MWCC's weekly e-newsletter
Friday, Oct. 7, 2005
MWCC TO HOST OPEN HOUSE AT DEVENS CAMPUS
TO CELEBRATE AN EXPANDED NURSING PROGRAM
By Kimberly B. Caisse
Mount Wachusett Community College will host an open house at its Devens campus, 100 Jackson Road, to celebrate the expansion of the college’s nursing program Friday, Oct. 14 from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.
MWCC’s nursing program at the Devens campus meets the needs of another healthcare service area: the Nashoba Valley. The first 30 students admitted into the practical nursing program will graduate in July 2006. Another 30 students have been admitted into a part-time program for employees of nine nursing homes: five homes operated by Life Care of America, three run by Merrimack Health Group and Leo P. LaChance Center for Rehabilitation and Nursing in Gardner. They will graduate in July 2007.
“We’ve been creative in our approach to addressing the nursing shortage in our region,” said MWCC President Daniel M. Asquino. “I’m proud of our faculty and staff for moving so quickly to address the nursing needs of our Nashoba Valley healthcare partners.”
The changes at the Devens campus add 30 more full-time and 30 part-time seats to MWCC’s practical nursing program. Fifty students were admitted to the practical nursing program run in Orange in January 2005.
The four cycles of the two-year program—two 15-week cycles and two six-week cycles—are offered at different times of the year at the Orange and Devens sites to better accommodate student schedules.
MWCC PRESENTED WITH ENERGY AWARD AT STATEHOUSE CEREMONY
By Lea Ann Erickson
MWCC was the only college and one of only two state agencies presented with an energy award at a State House ceremony, Wednesday, Oct. 5.
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MWCC President Daniel M. Asquino and Executive Vice President Edward Terceiro Jr. accept the 2005 University Environmental Purchasing and Sustainability Award. |
The college received the 2005 University Environmental Purchasing and Sustainability Award from the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. The award recognizes “the leadership role that MWCC has assumed in implementing a broad range of initiatives that serve to promote sustainable practices throughout both the campus and the community,” according to an award letter from Massachusetts Operational Services Division Environmental Purchasing Program Manager Marcia Deegler.
Over 100 people attended the ceremony recognizing MWCC, one other state agency, two municipalities and three businesses.
By implementing a biomass system as well as a wide variety of other energy strategies, MWCC has reduced its greenhouse gas emissions by nearly 6,000 tons and saved over 6.6 million gallons of water. “This empowered us to put our financial resources where they really matter: in the classroom educating our students,” said MWCC President Daniel M. Asquino.
David Perini, commissioner of the Division of Capital Asset Management, presented MWCC’s award. “Our office has been working for years with state facilities to reduce their energy and water consumption,” he said. “I am also pleased to be invited to present the awards to two facilities that represent models of sustainability, energy efficiency, and smart growth."
The event was jointly hosted by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts Operational Services Division in cooperation with the Executive Office of Environmental Affairs and Department of Environmental Protection in partnership with the Alliance to Save Energy.
VOLUNTEER EXPO CONNECTS STUDENTS WITH SERVICE OPPORTUNITIES
By Kimberly B. Caisse
Many MWCC students and community residents visited the Community Builders Volunteer Expo Wednesday, Oct. 5 to learn more about community service opportunities in North Central Massachusetts.
The Expo aimed to match community organizations in North Central Massachusetts with volunteers based on interests and skill sets. A student-focused session ran from 1:30 to 3:30 p.m. and a community-focused assembly followed from 4:30 to 6:30 p.m.
The following organizations had representatives at the Expo: LUK Mentoring, Teen AIDS-Peer Corps Inc., Literacy Volunteers of the Montachusett Area, Heywood Hospital’s Gateway Health Access Program, American Red Cross of North Central Massachusetts, Our Father’s House, Valuing Our Children, Cleghorn Neighborhood Center, Heywood Hospital’s Volunteer Department, Boy Scouts of America, Fitchburg Cycling Club, Horizons for Homeless Children, MASSPIRG, Montachusett Home Care, The Gardner Partnership for Children Program, Spanish American Center, LUK Crisis Center Vocation and Education Opportunities, Battered Women’s Resources Inc., Junior Achievement of Central Massachusetts, United Way Youth Venture, House of Peace and Education, Alternatives Unlimited, Gardner Visiting Nursing Association, NEADS, North Central Charter Essential School, Fitchburg Police and Mayor’s Office, MOC Learning Center and MOC Elder Services.
