FALL 2008
NSCC star alum earns master’s degree, celebrates 80th birthday. It’s never too late for college. Just ask Helen Haas, Class of ’99. Helen turned 80 this year – the same week she received her master’s degree in pastoral ministry from Boston College. Helen, who says she’s a party girl, partied for three days. When Helen graduated from high school in 1946, she said girls learned domestic skills such as sewing and cooking because women were conditioned to prepare themselves for marriage rather than college. But Helen didn’t spend her time just sewing and cooking. In addition to bringing up her five children (who gave her nine grandchildren), she spent 15 years working with telephone companies and 32 years in the airline industry before she decided to retire and pursue another path – higher education at North Shore Community College. She was 65 and had been out of high school for nearly 50 years. Returning to school after so many years was difficult at first, Helen admitted, but once she started taking classes, she enjoyed every minute of the experience. “I had the
greatest help from the teachers, and the students were all nice to me. All these kids would go, ‘Helen, you gotta party,’ and I’d go. But not on a school night, of course.” Learning algebra was especially hard for Helen after so many years, since algebra terminology had changed since she last studied it in 1946. But one student in her statistics study group was especially helpful – Helen’s daughter, Debra Valverde. Helen is one of three generations in her family to graduate from NSCC. Helen’s daughter Debra Valverde, ’72 , and her granddaughter Desere, ’02 are also alumnae. From NSCC, Helen went on to earn a bachelor’s degree in religious studies from Merrimack College, North Andover, where she graduated cum laude in 2003. Helen and her husband, Leroy Sidman, have since moved to the warmer climate of Desert Hot Springs, California after Helen had health problems including a stroke. As Helen told Desert Sun newspaper reporter, Mariecar Mendosa, “Nothing’s greater than education. I’d like to go
Disney on the Lynn Campus
back and do it all over again. I don’t know if I have enough years left, but who knows?” You’re an inspiration, Helen. Party on.
Your Real Opportunities Help us spread the word about NSCC’s Real Opportunities and you’ll be eligible to win one of four $50 gift certificates to Borders®. NSCC is rolling out a new tagline, Real Opportunities, which gives our Marketing and Public Relations department endless opportunities to help get the word out about all that NSCC has to offer (which, we don’t have to tell you, is a lot).
Bruce Willis doing his death-defying, impossible action moves … at the Lynn campus? You’ll see what we mean when Disney’s new sci-fi action thriller, The Surrogates, comes out in November 2009. To support the revenue-producing Massachusetts Film Industry, NSCC agreed to let The Surrogates’ 200member film crew set up base camp at the Lynn campus parking lot and lawn for two weeks while they filmed Bruce Willis’ stunt double on futuristic motorcycles and helicopters, fleeing from robots through downtown Lynn (also known as the future by Bruce’s character).
Helen Haas at her 1999 NSCC Commencement
We’d like your input. What opportunities did NSCC provide for you?
Clockwise from top: The Surrogates film crew’s helicopter catching the action over the Lynn campus. Up close and personal – Cathy Anderson ’97, Alumni Director in movie disaster scene. Cathy in helicopter chatting with pilot and Bruce Willis’ stunt double.
The movie, based on Robert Venditti’s novel, is about a world of tomorrow where humans live in isolation and interact through surrogate robots. A cop (Willis) is forced to leave his home for the first time in years in order to investigate the murders of others’ surrogates.
NSCC’s Alumni & College Relations Director, Cathy Anderson ’97 (see photos), who was one of the liaisons between the college and Disney, spoke for many students, faculty and staff watching the action when she said: “It was not only fun to watch, but an incredible
experience to be behind the scenes and witness the coordination of people, cameras, cars, motorcycles, and helicopters! There were helicopters flying right over the Lynn campus, motorcycle chase scenes through downtown Lynn streets. I also met many people from throughout the state that were working for the production company and I could see firsthand the impact these movies have on our local economy.”
