MWCC's Weekly e-newsletter

Friday, March 25, 2005

NEW SCHOLARSHIPS ESTABLISHED FOR MWCC STUDENTS

By Lea Ann Erickson and Kimberly B. Caisse

A group of local veterans, who were instrumental in bringing the Vietnam Memorial wall to the MWCC campus in 1991 and 2003, have established a Vietnam Veterans Memorial Scholarship. Moving Wall Committee co-chairs Daniel J. Kelley and Paul Malbouf, along with committee member and former MWCC employee Ashton “Larry” Payne, worked with MWCC Executive Vice President Edward Terceiro to establish the scholarship.

Vietnam Moving Wall Committee co-chairs Daniel J. Kelley and Paul Malbouf, along with committee member and former MWCC employee Ashton “Larry” Payne, presented MWCC Executive Vice President Edward Terceiro with a check for $5,350 to establish a Vietnam Veterans Memorial Scholarship. Terceiro served on the committee both years the wall visited MWCC in 1991 and 2003.

“Mount Wachusett Community College has been proud to welcome many veterans to our college,” said MWCC President Daniel M. Asquino. “We applaud the committee for helping to make higher education attainable for future scholarship recipients.”

In a letter to Asquino, informing the college of the gift, Kelley and Malbouf thanked the college and “expressed (their) sincerest appreciation to you and the entire staff of Mount Wachusett Community College for the overall support given to the Vietnam Moving Wall project. It was truly an exciting event for us to have been part of this display.”

The scholarship will be awarded to a new or returning full-time (12+ credits) student who is an honorably discharged veteran of the United States Armed Forces, including the US Coast Guard, or is currently a reservist in the National Guards who has served on active duty under “honorable conditions.” Preference will be given to veterans with service in a combat area. A completed application, including scholarship essay is due to the MWCC Student Services Office by Monday, April 11. For more information, call (978) 630-9142.

Meanwhile, the MWCC Foundation created a new scholarship to help nontraditional female students majoring in English or education. The Barbara Chaplin Memorial Scholarship honors the memory of Barbara Chaplin, who began her career at MWCC in 1977 and retired in 1990.

The scholarship is awarded annually in May for the subsequent fall semester. To be eligible to win the $500 scholarship, applicants must be nontraditional female students majoring in English

	Barbara Chaplin

or education (liberal arts or related curriculum) who plan to transfer, are transferring or have recently transferred to a baccalaureate institution. Applicants must also successfully complete 30 credit hours at MWCC and maintain a 3.0 GPA. They must submit a narrative that addresses the following statement: “As an English or education major, describe the contribution you feel that you will make in your chosen field and how this contribution will impact the community.”

Chaplin returned to college after spending many years raising a family and operating a shoe store in Fitchburg with her husband. She eventually earned her master’s degree.

Chaplin began her career as a learning center assistant at MWCC. She later became a professor for the division of developmental and nontraditional learning. She developed MWCC’s Fundamentals of Reading program.

Chaplin played an instrumental role in the academic success of hundreds of at-risk and nontraditional students during her career. She enjoyed working with older women, encouraging them to stay in college, according to Vice President of Institutional Advancement Janice LeClair. Chaplin was considered an important member of the staff of Beyond 9 to 5, a program for women returning to college.

Chaplin, who battled cancer, is credited for proposing that MWCC host an American Cancer Society Relay for Life. Last year, the 11th Gardner Relay for Life was the 11th largest in the country. She also was an original planner for the MWCC Relay for Life team, the MWCC Pacers. For more information, contact (978) 630-9276.

MWCC’S STUDENTS LEARNING LOCALLY, ACTING GLOBALLY

By MWCC President Daniel Asquino

As I begin my 19th year as president of Mount Wachusett Community College, I am reminded of the main reason I still look forward to coming to work every day: our students and faculty.

My guess is that anyone reading this column* knows either a current student or an alumnus of the college.

Our communities are filled with MWCC graduates serving as our nurses, public safety officers, teachers, business leaders, political leaders, non-profit executives, engineers, computer technicians and programmers, artists and much more.

They have succeeded because of our dedicated faculty.

One of the things that drew me to a career in public higher education, community colleges in particular, is the amazing emphasis on teaching.