The North Central Massachusetts Chapter of the American Red Cross held two disaster services orientations during the Expo to prepare people interested in volunteering in this capacity locally and nationally for the realities they would face.
“The most important aspect of this is your ability to physically perform in a disaster situation,” Red Cross Disaster Services Director Molly Lew Piscia told MWCC students and community members at the orientation. “With these disasters, you will see the best and worst of humanity.”
The chapter will hold a two-day disaster services training for those willing to serve in the hurricane-devastated Gulf Coast area on Friday, Oct. 28 and Saturday, Oct. 29 at MWCC. The orientation, application review process and training ensure the best applicants are sent on national disaster assignments and donors’ money is used effectively, she said.
Volunteers on national disaster assignments must expect to carry, on average, 50 pounds of supplies, including bedding, live in sparse conditions for about three weeks and work 12 to 14 hour days for many days in a row.
Hurricane Katrina is a very emotionally trying disaster and volunteers are helping people who have lost everything, Piscia added.
MWCC students Jheri Gamboa and Alyssa Clark are interested in signing up for an assignment in the Gulf Coast.
“When I found out about Katrina, I felt like I had to do something, I felt I needed to physically go down there,” said Gamboa, a third-year Broadcasting and Telecommunications major living in a Fitchburg State College dorm.
Clark’s sister is helping in the Gulf Coast area now. “It seems like an experience that would change your life. If you have the time, why not give it for something like this?” said Clark, a sophomore and Liberal Arts major from Bolton.
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Scott Howard |
For the keynote address, Bemis Associates President Scott Howard spoke about why employer-endorsed community service policies are good for businesses and communities. Bemis Associates gives its 180 employees 40 hours a year to volunteer in their community and is a dedicated supporter of Loaves & Fishes Food Pantry at Devens.
“Community service is an important strategic goal of our company,” he said. “It’s not something we do as an afterthought. It’s a big part of why we are in business, and it’s a big part of why we stay in business.”
Such a policy builds trust with clients and potential clients, builds employee moral and strengthens the community, Howard said.
After his address, Community Builders, a partnership between the United Way of North Central Massachusetts and MWCC, demonstrated an Internet volunteer-matching tool available at the United Way website: www.uwncm.org. This tool allows individuals to search for volunteer opportunities based on ZIP code, skills, length of service and/or areas of interest.
For more information about volunteer opportunities, contact MWCC Director of Civic Engagement and Outreach Amy Casavina Hall at (978) 630-9201 or acasavina@mwcc.mass.edu.
MOUNT WACHUSETT COMMUNITY COLLEGE ADOPTS COMMUNITY
HEALTH CENTER NETWORK IN MISSISSIPPI
By Kimberly B. Caisse
MWCC this week launched its long-term effort to help a community health center network in Mississippi recoup after Hurricane Katrina damaged centers and centers lost supplies needed to treat needy clients.
The Southeast Mississippi Rural Health Initiative, a network of 12 health clinics based in Hattiesburg, Miss., needs monetary donations and many medical supplies to recover from Hurricane Katrina.
“MWCC has been committed to building communities in North Central Massachusetts for many years,” said MWCC President Daniel M. Asquino. “Rebuilding the Gulf Coast is a national priority, and we’re ready to do our part by supporting Southeast Mississippi Rural Health Initiative along with our local chapter of the American Red Cross.”
MWCC’s Healthcare Pathway Program Director Robin Duncan met the network’s chief financial officer, Hope Braley, at the Johnson & Johnson/UCLA Health Care Executive Program in Los Angeles in July.
Braley appealed to those she met at the training conference immediately following Hurricane Katrina. “Many people lost their homes; the looting has started and sadly several people have been killed over gas and ice,” she wrote in an e-mail message. “The clinic pharmacy was robbed and all of their narcotics and several thousand dollars were stolen.”
MWCC’s response will last months:
• Until Friday, Oct. 21, the college is collecting specific over-the-counter products the Southeast Mississippi Rural Health Initiative centers need for their clients: antibacterial soap, tissues, diapers, Band-Aids and sunscreen. Items may be donated between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m., Monday through Friday, in collection bins stationed in the front entrance of MWCC’s Gardner campus, the Fitness & Wellness Center and the Leominster campus, 100 Erdman Way. W.E. Aubuchon has donated an 18-wheeler trailer to take the collected supplies to Hattiesburg at the end of October. For more information, contact Robin Duncan at (978) 630-9293. To view a more extensive supply list, visit www.mwcc.edu/foundation/smrhi.html.
