Thursday, May 31, 2007
GCC Travel Scholarship Announced
Two Students Expand their Horizons with Scholarship's Help
Greenfield — Greenfield Community College is making it possible for two of its students to experience the opportunity of a lifetime, studying in Quito, Ecuador and living with families there this summer. Vanessa Brewster, 23, of Greenfield and Ruth Gemperlein, 44, of Greenfield are recipients of this year's GCC International Travel scholarships.
"Oh my God, GCC rules! I love GCC," Brewster gushed. "I think it's totally amazing that they offer this scholarship."
Both women received $1,900 from GCC, which will cover their school, lodging and travel costs. They will study at the Enforex Spanish Language Schools in Quito. Enforex is the largest organization in Spain and Latin America specialized in teaching Spanish as a foreign language and has 24 Spanish language schools throughout the Spanish-speaking world.
Gemperlein is a surgical technician at Franklin Medical Center and is planning to apply to the University of Massachusetts at Amherst to get a Bachelor's of Science and Nursing. She said she went to GCC to learn Spanish to help her take better care of patients and make them feel comfortable. She wants to study in South America to learn more about the language and culture.
"I think it's incredible that they offer this scholarship, especially for a small community college," she said. "I feel very privileged to have received the award."
Brewster is a second-year fine arts students who hopes to eventually transfer to a fashion design school. She said she is in love with learning languages and wants to perfect her Spanish before moving on to French. She hopes the language skills she is developing at GCC, and will improve on this summer, will help her in her career.
She is also interested in learning about the food, plants and horticulture of Ecuador. Brewster studied herbal medicine and nutrition for two years before studying art and still has an interest in those fields.
Both women say they are a bit nervous about traveling to a new country, but are confident at the same time, thanks to all the planning help they have received from GCC. They both lauded the Spanish department and the rest of GCC's academics.
"I've had a really good experience with their language program. The Spanish teachers here are topnotch," Gemperlein said. "It's been a joy learning Spanish there."
Brewster is leaving June 3 and plans to stay six weeks — four at the school and two with family she has in the country. Gemperlein is leaving July 7 and will return July 28.
Brewster and Gemperlein will both give presentations on their trip this fall. For more information about the travel program, please contact Kit Carpenter of the International Studies Committee at 775-1226.
GCC and UMass Partner to Train Young Scientists
Greenfield — This summer more than 100 Franklin County students will gather at the University of Massachusetts Amherst to share research findings from the STEM RAYS (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics Research Academies for Young Scientists) program.
STEM RAYS is a National Science Foundation (NSF) program that teams Greenfield Community College and University of Massachusetts Amherst science faculty with public school teachers in Franklin County to teach fourth- through eighth-grade students what real science research is all about. The students met with their teachers after school on a weekly basis to work on actual research being conducted by UMass and GCC faculty.
On June 16 in the Campus Center Ballroom of the UMass campus, the students will present their finding to one another in a morning poster session.
Marie Silver, project manager for STEM RAYS at GCC and UMass, said the program is funded through a three-year grant from NSF. It started this spring as an after-school program at 11 schools and 22 schools are planning to offer it this fall. Teachers worked with Brian Adams, a professor from GCC, who is researching the affect of road salt on stream water quality and the suitability of the Bloody Brook watershed for salmon spawning, or with Julian Tyson, a UMass professor looking at whether there is arsenic in the environment. Students helped the researchers by, for example, looking at the health of smaller watersheds near their schools or by testing for arsenic near their schools.
"This is a research grant to study whether engaging young students in research changes their attitudes to science and whether participating students will think of pursuing a science career," Silver said.
She said science at the grammar, middle and high school levels is usually taught in blips and chapters. This project is unique because students get to see how science actually works by participating in ongoing research. They have time to do the research over a few years.
The program is expanding this fall to include other faculty members from UMass and GCC who are working on other research projects, including studies on birds, weather and climate, and air quality.
There will be a summer session of the program, called the Summer Science Exploration, which will focus on the three research programs already in progress. The program is at the GCC campus so students will study the environment and watersheds around campus. They will also get the chance to attend special programs including one on raptors.
Parents and family members are invited to attend the June 16 conference as is the general public. Immediately following the poster session, students and families will visit Hasbrouck Labs for Chemistry and Physics demonstrations by UMass graduate students.
For more information about the STEM RAYS program, please go online to www.umassk12.net/rays. Schools that want to participate in this program next fall can contact Silver at 545-0734 or by email at msilver@umassk12.net or silverm@gcc.mass.edu.