Did you land a great job? Did you find a dream career? Did you transfer on to a top college or university? Did you win a prestigious scholarship or award? Did you change careers?
We want to know. Send a brief note to Cathy Anderson, Alumni Director, at canderso@northshore.edu or Alumni Relations Office, 1 Ferncroft Road, Danvers 01923. Please provide contact information: Your name, grad year, address, phone number, email. We’ll notify you on or before January 1, 2009 if you’ve won a certificate to Borders® books and music store. And, if you agree, maybe we’ll share your Real Opportunity in next Spring’s Alumni News.
Commencement 2008 North Shore Community College confers a record 900 degrees and certificates at 42nd commencement In case you haven’t noticed, NSCC has grown. More than 900 graduates at this year’s May 22 commencement heard commencement speaker Bridgewater State College president Dr. Dana Mohler-Faria, a former community college graduate who served as Governor Deval Patrick’s Special Advisor for Education. Sharing the podium with Dr. Mohler-Faria was NSCC’s Student Speaker, Phuong Vo, now of Marblehead. Coming to the United States from Vietnam only two years ago, Ms. Vo overcame many obstacles and challenges and graduated from NSCC’s Health Sciences program with a 3.95 grade point average. A member of the National Dean’s List and the Phi Theta Kappa National Honor Society, Ms. Vo was recently selected to be a member of USA Today’s 2007-2008 All Massachusetts Academic Team. She will continue her education and quest to become a doctor at Mount Holyoke this fall. Also recognized was Cara Wayman, Student Government President and a member of the Performing Arts Council, the Multicultural Society, the Anti-Violence Club and the Program Council. Cara will be attending UMASS Boston for a bachelor’s degree in sociology and intends to continue on for a law degree.
Distinguished Alumni Award This year’s Distinguished Alumni Award was presented to Anne Marie Perry, a tenured professor at Massasoit Community College and the chair and founder of their Elementary Education Department. The award recognizes her outstanding career in the field of public education. Anne Marie received two degrees from NSCC. In 1974, she completed the Rehabilitation Assistant Program. In 1991, she received a second associate degree in the Physical Therapy Assistant Program. Now living in Bridgewater, Anne Marie said, “While life took me away from the North Shore, the opportunity to give back by helping to educate new Physical Therapy Assistants at Massasoit Community College brought me full circle and fostered a new passion: educating educators and especially students who come to college underprepared.”
Alumni Reception at Graduation Rehearsal The Class of 2008 was treated to celebratory cake and refreshments following graduation rehearsal the morning of commencement.
At right, top, l-r: North Shore Community College President Wayne Burton, Student Speaker Phuong Vo, Student Government President Cara Wayman, and Commencement Speaker Dr. Dana Mohler-Faria, President, Bridgewater State College. Center, l-r: NSCC Board of Trustees Chair and Alumni Association Treasurer Barry Ginsberg ’71, Anne Marie Perry ’74 and ’91, and Alumni Association Board President Shawn Lerner ’92. Bottom, l-r: NSCC staff members Sheila Girard ’01, Alumni & College Relations, Jacqui DeLorenzo ’79 and Betty Dyke, both from the Student Support & Advising Center, Lynn Marcus, Placement Coordinator, and “Sully” Sullivan ’97, Human Services.
Faculty Q&A
185 Scholarships Awarded
Professor Jennifer Rich, Office Tech Program
North Shore Community College Foundation awarded 185 scholarships to students continuing their education at their May 15 breakfast at Danversport Yacht Club. NSCC’s Alumni Association awarded three scholarships of $1,000 each to graduates continuing their education at a four-year college or university. Pictured below are two of this year’s winners, Albert Ferdman of Lynn and Luz Garay of Danvers.