Faculty at a community college, instead of focusing on research, are dedicated to becoming experts on learning.

One such example is Nancy Duphily. A member of our nursing faculty, Nancy is constantly working to stretch her students' experience outside of the four walls of the classroom.

She pioneered a new mothers' group, which paired our nursing students with new mothers in the community to offer support and advice on everything from breast-feeding to handling the tantrums of a toddler.

Her students learned how to be compassionate nurses and how to provide service to their communities.

I am so proud of her.

Earlier this year, Nancy demonstrated her incredible commitment to enriching the learning experience of her students.

She fulfilled a lifelong dream to go to Africa and work with mothers and medical professionals.

She did this with our support, but also expended a significant portion of her own funds for the journey.

	Nancy Duphily with a child during her visit to a Cotlands Baby Sanctuary in South Africa.

She returned to our campus and shared her experiences, not only with her students and our college community, but with the greater community as well.

She has already shared many of the heart-breaking and inspiring stories from her trip with several local community groups.

To fully appreciate what she witnessed, let me quote her directly from a report she wrote about her trip:

Every 24 hours it is estimated that over 2,000 South Africans will be infected with the AIDS virus. Each year, one million babies are born in South Africa. Without treatment, over 25 percent of these mothers will transmit the virus to their babies, accounting for nearly 70,000 children born each year with the AIDS virus.

In just a decade, AIDS has progressed in South Africa from a tragic illness to an epidemic of historic proportions.

One would think that South Africa is tragically doomed.

Yet, as a delegate of the People-to-People Ambassador program, I was constantly reminded of the “ripple in the pond” effect.

Seeing so many local unsung heroes in Johannesburg and Cape Town, educating, praying, nursing and listening as they fight a daily battle to make a small dent in the HIV/AIDS crisis was an awe-inspiring and humbling experience.

The mothers of South Africa talked openly with us about their situations, let us take pictures freely and never let their children out of their arms. There are no strollers, no playpens and no infant seats.

The nurses escorted us to their hospitals and clinics, inside their neonatal intensive care units, their labor wards and their baby sanctuaries.

They were open and honest about the realities of working with few staff, of mothers formula-feeding their babies with tainted water, of children leading households, of rescuing discarded babies in fields to bring them back from the edges of death.

Our visit to Robben Island, where Nelson Mandela was imprisoned for 27 years, was a powerful experience. I wondered if I would sacrifice one-quarter of my life for a belief I held so passionately.

Tour guides, former political prisoners themselves, took us to the limestone quarries where inmates were given the arduous daily task of shoveling limestone from one corner of the quarry to the other, only to return it to its original site the following day.

Mandela spent each day educating the other prisoners as they worked, and soon invited the curious prison guards down from their posts to include them in the teaching sessions. Many were freed from Robben with two advanced degrees.

This was the spirit of “reconciliation” that Mandela espoused.

My two-week educational and cultural exchange in South Africa barely scratched the surface. But it left its mark on me. The experience helped me to recognize that the crisis belongs to all of us.

I have learned how the activism of individuals helps to raise awareness and change behavior. These people demonstrate that no matter how desperate their situation, there is hope. They speak of the future.

My role is to become more educated, to care and to continue that spirit of hope.

I am so proud to work with Nancy Duphily at Mount Wachusett Community College because she is brave, passionate about her work and dedicated to sharing this kind of experience with her students.

But if you were to walk through our halls and stop a faculty member and ask them what drives them and what they bring to their classrooms, you’d hear more stories like Nancy Duphily’s.

I am working with a group of professionals who are engaged in many very exciting ways.

I am deeply grateful that after 19 years, coming to work is still an adventure.

*This article was first published in the “Newsmakers” column in the Sunday, March 20 issue of the Sentinel & Enterprise, Fitchburg.

MWCC’S HONORS COLLOQUIUM PRESENTS STAND UP AGAINST CANCER DAY

By Stasie Coleman

MWCC’s Honors Colloquium students will host Stand Up Against Cancer, an event aimed at raising awareness about cancer prevention, education, detection and available resources, Monday, April 4 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. in the college’s commons area. Representatives from over a dozen organizations will be on hand to share information with students and guests.