GCC Scholars Break Mold
Greenfield — On June 3 as the Greenfield Community College graduating class of 2007 stand ready for their diplomas, there will be many stories of achievement and triumph to be heard. But four women in particular have stories of success that are just beginning.
Teresa Berra, 36, Cyla O'Conner, 32, Kerry Valentine, 29 and Rita Corey, 32, are all graduating from the GCC math and science department next week and all four have been accepted to Smith College in Northampton as Ada Comstock Scholars. Not only are they a few years older than the average college student, but they are women excelling in fields traditionally dominated by men.
The competitive scholar program at the all-woman college helps students who are nontraditional students earn a degree by offering them a flexible schedule. The program accepts applicants who are 24 years old or have a dependent other than a spouse or who are veterans.
All four women tried school at a younger age, but were not able to succeed for personal reasons. They all ended up in the restaurant business, where they realized the importance of having an education in order to have a more fulfilling life.
Berra, 36, of Conway, plans to enter the engineering program at Smith. Her college career started soon after high school when she went straight to Hampshire College. But said she was too irresponsible at the time to succeed and eventually dropped out. She recently she went through some life changes that made feel the need to finally finish her education.
"I've grown up a lot. I've discovered how important it is to have an education and I have a very supportive partner," Berra said.
She started out at GCC not knowing what she wanted to major in, but kept taking more and more challenging courses and eventually ended up in the engineering program. It has been the academic challenge that has driven her and she hopes to be even more challenged this fall at Smith.
Corey, 32. of Hatfield, had a similar experience. She went to school in New York at 18, but said she had a lot of personal problems that got in the way of school. When she finally decided to go to GCC, she was just planning to take a dance class.
"Didn't feel very smart; I didn't feel very confident," she said about why she didn't take any academic courses.
She realized what she could accomplish if she worked hard and is now graduating in liberal arts with a concentration in math, which she plans to major in at Smith.
Valentine, 29, of Amherst is planning to major in chemistry at Smith. She too entered college right out of high school, but it just didn't work out.
"I wasn't ready for it and I didn't like it," Valentine said. She worked in massage therapy for a while and then moved to Massachusetts from Florida and began working in the restaurant business. She said she knows she could make a decent living if she stayed in the business, but didn't feel that it was a fulfilling life. She wanted to educate herself and broaden her possibilities in life, which is why she started at GCC with an initial plan to attend the University of Massachusetts in Amherst. She never even dreamed of applying to Smith until her teachers convinced her she has what it takes.
O'Conner,32, of Amherst is the only one in the group who has a child. She is a married and has a 9-year-old. She is originally from Brazil and when she came to the States, she tried attending a community college in Long Island, New York, but it just didn't work out.
"I always wanted to do it, it just wasn't the right time. I had a child and being from another country, it took a long time to get to the point where I was ready for school," O'Conner said.
She originally started out trying to do architecture, like her father, but realized her strength lied more in math than in art and drawing, so she decided to dedicate herself to engineering instead.
She is interested in sustainable building and hopes to use her skills to help shape the future in a more eco-friendly design.
Some people may think that getting a degree a few years out of high school is difficult, but these girls prove that's a myth.
Corey said her age and experience is an advantage, not an obstacle. The first time she tried to go to school, there were other issues in her life that kept getting in the way and it was hard to make the decision to stay home on a Saturday night to study. That's not a problem now.
"I had problems and that just got in the way of schooling," she said. "Now school is the most important thing for me and learning is the most important thing. I think it's a really great experience. I like being older now. I feel like I have a lot more to offer and to learn."
O'Conner said going to college at her age is a sacrifice of comfort and security because she could be spending that time making money instead. That's a hard choice, especially as a mother, and it means that if she is going to take a class she better have her whole mind and heart in it.
The women are nervous about starting at Smith, but they are confident too. Each woman said she was thankful for everything she got at GCC including three friends who will be familiar faces at her new school in the fall.
"I am so proud of all of them," Berra said of O'Conner, Valentine and Corey. "And I can't wait to be with them at Smith."
For more information, contact Peter Rosnick, co-chair math department, at (413) 775-1446.
Hard Work Pays Off for GCC Student
Cambodian Immigrant Overcomes Language Barriers and Excels
Kimchou Sok had just a high school education from her home country of Cambodia and two years of high school English when she arrived in this country. It was hard for her to get around or even buy a few goods at the store because she just didn't understand enough of the language to get by.
