Professor Rich Padova is recruiting students to help with research, writing
Northern Essex and UMass-Lowell history instructor Rich Padova is seeking NECC students who are interested in volunteering some of their time to assist in the research and writing of his third book, scheduled for release in 2020.
Students will be able to set their own hours and work at their own pace this semester
Professor Rich Padova
and/or next, from any location.
Student volunteers will also be publicly recognized and acknowledged in the book for their efforts.
In addition to learning advanced research skills and writing techniques, students will also learn about source selection, citation standards and editing, as well as historiography and, overall, the world of book publishing.
Padova’sfirst book, First In The Nation (2007) is an account of his experiences on the campaign trail from 1980 to 2004 in New Hampshire’s presidential primary.
His second book, Who Are They? (2017) looks at the lives of the second ladies (vice presidential spouses) of the U.S. from Abigail Adams to Karen Pence.
The as-of-yet un-named third book will examine the lives of men and women who have unsuccessfully sought the U.S. presidency – some well-known and others not.
This past summer, personal interviews were conducted with former Vermont Gov. Howard Dean, former Massachusetts Gov. Mike Dukakis and former New Hampshire Sen. Bob Smith.
Students who are interested in learning more about the volunteer opportunities for the book or who have any questions may contact Padova at rpadova@necc.mass.edu or leave a message on his office telephone at 978-556-3297.
Many college students at some point encounter the opportunity to take an online college course. Online classes are offered at most colleges, including here at Northern Essex.
A variety of online classes are offered including history, writing, math, etc.
Online classes can be very beneficial to people who may not have time to sit in an on campus class due to children or other time consuming responsibilities they may have. Maura McCarthy, a Northern Essex liberal arts student says, “Taking an online class was nice because I was able to go on at my own time instead of a specific time like an on campus class.”
As McCarthy states, online classes typically don’t have a specific time or day that you have to log on at. You just need to make sure that all your assignments are done for the due date. Most classes require that you spend a certain amount of time doing work for the class, but doesn’t have to be done all at once, it can be spread out throughout the week.
Although online classes can be good for some, others may not enjoy it so much. Another liberal arts student, Sheryl Contarino said, “ I felt like online classes were not for me. I am more of a hands on learner and if I have a question, I like to ask the professor in person versus having to email them and wait for a reply.”
That is one downfall when it comes to online classes.
All communication is typically done through emails.
Typically, the professor is usually good with getting back to their students as soon as possible but it could take a few hours for a response.
You could go and talk to your professor during their office hours as well but you don’t have that class time where you can talk to them in person if needed. You do a lot of group work as well between discussions and projects.
Sometimes during that group work it is found more difficult because you’re essentially working with people who you’ve never met before and all your communication is done through the computer. For people who like to be able to talk to one another in person, this can be very difficult for them.
Something that a lot of students think before they actually take an online class is that it is going to be much easier. That is false and is something you’ll realize very quickly.
Anursing student, Courtney Barlow said “ I did awful in my online course. I felt that it was actually a lot harder than my on campus classes”. What most students don’t realize is that in an online class you sort of have to teach yourself. Yes, you have a professor and they’ll usually have notes for you. But, it requires you to read all notes, read the assigned textbooks, and make sure you have an understanding of it all. Online classes require a lot of your time and tons of reading. Although there are some benefits to online courses, there also is some downfalls.
Experience is everything for a college student. The partnership between NECC and HC Media, give Communication majors that and more. Offering a video field production class and a chance to create a podcast that is professionally produced by the members at HC Media; the partnership works as a resume builder for students.
With the video field production class taking place at the new Harbor Place location, the class gives you a sight of what your career could look like in the future. The class takes place on an official news set with a beautiful backdrop of the new harbor walkway. The tv station has used this setup for current and prior video packages for local television in Haverhill, Mass.
While students are getting hands-on experience behind and in front of the camera, they are also learning the art of editing their work. Former student of the class, Kiley Broadhurst talks about how she benefited from the class “the course has given me the opportunity to work hands-on in video production and editing, while also allowing me to gain experience in the field.”
If a student does not want to work with the visual side of journalism, they are still getting the practice in asking the right questions to make enticing and interesting stories as journalists.
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“The Video Field Production class is a great jumpstart to your career…” – Deidre Darling
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Students are also gaining intangible traits that will help them in all aspects of life. Confidence, for example,is something that the students are going to be able to build and take with them throughout their career.
Whether it is in asking their interviewees questions or creating their own content.
NECC student Deidre Grant, says “The Video Field Production class is a great jump start to your career, especially if you want to go into social media.”
Grant, also known as Deidre Darling; a local YouTube star from Reading, Mass goes onto say “because of this class I will learn more about how to edit and be able to create better content for my viewers.”
Not every student who takes the course is going to have a YouTube channel or be a content creator.
