THIS WEEK@NCC - Norwalk Community College

THIS WEEK@NCC
May 25, 2016
Volume 32, Number 18
IN THIS ISSUE
Page 2
Shapshots from Commencement
Page 3
NCC Nursing Pinning Ceremony
Upcoming Events
Page 4
NCC Chosen as a Dual Enrollment
Experiment Site
From Aqua Farm to Table
Page 5
Counseling Center’s New Advisor
Toolbox
Registration Advisors Needed
Thumbs Up to NCC
Nursing Program Student
Outcomes
SENSE Survey
Page 6
Summer Hours
SUBMISSIONS
Use online PR form at: http://nccportal4/FormServerTemplates
Next issue published:
June 15, 2016
Deadline for submissions:
June 8, 2016
This Week @ NCC is published
by the Public Relations Office of
Norwalk Community College
Graphic Designer and Writer
Cindy Zaref
Copy Editor and Writer
Rick Leonard
Copy Editor and Writer
Madeline Barillo, Director
Congratulations Class of 2016!
On May 19, Norwalk Community College held its 54th Annual Commencement
Exercises on the West Campus, behind the Center for Science Health and Wellness.
A pipers band led a procession of the Class of 2016, faculty and staff members to
the outdoor tent for the graduation ceremony, preceded by Professor Mary Frances
Carmell as Grand Marshall, and Professor William O’Connell as Faculty Marshall.
After the NCC Choir performed the National Anthem, NCC President David L.
Levinson, Ph.D., welcomed the candidates. Greetings followed from Nicholas
Donofrio, Chair of Connecticut State Colleges and Universities Board of Regents
for Higher Education. Mark Ojakian, President of Connecticut State Colleges and
Universities, presented the Distinguished Alumni Award to Matthew Quinones, Class
of 2009. Dr. Levinson delivered his address, recognizing the generous contributions
of $2.6 million from the NCC Foundation in the past year to support scholarships,
faculty positions and fund other key college initiatives to promote student success.
Dean of Students Calvin J. McFadden, Sr., Ph.D., presented the student speakers,
Ingrid Magalhaes and Mackenzie Raub, both Liberal Arts and Sciences majors.
Magalhaes recounted her experiences of coming to the U.S. from Brazil at 22, overcoming various challenges and thanking the NCC community for its support. She
was followed on the podium by Raub, who shared his own story of his father and
brothers attending NCC previously, and the importance of being his own biggest fan.
Presidential Awards were presented to Evan MacGuffie and Matthew Papageorge,
each of whom earned a 4.0 GPA. Mark Ojakian presented the Distinguished Service
Award to Craig Glover, CEO at Norwalk Community Health Center. MacGuffie
presented the 2016 Class gift to Dr. McFadden. Nicholas Donofrio presented
honorary degrees to filmmakers Karen Thorsen and Douglas K. Dempsey.
Immediately following the ceremony, a reception was held to honor the new
graduates and their families in a hospitality tent behind the West Campus.
(Please see page 2 for additional Commencement photos)
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NCC Nursing Pinning
Ceremony
NCC nursing students who completed their graduation
requirements received their nursing pins at a ceremony
on May 17 at Norwalk City Hall. Norwalk Mayor Harry
Rilling gave the welcome greeting. The nursing students
graduated at the NCC Commencement on May 19. NCC graduates two groups of nurses each year, in
December and August. Students enroll in the two-year
program in either the fall or spring and then finish their
studies in December or August.
The pinning ceremony represents the symbolic
welcoming of newly graduated nurses into the nursing
profession. At the pinning ceremony, the new nurses were
congratulated by the college’s nursing faculty, received a
school pin, and participated in a candle lighting ceremony.
The following NCC nursing students received their
nursing pins last week: Pascale Antoine, Jon Barbarula,
Laura Barresi, Toni Bocchetta, Stacy-Ann Bogle-Burgos,
Viviane Brito, Julie Bruno, Chrissie Bumactao, Laura
Canizalez, Elizabeth Cervantes, Maribel Collado, Cristin
Conoscenti, Monica Crane, Andressa Cunha, Ketaki
U P C O M I N G
Desai, Melissa Emilcar, Marjorie Escala, William Ferguson,
Paula Ferraina, Kara Ferraro, Magdalena Ferris, Macarena
Flores, Janelle Fludd, Renee Fontaine, Danielle Frenzel,
Lillian Galaviz, Peter Galazka, Jessica Gangemi, Christina
Gaudiano, Tiffany Goldson, Crysta Greer, Louise Howes,
Georgia Jemison, Mandeep Kaur, Julie Madera, Jeanette
Marrocco, Jahaira Mercado, Alexis Navarro Duncan,
Barbara Niezborala, Munawar Nomani, Sonia Pascual
Lahuerta, Valerie Penebre, Audry Peterson, Robyn Rakowski,
Christine Ruta, Kacia Simpson, Kemlyn Sanon, Sharmin
Shuma, Jill Siladi, Alexandra Sloane, Catherine Smith,
Nell Taylor, Ayesha Thompson, Anna Marie Unschuld
and Olha Voytovych-Ahmad.
