NECC Graduation
Congratulations to the NECC Class of 2022!
This section should include everything you need to know about Northern Essex Community College’s 60th Annual Commencement which will be held on Saturday, May 14 at 11 a.m. under a large white tent on our Haverhill Campus, 100 Elliott St.
Whether you’re a graduating student, a proud family member, college faculty or staff, or a supportive member of the community, this site will provide deadlines, news updates, and general information such as where to park or pick up your cap and gown.
If you have questions, please contact Enrollment Services at 978-556-3700.
Can’t Make it? Watch Commencement Live on HC Media
The Commencement ceremony will be streamed live on HC Media. Thanks to HC Media, friends and relatives who can’t attend commencement can watch it live on their computers or mobile devices.
To watch commencement live, on your computer go to the HC Media’s website and hover over the watch live link in the upper right corner of the home page. You will be able to view the live streamed event, using your computer or mobile device, on Channel 22.
After commencement, HC Media has volunteered to make DVD’s of the graduation available for $10. If you are interested in a copy of the ceremony, please call 978 372-8070 or email info@mediahc.org.
Let’s make this year’s commencement “social” – #NECC2022
Join the conversation on social media with prizes for the best photos! Find out how to join in!
Plan to attend the reception after commencement
Graduates and their families and friends are invited to attend a reception following commencement featuring refreshments and music.
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Graduation News
Nursing Grad Plans Career in Emergency Medicine
Nathan Samoisette of Georgetown, MA had been working in the medical field since graduating from Whittier Regional Vocational Technical High School in 2005, but he had never seriously considered continuing his education.
It wasn’t until a nursing manager pulled him aside and told him that he should go back to school that he decided to enroll at Northern Essex Community College, the first step in his journey toward a nursing degree, which he is earning with high honors in 2022.
“She told me that time would pass no matter what,” says Samoisette, “And that I had potential.”
Samoisette took it slow at first, enrolling in one course a semester. “I wanted to get into a routine,” he says. “Once I had confidence, I applied to the full-time nursing program.”
A once reluctant high school student, Samoisette thrived in the college environment, balancing a full-time job working the night shift as a CNA for Holy Family Hospital with full-time studies.
Sometimes he only got two to three hours of sleep a night, but he found a way to make it work, focusing on staying organized, doing things ahead of schedule if he had free time, and bringing his books with him everywhere so he could sneak in a few minutes to study when he had the opportunity.
Reflecting back after just having finished finals, Samoisette says the last two years were a blur. “It’s still surreal that I will be graduating,” he says. “At one point in my life, I thought I might be a CNA my entire career.”
Samoisette discovered that the emergency room was the right place for him during his clinical placements. When you consider that when he was younger he wanted to be a firefighter and loved watching Rescue 911, it all makes sense.
“I want to jump in the fire,” he says.
Samoisette will be taking his nursing boards in July and soon after that he hopes to be employed in the emergency room at Lawrence General Hospital.
Nursing runs in the Samoisette family. His brother, Matthew, graduated from Northern Essex with a certificate in Practical Nursing last summer and is now working in the field with plans to continue his education.
“It’s crazy that it’s over,” says Samoisette. “I want to start working and get to it!”
Learn more about the Nursing Program at Northern Essex.
Learn more about the 2022 NECC Commencement Exercises.
Pandemic had a Silver Lining for These Two NECC 2022 Grads
Haverhill and Lawrence, MA (May 4, 2022)-When their jobs in the hospitality field ended abruptly in March of 2020, due to COVID-19, Jenna Joseph of Methuen and Sydney Sampson of Haverhill, both single parents, pivoted, enrolling in Northern Essex Community College’s Lab Science Program in the hopes of pursuing more stable careers.
Now, just over two years later, the two are preparing to graduate, both with high honors, jobs and internship opportunities, and plans to continue their education in the clinical lab science program at UMass Lowell.
Joseph graduated from Tewksbury Memorial High School in 2012 and she attended two colleges after high school but neither clicked. Up until the pandemic, she was working as a bartender and she and her now three-year old daughter were living with her parents.