Carney Woelfel found the course to be one of the more valuable ones he has taken in his career at Northern Essex.
“The class gives all communication majors a huge advantage. It’s like having an internship built into your curriculum, which is always helpful,” Woelfel said.
For the students who grow a liking or have an interest for the video production side of journalism, there are opportunities that go further than just the classroom portion at HC Media.
The staff members are always looking for volunteers from the class to help out on camera when creating content for the town of Haverhill and actually choose the top two students in the class and offer them a paid internship at the company.
The opportunities to get into video production and gain experience are endless for Communication majors at NECC.
The Top Notch Players Theater performed their fall 2018 production of“Stupid F*cking Bird” by Aaron Posner. Under the direction of Professor Brianne Beatrice and Sarah Durning, it ran opened on Oct. 5 and closed Oct. 13. With the theater’s past productions such as “Almost Maine”, “Love/Sick”, “Last of the Red Hot Lovers” and “The Odd Couple”, it should come as no surprise that the students and staff put on yet another fantastic production.
The play is a contemporary adaptation of Anton Chekhov’s “The Seagull” written in 1895. The show focuses on a struggling playwright, Con (played by Carlyle Bien-Aime), who rampages against the art created by the generation before him. “He is a
Samantha Wheatley as Nina performing Con’s latest work. Aaron Lehner, Campus Life Editor
tortured artist who wallows in self pity and existential angst.” says Bien-Aime. “He has a lot he wants, but most important is to get Nina to love him.”
Con’s girlfriend Nina (Samantha Wheatley) is an aspiring actress, and becomes infatuated with the renowned author Doyle Trigorin (Armando Belliard-Harmon).He is dating Con’s mother Emma (Dierdree Glassford), an aging Hollywood actress who is an overbearing presence in Con’s life. The show takes a cynical, yet insightful look of today’s view on the arts, what it really means to be in the moment, the past versus the present, and discovering what the true meaning is to it all.
“You see a lot of things you wouldn’t see in a typical play,” says Durning. “The characters are self-aware they are in a show, and they talk a lot of how art relates to us now.” There are many moments throughout where the characters break the fourth wall to address the audience.
Con explains to the audience that he is as aware of their presence as they are of him. He elaborates by pointing out to a random member that they looked at the actor’s biographies in the program to see if they have done any other stuff in theater.
Besides the writing of the show, the performances of the actors are what made the show really stand out. Beatrice holds a Bachelor’s degree in Theater from Salem State University and Masters degree in Acting from Pennsylvania State University. She stepped in as theater coordinator in spring 2017 with the retirement of Jim Murphy and Susan Sanders. She teaches at NECC, but she has also taught at UMass Lowell, Merrimack College and Salem State.
Students said they have received excellent experience from her either being on or off the stage.
“Being in theater has helped me become more confident in communicating and performing,” says Bien-Aime. “It’s shown me how to be more professional and help with being able to work with a team.”
Stage Manager Matt Brides had never worked in technical theater until he started working with Beatrice. He saysthat everyone on board is very professional during rehearsals.
“They know what to do without me telling them,” says Brides. “We collaborate on lots of projects which helps to make the show work as a whole.”Brides was also in charge of the lighting design for this production. He used different colors to emphasize the mood of each scene such as pink to highlight feelings of love and desire. “Scenes without light are great, but there’s that small edge that the lights give that make the show go from great to amazing.”says Brides.
“I had previously stage managed and acted in past productions,” says Durning. “But this was the first time I had been a co-director rather than an assistant. She let me take the reins when I could and I am very grateful learning from her.” Durning says she plans to pursue a career in theater specializing in directing and possibly for film.
Actors and crew were visited by Esme Allen who was a respondent from the Kennedy Center American College Theater Festival. The respondent’s job is to review what they had seen before and during the show, and two actors are nominated to compete for the Irene Ryan scholarship. Durning says that Allen praised much of the acting, the sound design, and had even stopped taking notes at one point to watch the show unfold. Many of the cast and crew members have been selected in the past to participate inthe festival. Bien-Aime, Durning, and Brides were nominated back in the spring year during “Love/Sick.” The nominee results for this show are yet to be announced.
Top Notch Players’ spring production will be “Good People” by David Lindsay-Abaire. The audition date is Dec. 4 from 1 -3 p.m. For more information, email Beatrice at
An eventful and fun day, NECC’s second annual Homecoming was a big hit!
On Saturday October 13, 2018, Northern Essex hosted its second annual Homecoming at the Haverhill campus. The whole day was packed with a plethora of events from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. ranging from the volleyball game, pie eating contest, pumpkin painting, magic show, and of course the Campus Classic 5K. Homecoming was open to current students, faculty, their families, and alumni who were able to reconnect with the old days. Although the weather was quite rainy, homecoming turned out to be a great success anyway. The day kicked off with the classic 5K with adults and children from surrounding areas participating. The majority of the events took place in the Sports and Fitness Center, and the different departments of the school each had a table in the Spurk Building. There was lots of food and merchandise that were bought and sold.
