BCC Pages 2-3 102909 (Page 2)

BCC Hits 50
ON THE WEB: www.berkshireeagle.com
The Berkshire Eagle, Thursday, October 29, 2009 — 3
BCC alumni leave mark on Berkshires
In 50 years, BCC
has launched
numerous careers
By Dick Lindsay
Berkshire Eagle Staff
PITTSFIELD — Christopher
Hodgkins knew that attending a
four-year college immediately
after graduating from Lee High
School in 1976 wasn’t going to
happen.
The youngest of five children
grew up in a single-parent
household where money was
tight and it was difficult to save
toward a higher education.
Hodgkins instead went to
Berkshire Community College,
where making the honor role in
his first semester was the catalyst that launched a successful
political and business career.
“It really turned me on to edu-
cation,” he said. “I went to
BCC, and they made me into a
college student.”
After graduating from BCC in
1978, Hodgkins spent two years
earning a political science
degree at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst and converting that education into a 20year career as a state representative, serving from 1982 to 2002.
Hodgkins, now 53, runs the consulting firm Berkshire Resources,
which advises municipalities and
companies on water and sewage
treatment projects.
“BCC made me who I am
today,” he said.
In its 50 years of existence,
Berkshire Community College has
helped launch numerous careers,
including those of state Rep. Denis
E. Guyer (D-Dalton), Greylock
Federal Credit Union President
Angelo Stracuzzi, and fledgling
singer/songwriter Matt Cusson.
Hodgkins
Guyer
“I always knew I wanted to do
music,” said Cusson, a 1996 alumnus of St. Joseph’s Central High
School. “BCC gave me time to
sort out my career.”
After earning an associate
degree in selected studies at BCC,
Cusson, now 31, spent a year in
Boston at the Berklee College of
Music before signing a contract to
perform with singer/songwriter
Brian McKnight.
Since then he’s performed with
musical icons such as Stevie
Wonder and Christina Aguilera,
Stracuzzi
Cusson
and has developed his solo
career.
Cusson, however, said he is
most proud of performing at his
BCC commencement in 1998.
“My dad [Craig Cusson] wrote
the school song,” he said. “I got
to sing his song.”
While Cusson had a career goal,
Stracuzzi, 60, was unsure about his
future after graduating from Pittsfield High School in 1969. He
enrolled at the original BCC location on Second Street in 1970, and
college officials persuaded him to
earn an associate’s degree in the
newly created field of computer
science.
“At the time, the program was
cutting-edge,” Stracuzzi said. “So
I took a shot at it.”
He eventually earned a bachelor’s degree in business administration from Southern Vermont
University and climbed through
the local banking ranks before
reaching his pinnacle at Greylock
Federal.
“Who would ever thought I
would get a computer science
degree and end up a bank president?” said Stracuzzi, who also
served on the Pittsfield City Council for 24 years, ending in 1999.
“When people ask where I
went to college, I proudly say
BCC,” Stracuzzi said.
Guyer, 43, is a classic example
of the non-traditional student
that BCC often attracts. The
Pittsfield High graduate took his
first BCC course while working
at Crane & Co. in 1993.
“It gave me the confidence to
take other courses,” he said.
So Guyer took night classes for
the next 11 years at both BCC
and the Massachusetts College
of Liberal Arts in North Adams
until he was first elected as a
state representative in 2004.
While the demands of being a
legislator have kept Guyer from
taking eight more courses to earn
a business administration degree
through MCLA, he credits BCC
with giving his life new direction.
“BCC is a great starting place
for anyone,” Guyer said. “The
instructors are as every bit as
good — if not better — than
those at prestigious four-year
colleges.”
To reach Dick Lindsay:
[email protected],
or (413) 496-6233
Students not so ‘typical’ now
“The typical entering student at
Berkshire Community College will
be male, just out of high school,
from Berkshire County, and grateful
for a chance at a higher education
that he probably wouldn’t have gotten if the college hadn’t been established.” — The Berkshire Eagle,
Sept. 1, 1960.
By Jenn Smith
Berkshire Eagle Staff
PITTSFIELD — Berkshire
Community College students are
anything but typical these days.
Of the 2,601 enrolled in at least
one credit course this fall, 60 percent are female, just over half are
of traditional college age (22 or
younger), and the overall age
range is 13 to 74.