Despite a profusion of scientific data, most people remain unaware of how they can reduce their risk of developing cancer. According to the National Cancer Institute, 80 percent of cancers are due to factors that have been identified and can be potentially controlled. Not only can we potentially prevent most cancers, we can also improve the survival rates of people who have cancer.

The goal of the Honor’s Colloquium project Stand Up Against Cancer is a cancer awareness day to offer expert knowledge to the community at large. The project was planned to coincide with the American Cancer Society’s 2015 Challenge to reduce cancer incidence as a whole, reduce the socioeconomic disparity of cancer within the community, and improve the survival rates of victims as well as their quality of life.

Exhibitors will include: Simonds Sinon Regional Cancer Center, Fitchburg; Multi Service Center, Leominster; Men’s Health Partnership and Central Branch YMCA, Worcester; MWCC Nurse Diane King; Montachusett Opportunity Council Pro Health, Fitchburg; American Cancer Society, Framingham; Gardner Visiting Nurses Association, Gardner; Three Pyramids, Inc., Fitchburg; Why Me, Inc., Worcester; Heywood Hospital, Gardner; The Spanish American Center, Leominster; UMass Medical School, Colorectal Cancer Prevention Program, Worcester; MWCC Relay for Life team; Exercise Science Honors students; and the Honors Colloquium class.

PROJECT YOUTH’S JANE DUFFY MOTIVATES YOUNG CLIENTS TO SUCCEED

As director of Project Youth at the Multi-Service Center, Jane Duffy has helped more than 500 youths from North Central Massachusetts obtain their education and/or set a career path. Pamela Bannister, who nominated Duffy, said, “She goes above and beyond…For some clients, her belief in them (knowing that they will become productive members of society), is the only

Jane Duffy

validation they get.” “I always tell them that they have more than they think they do—but that they really have to work,” said Duffy. “I tell them, ‘You don’t have to be a genius to be successful, you just have to work harder.’”

Duffy began her work at the Multi-Service Center as a volunteer over 16 years ago and worked to write grants and raise funds for Project Youth. She helps her clients obtain their high school equivalency diploma (GED); teaches them pre-employment work to lead them to successful entry into the job market and a good work history. “The education part is the most important part of what I do,” said Duffy. “If they are educated and motivated and raise a family and contribute to their community, it is better for all of us.” Duffy works with clients aged 16 to 22 who have dropped out of high school. “I didn’t know if I could work with that age group,” she explained, “but I have never had a client who was disrespectful.” (To read other Unsung Hero profiles, visit http://unsungheroes.mwcc.edu.)

Upcoming Campus Events:

• The Lifelong Institute for Enrichment (LIFE) at MWCC is sponsoring a Robin Lane presentation of “Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy Onassis” on Thursday, March 31 at 2 p.m. at Best Western Royal Trade Plaza Hotel in Fitchburg. Tickets are on sale for $20 at MWCC’s Lifelong Learning office, room 163, or by contacting Lorraine Wickman at (978) 630-9176. In this compelling one-woman show, Lane reveals the real Jacqueline Onassis, the private woman behind the public mask, while keeping alive the mystique, the magic that was Jackie. Camelot lives again in this personal portrayal of a woman who found her way into the hearts of America.

• A classic piece of literature comes to Theatre at the Mount for 11 performances beginning on Thursday, March 31. “Honk! Jr.,” a part of the Broadway Junior Collection, is a musical version of Hans Christian Anderson’s “The Ugly Duckling” written by George Stiles and Anthony Drewe. Members of the cast represent students from 20 different local schools, plus a number of “home scholars.” Special performances for school groups will be presented on Thursday, March 31 at 9:30 a.m., Friday, April 1, Wednesday, April 6, Thursday, April 7 and Friday, April 8 at 9:30 a.m. and noon. Additional performances for the general public are Saturday, April 9 at 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. All seats are $6. For tickets and information call (978) 632-2403 or visit the Theatre of the Mount web site at http://theatre.mwcc.edu.