“I knew I wanted to go back to school, and, with the pandemic, it was my opportunity,” she says. “I wanted to set an example for her and also have a job where I could be working when she’s in school.”
Joseph has a perfect 4.0 GPA and her hard work has led to two job offers—she’s accepted a position working in the lab at Lowell General.
Lab Science is a perfect fit for Joseph who has always been interested in the medical field, but not so much patient care. “I’m still helping people get a diagnosis,” she says.
Sampson, the mother of two boys, three and 10-years old, had been working as a cook at the Haverhill Country Club before the pandemic. She grew up in Florida and dropped out of high school her junior year, so was returning to school at 30 years old after more than a decade out of the classroom. “It was really hard at first but it got easier,” she says. “I began to look forward to it. I cried when I picked up my gap and gown. I never thought I would see that day.”
She always loved science so, when choosing a major, that’s what she gravitated toward. What clinched the decision was Pfizer’s development of a COVID vaccination. “Their ability to come up with a vaccine so quickly inspired me. Working for a company like that is my ultimate goal.”
Sampson will soon start an externship with HepatoChem in Beverly and she has been offered a full time position after the externship. She will be working with metabolites, which are necessary for the metabolic system.
Like Joseph, she plans to continue in the clinical lab science program at UMass Lowell and eventually go on for a master’s degree.
Both Joseph and Sampson credited the support that they received from their professors while in the program for their success. Professors Kevin Mitchell, Marguerite White-Jenneau and Kim Waligora, were so understanding and helpful, according to Joseph. “They make sure you pass and that you understand the material,” said Sampson.
The Laboratory Science Program at Northern Essex is a two-year program that prepares students for a laboratory career in a variety of fields, including biotechnology, environmental sciences, and analytical chemistry. The program includes an externship and graduates secure jobs in medical facilities, forensics, or quality control in the pharmaceutical, biotechnology, chemical manufacturing, and environmental industries.
For more information, contact Dr. Kevin Mitchell, program coordinator, 978 556-3343 or kmitchell1@necc.mass.edu
To learn more about the May 14 Commencement, visit the website.
Business Transfer Grad Headed to UMass Isenberg School of Management
Talking to Saviel Ortiz of Lawrence, a 2022 Northern Essex Community College Business Transfer grad, it’s hard not to be impressed.
Only 20-years old, he has worked in banking for two years, and is heading toward a career in commercial lending with an interest in helping to develop low-income communities across the Commonwealth.
A 2020 graduate of Greater Lawrence Technical School, Ortiz was a campus leader, serving as president of both the National Honor Society and his class. That year he was one of only five high school students across Massachusetts nominated as a Career and Technical Education Presidential Scholar.
When considering colleges, Joanna de Pena of Top Notch Scholars, a youth leadership organization, suggested he look at Northern Essex.
“She made me see how much I could save,” says Ortiz, who took advantage of Mass Transfer, which helps community college graduates transfer seamlessly to a state university, providing the most affordable route to a bachelor’s degree.
Graduating from Northern Essex with high honors and as one of two Northern Essex students selected for the Phi Theta Kappa All-Massachusetts Team, Ortiz has been accepted to the Isenberg School of Management at UMass Amherst, where he will be continuing his business studies this fall. He plans to eventually work toward a master’s in business.
His interest in banking started when he landed a co-op job as a bank specialist at Reading Cooperative Bank while still in high school.
After high school he began working 30 hours a week as a teller and was soon promoted to bank supervisor, traveling from branch to branch to service business clients.
The role of commercial lenders intrigued him and after shadowing one he says he found “That I really do like it.”
While Ortiz has excelled academically and in his career, it hasn’t always been smooth sailing. Taking classes online due to the pandemic was challenging, and he’s grateful to his academic coach Laurie Sorota, whom he met with monthly to learn time management, test taking, and organization skills. “I owe it all to her. With her advice, I did well.”
Ortiz also credits his mom, Amarilys Pena, whom he calls a “super star.” “She’s the ground and base of the family. She puts a lot of work in us, and keeps us on track.” His brother Alkenly Ortiz, who was also a Presidential Award winner, graduated from UMass Amherst with a degree in architecture and is currently pursuing a master’s degree in the field.