What brought you to teach? The community college environment offers a unique teaching experience for me. The most exciting part of it is working with so many motivated students who appreciate the value of their education. They amaze me when I learn of the responsibilities they are managing in their day-to-day lives and why this educational experience is so important to their future. It is, in my opinion, the ideal teaching environment to witness firsthand a marvelous transition for students. As faculty, we share in their successful accomplishments and educational achievements at the college, as well as their improved self-confidence and hope for the future. NSCC opens so many doors for our students, and I feel privileged to be a part of their educational experience.
Is there a specific time that had a significant impact on your years at NSCC? Every year is different and motivating for me. I constantly try to change with the times, and this has a positive impact on my teaching methodology. It is essential to be open to new technology, creative teaching techniques, and changing job trends, all of which are essential in the teaching profession. I need to relate to my students in a changing world. What worked in the classroom even a few years ago needs to be constantly revised and updated. I am as energized and enthusiastic about teaching now as I was when I first arrived on campus in 1970.
What differences have you seen in students from when you started to today? I believe the major change in students over the past few decades involves trying to balance family, work and educational demands. Very few students are just full-time students. Time management issues and the economy impact students more than ever before. Some of the socialization activities are minimized because students arrive on campus, take their classes, and leave for work and/or family responsibilities. Very few students have time to participate in college and recreational activities both on campus and away from the college.
How would you sum up your experience teaching at NSCC? I would sum up my teaching experience as follows: If I had to do it all over again, I would jump at the opportunity. Teaching at NSCC has many rewards, both personally and professionally. Whether NSCC graduates transition directly to the workplace or to a four-year college, we all share in their career development and achievements. This is the motivation that inspires a passion for teaching. When I reflect on my years at the college, I am so proud of the accomplishments of our graduates as well as the important mission NSCC provides to the state.
North Shore Community College continues to further its recycling initiatives by encouraging everyone to bring to campus any and all paper recyclables including office paper, newspaper, magazines, catalogs, and mail. (Brown cardboard is not accepted in this program.) The green and yellow Abitibi Paper Retriever collection dumpsters are located by the McGee, Berry, and Health Professions’ loading docks at the Lynn and Danvers campuses.
L-R: Albert Ferdman ’08, Alumni Association Board Members Julie Howland ’91 and ’04, Shawn Lerner ’92, Gerard “Sully” Sullivan ’97, and Luz Garay ’08.
Annual Fund: Donate Online Today! Look for your Annual Fund letter in the mail this fall. Or donate on-line today. Support NSCC’s students and programs!
https://www.northshore.edu/giving/donate/donate.jsf
Alumni Careers
Legally Speaking… Kevin James graduated NSCC in 1986 with an associate degree in criminal justice. He went on to earn his bachelor of political science with a minor in black history from UMASS Boston, and a juris doctorate from Suffolk Law School. He was admitted to the Massachusetts Bar in 1997. Kevin practices criminal defense and personal injury litigation through his own law practice in Danvers. Kevin enlisted in the military directly after high school, and it was during an infantry training class that he first had thoughts of attending college. He describes the decision to join the military as a decision by default, the result of his belief that, because he had not done well in high school and had not taken college prep classes, that college was not an option for him. However, his time in the military gave him the confidence, maturity and different perspective to rethink his previous assumptions. Following his time in the military, he enrolled in NSCC’s Criminal Justice program. Among his fond memories are the legal discussions in Attorney James Dragon’s classes. He recalls the professor as being “less concerned about how an issue was decided and more concerned about how the students arrived at the conclusion.” Students were encouraged to discuss and analyze the legal issues. “North Shore Community College was the first educational institution that I actually wanted to attend and I believe the staff really enjoyed having me there. NSCC served as a welcoming gateway to the start of my education after high school and led me to further my education.” Kevin is grateful for being in a profession with