So almost immediately after she arrived, she enrolled at Greenfield Community College to take English as a second language courses.
"My husband graduated from there and he said that it is a very good school — quiet, small classes. All the teachers help students learn more," Sok said. "I agree with him."
Now, two years of English courses and a couple of semesters of regular classes later, she is graduating with at 3.6 grade-point-average in computer science and is planning to attend the University of Massachusetts Amherst in the fall.
Sok, 27, moved here in the fall of 2002 to join her husband Chambona Er, who emigrated here from a Cambodian refugee camp and graduated from GCC in the late 1990s. Since she started at GCC, Sok has been a familiar face in the Peer Tutoring Program center.
"I set up appointments to make up material I did not understand. Everybody is so nice," Sok said about the tutoring programs at GCC. "I go to the Learning Center all the time — every time — so they help me a lot."
Montserrat Archbald, staff assistant in the Peer Tutoring Program, said Sok isn't much for talking about herself, but her dedication to school is obvious to all who meet her.
"She always made use of all the resources she could in order to learn. She works extremely hard," Archbald said. "She always comes in for help in all her college courses. She does a tremendous amount of work on her own and with the peer tutors."
Sok said she would recommend GCC to any new immigrant wanting to learn English and improve their education so they can make it in this country. She said it's difficult to get by in this country if you don't speak English and GCC was a great place to overcome that challenge.
"I want to thank so much all my professors and everyone at GCC. They are very helpful," Sok said.
For information on English for Speakers of Other Languages, contact Kit Carpenter at (413) 775-1226.
GCC Announces New Scholarship Program to Expand Access
Greenfield — Greenfield Community College has created a new program that will open its doors to the community even wider. The new Community Access Scholarship Fund will provide funding and work-study opportunities for people who might otherwise not be able to attend.
"This scholarship fund has been established to reach out to those within the community who have not seen themselves as college-bound," said GCC President Robert Pura. "Too many in our community leave high school with a degree and begin to settle for less than their dreams. Too many people of all ages in our community live without hope or aspiration. Far too many tell themselves that they do not belong; they fear that they cannot succeed. This program is created to contradict those messages with others that shout out "you do belong, you can succeed."
This scholarship fund was made possible by a significant and generous multi-year commitment from an anonymous donor from the community. It was established to help the college work with the public schools, businesses, religious organizations and human service organizations in the community so together they can connect with potential students and convince them that they can succeed in college and improve their lives with education.
Through the program, students will also have the opportunity to get an on-campus job within the program of study they enter.
"This gift and this program speak to the understanding that this community has about the importance of education," Pura said. "Our community, in spite of our challenges, is beginning to be defined by its commitment to access as well as excellence in education."
Allen Davis, executive director of the GCC Foundation, said this gift and the new program it created comes at a wonderful time for GCC, which will have its 45th anniversary starting this fall with the theme "Celebrating 45 Years of Excellence.”
"It's a fabulous gift. It's the largest gift we've ever received," Davis said. "Creating access and opportunity for anyone who wants to come to GCC — that's tremendous because that's what GCC is all about."
He commended the donors for their generosity and said he hopes they serve as an example for others.
"Hopefully this wonderful act of philanthropy will inspire others in the community to make even larger gifts," he said.
Anyone who wants to find out more about this new program can call Linda Dejardins, co-director of the Financial Aid office, at 775-1105.
Tuesday, May 15, 2007
Hillside Pizza Benefits GCC Alumni Association
Greenfield — You would be hard pressed to find someone who doesn't like pizza. You would be even harder pressed to find someone who wouldn't want to buy pizza and give to a cause at the same time.
That's why the Greenfield Community College Alumni Association decided to have a pizza sale fundraiser for the Association's scholarship fund and to offset operating expenses of the organization. According to Regina Curtis, president of the Association, "Most people are going to buy pizza anyway, so we thought it was a good way to raise funds for the organization.”
Curtis said she was familiar with Hillside Pizza, a restaurant and pizza and cookie sale fundraising business out of Deerfield because she had bought their take-and-bake pizza from her son's elementary school fundraisers in the past.
"You pay about the same as regular pizza and it's delicious," she said. "It's a win-win for the Alumni Association, for the people who buy the pizzas and for Hillside Pizza,"
The sale was a hit and the Alumni Association was able to raise $368 for this first effort.
And, as a plus, Hillside is co-owned by a GCC alum, Craig White, so the event helped even more people from the GCC family.
"I'm very happy that we are able to combine our first outside fundraiser like this while benefiting a GCC alum and his business," Curtis said.