While Ortiz was leaning toward going to a four-year college directly after high school, he’s happy now that he started with Northern Essex. “It was my best choice. Starting here alleviated a lot of the stress. I could focus on class and now I’m ready for the four-year college.”
To learn more about the May 14 Commencement, visit the website.
Northern Essex Community College has campuses in both Haverhill and Lawrence. It offers approximately 60 associate degree and certificate programs as well as hundreds of noncredit courses designed for personal enrichment and career growth. Each year, 6,000 students are enrolled in credit associate degree and certificate programs on the Haverhill and Lawrence campuses; and another 2,000 take noncredit workforce development and community education classes on campus, and at businesses and community sites across the Merrimack Valley. For more information, visit the website at www.necc.mass.edu or call 978-556-3700.
Aspiring Lawrence Accountant will Address NECC Class of 2022
Haverhill and Lawrence, MA (April 28, 2022)-Iseline Mendoza of Lawrence, an accounting major, graduating with high honors, will be the student speaker at Northern Essex Community College’s 60th Annual Commencement Exercises, held on Saturday, May 14 on the Haverhill Campus.
After graduating from Lawrence High School in 2014, Iseline Mendoza spent six years pursuing a boxing career. With the birth of her son, now three, she decided she needed a career more conducive to raising a family and she enrolled at Northern Essex.
Mendoza has been a highly visible and inspiring campus leader. As president of the Student Government Association, she advocated for her fellow students on many levels, most notably in her efforts to build resources for students going through mental health issues, which were exacerbated by the COVID-19 crisis.
Earlier this spring, she was selected to participate in a national panel on mental health on college campuses where she had the opportunity to interview Dr. Vivek H. Murthy, the U.S. surgeon general.
In addition to student government, Mendoza participated in the PACE Program; Alpha Beta Gamma, business honorary; and National Society of Leadership and Success.
After completing her coursework in December, Mendoza secured a full-time job in her field at Anstiss Certified Public Accountants. She credits the staff in NECC Career Services with helping her with her resume, cover letter, and interviewing skills. “They helped me build confidence, teaching me how to brag about myself,” she says. She also gained valuable skills through an internship with EN Business Solutions.
Mendoza plans to continue her studies in accounting at the University of Massachusetts-Lowell in the fall while continuing to work full time.
Cheering her on at commencement will be her support group including her husband, son, mother, step dad, uncle and other extended family members. “This is a privileged position. I’m so thankful to be able to go to college.”
Supporting her nomination for speaker were Stephanie Haskill, coordinator of student services; Mike McCarthy, vice president of administration; Marissa Elliott, business operations manager; and Lane Glenn, president.
Nominations were solicited from the college community and submitted to a committee of faculty and staff who selected Mendoza as their top choice.
To learn more about the May 14 commencement, visit the website at www.necc.mass.edu/commencement
Business Transfer Grad Headed for UMass
When Kimberly Justo graduated from Lawrence High School in 2020, she was thrilled to receive many college acceptances—including an offer from her “dream school” Bryant University in Rhode Island—along with strong financial aid packages.
Still, she soon realized that she would be taking on substantial debt, and, as a practical person, paying for college herself, she knew she didn’t want to do that.
That’s why she decided to enroll at Northern Essex Community College for two years and earn her Business Transfer associate’s degree, before transferring to a four-year institution.
Sweetening the deal for her was the Lawrence Promise Program, which offers a free associate degree, covering tuition fees, a laptop, and textbooks, to graduating high school students who were enrolled in the Early College Program, taking Northern Essex classes while in high school.
Justo will graduate debt-free from Northern Essex in May with a 3.97 GPA (straight A’s plus one A-) and plans to transfer to either UMass Lowell or the Isenberg School of Management at UMass Amherst. Based on her stellar academic record, she has received significant scholarship packages from both schools.
Just 20 years old, Justo arrived in Lawrence from the Dominican Republic four years ago, speaking no English. Determined to learn the language, she taught herself in two months, primarily by watching television.