Alumni Author Jacqui DeLorenzo is an Academic Counselor at NSCC, as well as a grad. She received her A.S. with honors from NSCC’s Early Childhood Program in 1979. Jacqui attended NSCC part-time while working full-time and recalls how much she “enjoyed the journey” to obtain her degree. Graduation is one of her fondest memories. She continued on to UMASS Amherst for her bachelor’s in financial aid and career counseling, and then went to Salem State College where she earned her master’s in psychological services and counseling. Jacqui began working at NSCC while a student here and has found her passion in helping students reach their greatest potential. She remembers her own challenges as a student and feels that “North Shore Community College gave me wings – it lifted me up and helped me on my journey in believing in myself.” She loves seeing students succeed and describes the most rewarding part of her job as seeing students blossom and begin to believe in themselves. Helping students build self esteem and gain confidence along their journey is “priceless,” Jacqui says. Jacqui’s own life experiences and challenges have developed in her a remarkable ability to relate to everyone and empathize with students and the different challenges that they face. She has overcome many challenges herself including the devastating divorce of her parents and being the target of bullying during her childhood, the death of her brother at age 13, her own battle with cancer, and struggles with an eating disorder. She is deeply spiritual, an eternal optimist and has channeled her own trauma in a positive direction to help others. In addition to her work in NSCC’s Student Support and Advising Center, Jacqui has written an inspirational book about her experiences to help anyone facing their own challenges. Jacqui is donating the majority of proceeds from the sale of her book to St Jude’s Children Research Hospital in memory of her brother, Johnny. Her book, “A Thread of Hope, A Woman’s Spiritual Journey of Faith from Trauma to Triumph” can be found on Amazon.com, as well as Borders.com and BarnesandNoble.com.
Are you an alumni author? Let us know! Email: alumni@northshore.edu
unlimited potential, and enjoys having his own practice and the ability to alter his schedule to spend time with his family. Paul Armitage ’75 began his distinguished 37-year career in law enforcement with the Middleton, Massachusetts police department. He joined the force as a police officer and rose through the ranks to become the department’s chief of police. Paul served as chief for 10 years, until his retirement in 2007. He describes his career as an avocation rather than a vocation. “I lived and breathed the job and loved every minute of it,” he said. “NSCC got me started along that route.” Paul chose NSCC to begin his higher education because of its location, course content and price. He attended college part-time, working while pursuing his associate degree in law enforcement. Once at NSCC, he found the time spent in classes especially rewarding because he got to meet and associate with others like himself who hoped to work in law enforcement. He also had the opportunity to get to know professionals already in the field. He says it was because of his instructors at NSCC that he learned he was not the mediocre student he believed himself to be. “Perhaps I matured late, but I believe that the instructors woke up in me the desire to better educate myself and the ambition to strive for advancement.” Paul’s NSCC associate degree led to a B.S. in criminal justice at Northeastern University, and an M.A. in criminal justice from Anna Maria College.
Kevin James ’86
Paul Armitage ’75
Although retired, Paul continues to work in the field he loves, working part-time as an Investigator at the Essex County Jail in Middleton. In addition, for the past 10 years he has served as a mentor in the Concerns of Police Survivors (C.O.P.S.) Kids Program. C.O.P.S. is a national, non-profit organization, the only national grief support organization in the country that works with the surviving families of America’s fallen law enforcement officers to help them rebuild their shattered lives. Paul’s work with C.O.P.S. Kids began in 1997 when his close friend, coworker, and another former NSCC student, Ed Couture, who was a patrolman with the Middleton Police Department, was struck and killed by a motor vehicle while working. After seeing the good work that C.O.P.S. did with Ed’s children and all of the other children who lost a parent to a line-of-duty death, Paul felt compelled to join the organization and participate as a mentor. Recently, Paul was elected to serve as the Northeast Region Trustee for National C.O.P.S.
Community Events
Above, left: NSCC alumni, staff, faculty and students volunteers for Earth Day clean up of Lynn Woods Reservation: (l-r) Sully Sullivan ’97, Human Services, Lesley Peters ’97, Lloyd Holmes, Dean of Students, and Professor Greg Reppucci, one of the founding members of NSCC’s President’s Committee on Environmental Concerns. Right, Operation Bootstrap graduate Elizabeth Murphy and daughter Rees (21 months old) with NSCC President Wayne Burton.