The pizzas are organic and mostly made from local products.
White said GCC was a positive place for him to go right out of high school. His parent had died while he was in high school and GCC was a great small school where he didn't feel like he got lost in the shuffle. He went on to Cape Cod Community College after GCC and got his associates in hotel and restaurant management before eventually starting his business.
"I'm happy to able to help GCC out," White said. "I'm happy to be connected with the school."
Jean Simmons, vice-president of the Alumni Association, was the co-coordinator of the fundraiser along Alumni Association member Eileen Torchio-Miller and Curtis. Simmons said she tasted the pizza herself before the fundraiser so she could feel confident about selling the product, and she said it was a great-tasting pizza. She was also happy that they were able to work with alum White on the project and hopes that this becomes a springboard to inspire other alumni to come up with fundraisers.
"It takes something like this to bring people together for a great cause," Simmons said.
Curtis said that the Alumni Association had been fairly inactive over the last decade. It has recently been rejuvenated and now includes a paid membership plan. The hope is to increase the association's scholarship fund so it can give more to more students. Right now, the association gives two $500 scholarships a year to GCC graduates going on to four-year colleges.
For more information about the Alumni Association and how to become a member, please contact Curtis at 775-1426 or at curtisr@gcc.mass.edu, or you can go online to http://alumni.gcc.mass.edu.
New Theater Course Set for Summer
Greenfield — As a child, you may have whittled away the summer days playing pretend. Greenfield Community College is offering grownups the chance to recapture that magic with its new summer stock acting course.
Kimberley Morin, Assistant Professor, Theater and Speech, said a summer stock is an acting program where the students get to participate in ever aspect of live theater —from set design to lighting. It's a series of several short plays with small ensemble casts who perform the plays after a quick, intensive preparation time.
The course will run seven weeks. The first four weeks will be an intensive program just for students taking the course for credit. The students will read plays and discuss them as well as make preparations for the upcoming plays, including choosing what plays they will do.
Morin said there will likely be three to five 20- to 30-minute plays performed and it will be entirely up to the students in the class to choose them. If there is a playwright in the class, there may even be an original work or two performed.
The students will be in charge of everything from auditions to set design and lighting.
During the last three weeks, students and people from the community taking the class as a community workshop will join the crew and begin auditioning for parts in the plays.
Morin said that GCC is supportive of the student body and encourages students to be actors in its performances, especially since they are funded through Student Life. But, GCC is a community college and it is important to be able to bring in the community to interact with the students.
"The summer stock gives us the time and opportunity to pull in community actors in a way we can't do over the school year," Morin said.
Sara Gibson, 22, a second year theater major from Northfield, said she is excited about the summer stock because it will give her an opportunity to work on different aspects of play production, so she can spread her wings beyond acting.
"I can dib and dab and learn in other areas," she said.
Kati Delaney, 19, is a first year theater major from Ashfield, said she is excited about the program because small productions with small crews tend to build strong friendships.
Jillian Morgan, 20, a second year theater major from Vernon, Vt., said the theater teachers at GCC are incredibly supportive, and you don't need to have had any experience to join the class.
"The teachers here are really great. They all want you to be more comfortable with yourself as an actor and a person," she said.
Hillary Smith, 19, a first year English major from Whitingham, Vt., said that even though she isn't a theater major, she thinks the experience with the summer stock will help her in her studies. She is planning on becoming a teacher and she said the interaction with people in the community and learning how to run a play will improve her leadership skills. She also hopes to take a stab a screenwriting for the program too.
Morin said Franklin County is filled with incredible talent when it comes to performing arts and she thinks the students taking the class for credit will get a lot out of working with people from the community.
"This gives them the chance to learn from and share with the talent of the community," she said.
And, it's a program that can be enjoyed by everyone, even if you prefer to watch theater instead of acting in it.
"We are putting on more than just passive entertainment. It inspires thought-provoking, creative discussions and makes you laugh," Gibson said.
For more information about GCC summer programs and classes, please visit the Course Guide online at www.gcc.mass.edu.
Tuesday, May 08, 2007
Longtime GCC Supporter to be Honored in DC
Greenfield — Greenfield Community College has enjoyed the support of numerous people throughout its existence, but Jean Cummings was there at the beginning of it all. In fact, she was one of the college's earliest supporters.
Now her years of service will be recognized nationally, as she has been selected to receive a Council for Resource Development 2007 Benefactor Award.