• MWCC and the Sentinel & Enterprise are co-sponsoring the second annual Celebration of Unsung Heroes at the main campus Thursday, April 7 at 5:30 p.m. Local philanthropist Ken Ansin will be the keynote speaker. Ten local Unsung Heroes will be honored. They are the Rev. David R. Cote, Jane Duffy, Elizabeth Ellis, Nancy Green, Miguel “Mickey” Guzman Sr., Betsy Hannula, Leslie Lightfoot, The Polus Center in Worcester, the Young Republican Club at St. Bernard’s High School and William “Bill” Webber. For more information, contact Jo-Ann Meagher at (978) 630-9105.

• MWCC and the U.S. Small Business Administration will present a free seminar “Starting/Expanding Your Small Business-Today and Tomorrow” Thursday, April 7 from 7 to 9:30 pm in room 127 at the Gardner campus. This free seminar will assist small business owners and those planning to start a small business with information critical for starting, growing, financing and protecting their ideas and their business. This seminar is free, but pre-registration is requested. To pre-register, contact MWCC Enrollment Services at (978) 630-9123. For more information, contact Denise Whitney at (978) 630-9124.

• MWCC will host Spring Expo 2005 Saturday, April 9 from 8:45 to 11 a.m. at the main campus. The expo gives high school juniors and seniors, transfer students and adults a chance to learn about MWCC’s majors, transfer tracks and career options. Faculty and students will be available to answer questions, and participants will receive a tour of the campus. For more information or to pre-register, contact the Admissions Office at (978) 630-9110.

• Tim Wise, a national lecturer and author on racism, will be MWCC’s fourth What’s Next Speaker Series presenter, Wednesday, April 20 from 4 to 6 p.m. at Fitchburg Public Library, located at 610 Main St., Fitchburg. Wise has spoken to over 80,000 people in 47 states and on over 350 college campuses. He’s written many essays on race issues and two books on the subject that will be released this year. As a What’s Next Speaker Series guest, Wise will challenge residents of the Twin Cities area to confront their attitudes on race and to reject racism. His appearance is sponsored by MWCC's Multicultural Awareness Committee as part of the college's Decade of Civic Engagement initiative. Wise will return to Massachusetts this summer when he serves as an adjunct faculty member of the School of Social Work at Smith College in Northampton. For more information or to register, contact Melissa Delaney at (978) 630-9288 or Kim Caisse at (978) 630-9547, or send an e-mail to whatsnext@mwcc.mass.edu. All What’s Next Speaker Series events are free and open to the public.

• For National Poetry Month, the MWCC Library and Lifelong Institute for Enrichment will host a poetry panel Wednesday, April 27 from 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. in room 127. A group of published poets—MWCC’s very own Saúl Torres and Jess Mynes, along with Deborah Kang Dean, BG Thurston and Rodger Martin—will be answering questions about being published and writing poetry. For more information, contact Reference and Instructional Services Librarian Heidi McCann at (978) 630-9338.

• The MWCC Library and Lifelong Institute for Enrichment also will hold an Evening of Poetry/Poetry Slam in the Library on Wednesday, April 27 from 6 to 8 p.m. The event will feature one hour of poetry readings by FD Reeve, Bob Clawson, BG Thurston, Rodger Martin and Deborah Kang Dean. Then there will be an open-mic poetry reading for students and members of the community. For more information, contact LIFE Program Coordinator Lorraine Wickman at (978) 630-9176.

• The MWCC Pacers, the college’s American Cancer Society Relay for Life team, are looking for 30 members for this year’s Relay on Friday, June 10 and Saturday, June 11. The 2004 Relay raised $758,000, the highest amount of the other 156 relays in New England. The Gardner Relay has raised over $5 million dollars since its inception 11 years ago. This year’s goal is to raise 800,000. Other benchmarks reached at the 2004 Relay include having 733 survivors walk the track, a number unheard of at any of the other relays, and being ranked No. 11 nationwide in funds raised (out of 4,200 relays). To join the MWCC Pacers, contact Sue Goldstein, JoAnn Brooks and Jan LeClair to get your relay packet.

Lea Ann Erickson
Director of Community Relations
Mount Wachusett Community College
Phone: (978) 630-9322
Fax: (978) 630-9561
cell: (508) 517-5202
l_erickson@mwcc.mass.edu

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