• Alice LeBlanc, assistant director of the Healthcare Pathway Program, is seeking volunteer bakers for a November calendar fund-raiser. The goal is for the MWCC community to raise $2,000 to benefit local food pantries and the Southeast Mississippi Rural Health Initiative. Four hundred calendars, priced at $5 each, will present 30 chances to win a home-baked item. To volunteer or buy a calendar, contact LeBlanc at (978) 630-9220.
• MWCC will host a hurricane relief concert featuring The Ethan Stone Band on Friday, Jan. 13, 2006, at 7 p.m. (Snow date is Saturday, Jan. 14.) All proceeds will benefit the Southeast Mississippi Rural Health Initiative. The band's repertoire covers a wide range of music, from new material from Coldplay, Audioslave, Radiohead, Beck, Ben Folds, Lifehouse, Staind, to classic rock from Santana, The Allman Brothers, Billy Joel, Stevie Wonder, Elton John, and many more. The event is being co-sponsored by the Hurricane Relief Committee, the MWCC Alumni Association, the Committee for Activities and Recreation for Students and the Eagle 99.9. Tickets, which can be purchased through the Theatre at the Mount Box Office, are $15 ($10 for MWCC students). For more information, contact Melissa Sargent at (978) 630-9273.
• MWCC is offering free tuition and fees for one semester for hurricane victims through the Division of Lifelong Learning. In addition, the college will offer free tuition and fees for available slots to hurricane victims through our more than 70 distance-learning courses. Student eligibility for a second semester will be determined by the students’ status.
• As part of the state’s Sloan Semester program, four students from the Gulf Coast area have enrolled in eight-week versions of MWCC’s journalism and American national government online courses. The courses begin Monday, Oct. 10. MWCC and the Barnes & Noble Bookstore at MWCC donated the textbooks for these courses. “I am so grateful to all of you at MWCC for all that you are doing to help me continue my education,” wrote Louisiana resident Lindsay Gelpi in an e-mail message. “Providing the teaching materials for the course will help out a lot, and is very generous of [MWCC President Daniel M.] Asquino.”
MWCC’s support for the North Central Massachusetts chapter of the American Red Cross: In addition to various fund-raising activities by student groups and college staff, the college will host Red Cross disaster response training sessions on Friday, Oct. 28 and Saturday, Oct. 29. For more information or to register, contact Molly Piscia, the North Central Massachusetts chapter’s disaster services director, at (978) 537-3339 ext. 12 or PisciaM@usa.redcross.org.
Upcoming Campus Events:
• The Theatre at the Mount will present “Clue the Musical” beginning Friday, Oct. 7 at 8 p.m. Other performances will be held Saturday, Oct. 8, Friday, Oct. 14 and Saturday, Oct. 15 at 8 p.m. and Sunday, Oct. 16 at 2 p.m. The show stars Carolyn Aliskevicz as The Detective, Joe Andrade as Mr. Green, Rob Houle as Mrs. White, Nicole Kirrane as Miss Scarlet, Barry Lew as Colonel Mustard, Linda Oroszko as Mrs. Peacock, T.J. Sweeney as Mr. Boddy and Jeff Williams as Professor Plum. For tickets and information, call the Theatre at the Mount Box Office at (978) 632-2403 (Box office hours are Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.) Or purchase tickets online at http://theatre.mwcc.edu.
• Help stock the near-empty shelves at the Gardner Community Action Committee food pantry by donating items to a food drive running through Friday, Oct. 14. Nursing students Taunja Golding and Kim Shea are coordinating the drive for their service-learning project. Drop-off boxes will be placed around MWCC’s Gardner campus: near the library entrance, the commons area, student life offices and the cafeteria. Other businesses and organizations participating in this special food drive include Heywood Hospital, Gardner City Hall, Sacred Heart School, Gardner Boy Scouts, Ash-West Youth Hockey League, Gardner Fish & Gun Club, Gardner Chamber of Commerce, Ashburnham-Westminster Regional School District, Gardner Public Schools and Enterprise Bank & Trust Co. in Fitchburg. The CAC asks for donations of non-perishable items in non-glass containers: cereal, jellies and jams, spaghetti sauce, canned tomatoes, crackers, soup, pasta, juice, baked beans, canned meats and canned vegetables. Money donated to the pantry is used to buy meat, eggs, cheese, baby formula and other refrigerator items. For more information or to make a donation, contact Golding at (978) 827-4410 or Shea at (978) 297-1157.