NCC Nursing Class of 2016 outside of Norwalk
City Hall (above); NCC nurse’s pin (right)
E V E N T S
NorWALKERS Kick-Off Event
Rescheduled
Saturday, June 4, 9 a.m. to noon
Veteran’s Park, Norwalk
An event designed to kick off the new NorWALKERS
maps, which was scheduled for April 9 but postponed due
to inclement weather, has been rescheduled. NorWALKER routes are mapped walking routes
throughout the city of Norwalk, providing a fun, lowcost way to stay active. NCC is one of the NorWALKER
sites. A walking route has been mapped out which winds
around both campuses.
State Senator Bob Duff and Norwalk Mayor Harry
Rilling will both lead walks on June 4 through South
Norwalk. Participants in the launch event will have an
opportunity to win free giveaways such as a FitBit Flex
or a FlipBelt. For more information, please contact Catherine
Neiswonger at [email protected] or Kaitlin
Latham with the Norwalk Health Department at
[email protected].
Prudential Visit to NCC
Monday, June 6 (by appointment)
East Campus, Room E202
Prudential Retirement Counselor Davelva Perez will be
on campus to meet with NCC employees. To make an
appointment, please contact Ms. Perez at (860) 837-4214
or [email protected].
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N E W S
A N D
A N N O U N C E M E N T S
NCC Chosen as a Dual
Enrollment Experiment Site
Last week, the U.S. Department of
Education launched a Dual Enrollment
Experiment to provide Pell Grants
to high school students taking college
courses for credit, and announced that
Norwalk Community College has been selected as an
experiment site.
NCC is one of only 44 colleges in the nation invited to
take part in this three-year initiative, which is designed to
boost academic outcomes for America’s neediest students.
Dual enrollment is when students take post-secondary
coursework while still in high school.
In 2014, NCC co-founded the highly successful
Norwalk Early College Academy (NECA) with IBM and
the Norwalk Public Schools. More than 150 high school
students attend this dual enrollment academy and work
with IBM mentors while taking
college courses taught onsite by
NCC professors. This replication
of the first Pathways toTechnology
(P-Tech) school in partnership
with IBM is the first of its kind in
Connecticut.
“Norwalk Community College is honored to have
been selected as a Department of Education Experiment
Site. NCC has a long history of partnering with area
secondary schools to offer college courses to high school
students,” said NCC President David L. Levinson, Ph.D.
“The success of NECA, and other NCC high school
partnerships, demonstrates that students excel with dual
enrollment options. Providing financial aid for college
level courses will open the door to college success and a
promising future.”
By 2020, approximately 65% of job openings will
require postsecondary education and training beyond high
school. However, many high school students, especially
those from low income backgrounds, lack access to the
vigorous coursework and support services that prepare
students for college success.
As part of the Dual Enrollment experiment, an
estimated 10,000 high school students will have the
opportunity to access approximately $20 million in
Federal Pell Grants. Nearly 80% of the selected sites are
community colleges.
“Innovation is an important underpinning in our
efforts to expand college access and increase college
completion for our nation’s students,” said U.S. Under
Secretary of Education Ted Mitchell. “We’re thrilled these
institutions have joined us in answering the President’s
call to reimagine the high school experience and create
stronger linkages to college coursework.
From Aqua Farm to Table
That helping of vegetables on your plate might be from
the sea someday soon. Kelp is already on the menu at
NCC, where the Hospitality Management and Culinary
Arts program has partnered with marine biologist
Dr. Charles Yarish of the University of Connecticut to
promote this edible seaweed’s nutritional benefits.
Kelp is a large brown seaweed that grows in shallow,
nutrient-rich water like Long Island Sound. A powerhouse
of vitamins and minerals, kelp contains the highest natural
concentration of calcium of any food.
Dr. Yarish has been researching kelp for 40 years. NCC
students help him harvest kelp throughout the year from
waters near Sheffield Island in Norwalk. They also prepare
and serve kelp in a variety of dishes at events on campus.
“In May, we harvested several hundred pounds for the
summer kelp processing class to work on,” said NCC
Culinary Arts Professor Jeff Trombetta. “We are processing this kelp for sale in the New York and Connecticut
markets. This is cutting-edge and the epitome of ‘aqua’
farm to table. Dr. Yarish has been overly generous in
appointing our Hospitality Program the culinary responsibility of advocating this edible seaweed product.”
Trombetta said
that by distributing
kelp to potential
users and employers
of NCC students,
“we show how innovative, dynamic and
forward-thinking
NCC can be.”
Professor Jeff Trombetta is
shown harvesting kelp last
week on the Norm Bloom
Aqua Farm boat on Long
Island Sound.
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Counseling Center’s New
Advisor Toolbox
The Counseling Center now has a new ADVISOR
TOOLBOX located on its website. The Advisor Toolbox
is an online resource to assist advisors in working with
students in the advising and academic planning process.
The toolbox contains a lot of useful advising information.
Please check it out at http://norwalk.edu/dept/
counselingcenter/Advisor_Toolbox.asp.