All photos by Aaron Lehner
A group of runners participating in the Classic 5KProfessor Mike Cross demonstrates one of his famous magic tricksThe NECC Library puts out display of archives and photosStudent Connie Bodemer gets a caricature done of her dogThe Newburyport Brewing Company serving a variety of beerNoah and Linda Greenstein promote community play “Saltonstall” which will premiere at NECC Nov. 1A display of pumpkins that were painted and decorated throughout the day(From left to right) Students Joe Paquin, Alan Jackson, Lindsay Cohan, and Matt Day serve consessionsOfficer Picard of Lawrence Police Department with Oliver the dog
The International studies office has created a new study abroad trip opportunity to Greece, for students at NECC. The trip will have a 14-day span: starting from May 24 to June 14 of 2019. The Study abroad trip will enable students the opportunity to hike the Mycenaean Ruins, visit Poseidon’s temple, swim in the Mediterranean Sea on a 2-day trip to the coast, Visit the Acropolis, explore connections between public speech today and roots of western civilization.
The trip requires student to meet for 4 Saturday classes before the trip departure. “This trip will feature Public Speaking, as Greece has a rich history surrounding the topic,” said Alicia Iola of the International Studies program. The trip fulfills public speaking (COM 111), communications, humanities, liberal arts and free elective courses. Alicia Iola said, “Currently we are still registering students for the Spring 2019 trip to Greece.”
The estimated cost for the trip is $3,600. Financial Aid can be applied to help cover the trip cost. For a student to participate in the trip, they must have an individual meeting with a financial aid counselor. Rosalba Conde, a NECC financial aid counselor, said that the financial aid that was applied to the course would travel with the student as well, but usually does not cover airfare. Conde also said, “related and outside scholarship of the program can be applied to trip.” If interested in looking for scholarships, students can search specific ones to study abroad with CEA. Their need-based scholarships, awards $500-$1,000 per student if deemed qualified.
When Interviewing students about the trip they were quick to say yes to the trip if the cost would be covered by financial aid and if other scholarships could help lower the cost of air fares. Student Katherine Garcia, 21, said that she would take the chance to travel to a new country; hesitant she wondered how that would happen with her work schedule. After giving it some more thought she confidently said, “If my job refuses to give me the days off, I would demand them.”
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“If my job refuses to give me the days off, I would demand them.”
– Katherine Garcia
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Benny M. Cruz, 22, didn’t show interest in the trip and said, “I don’t know if this would be beneficial for me.” Cruz added “I am looking to get a certification in web design and web hosting, and I am not too crazy about school or traveling with people I don’t know.”
The study abroad trip is open to any NECC student that enrolls in the course. There will be other opportunities in the future for study abroad trips to different countries. The International studies office works together with NECC faculty members to create new ways to experiences courses. Iola said, “We have established relationships with third-party providers abroad and run popular trips multiple times.”
Students say online classes are the future of schooling. Flexibility and a straightforward
course schedule is the main draw for many NECC students. And there’s nothing better than learning in your pajamas. Many students like a mix of both on campus and online classes. Sophia Marcus, communications major, prefers both, “I like half and half so I only have to go to NECC twice a week and have more time to work. I like taking math courses online the most because I can use apps and people to help me do the assignments.”
Some teachers don’t advocate for online learning. “The dropout rate is higher for online classes,” says Ginger Hurajt who taught an online poetry class, “Without facing the instructor, you’re more likely to not do the work.” NECC’s online catalog allows students to be enrolled at the school and graduate without stepping foot on campus. Even though online classes aren’t a new concept, they seem to be growing in popularity.
There’s an unfortunate side to online learning. Students are starting to find flaws in Blackboard. “I dislike that it’s more difficult to ask questions and have things further explained that you don’t understand,” Sophia Marcus adds. It can be frustrating trying to find clarification on problems you come across. Latiny Ke, liberal arts major, says “The way you’re graded on Blackboard is different than in person. It can be confusing trying to navigate. Discussions are not very genuine”.
Teaching styles and approaches are always changing so you’re bound to find an online class that’ll work for you. NECC hopes to add more specialized programs and courses in the upcoming semesters.
Students share their opinions on upcoming elections
As we all know, the midterm congregational, state and local elections are quickly approaching on November 6. These elections in particular have stirred up nationwide conversations, primarily encouraging Generation Z to get out and vote. After speaking to a handful of current students at Northern Essex, they express their thoughts on the upcoming election.