And although the majority of
BCC students are still from
Berkshire County, 31 are from
elsewhere in the state, and there
are 20 from Connecticut, 57 from
New York, nine from Vermont,
and two from other states.
Thirty-two who now live in
Berkshire County came to the
college on student visas from 19
different countries.
“The amazing thing about community colleges is the vast range of
students we get. It is also one of
our biggest challenges,” said Dori
Digenti, director of BCC’s Center
for Teaching and Learning.
Historically, community colleges are non-competitive. They
are known as the givers of second
chances, and the steppingstones
for a better life and a better
future. But with students who
often have had to play catch-up,
schools such as BCC have had an
underlying stigma as being a
lesser-quality school.
At BCC, which is celebrating its
50th anniversary as the oldest
community college in the state, the
basic admission requirements
include a high school transcript or
General Educational Development (GED) certificate, the completion of an application form,
payment of application fee, and an
up-to-date immunization record.
“The thing about BCC is there
are a lot of reasons to go there,”
said Pittsfield resident David
Chapman, 59.
After 40 years of working in the
arts sector, he is looking to change
careers and join the health-care
field. Chapman was a BCC student in the 1970s, and credits the
college for its support of students.
“BCC does a tremendous job
with the resources they have,” he
said.
With 35 associate-degree programs, as well as transfer contracts, workforce development
and lifelong learning programs,
BCC offers opportunity to students of all ages, backgrounds,
aspirations and abilities.
But the diverse population also
generates the need for remedial
courses, accommodations for students with special needs, classes
for English-language learners, and
a richness in social and advanced
study opportunities.
“BCC is unique in that it serves
the needs of the community. In the
1980s there were a lot of layoffs in
the area, and we served a lot of
Jenn Smith / Berkshire Eagle Staff
An informal social group for international and multicultural students at Berkshire Community College gathers for a picture on the
shores of Pontoosuc Lake before embarking on a Columbus Day hike. Adviser Eleanore Velez sits at center.
Many cultures, similar pride
By Jenn Smith
Berkshire Eagle Staff
LANESBOROUGH — Six
Berkshire Community College
students gathered around a
table earlier this month at The
Donut Man, a pit stop before
heading to Cheshire to hike
along the Appalachian Trail.
Coffee, tea, doughnuts and
muffins were the choice on this
cool, crisp, sunny Columbus
Day morning. A friend’s birthday was the topic of discussion,
as one of the young women held
an oversized Mylar “Happy
Birthday” balloon just below
the window line.
Despite having six different
birthplaces outside of the U.S.
mainland —
Puerto Rico,
Ecuador, Colombia, Ukraine,
Peru, Ivory Coast — they shouted a unified “Surprise!”
The seventh student, a cheerful Chanpanhra Ros, now 23,
originally from Cambodia,
gushed an “Oh, thank you!” to
dislocated workers. In the past few
years, students in their teens and
20s have been well represented
here,” said Phylene Farrell, director of BCC’s South County
Center, a satellite campus in Great
Barrington.
The youth population has grown
at BCC, to just over 50 percent.
“For the last 10 years, the majority of students have been non-traditional age [over 22],” said
Michael Bullock, dean of student
affairs and enrollment services.
Part of this change is by design,
he said, noting that in recent years,
her friends as she walked in.
In this group of students, only
one — Judith N’Gumah of the
Ivory Coast — is studying at
BCC on a student visa. The rest
are Berkshire County residents.
Together, these students — all
part of an informal multicultural
social group at BCC — say
they’re proud to bring together a
mix of cultural heritage and
knowledge to the college.
“We want to represent different cultures and find different
opportunities,” said 20-year-old
Cristhian Cabrera, who lives
with his family in Lee but originally is from Colombia.
A first-generation college student with an interest in business
and engineering, Cabrera’s
group members are equally
ambitious, with interests ranging
from improving their English
language skills to goals of
becoming biologists, nurses and
business administrators.
Of the 2,601 students enrolled
the college has spent a lot of time
connecting with local high schools.
Nearly every public high school
student in the county takes the
Accuplacer, a college readiness
and placement exam administered
by BCC. The college also offers
dual enrollment and alternative
in credit courses at BCC this fall,
32 are international students
with visas. Those students represent 19 different countries, from
Belarus to the United Kingdom.
Eleanore Velez, multicultural
admissions and community outreach counselor to BCC, said
international students enroll at
the college because they or their
families have relocated to the
area.
