Friday, May 4, 2007

 

MWCC NAMES 2007 ALUMNA OF THE YEAR

By Kimberly B. Caisse

Diane Castelli, who earned her associate’s degree in Nursing from MWCC in 1983, will be honored as the 2007 Alumna of the Year at the college’s 42nd commencement Thursday, May 17.

Diane Castelli

“I’m so proud Mount Wachusett Community College propelled Diane into an outstanding career in nursing and health care,” said MWCC President Daniel M. Asquino. “She is a great role model for our students, especially those who are balancing their courses with family and work responsibilities.”

Since 1989, MWCC has honored an Alumnus of the Year to show that its graduates go on to use their degrees and certificates to do great things. Castelli is the college’s 17th Alumnus of the Year.

Castelli, RN, MS, MSN, said she enjoyed every course she took during the seven years she attended the college. She also holds a bachelor’s degree in Nursing as well as two master’s degrees in Forensic Nursing and Communications from Fitchburg State College.

A former licensed practical nurse at Heywood Hospital, Castelli currently is the training manager for AMD Telemedicine Inc. in North Chelmsford. AMD Telemedicine is a worldwide supplier of telemedicine equipment and technology devices used in telemedicine.

“I have worked developing medical software for anesthesia and emergency medicine and have presented to physicians and nurses on telemedicine, e-health and telnursing around the world,” Castelli said. “The most remote and challenging areas that I have taught were in the Third World countries, such as China, Botswana and South Africa.”

MWCC’s 42nd graduation will be held Thursday, May 17 at 6 p.m. at the Fitness & Wellness Center. Governor Deval Patrick will deliver the commencement address. Retiring professors Ray Coleman, Ron Clemente, Fran McFaul, Allan Russell and Jeanne Shea will be awarded emeriti status. Robert Ansin, president and CEO of MassInnovation LCC, Neddy Latimer, executive director of the Spanish American Center, and David L. McKeehan, president of the North Central Massachusetts Chamber of Commerce, will be presented with Service Above Self Awards.

During the ceremony, students who have completed qualifying service-learning projects will be awarded Civic Scholar Medallions as part of the ceremony. Outside the fitness center, members of Phi Theta Kappa will hold the annual Project Graduation, a food and children’s book drive for the Cleghorn Neighborhood Center as part of the Decade of Civic Engagement initiative.

MWCC’S ALPHA BETA GAMMA CHAPTER INDUCTS NEW MEMBERS

By Kimberly B. Caisse

MWCC students await being sworn in to the Chi Gamma Chapter of Alpha Beta Gamma.

More than 30 MWCC students were inducted into the Chi Gamma Chapter of Alpha Beta Gamma at its 17th annual Induction Ceremony Friday, April 27 at the Gardner campus.

Alpha Beta Gamma is an international business honor society established by business professors in 1970 to recognize and encourage scholarship among two-year business and professional college students.

The new members are: Amber Altobelli, Anthony Archambault, Heather Borelli, Andrew Colameta, Sallie Daigle, Cynthia Driscoll, Thomas Foote, Erika Fregia, Patricia Gamache, Joni Gorecki, Alicia Heinricher, Benjamin Johnson, Candace LaBonte, Anayane Lacerda, Amy LaLiberte, Heather Macomber, LeeAnn Madrid, Bethany Marshall, Jeffrey Mohr, Stephanie Morgan, Adam Nadeau, Sherry Patch, Moises Ramos, Karen Rathburn, Katherine Riley, Everett Schofield, Lauren Shelly, Michael Spooner, Gary Talbot, David Thompson, Richard Viviani, Gregory Whitehead and Jennifer Woodall.

State Rep. Lewis Evangelidis, R-Holden, who gave the keynote address, was the honorary inductee.

Evangelidis urged the new business honor society members to get involved in politics. “There are not enough people [in government] with business backgrounds making the laws,” he said.

DEMOCRACY CAFÉ PANEL FOCUSES ON PRESIDENTIAL RACE

By Kimberly B. Caisse

Trying to cut through the clutter of the crowded presidential race, Democracy Café moderator and WTAG talk show host Jordan Levy asked the five panelists who they would vote for if they 2008 Election were held today. Not all the panelist could make a decision.

Moderator Jordan Levy listens as MWCC Associate Professor Jim Korman answers a question. Gardner Mayor Gerald "Jerry" St. Hilaire and MWCC student Jack White wait for their turn.

