Friday, October 26, 2007

 

MWCC STUDENT KATIE FORGUES APPOINTED TO MASSACHUSETTS BOARD OF HIGHER EDUCATION

By Janice O'Connor

Katie Forgues

Katie Forgues, a liberal arts and sciences major at Mount Wachusett Community College, has been appointed to the Massachusetts Board of Higher Education. Forgues, a student member of the board with full voting privileges, was sworn in on Friday, Oct. 19 and attended her first meeting that day at Framingham State College.                                                                                   

“I’m really honored to be representing college students throughout Massachusetts and providing a voice for their opinions and concerns,” Forgues said. A prevailing issue for today’s college students is the high cost of higher education, including the escalating cost of textbooks, she said.

A graduate of Fitchburg High School and life-long resident of the city, Forgues currently is serving her second term as Student Government Association president at MWCC. She is a member of the Phi Theta Kappa international honor society and has been involved with its annual clothing and food drives. Forgues has been active on campus with events such as Ginny’s Walk/Run for Hunger, the SGA annual Thanksgiving food drive and the Houses for Haiti Project. She also is a volunteer with the Molly Bish Foundation.

MWCC President Daniel M. Asquino described Forgues as a motivated, enthusiastic leader who cares deeply for her fellow students and is committed to community service. “Katie is making a tremendous difference in the lives of students and residents in our area,” Asquino said. “We’re all very proud of her. Being appointed to the Board of Higher Education is a wonderful achievement for her, and I’m certain she will serve the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, and its students, quite admirably.”

Forgues said her college experience was enhanced during her second semester on campus when she was encouraged by other students to become involved by joining clubs and organizations. Since then, she has served in many leadership capacities, including orientation leader for incoming students.

“Because someone helped me to find my voice, I’m trying to help others find their voices,” she said.

ENTREPRENEUR ROBERT ANSIN GUEST SPEAKER AT ALPHA BETA GAMMA DINNER

By Janice O'Connor

Robert Ansin, founder, president and CEO of MassInnovation, LLC, spoke on sustainable development during the Alpha Beta Gamma annual speaker dinner on Oct. 19. With him are, from left, honor society officers Tricia Rathbun, vice president, Pamela Wood, secretary, and Bethany Marshall, treasurer. Unavailable for photo: honor society president Moises Ramos.

Robert Ansin, founder, president and CEO of MassInnovation, LLC, visited Mount Wachusett Community College to share the remarkable story of how his interest in restoring his family’s defunct, 19th-century textile mill in Fitchburg led to the creation of one of the country’s leading sustainable development companies. Ansin, who was joined by his father, Ronald Ansin, sister Kim Blanchard, brother-in-law Gary Blanchard, and MWCC President Daniel M. Asquino, was the featured speaker during the annual speaker dinner sponsored by the Chi Gamma Chapter of the Alpha Beta Gamma business honor society on Oct. 19.

With a growing national awareness on environmental protection and preservation, most people are familiar with the term “sustainable energy,” particularly those on campus here, where renewable energy sources have been used for nearly a decade.  Ansin explained that a trend in "sustainable development" is now gaining momentum. Rather than focus solely on financial gain, a sustainable development company strives to be good stewards of the land by implementing best practices in green construction techniques, such as reusing materials wherever possible, using products that are not harmful to the environment, and implementing energy saving measures to heat, cool and provide electricity to the building.

As an example, Ansin explained how he was given an estimate of $250,000 to have a substantial portion of the family’s 130-year-old shoe factory on Oak Hill Road razed to make way for a courtyard as part of the overall $2.5 million restoration. But rather than take this path, he instead chose to have that portion of the structure carefully dismantled to preserve the beams and other historic fixtures inside the building. He was then able to sell the valuable materials at a profit, and not only saved a quarter million dollars, but also eliminated tons of contruction debris from ending up in a landfill.

“It would have been the wrong thing to do, to landfill this historic material, and we were able to do something good at the same time," said Ansin, who fondly recalled working summers and after school in the mill making shoes in the family's Anwelt Shoe Factory, which was founded by his grandfather. The building now houses the North Central Charter Essential School, Habitat for Humanity, North Central Massachusetts, Cavu Foundation and Anwelt Heritage, 90 senior housing apartments.

His experience transforming the historic facility to a thriving, mixed-use, green urban campus led the the evolution of his company, which has gained a national reputation for sustainable development and smart growth. Ansin's company is currently restoring the once-propserous Wood Mill in Lawrence, Mass., which was built in 1906. At 1.2 million square-feet - roughly 30 acres - the mill is half its original size in its heyday, before half was torn down in the 1950s to make way for parking.

"Smart growth" practices in industry and in our own homes are being embraced at a much greater scale than ever before, Ansin said. "It really is a movement, and more and more people are embracing the idea of lifecycle costs - not just materials, but oil, gas, air quality. I'm a big believer in the idea that you can make a lot of money and do a lot of good at the same time."

JOURNALIST AND AUTHOR CHARLES P. PIERCE TO PRESENT TALK ON ALZHEIMER'S DISEASE

Charles P. Pierce, journalist and author of Hard to Forget: An Alzheimer's Story, will be the guest speaker on Monday, Oct. 29 from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. in the Fine Arts Center Theatre. Sponsored by the MWCC School of Health Sciences, the event is free and open to the public in anticipation of National Alzheimer's Disease Awareness Month in November.