"I'm sort of overwhelmed. I don't think it's sunk in yet," said Cummings, who didn't take the nomination seriously at first because she thought she had no chance at all to win a national award.
Cummings, of Greenfield, will travel to Washington D.C. with GCC President Robert L. Pura to accept the award on Nov. 2 at the awards banquet. The CRD is a national organization that supports fundraising endeavors for two-year colleges. Through advocacy, education and mentorship, the organization helps individuals and groups to better support community colleges. The Benefactor Award, which has been given out annually since 1993, is given to nominees chosen for their spirit of philanthropy, leadership and volunteerism.
GCC Director of Development Regina Curtis said she and Allen Davis, director of the GCC Foundation, came up with a list of several people who fit the profile of someone deserving of the award. But, Curtis said what the CRD is looking for is not just someone who has made a significant contribution in support of a community college, but someone who has also demonstrated that support across many, many years.
"Jean's involvement has really been significant and hasn't stopped since 1960. That made it an easy choice," Curtis said.
Cummings, said she got involved with GCC when it was still just an idea. She was part of the Parent Teacher Organization at Four Corners School back in the late ‘50s and attended a state conference for PTO members. She said most of the conference was boring, but one thing jumped out at her and that was a talk on community and junior colleges. She told her friend and fellow PTO member Grace Mayers about what she learned, and Mayers, Cummings, then-State Representative Allan McGuane and others were then inspired to make GCC a reality.
But Cummings' involvement didn't stop there. She taught biology as a part-time instructor for about seven years at GCC and has served as Chairman of the GCC Foundation and as a board member of the GCC Foundation since 1974 and has been a member emeritus of the board since 1982. She has also served as chair on several of the Foundation board's committees over the decades to raise money for the college. While she was working at GCC, she encouraged the college to start an endowment and promised her year's salary as the first donation. She insists its was a fairly small salary at the time.
"Jean certainly has been a leader all these years in the development of this community's support of education both in access and student success," Pura said. "This college is so very grateful."
Cummings said she is proud to see how GCC has grown. It started as a haven for students who may not have otherwise had a chance at college, bright students who maybe didn't apply themselves in high school. Now, she said, it is so much more — a place for professionals to increase their training, a place for students to launch into four-year programs, a place for people who want to change careers and a place for individuals to just take a course to enrich their lives.
"I am delighted in the way it has grown. I think it has a tremendous reputation for a small college," Cummings said. "It's just the best thing to have ever happened to Greenfield. To have it here has just done wonders for our area."
Only 10 people were chosen from all the schools who submitted nominations for the Benefactor Award. CRD, an affiliate organization of the American Association of Community Colleges, serves more than 1600 members. Cummings is the winner for Region I, which includes community colleges in Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, Vermont, Labrador, Newfoundland, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward and Quebec, Canada
For more information, contact Regina Curtis at 775-1426, or curtisr@gcc.mass.edu.
GCC Trustee Voted to Statewide Leadership Position
Patricia Crosson, chair of the Greenfield Community College Board of Trustees, was elected as the chair of the Massachusetts Community College Trustees Association May 3 at the Association's quarterly meeting.
"By being elected as chair of that organization, Pat will have a significant voice on behalf of the whole system," said GCC President Robert Pura, who was with Crosson at the meeting. "To shape the conversation and bring her incredible experience to the table will benefit not only GCC, but the entire system."
The Community College Trustees Association serves as the voice of community colleges across the Commonwealth when it comes to policy decisions and advocacy. The organization is composed of all the community colleges' boards of trustees and presidents.
Crosson has been the chair of the GCC Board since July, when she replaced Kevin Parsons, who recently stepped down from the board. She has attended several meetings of the state association over the years.
"The Community College Trustee Association is an important group because it allows for the collective voice of trustees on policy and other matters affecting community colleges. I am pleased to be able to play a leadership role and hope that it will benefit all community colleges including Greenfield Community College," Crosson said.
Crosson retired from working at the University of Massachusetts Amherst five years ago after working 30 years in academia, most of which were at the University of Massachusetts. She also served intermittent terms in administrative positions at the University of Massachusetts, including interim provost and vice chancellor of Academic Affairs.
"I happen to think that we as a system are most fortunate that Pat is willing to take on this leadership role. Her own scholarship and experience at UMass as well as her experience here at GCC will add a very thoughtful and insightful voice," Pura said. "There are many leaders in higher education who consider Pat a mentor. This is a very positive step for the trustees association and the community colleges in Massachusetts."
For further information, contact the President's Office at 413.775.1410.
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