“It would be a crapshoot if the election were today,” declared Gardner Mayor Gerald “Jerry” St. Hilaire.

Former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney and former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani were mentioned as likely Republican nominees; Illinois Senator Barak Obama received overwhelming support as the likely Democratic nominee.

An Obama nomination “worries me because I don’t think he has enough experience to be president,” said Dr. Rodney Christy, a Fitchburg State College political science professor. He also predicted that the country will see an unexpected Republican run against Obama.

“There are so many of them in the hunt. We’re still trying to find out what they want to do,” said Worcester State College Director of Student Affairs Dr. Sybil Brownlee.

The panelists were all over the map on Levy’s question about whether race, religion and divorce will play a big role in the outcome of this presidential election.

While Brownlee said she doesn’t think race will be a big issue for Obama’s candidacy, MWCC student Jack White thinks it will. “It is his biggest obstacle because he doesn’t have the experience to compensate,” he said.

In response to Levy’s question about whether the Democrats are making a mistake running against President George Bush, MWCC Associate Professor Jim Korman said, “The war in Iraq will not wrap up by the primary. There is no way to get out of Iraq” by then.

Brownlee said, “There’s no one else to run against.” In addition to the Iraq war, there are domestic problems that must be addressed, including the redevelopment of Gulf Coast communities devastated by Hurricane Katrina, she said. “They are George Bush issues.”

Before the panel discussion started, MWCC President Daniel M. Asquino noted that the country has had three tipping points and Presidents George Washington, Abraham Lincoln and Franklin Delano Roosevelt led the country through those turbulent times. “Our country is facing another tipping point,” he said. “The next president has to have the leadership qualities of these three presidents.”

Sponsored by the Center for Democracy and Humanity and led by the center’s Democracy Project Chair Ray LaFontaine, the Democracy Café’s discussion of the 2008 Election will resume in the fall. For more information, visit http://democracy.mwcc.edu.

2007 EMPLOYEE SERVICE AWARDS
40 Years - Edward Stevens and Ray Coleman	35 Years - Lois Cox	30 Years - Margaret Lattrell and Richard Shine
25 Years - Frances McFaul	20 Years - Daniel Bosworth, Nancy Duphily, Ann McDonald, Daniel McMilleon and Jacqueline Suhoski	15 Years - Alida Cogswell, Gloria Correa, Elaine Falcone, Theresa Howlett, Elaine Kinner, Donald Maillet, Margaret McLaughlin and Edward Terceiro Jr.
10 Years - Debra Anderson, John Bergeron, Brenda Bourgeois, Mary Buffone, Michele Depres, Lorie Donahue, Nancy Gambone, Robert Morand, Sheila Murphy, Diane Ruksnaitis, Joseph Smith and Monica Yesmentes	5 Years - Nancy Boucher, Alan Chaisson, Lynne Franciose, Kenneth Hanson, In Sook Manseau, Steven Penney, Kristin Sweeney-Moore, Michelle Valois and Bonnie-Lou Wicklund

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

More MWCC News:

• Eileen Ivers

  Tickets are on sale for a special performance by renowned fiddler Eileen Ivers & Immigrant Soul at Theatre of the Mount. The show will also feature Irish dancers. Tickets for this May 5th performance are $35 each, with a $2 online service charge, and can be purchased at the Theatre at the Mount box office and online at http://theatre.mwcc.edu. Proceeds will benefit Theatre at the Mount. Doors open at 7 for the 8 p.m. show. Cash bar and refreshments will be available from 7:15 to 8 p.m. and during intermission. Gardner Ale House and the Olive Garden in Leominster are show sponsors.
• The United Way - Youth Venture Partnership Celebration will host the largest gathering ever of New England's young change-makers in Massachusetts and New Hampshire—Venturers, caring young people ages 12-20 who everyday affect their communities in positive ways—on Thursday, May 10 from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Colonial Hotel in Gardner. The event has been selected as a stop on Youth Venture’s “Dream it. Do it.” World Tour, which is significant for these young people, because now their inspiring community-benefiting Ventures will be profiled and recognized worldwide. The Massachusetts United Way Youth Ventures is supported by MWCC’s Center for Democracy and Humanity. For more information, contact Kimberly B. Caisse at (978) 630-9547 or kcaisse@mwcc.mass.edu.
• More than 350 Bay State high school students from some 60 public and private schools across the Commonwealth are expected to compete in the 20th annual Massachusetts Envirothon on Thursday, May 10 at MWCC’s Gardner campus. At this outdoor event, teams of five students rotate through four “eco-stations” where they demonstrate their environmental knowledge through hands-on activities such as soil analysis and plant identification. Each team also gives a presentation on their research into the year’s designated current issue. This year’s current issue is “Energy Conservation and Renewable Energy for Massachusetts Communities.” For more information on the Massachusetts Envirothon visit www.maenvirothon.org.
• MWCC will celebrate the expansion of its Leominster campus with a special reception Friday, May 11. Located at 100 Erdman Way, this satellite campus now has 11 classrooms and five computer labs. Sixty-five accelerated courses and four full-semester courses are offered at this campus, and the English as a Second Language program, with 19 full-semester courses, is now located here. In addition, the Center for Democracy and Humanity, which features the Institute for Nonprofit Development, United Way Youth Ventures and Community Builders, and the Entrepreneurial Resource Center operates at this campus. The event is by invitation only. For more information, contact Kimberly B. Caisse at (978) 630-9547.
• MWCC’s Dental Hygiene program will hold a pinning ceremony for its first nine graduates on Friday, May 11 at 6:30 p.m. in the Raymond M. LaFontaine Fine Arts theatre. The nine graduates will be pinned by Ellen Daly and 12 freshmen will recite the Dental Hygiene Oath. Awards will be presented on behalf of the Dental Hygiene program. For more information, contact Ann Malkasian at (978) 630-9367.
• MWCC’s new Biotechnology program will host information sessions Wednesday, May 16 from 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. and 6 to 7 p.m. at the main campus. Another session will be held at the Leominster campus, 100 Erdman Way, Wednesday, May 23 from 6 to 7 p.m. With the decision by the drug manufacturer Bristol-Myers Squibb to locate a large biotechnology company at Devens, the college anticipates starting the biotech program in fall 2007 at the Devens and Gardner campuses. Registration is required. To register and for more information, contact MWCC’s Dean of Science Charles Weitze at cweitze@mwcc.mass.edu or (978) 630-9207.
• MWCC’s 42nd graduation will be held Thursday, May 17 at 6 p.m. at the Fitness & Wellness Center. Governor Deval Patrick will deliver the commencement address. Diane Castelli (’83) will be honored as the 2007 Alumna of the Year. During the ceremony, students who have completed qualifying service-learning projects will be awarded Civic Scholar Medallions as part of the ceremony. Outside the fitness center, members of Phi Theta Kappa will hold the annual Project Graduation, a food and children’s book drive for the Cleghorn Neighborhood Center as part of the Decade of Civic Engagement initiative. For more information, contact Kimberly B. Caisse at (978) 630-9547.
• The TAMY Awards ceremony will be held Tuesday, June 5 at 6 p.m. at the Four Points by Sheraton in Leominster. This program, sponsored by the Theatre at the Mount, publicly acknowledges the outstanding effort local schools make to strive for excellence in the performing arts and celebrates the casts, crews, directors and designers who make outstanding musical theatre happen. Participants are invited to dress up and walk the red carpet looking their best. Tickets for the awards ceremony are $30 and will be sold between Tuesday, May 15 and Friday, May 25 only through the Theatre at the Mount Box Office at (978) 632-2403.
• MWCC, in association with the Broadcasting and Telecommunications program and Phi Theta Kappa, is pleased to once again offer 2007 Commencement DVDs. This professional quality, edited DVD of MWCC’s 2007 graduation day ceremony will be available for a limited time at a cost of $15 each. This low cost includes the cost of shipping and handling. Fifty percent of the profits from the DVD sales will go to MWCC’s Phi Delta Chapter of the PTK Honor Society. PTK students will donate the other 50 percent of the profits directly to the Cleghorn Neighborhood Center. To place an order in advance, contact Sheila Murphy, PTK advisor, at smurphy@mwcc.mass.edu.