In his book, Pierce intertwines two dramatic stories - the scientific race to discover the causes of Alzheimer's and his family's moving experiences as they struggle with the disease after his father is diagnosed with it. One day shortly before Memorial Day in 1985, Pierce's 70-year-old father set out to buy flowers for the family's graves. He was found three days later in Montpelier, VT - 250 miles from home and unable to remember his name. He was arrested by police who assumed from his confused state that he was intoxicated. In actuality, he was suffering from Alzheimer's Disease - a diagnosis that family members refused to accept.

A Worcester Native, Pierce writes for The Boston Globe Sunday Magazine. His work also has appeared in Esquire, The New York Times Magazine, The LA Times Magazine, The Nation, The Atlantic and The Chicago Tribune, among others. A former sports columnist for The Boston Herald, he appears weekly on National Public Radio's sports program, "Only A Game" and is a regular panelist on NPR's game show, "Wait, Wait Don't Tell Me."

Pierce's latest book, Moving the Chains: Tom Brady and the Pursuit of Everything, about the New England Patriots quarterback, was released this month.

The Templeton Lions Club donated more than 40 pumpkins to children enrolled in the Garrison Center for Early Childhood Education. MWCC groundskeepers Jim Larrabee and Lenny Charbonneau, both members of the Lions Club, and Dan McMilleon, delivered the orange orbs to the center on Friday.

More MWCC News:

• It is football season at Theatre at the Mount and the big game comes to the stage in the hilarious children’s musical, Miss Nelson Has a Field Day. Bring your pom-poms and cheer for this delightful sequel to last season’s Miss Nelson is Missing! Miss Nelson and Viola Swamp are at it again in this musical romp of schoolhouse humor based on the book by Harry Allard. Miss Nelson Has a Field Day will be performed on Saturday, Oct. 27 at 2 p.m. and all tickets are $4. Advance purchase is recommended by calling the box office at 978 632-2403 or purchasing online at http://theatre.mwcc.edu
• Register now for the second annual Bob Wilson Memorial Scholarship 5k Run/Walk at Fitchburg State College’s Elliot Field Track. Organized by his wife, Tina Wilson, Associate Professor of Computer Information Systems at MWCC, the 5K will take place Sunday, Oct. 28. The Walk will begin at 12:15 p.m.; the Run at 1 p.m. Race Day Registration will start at 10:30 a.m. Proceeds benefit scholarships, through Fitchburg State College and Fitchburg Access Television, to communications and broadcasting students attending MWCC and Fitchburg State. Last year, 180 people registered to walk or run and raised $4,800 for scholarships. Registration forms are available at www.bobwilsonfund.com. For more information, contact Tina Wilson at t_wilson@verizon.net or (978) 630-9225.

• More than 175 people turned out for the annual Scary Karaoke competition on Oct. 25, sponsored by the office of Student Life. Costume winners won cash prizes and one lucky raffle winner walked away with an Xbox 360

  The Democracy Café - Gardner Mayoral Debate will take place Monday, Oct. 29 from 7 to 9 p.m. in the Commons Area. Hosted by the Center for Democracy and Humanity and The Gardner News, the event will provide an opportunity to hear incumbent Mayor Gerald St. Hilaire and candidate Mark Hawke square off in what is sure to be an informative and spirited conversation. Light refreshments will be served.
• In recognition of Alcohol and Drug Abuse Awareness Week, the offices of Student Life and Health Services, CATS and MWCC's Department of Public Safety will be serving up Party Smart Mocktails on Wednesday, Oct. 31 beginning at 11:30 a.m. in the South Cafeteria. Stop by and purchase an alcohol-free beverage and receive a free goblet, while supplies last. During the event, the Department of Public Safety and Student Life will also sponsor the Fatal Vision Program, a simulation of the effect of alcohol on coordination.
• The Fall Film Series 2007: Documenting Society continues on Wednesday, Nov. 7 with the documentary The Ground Truth. The film runs from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. in the North Cafeteria. The Ground Truth has been hailed as "powerful" and "quietly unflinching." The film's subjects are patriotic young Americans who heeded the call for military service in Iraq. The war, depicted with ferocious honesty in the film, is a prelude for the even more challenging battles fought by the soldiers returning home and their struggle to reintegrate with families and communities.
• The enrollment center is offering Information Sessions on a number of academic programs. Upcoming sessions will take place on the following dates: Clinical Laboratory Science: Nov. 14 at 3 p.m. in OBS Conference Room at Heywood Hospital; Biotechnology/Biomanufacturing: Nov. 13 from 6 to 7 p.m. at the Gardner campus, room 241, and at the Leominster campus on Nov. 15 from 1 to 2 p.m.; A.S. Nursing: Nov. 13 from 1 to 2 p.m. at the Gardner campus, room 125; Practical Nursing Certificate program: Nov. 15 from 1 to 2 p.m. at the Gardner campus, room 125; Complementary Health Care: Nov. 19 from 1 to 2 p.m. at the Gardner campus, room 258. Prospective students interested in attending an information session are asked to call the enrollment center at (978) 630-9110 (TTY (978) 632-4916), or send an email to admissions@mwcc.mass.edu
• The American Red Cross will conduct a Blood Drive on Wednesday, Nov. 14 from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. in the Commons Area. Stop by the Health Services Office, room 133, to register or call Diane King or Marianne Stoy at (978) 630-9136. Walk-ins are welcome.