Advisors, don’t forget to sign up for Summer Open
Advisement/Registration sessions at: https://docs.google.
com/spreadsheets/d/1pxkTq1dQsqqgRbp4BTmbjq
VEHq0Yrj0RylQ7QkUjtMM/edit?pref=2&pli=1#g
id=1577798762. Remember to keep the toolbox open on
your computer to assist you.
For more information or to provide feedback contact
Wendy Mendes at [email protected] or Cathy
Miller at [email protected].
Thumbs Up to NCC!
An Editorial that ran in The Hour and Greenwich Time
newspapers (5/24/16) applauds NCC for its tradition
of inviting students to speak at commencement, rather
than celebrities or dignitaries. This has been an NCC
graduation practice since the college was founded. The
editorial is reprinted here:
“Thumbs up to Norwalk Community College maintaining its tradition of spotlighting student speakers at
graduations. In this case, Ingrid Magalhaes, who hails
from Brazil, and Norwalk native Mackenzie Raub—
the sixth son in the family to attend NCC—had the
honors. It remains a refreshing change from the apparent
competition for bragging rights at other colleges bestowing honors on big names with little if any connection
to the schools.”
Nursing Program Student
Outcomes
The Division of Nursing and Allied Health at NCC has
posted information about nursing student pass rates on
the national certifying exams and outcomes on its college
webpage and would like to share this information with
the college community. Here is the link to the Nursing
Program Student Outcomes: http://norwalk.edu/dept/
alliedhealth/nursing_student_outcome.asp.
Registration Advisors Needed
Advisors are needed for all summer open advising/registration dates, add/drop and senior registration. Advisors
should sign up for sessions using the following Google
document link: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/
1pxkTq1dQsqqgRbp4BTmbjqVEHq0Yrj0RylQ7QkUjt
MM/edit?pref=2&pli=1#gid=1577798762.
The document is also available on the NCC portal
under Summer Advising Dates. Please note that there are
three tabs at the bottom of the Google doc:
• Tab 1 is July 5 - Aug 3
• Tab 2 is Aug 9 - 25
• Tab 3 is Add/Drop and Senior Registration
For more information, please contact Cathy Miller
at [email protected].
SENSE Survey
The Survey of Entering Student Engagement (SENSE)
is coming this fall. Faculty who will be teaching developmental English or Math, English 101, Math 136, FYE
or College Forum in fall 2016 will be randomly selected
to participate. The survey will be administered in the
classroom during the weeks of September 18 and 25 (the
fourth and fifth week of the fall academic term).
Faculty: as you prepare your fall syllabi, please keep
this in mind. NCC last participated in this survey in fall
2012. Results of this survey can be found on SharePoint.
If you have any questions, please contact survey administrator Phyllis Fitzpatrick at [email protected].
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NCC Summer Hours
Effective May 30 through August 25, the hours for East
and West Campuses will be as follows:
Monday through Thursday: 7 a.m. to 10 p.m.
Friday: 7 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Saturday and Sunday: CLOSED
The following regular hours will resume August 26:
Monday through Friday: 7 a.m. to 10 p.m.
Saturday: 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Sunday: CLOSED
The College will be CLOSED for the following holidays:
Memorial Day: Saturday, May 28 to Monday, May 30
Fourth of July: Saturday, July 2 to Monday, July 4
Labor Day Weekend: Sunday, September 4 to Monday,
September 5 (classes held Saturday, September 3)
Wellness Center Summer Hours
From May 17 through August 26, the Pitney Bowes
Foundation Wellness Center will operate under summer
hours as follows:
The Pantry @ NCC
Summer Hours
Because hunger doesn’t end when
the semester does, the Pantry @
NCC will remain open for most of
the summer. The following summer
hours can be found on the NCC
website and are posted throughout the college as well as
outside the Pantry door at W101:
Monday: 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.
Tuesday & Thursday: 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Wednesday: 12 to 3 p.m.
Friday - Sunday: CLOSED
Food donations are gratefully accepted at drop-off
locations in the Baker Library (East Campus), the
Wellness Center Atrium and the Academic Center
(W106), in addition to The Pantry itself. Grocery store
gift cards are also accepted.
For more information, please contact the Pantry at
(203) 857-7265 or [email protected].
Monday through Thursday: 8 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Friday: 8 a.m. to 12 noon
A valid NCC photo ID is
required to enter the facility. IDs are
obtainable in the East and West
Campus Lobbies.
NCC Continuing Notice of Non-Discrimination
Norwalk Community College does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religious creed, age, sex, national origin, marital status,
ancestry, present or past history of mental disorder, learning disability or physical disability, sexual orientation, gender identity and
expression or genetic information in its programs and activities. In addition, the College does not discriminate in employment on the
basis of veteran status or criminal record. The following persons have been designated to handle inquiries regarding the non-discrimination policies: Chief Diversity Officer and Special Advisor, Cheryl DeVonish, Title IX Coordinator at (203) 857-7016 or cdevonish@
norwalk.edu; or Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) Coordinator Fran Apfel at (203) 857-7192 or [email protected].
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