• Lucinda Franks, Pulitzer Prize winner and author of "My Father's Secret War," discusses the book in the Leo & Theresa LaChance Library Wednesday, April 25. (Photo courtesy Gaurav Khanna)

  For the second time, HealthAlliance Hospital, Leominster Campus is teaming up with MWCC to host a Kid Expo on Saturday, May 19 from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m., which also will feature the free child safety I.D. kits, a health and safety fair, demonstrations, free bike helmets car seat safety inspections, and other give-aways, while supplies last. The event will also include the Sheriff’s office Mobile Command Unit and search dogs, a bike rodeo, karate and cheerleading demonstrations, many other hands-on health and safety activities for children and families, and lots more. For more information, log on to http://mollybish.mwcc.edu or call Andrea Dudley Hart at (978) 630-9458.
• The Molly Bish Institute for Child Health and Safety at Mount Wachusett Community College will host the fourth annual Kid Expo Saturday, June 2 from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Gardner campus. The free event will feature free Molly Bish Foundation child safety I.D. kits, r.a.d.KIDS self-defense demonstrations with Campus Police, car seat safety inspections, a health and safety resource fair, free bike helmets courtesy of Heywood Hospital (while supplies last), raffles for bikes, car seats, tons of free raffle baskets. Smokey Bear, McGruff the Crime Dog and Lil’ Iguana will be present. The event also includes a Lifeflight helicopter landing, complementary health workshops including Chi Kung, the Fitchburg Fire Department Smoke House, lots of safety vehicles to explore, the Worcester County Sheriff’s office search and rescue dogs, food, music, entertainment, lots of fun games and activities such as a climbing wall, and lots more. For more information, log on to http://mollybish.mwcc.edu or call Andrea Dudley Hart at (978) 630-9458.
• Registrations are now being accepted for MWCC Foundation, Inc.’s 12th Annual Golf Tournament to benefit student scholarships. The tournament will take place Monday, July 16 at Sterling National Country Club, 33 Albright Road, Sterling. The cost is $175 per person to play and $40 for dinner guests. Corporate sponsorship opportunities are still available. Two raffle drawings and an auction will be held. Registration will start at 8:30 a.m. with a breakfast buffet starting at 9. The shotgun start will be at 10 a.m. The tournament will conclude with a social hour from 3 to 4 p.m. and dinner and awards at 4. Players must wear soft spiked golf shoes. Proper attire is required: All golfers must wear a collared shirt. For more information about registering or becoming a sponsor, contact Darlene Cloutier at (978) 630-9387 or dcloutier@mwcc.mass.edu.
• MWCC’s Forest and Wood Products Institute is hosting its fourth annual New England Student Woodworking Design Competition Tuesday, May 29 through Friday, June 1. Nearly 80 students from twenty schools throughout New England, including Leominster High School Center for Technical Education, Montachusett Regional Vocational Technical School, and Fitchburg’s Applewild School, will display their best woodworking projects. These projects will be on display in the Fine Arts Gallery. A ceremony to award prizes will take place on June 1 at 7 p.m. in the Fine Arts Theater. Michael Humphries, a business owner and woodworker, will give the keynote address entitled “The Soul’s Attraction to Woodworking.” This year’s distinguished judges include David Sargent of Sargent Wood Products, Gardner; Michael Humphries of Michael Humphries Woodworking, Warwick; Jock Snaith and Scott Bridges of Bridges and Snaith Cabinetmakers, Fitchburg; and Jack Haley of J. Haley Woodworking, Sterling. For more information, contact Ken Hanson at (978) 630-0179.
• Lifelong Learning Institute for Enrichment (LIFE) at MWCC is offering a fabulous bus trip to Strawbery Banke in Portsmouth, N.H., Tuesday, June 5. This trip is open to the public; the cost is $45, and does not include lunch. Be transported to another time in U.S. history. Experience the everyday life of everyday people who lived from the 1600s to 1950. Furnished houses with costumed interpreters will be engaged in common household tasks as we visit. Relax in the period gardens in bloom and visit the systematic gardens of Prescott Park across the street from Strawbery Banke with benches overlooking the river. Departure is at 7:30 a.m. at the MWCC’s flagpole. The return time is expected to be around 3 p.m. Registration available through Enrollment Services, located at MWCC’s Gardner campus, at (978) 630-9176. Make checks payable to MWCC with “LIFE bus trip” on the memo line. For more information, contact Lorraine Wickman, LIFE program coordinator, at (978) 630-9176 or lwickman@mwcc.mass.edu.