through movies and social media. Smith says, “I think that society can do this by having campaigns that focus on the qualities that make us up as people and by celebrating diversity in all aspects from the skin to body type.” Society can be hard to please since it can be very judgmental. Some people can get sad and depressed because of it.

Mariam Saldivar is a student from Northern Essex Community College. Her major is Journalism/communications. She is from the Dominican Republic. she currently lives in Lawrence Massachusetts. Mental health can occur from having anxiety from people judging them not being perfect enough. Society cares very much about being the best slim and in shape body, Saldivar agrees, about how people self-esteem has gone low during the pandemic, “Yes I do.” People have changed since the pandemic and they are trying their best or many, COVID-19 is an incredibly stressful and traumatic experience; stressful situations can have a huge effect on mental health. ‘’A majority of adults (61%) reported experiencing undesired weight changes since the start of the pandemic, with more than 2 in 5 (42%) saying they gained more weight than they intended. Of this group, adults reported gaining an average of 29 pounds (with a typical gain of 15 pounds. (American Psychological Association).  “As COVID-19 has changed the idea of normality and raged through the world for an entire year, people have had more time to contemplate their self-esteem.

Weight change is a common symptom when people are having difficulty coping with mental health challenges. A majority of adults (61%) reported experiencing undesired weight changes, since the start of the pandemic, with more than 2 in 5 (42%) saying they gained more weight than they intended (American Psychological Association). Saldivar says, “Yeah. They’re nothing to do. A lot of us stuck at home. All that does is create the opportunity to overthink.”

Since the pandemic, a lot of us overthink and overanalyze certain situations and their body image can be their weight, and the way look causes depression and insecurity that can lead to mental health issues. This society will always care about body image Saldivar agreed,” Society does overthink about body image.”

There are many great ways to teach people who feel sad and depressed and insecure to have high self-esteem. Saldivar states, “I think we need to teach people that just because you have a different body type doesn’t mean that you are a horrible creature. People are different and that’s ok. Everybody should love themselves for who they are is important. People shouldn’t compare their looks with others, be happy with who they are.”

Bryan Fernandez is a student from Northern Essex Community College and his major in journalism/communications. He is from Bronx NY, and he currently lives in Lawrence Massachusetts. Society makes it hard to love yourself and it’s difficult to have high- esteem when everybody idolizes people in the media and social media with the perfect body. Fernandez states, “Absolutely, “As a whole, we have these unrealistic standards of what the perfect body’’ should be and we tend to beat ourselves if we don’t fit this standard.”

People want to have the perfect body because that’s is trendy and trying to be perfect and trying to remain flawless with your body can cause stress and anxiety. Which can lead to bad mental health problems. The COVID-19 pandemic has shaken the pillars of people’s lives. Face with quarantine school closures and social distancing, many people deprived of the everyday experiences that can build their self-esteem and sense of worth as a person. Having low self-esteem is a critical ingredient of people’s mental health issues. People with higher self-esteem tend to have happier lives, better relationships, and fewer symptoms of anxiety and depression. (American Psychological Association).

Fernandez stated what he thinks about people’s self-esteem changed during the pandemic. ‘Yes, as most of the people that I know GAINED weight during the pandemic, which is also understandable, A lot of people don’t have the drive to work out at home either, so it makes sense.’’ People have not become less active and more concerned about their well-being. People try not to get infected with Covid-19.

Some people overthink the way they look because they tend to compare body shape or their appearances to other people. Fernandez claims that “I do think people overthink their body image. I think people will never be genuinely satisfied with the way they look.” People need to gain self-love and not worry about what others think of them.  Fernandez says, ‘’One way we can boost self-esteem is to start using real people of all sizes and shapes for marketing and advertising. The industry is fill with extremely skinny models for all types of advertising. It insinuating not only that their product is for the body type that is what is expect.  I think there should more inclusion.’’   The media want to fill the world with products pills to make them thinner or more in shape.  People get surgery on their faces to look better. They want to look different and not accept who they are. People are never going to be satisfied with what they are and that builds stress and anger that cause mental health issues with not being happy with who they are.

The most important thing society can do is teach people to love themselves help people to build confidence.  They won’t feel depressed about how they look and develop health problems with insecurities.