Above, left: NSCC’s Culinary Arts students and faculty are shown with their entry in the Sixth Annual Marriott Marquis’ Gingerbread on Broadway competition in Times Square. Right, NSCC’s annual Law Day lecture was held on May 1st, and teleconferenced from the Danvers campus to students attending and participating from the Lynn campus. Guest lecturer was Mary-Alice Doyle, Deputy First Assistant, Essex District Attorney’s Office speaking on this year’s theme, “The Rule of Law.”
NSCC has many free events year-round. Join us! Learn more about upcoming events at www.northshore.edu/news.
Alumni News is published for NSCC alumni and friends by the Alumni Office, North Shore Community College, 1 Ferncroft Road, Danvers, MA, 01923. News, photos and event listings are welcome subject to editor approval. Please send to: canderso@northshore.edu. Telephone: 978-762-4000 x5483 Alumni Association Board
Staff
JUDI GENTLEMAN–’96 President GERARD ‘SULLY’ SULLIVAN–’97 Vice President BARRY GINSBERG–’71 Alumni Trustee JULIE HOWLAND–’91 Secretary/Treasurer JOSEPH W. WALSH, JR.–’73 President Emeritus BRENDA CLARK–’68 MARY DENNESEN–’84 SHAWN LERNER–’92 MARY ANN MURRAY–’90 LESLEY PETERS–’97 DONNA ROSATO–’03
CATHERINE ANDERSON–’97 Publisher, NSCC Alumni News Director, Alumni/College Relations
Writers/Editors SANDRA ROCHON CATHERINE ANDERSON–’97 PEGGY (O’CONNELL) JUSTICE–’68 NANCY BARKER
Staff Photographers NSCC MEDIA DEPARTMENT SANDRA ROCHON NANCY BARKER TRACY CALLAHAN–’95
Women In Transition program to celebrate 20 years. All WIT participants invited. This year marks the 20th anniversary of NSCC’s Women In Transition program at NSCC – a learning community designed to support women returning to school. The program offers on-going support in small classes plus individual advising and career planning to ease the transition back into the academic environment. A program reunion will be held to commemorate the 20th anniversary in November 2008. Participants from all years are welcome to attend. For more information, contact Dr. Margaret Figgins-Hill at 978-739-5515 or mfiggins@northshore.edu This year’s WIT program graduates are shown above, l-r: Professor Debra Bridges, Neena Starr, Program Coordinator Dr. Margaret Figgins-Hill, Joanne Mirra, Patricia Walsh, Julie Mason, Heidi Pearson, Diane Parsons, Sarah Johnson, Nicole Fitzgerald, Professor Lynn Clarkson.
NSCC’s Corporate and Community Education Division offers the best in life-long learning opportunities for you, your family, and your business. For you. We have programs to help you update your skills. This fall, register for: Microsoft Office 2007 Certificate AutoCAD 2009 ISO 1400 /2004 For your family. Don’t miss our latest Kids to College, Parents to College, or North Shore Academy programs including: Family Health: Body/Mind Connections Family Fun: Chop, Cook, and Eat Together Many more classes for youth ages 5-17
For your business. New programs include: Critical Thinking Ethics in Health Care Central Sterile Processing American Management Association Certificate Society of Human Resource Management (SHRM) Customized training to improve productivity and your bottom line
Come back to NSCC – we’re here for you! NSCC’s latest noncredit course schedule offerings are on our website at: www.northshore.edu
For more information about: Customized corporate training, call Elaine or Helene, at 978-236-1206 or 978-236-1207. Youth programs, call Trish at 978-236-1232. Community Education or openenrollment workforce development programs, call 978-236-1200. If you are interested in offering a noncredit course, let us know. Send a course outline and resume to nplante@northshore.edu We love to have our alumni come back as adjunct faculty members or corporate trainers.