Karla Pauta, 19, who came to
Pittsfield several years ago via
Ecuador, said she chose BCC
because of its closeness to home
and its affordability.
“I think our [international]
enrollment reflects the population in the community. Most students come to us by word of
mouth,” said Velez, 40, a BCC
alumna, Lee resident and a
native of Mexico.
For those who don’t have family in the area, Velez said she and
other students will help international students find housing and
jobs. Often, those students find
part-time employment at BCC
to earn money.
In addition to serving collegeage students, BCC launched a
summer program for high school
students last year.
The program — Making
Education Our Purpose, or
MEOP — is for first-generation
English-language learners, from
Central and South America,
Africa and Asia.
Velez noted that older adult
students, such as Cabrera’s parents, have enrolled at the college
to improve their English and
workplace skills.
“Basically, we just want to
serve the community,” Velez
said of BCC. “It’s a place for students of all cultures to touch
base on an academic and personal level.”
To reach Jenn Smith:
[email protected],
or (413) 496-6239.
educational settings for local high
school students.
“The most concrete change
we’ve made is in working with multicultural students,” Bullock said.
Registrar Donald Pfeifer called
the increase in racial diversity at
the college “very dramatic.”
In 1991, out of 2,443 students, 4
percent were ethnic minorities
(non-white). Today that figure is
14 percent. Latino and AfricanAmerican students are the toprepresented minorities at BCC.
School officials said that about
five years ago, they recognized the
need to work more closely with
Latino students, particularly those
who were Spanish-speaking.
Out of focus groups and surveys,
BCC decided to hire a full-time
outreach worker. In 2007, the
school brought in Eleanore Velez,
an alumna and Mexico native who
now serves as the college’s multicultural admissions and community outreach counselor.
“[Velez is] definitely a plus to
the college. I think her role has
encouraged a lot of people who
may not have approached the
college because of language barriers to look at BCC,” said Diana
Seminario, a 20-year-old nursing
student who is the school’s student trustee to the board of
trustees.
Overall, BCC has 10 percent
more students than it had in
2004.
Because of the increase, the
college has had to add sections of
basic-level courses and make
adjustments in scheduling classroom space, according to Frances
Feinerman, dean of academic
affairs.
Student Government Ambassadors Chairwoman Jessica Russo
said the increase in enrollment
also has resulted in an overcrowded parking lot at the college’s
West Street campus in Pittsfield.
Otherwise, students say they
are pleased by the accommodations at BCC.
“It’s a good college for a modern student, and you don’t have to
sell everything you own to afford
to be here,” said Gregory Stephan
Moser, 21, of Pittsfield.
It was while frequenting the
Susan B. Anthony Lounge on
the West Street campus that he
met and befriended Nathan
Lofink, 23, of Dalton, and
Samantha Jones, 18, of Dalton.
All three said they appreciated
the concentrated campus, affordability and closeness to
home.
“That’s why I like the idea of a
community college, especially
with the smaller student-teacher
ratio,” Jones said.
“It’s really great here. I think
it’s even better than main campus,” said Monterey resident
Amanda Raifstanger, a 26-yearold pre-nursing student at the
South County Center.
Russo said the college is shedding its inferiority complex and is
developing a new public image.
“For me, I never wanted to go
to a community college. I wanted
to go to a prestigious four-year
school,” the 19-year-old liberalarts student said. “But at the
time, BCC was more economically feasible. I’ve only been to college here, but there are new computers, [digital] SMART boards,
and some amazing professors.
“The buildings look a little outdated, but it’s an otherwise gorgeous place to be. So I think BCC
is really gaining a name for itself.”
BCC tuition and fees (per credit)
Status
Mass. residents
New England/N.Y.
Other residents
Tuition
$26
$39
$260
College Service
$117
$117
$117
Technology
$13
$13
$13
Total
$156
$169
$390
Note: To qualify for Massachusetts rates, a student must be a resident of the
state for at least six months before the start of a semester. That student also
must submit a completed residency form to the Registrar’s Office.
Source: BCC
Would like to congratulate
Berkshire Community College
on Celebrating
50
Years of Excellence in the
field of higher education
As an art major at BCC I will always remember the great
teachers I had. Teachers like Bob Boland and Julio
Grande, were a great influence on my artwork. I also made
some Great Friends that I am still in touch with.
Thomas Fiorini, Artist. Class of ’71