• The photo exhibit, “Love Makes a Family: Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender People and Their Families,” created by the award-winning Family Diversity Projects will be shown at the MWCC library through Friday, Oct. 14. Hours of the exhibit are Tuesday, Oct. 11, Wednesday, Oct. 12 and Thursday, Oct. 13 from 7:30 a.m. to 8:30 p.m.; and Friday, Oct. 14 from 7:30 a.m. to noon. Family Diversity Projects of Amherst, a nonprofit educational organization, created “Love Makes a Family” as a way of helping to combat homophobia. Since it began touring in 1996, the exhibit has traveled to over 1,000 communities. For more information, contact the Director of Student Life Greg Clement at (978) 630-9252 or gclement@mwcc.mass.edu.
• The Lifelong Learning Institute for Enrichment (LIFE) Program at MWCC is accepting submissions for its annual writing contest in conjunction with the Writer’s Conference it will hold later this month. Poetry and short fiction are the genres, and two winners will be announced, one in each genre. For more details, visit the LIFE website: life.mwcc.edu.
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• MWCC's Art Department will present an exhibit of kiln-formed glass pieces by artist Lynn Latimer in the East Wing Gallery through Tuesday, Oct. 11. Latimer graduated from Rhode Island School of Design in 1975 with a degree in painting and started Latimer Glass Studio in Easthampton in 1976. She said, “The glass and carving allow me to combine these elements of color, images and textures. I have found inspiration in the paintings of Klee and Miro, old frescoes, the aesthetics of Japanese gardens, and more recently through exploring primitive art-carvings, textiles, and painted surfaces from around the world, as well as the subtle color shifts and patterns in hand woven rugs.” For more information, contact Professor Joyce Miller at (978) 630-9221 or jmiller@mwcc.mass.edu.
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• Also hanging in The East Wing Gallery until Saturday, Oct. 15 are the paintings of MWCC art program graduate Joe Feinsilver (’05). Feinsilver, now a student at Mass College of Art, was commissioned over the summer to paint a design on the Wachusett Chamber of Commerce’s AppleArt! apple sponsored by MWCC. For more information about the exhibit, contact Professor John Pacheco at (978) 630-9184 or jpacheco@mwcc.mass.edu.
• The MWCC Concert Band, conducted by Stephen Babineau of Templeton, is playing its premiere concert on Thursday, Oct. 20 beginning at 7:30 p.m. in the MWCC theater. Highlights of this free concert include "Teddy Bears Picnic," "War March of the Priests" and Music from "Ragtime." For more information, contact Babineau at (978) 939-8675.
• Battered Women’s Resources Inc., the Worcester District Attorney’s Office and MWCC’s Paralegal Studies Program will sponsor a mock trial on Monday, Oct. 24 at 1:30 p.m. at the Gardner campus’ north dining area. The dispute will concern domestic violence and the judicial process. For more information, contact Associate Professor Jim Korman at (978) 630-9359 or jkorman@mwcc.mass.edu.
• The annual MWCC Fall Open House will be held in the commons area of the Gardner campus on Thursday, Oct. 27 from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. This is an opportunity for prospective students and their families to learn about MWCC’s more than 40 majors and programs; meet with admissions, financial aid and career services counselors; speak one-on-one with program directors and department chairs; and discover how to transfer to four-year colleges and universities through MWCC’s joint admissions and tuition advantage programs. For more information about this free event, contact the Admissions Office at (978) 630-9110 or admissions@mwcc.mass.edu.
• The LIFE program’s third Wachusett Writer’s Conference will be held Friday, Oct. 28 and Saturday, Oct. 29 at the Colonial Hotel in Gardner. Friday night’s reception will include a portrayal of America’s first recorded and published female poets, Anne Bradstreet and Phillis Wheatley. The roles will be played by Patricia Cosentino and Nazaleem Smith, and they will appear in period costume. They will read from the early works of these poets. Winners of LIFE’s second annual writing contest will be invited to read their winning pieces at this event. There will be an open mic session, and refreshments will be served. The cost is $10. Saturday’s session will begin with a continental breakfast and registration at 8 a.m. The keynote speaker, Archer Mayor, a mystery writer with the Policeman Joe Gunther series, will address the audience with “A Conversation with Archer Mayor.” Morning workshops will follow with three genres: poetry, mystery and short fiction. A delicious luncheon will precede the afternoon workshops. Attendees may choose one morning and one afternoon workshop. For more information, contact Lorraine Wickman at (978) 630-9176 or lwickman@mwcc.mass.edu.
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©2007
Mount Wachusett Community College, 444 Green Street, Gardner,
MA 01440 (978) 632-6600