Biology major Yexis Hechavarria, is 22 and currently a sophomore. She expressed that she is not currently registered to vote considering she just became a citizen, therefore she can not participate in the upcoming election. Hechavarria says, “unfortunately I’ve been so busy that I have not yet done research on the three ballot
Photo courtesy of boston.gov
questions, but I am interested to find out what they are.” Hechavarria does believe it is important to vote and encourages others to do so.
Charles Pacheco, is a 20 year old Liberal Arts: Writing major and is also a sophomore on campus. He stated that he was not registered to vote and says, “I will not be voting in the upcoming election. The reason being my own personal biases.” Pacheco approached the matter with a unique viewpoint. “If I were to vote, I would be only voting from my own personal perspective, so I think it makes it difficult for me to vote for things that affect other people.” He also stated that he did not know the three ballot questions but “would be intrigued to hear what they are.” However, Pacheco makes an effort to express the importance of voting. “I do encourage other people to get educated and vote. I think Northern Essex does a good job of reminding people to register and vote. Maybe they could also start informing students what they will be voting for to help them out.”
Eighteen year old Mileichali Minaya is a freshman psychology major who has just recently registered to vote. Minaya revealed that she will be participating in this years election and says, I know of 2 of the 3 questions. I am interested in this years ballot questions, so I’m constantly trying to get people to show interest as well.”
Luis Arias 23, is a sophomore at Northern Essex studying Mechanical Engineering. He states that he is currently registered to vote and participated in the last presidential election. Arias says, “honestly, I wasn’t planning to vote on November 6. I personally am not big on politics, and haven’t done much research on what and who exactly we’re voting for. Arias was not aware of the three ballot questions, however expressed some interest upon receiving a short summary of each question. “I think the college has done well in encouraging students to vote. I’ve seen posters around campus reminding people about the upcoming election and registering to vote. As well as booths full of information and people to speak too and ask questions.”
Enrollment Services chose to give paper checks to emsure students got refunds promptly
Technical Error results in students receiving refunds on paper checks
Due to a technical error, several student refunds were issued on paper checks this semester. Emails and Phone Calls were sent October 9, informing affected students of the change. The paper checks can/could be picked up from the Financial Aid Window on the first floor of the Student Center.
Over 1000 students were affected by the error, according to Alexis Fishbone, the associate dean of enrollment services.
“I expected a mad house of students waiting for their checks,” Susan Waterman, a writing major, said, “but it was only a handful of people, and it seemed to be really well organized.”
Enrollment Services chose to give the returns on paper checks to ensure that students received their returns promptly.
“We did not want students to have to wait,” Fishbone said.
Notification messages were sent to both school and personal emails on file for each student. Shortly following the emails, phone calls were made to all affected students.
The error itself occurred on the evening of Friday, Oct. 5. The error was discovered the next business day, and Enrollment Services was able to reach a solution to the problem by the end of the day.
Students appreciated the prompt response. “Even though it was an error, I honestly hope it happens again!” Waterman said.
Program gives students opportunity to gain credit and work skills
After one semester off, Northern Essex is back to providing students with real world experiences through their internship program.
The internships are provided for students who are majoring in journalism/communications, business, accounting and CIS(computer science).
Students are able to work for a company who has partnered with Northern Essex Community College and gain real life experience.
Students work as interns for 14 hours a week but can go up to a maximum of 40 hours if their schedules allow. Students are required to have a minimum of 168 hours complete by the end of the semester.
[pullquote]Our main focus for an internship is to allow the student an experience in the field they are pursuing at NECC …. This is a three credit course, so not only are you getting experience but you are also receiving credit for your work
– Noreen Fantasia
Internship program coordinator[/pullquote]
Noreen Fantasia the coordinator of the internship program says “Our main focus for an internship is to allow the student an experience in the field they are pursuing at NECC.
Although we would like to have every internship paid, our main focus in on the actual experience.”
Fantasia also says “this is a three credit course, so not only are you getting experience but you are also receiving credit for your work.”
A two hour class that meets every other week is also part of the internship program.
This two hour class helps students with professional development, such as, resume revisions, creating a LinkedIn profile, and mock interviews.
Mock interviews consist of interns interviewing with staff from various companies for 15 minutes each and then receiving valuable feedback.
Ralph Anthony Rentas a current liberal arts student at Northern Essex has heard about this opportunity and hopes to one day be a part of it.
He says “This is a great opportunity for students to gain and build the experience they need.”
Lisbeth Pita a business transfer here at Northern Essex says “I haven’t done the internship here at Northern Essex College but I do recommend it to anyone who is looking for experience in their field and get a little taste of what is out there for them. This will help you identify the field you truly want to be in.”
The internship program will start in Jan. 2018 and will go on to the end of the semester. It will also be offered in the fall semester.
If you are interested in more information regarding the program, please contact Noreen Fantasia at nfantasia@necc.mass.edu or search for Internships on the NECC website.
