MWCC News & Events: What's Up at the Mount

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Friday, Sept. 29, 2006

MWCC FOUNDATION CELEBRATES 35 YEARS AND HONORS 2006 CITIZEN OF THE YEAR

AND SCHOLARSHIP RECIPIENTS AT ANNUAL DINNER

By Kimberly B. Caisse

College Board of Trustee Chair Jay Davis Drake prepares to present Kim Blanchard with the 2006 Harold E. Drake Jr. Citizen of the Year Award.

Celebrating 35 years of supporting outstanding students and the college, Mount Wachusett Community College Foundation honored Kimberly Blanchard of Ashburnham as the 2006 Harold E. Drake Jr. Citizen of the Year and 2006 scholarship recipients at its Annual Dinner Thursday, Sept. 28 at the Colonial Hotel in Gardner.

“In May of 1971, the foundation organized to help anyone in North Central Massachusetts to further their education or vocational skills and to support financially the growth and improvement of the college,” said Foundation Executive Director Darlene Morrilly. “Thirty-five years later, the foundation holds true to this charter.”

Last April the foundation awarded $60,000 in scholarships and for the first time in its 35-year history, awarded scholarships to incoming freshmen.

“I feel that everything I have achieved has been through a combined effort of a supportive family, a college that cares about the success of its students and professors who provide an education comparable to a university,” said Angela Verheyen of Orange, who received the first Ellen Daly Dental Hygiene Scholarship.

The scholarship recipients “are among the 9,000 students pursuing their college education at one of our five campuses each year,” said President Asquino. “Their backgrounds are as varied as their interests, but they share a determination to succeed.”

Dental Hygiene student Angela Verheyen speaks about her experience as a MWCC student.

In praise of Kimberly Blanchard receiving this year’s Citizen of the Year Award, Asquino said, “When Kim sees a problem…or witnesses discrimination, bigotry or injustice, she works behind the scenes to eradicate it or to fix it. She uses her quiet, persuasive power to rally others to join the cause.”

As a community volunteer, Blanchard noted in her address, she has served on many nonprofit boards with MWCC representatives. “They were always actively involved,” she said.

“I want to thank the many people who make up the foundation and the college for this honor and for the great works you all do in the community,” Blanchard said. “It means so much to me and the many volunteers whose work keeps the ripple effect [of good deeds] going.”

Jay Davis Drake, chair of the college's Board of Trustees, presented the Citizen of the Year Award to Blanchard. State Sen. Stephen Brewer and state Representative Bob Rice presented her with legislative citations.

Workers Credit Union President and CEO Fred Healey, chair of the foundation’s Board of Directors, emceed the event. Some of the winners of the Idol at the Mount contest, held last April to benefit the United Way of North Central Massachusetts, entertained the 400 guests.

MWCC AND MOC FOCUS ON POVERTY WITH
2006-2007 WHAT’S NEXT? SPEAKER SERIES

Series Begins Oct. 6 with Panel Discussion ‘The Many Faces of Poverty’

With the Worcester County Food bank reporting that the number of Worcester County residents receiving emergency food assistance has grown 40 percent since 2001, the Center for Democracy and Humanity at MWCC and the Montachusett Opportunity Council are encouraging a renewed focus on poverty with the 2006-2007 What’s Next? Speaker Series.

“The roots of poverty are far-reaching and deep, and extend beyond having access to affordable, high-quality education,” said President Asquino. “This year’s What’s Next? series will inspire action in our communities to decrease the number of our neighbors who go hungry. We’re proud to collaborate with MOC in this series as they begin redoubling efforts to eradicate poverty in North Central Massachusetts.”

MOC, which is in its 40th year of operation, responds to the changing needs of the region by listening to the community, planning strategically, using new approaches and collaborating with other organizations. Programs the agency administers include childcare and Head Start, education and employment, asset development, healthcare, energy conservation, housing, transportation, nutrition and youth and elder services.

The speaker series will begin Friday, Oct. 6 from noon to 2 p.m. at The Doyle Conservation Center, 464 Abbott Ave., Leominster, with a panel discussion entitled “The Many Faces of Poverty.” The panel, featuring local and state leaders, will be moderated by Charlotte Kahn, director of The Boston Foundation’s Indicators Project. Kahn drew a crowd of nearly 100 to her presentation about the Indicators Project during the 2005 What’s Next? Speaker Series.

The panelists are Kathleen McDermott, executive director of MOC; President Asquino; Dr. Lisa Fortuna, Harvard University; Dr. Sergio Paez, language acquisitions director, Leominster Public Schools; Jeff McLynch, deputy director, Massachusetts Budget and Policy Center; Fitchburg Police Chief Ed Cronin; and Mark Dohan, executive director, Twin Cities CDC.

The event is free and open to the public. A complimentary lunch will be provided. Pre-registration is required; contact Eveliz Rivera at (978) 630-9324 or erivera@mwcc.mass.edu.