She’s soft-spoken, calm, and focused on her education and her future career. “I try to think about why I’m like this. I don’t like to fail. I like the way it feels when I’m doing my best.”
Justo also isn’t afraid to reach out for help, relying on many of the college’s resources including the academic and transfer advising offered through the PACE Program; the tutoring center, which she “always uses”; counseling services; and the college food pantry.
When she was looking for a summer job in the accounting field, she reached out to Career Services and, with their help, wrote an “awesome” resume and cover letter, which has already resulted in interview appointments.
For Justo, Northern Essex is the first step in her educational journey. After earning her bachelor’s degree in accounting, she wants to continue on, with CPA certification and graduate degrees in her field.
She says many of her friends didn’t attend college after high school, and she’s determined to change that. Thanks to her encouragement, two of her closest friends enrolled at Northern Essex this past semester, including one who is on track for a nursing degree.
As a high school senior, it was difficult to let go of the idea of her “dream college”, says Justo, but now, close to earning her associate degree, she wouldn’t change her decision. “I was kind of scared when I was starting college, but Northern Essex has resources that have helped me a lot. I feel ready to succeed at the next level.”
To learn more about the May 14 Commencement, visit the website.
NECC Announces Plans for 2022 Commencement, Including the Featured Speaker
Haverhill and Lawrence, MA (February 24, 2022)-The last two years, Northern Essex Community College had to dramatically change its traditional commencement celebration, due to COVID-19.
In 2020, during the height of the pandemic, students were invited to drive on campus and pick up celebration packages, followed by a virtual commencement on a later date.
And in 2021, five smaller commencement ceremonies, allowing socially distancing, were held.
This year, Northern Essex will return to its traditional commencement, complete with kilted bagpipers leading the commencement procession, a featured commencement speaker, and a post-commencement reception with refreshments, music, and photo opportunities. The ceremony will begin on Saturday, May 14 at 11 am under a 2,700-person tent on the Haverhill Campus. The latest COVID-19 safety guidelines will be practiced.
Northern Essex is celebrating its 60th Anniversary this year and this will be the college’s 60th Annual Commencement.
“It feels so good to return to “normal” after the past two years,” said Lane Glenn, Northern Essex president. “We know how important it is to our students to walk across the commencement stage and receive their well-earned diploma. They and their families appreciate the pageantry of our traditional ceremony, which they will be able to experience again this year.”
This year’s featured speaker will be Dr. Eric Dickson ’88.
Dr. Dickson is now a physician and CEO of Worcester’s UMass Memorial Health, the third largest health care system in Massachusetts, employing over 16,500 individuals, but, in the late 1980’s, he was a respiratory care student at Northern Essex, who was unsure of what direction his future would take and open to guidance.
Dr. Daniel Coleman of Andover, a pulmonologist and medical advisor to the college’s Respiratory Care Program for the past 35 years, recognized the young man’s potential and suggested he consider becoming a physician.
“He (Dr. Coleman) was the first person in my life who recommended that I go to medical school and become a doctor. His mere suggestion in that moment started my career trajectory, which culminated in my current role…I’ll always be grateful for Dr. Coleman’s encouragement that led me to where I am today.”
After earning his associate degree in respiratory care from Northern Essex in 1988, he went on to get a master’s degree from Harvard University and a Doctor of Medicine (M.D.) degree from the University of Massachusetts Medical School.
In addition to the featured speaker, there will be a student speaker selected by faculty and staff and awards will be presented including the Outstanding Alumni Award, Social Justice Award, and Emeritus.
To learn more about Northern Essex’s 60th Annual Commencement Ceremony, visit the website.
Northern Essex Community College has campuses in both Haverhill and Lawrence. It offers approximately 60 associate degree and certificate programs as well as hundreds of noncredit courses designed for personal enrichment and career growth. Each year, 6,000 students are enrolled in credit associate degree and certificate programs on the Haverhill and Lawrence campuses; and another 2,000 take noncredit workforce development and community education classes on campus, and at businesses and community sites across the Merrimack Valley. For more information, visit the website at www.necc.mass.edu or call 978-556-3700.