More MWCC News:

• The First Connections Mothers Group’s weekly meetings are held every Friday. At the gatherings, which take place in the Children’s Room at Levi Heywood Memorial Library from 10:30 a.m. to noon, attendees discuss topics such as feeding, sibling rivalry, temper tantrums, appropriate toys, traveling with children and how to choose a daycare provider. All mothers and their babies are invited. For more information, contact MWCC Professor Nancy Duphily, the meeting facilitator, at duphi@yahoo.com or (978) 630-9233. Duphily will be assisted by MWCC nursing students as part of their service-learning project.
• The Art Department is pleased to announce that the “Golden Apple Pottery” exhibit, showcasing the work of MWCC alumna Natalie Ann Gardner, will be on display in the glass cases of the East Wing Gallery, located in the Raymond M. LaFontaine Fine Arts Center, through Thursday, Oct. 5. After graduating from MWCC, Gardner developed her own line of functional ceramics and set up a studio in Maine. She is a dedicated potter and creates most of her pieces using the potter’s wheel. Her work is included in many exhibitions and galleries throughout New England. For more information, contact Art Professor Joyce Miller at (978) 630-9221 or jmiller@mwcc.mass.edu.
• Tickets are on sale now for Theatre of the Mount’s next musical, “Noises Off,” for $18 for evening performances and $15 for matinees. Called “the funniest farce ever written” by New York critics, “Noises Off” will be performed by on Friday, Oct. 6, Saturday, Oct. 7, Friday, Oct. 13 and Saturday, Oct. 14 at 8 p.m. and Sunday, Oct. 15 at 2 p.m. To reserve tickets, call the Theatre at the Mount box office at (978) 632-2403 or purchase tickets online at http://theatre.mwcc.edu.
• MWCC Campus Police will hold a R.A.D. Basic Self-Defense course for women Tuesday, Oct. 10 through Friday, Oct. 13 from 4:30 to 7:30 p.m. at the Gardner campus. The cost is only $25. Instructors are certified through Rape Aggression and Defense Systems. To register, please contact Officer Melissa Garneau at (978) 630-9150.
• Gateway to College, one of MWCC’s College Access and Preparation Programs, offers high-school dropouts and students on the verge of dropping out of high school an opportunity to earn a diploma in a college-like setting and earn college credits. Massachusetts residents who meet the program’s eligibility requirements may apply. Information sessions for the session that begins in January 2007 will be held on Wednesday, Oct. 11; Monday, Oct. 23; Monday, Nov. 6; and Monday, Dec. 4. To register for an information session or to request materials, call (978) 630-9481 or (978) 630-9450, or visit http://www.mwcc.edu/services/CAPP/default.html.
• The Student Life Office will sponsor the exhibit “Above and Beyond: Our Community Response to HIV/AIDS” in the Leo & Theresa LaChance Library between Wednesday, Oct. 11 and Wednesday, Oct. 18. “Above and Beyond” was organized by The History Project with assistance from Casa de la Cultura/Center for Latino Arts. The exhibition documents the heroic response to the HIV/AIDS crisis by a variety of people and groups in Boston and across Massachusetts. The exhibition includes a timeline of the 25-year history of AIDS and documents the response by various communities, from helping and healing to activism and protest to campaigns for needle exchange and safer sex programs. For more information, contact Student Life Director Greg Clement at (978) 630-9252 or gclement@mwcc.mass.edu.
• The grand opening of the Garrison Center for Early Childhood Education and Molly Bish Institute for Child Health & Safety will be held Thursday, Oct. 12 from 3 to 5 p.m. The new building will double the size of the current childcare facility run by MOC Child Care & Head Start services, provide observational classrooms for Early Childhood Education students and serve as a clearinghouse for information on child health and safety. The center is the first project funded in part by MWCC’s first-ever capital campaign. For more information, contact MWCC Foundation Executive Director Darlene Morrilly at (978) 630-9276 or dmorrilly@mwcc.mass.edu.
• Register now for fall youth swimming lessons at the MWCC Fitness & Wellness Center. Saturday lessons begin on Oct. 14 through Dec. 2. The cost is only $30 for members and $42 for non-members. To register, visit the center’s main kiosk. For more information, call (978) 630-9212.

• Dr. Diane Beers

  Dr. Diane Beers, the author of "For the Prevention of Cruelty: The History and Legacy of Animal Rights Activism in the United States," will speak in the Leo & Theresa LaChance Library and sign copies of her book Wednesday, Oct. 18 from 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. in Room 125. The event is free and open to the public. For more information, call the Library at (978) 630-9125.
• MWCC has launched the new Clinical Laboratory Science program. Students enrolled in this program will learn how to use sophisticated biomedical instrumentation and computers to analyze blood and other body specimens. Information sessions will take place Wednesdays Oct. 18, Nov. 15 and Dec. 13 at 3 p.m. in the OBS Conference Room on the second floor of Heywood Hospital. Prospective students interested in attending the information session are asked to call the Admissions Office at (978) 630-9110 (TTY (978) 632-4916), or send an email to admissions@mwcc.mass.edu. Information about the new CLS program also is posted on the college Blackboard website called CLS Information Center. To access more information, go to https://bb.mwcc.edu and then enter “cls” as both the username and password.
• Tickets are on sale for a murder mystery dinner benefiting the MWCC Alumni Association Friday, Oct. 27 from 6 to 9 p.m. at the Colonial Hotel. The Hat Trick Mystery Theatre will present “The Ghost of Mad Table Manor.” The event will feature a cocktail hour with cash bar from 6 to 7 p.m. followed by dinner and the show from 7 to 9 p.m. Tickets are $35 per person. For tickets or more information, please contact Alumni Association President Missi Sargent at (978) 630-9273 or msargent@mwcc.mass.edu.
• In observance of Domestic Violence Awareness Month, Battered Women’s Resources Inc. of Leominster will present the exhibit “Body of Evidence” by Wisconsin artist Judy Zeolzer Levine in MWCC’s Leo & Theresa LaChance Library between Monday, Oct. 23 and Friday, Oct. 27. The display is a series of 20 quilts created to explore the way women are viewed and used in our society. For more information, contact Student Life Director Greg Clement at (978) 630-9252 or gclement@mwcc.mass.edu.