NECC Commencement
Congratulations to the NECC Class of 2019!
This site should include everything you need to know about Northern Essex Community College’s 57th Annual Commencement which will be held on Saturday, May 18 at 11 a.m. under a large white tent on our Haverhill Campus.
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!
Thanks to our friends at HC Media, there will be two ways to watch the commencement ceremony on your computer or mobile device.
For the first time, commencement will be on Facebook Live. Just like HC Media’s Facebook page and you’ll receive a notification when the ceremony goes live.
If you don’t have Facebook, HC Media will be live streaming commencement so you can watch it live on your computer or mobile devices To watch commencement live, go to the haverhillcommunitytv.org website and click the watch live link in the upper right corner of the home page. You will be able to view the live streamed event 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”
#NECC2019
Share your photos and stories on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook and win prizes! Details here.
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 by the NECC jazz ensemble. Graduates will receive a special gift from the NECC Alumni Office and have the opportunity to take special photographs.
Print View
Graduation News
Psychology Grad will Transfer to Boston University
Most community college students are local, but not Sarah Donohoo, a 2019 psychology graduate, who came all the way from Sicily to attend Northern Essex.
Donohoo was born in Boston but soon moved with her Italian mother and her Texan father to Italy, where she spent the first 20 years of her life.
She attended an Italian classical high school that focused on Ancient Greek and Latin, and discovered a passion for psychology.
When it was time for college, she knew she wanted to study in the United States and she looked at both two and four-year colleges in Massachusetts.
Her family had recently settled in North Andover—her father transferred from Sicily to Burlington, MA—so Northern Essex was on her radar. When a family friend shared what a great experience he had here, Donohoo was sold.
She arrived in the United States on October 1 of 2017 and, just two weeks later, she started accelerated mid-semester classes.
“I’ve loved my time at Northern Essex,” she says. And, although she only finished classes a week ago, she claims “I already miss it.”
What Donohoo appreciates most about Northern Essex are the “amazing” professors.
Classes with Psychology Professors Krista Titone and Isabelle Gagne helped her recognize that psychology was the right career choice, and she calls them “phenomenal and inspirational.”
She also credits Northern Essex faculty with helping her to discover a love for subjects outside her field of interest. “I always thought I hated biology, but thanks to Professor Clements, I found I loved it.”
In the fall, Donohoo will transfer her associate degree in psychology to Boston University where she will live on campus and study for a bachelor’s in the same field. Here long-term goal is to go to medical school and become a psychiatrist specializing in child psychiatry.
Northern Essex offers a Liberal Arts: Psychology Degree which is designed for transfer to a four-year college or university.
Psychology Grows on Groomer
Dog grooming proved to be fun and creative for Nicolette Barber, but her furry clients just weren’t providing her with the intellectual stimulation she needed. That’s how the Ipswich resident came to enroll in Northern Essex’s liberal arts: psychology option program.
The 2011 Ipswich High School graduate attended a small private school following graduation from high school. After just one semester, she realized she was accruing a lot of debt as well as doubt about her major – vet technician. She decided a reset was in order. She left college and became a dog groomer.
“I love being a dog groomer, but not for the rest of my life,” she said. “I like school. I enjoy school. I’m good at school. So I decided to enroll at Northern Essex.”
That was in the spring of 2017. With her sights set on a PhD in neuro-psychology, she graduates Saturday, May 18, with a 3.8 GPA and membership in the Psi Beta Kappa community college national honor society in psychology.
With her self-discipline, she has taken a number of online courses successfully.
Her next stop she hopes will be a four-year university in New England where she will study neuro-psychology though she is undecided as to whether she will eventually work as a researcher or clinician.
The 26-year-old is also a member of Pathways for Academic and Career Excellence (PACE) Program, a federally-funded program that assists first generation or income eligible students in navigating college.
“Nicolette has both a brilliant academic mind, an outstanding thirst for knowledge, in addition to being down to earth and practical,” said Isabelle Gagne, an NECC Psychology professor. “She is an independent learner, having completed many of her course requirements online. She is not afraid to ask for advice when needed and consistently incorporates constructive feedback in her work.”
Gagne said Barber is that student who goes above and beyond class expectations. In her bio-psychology course she completed six additional essays on different neurological disorders and earned extra credit for assignments about concretely solving issues related to having neurological disorders such as dementia and substance abuse.
“Nicolette is also a great communicator,” she said. “Her writing skills are unparalleled as she is able to explain complex biological concepts in simple terms.”
Last year Barber was the recipient of the NECC Foundation and Retention scholarships.
This is her story. What is yours? #MyCommunityCollege
To learn more about the NECC’s 57th commencement visit the website.
Criminal Justice Student Receives Full Scholarship to UMass Boston
When Michael Mankarios immigrated to the United States from Egypt six years ago, he had $200 to his name, no connections, and an uncertain academic future.
Now, just a short time later, he has more than he thought possible: a full-time job, an associate degree, and – to top it all off – a full scholarship to UMass Boston.
Mankarios is the latest Northern Essex Community College student to receive the Foster Furcolo Scholarship, a highly competitive award granted each year to eligible students of Massachusetts public two-year colleges. He was selected at the recommendation of President Lane Glenn and approved by a committee of UMass Boston representatives.
Only one graduating student from each of the commonwealth’s community colleges is chosen annually for the prestigious scholarship.
“This award means everything to me,” Mankarios says, on learning of his win. “It reminds me that all that work and hardship wasn’t for nothing. This will make me so much more eager to do even more work and excel in life.”
Mankarios, who is a first-generation college student, and a recent U.S. citizen, had long been determined to earn a degree in the United States. After being approved for a visa in 2012 and subsequently moving to Haverhill, he wasted no time in searching for a funding source that would cover his eventual academic career. He found it through a series of jobs.
“When I settled here, I was working 60 to 75 hours a week to help my family back in Egypt and also create a sustainable source of income for school,” he says. “It took about three years to get established.”
By 2016, all that hard work had paid off. Mankarios soon enrolled in NECC’s criminal justice program and integrated himself into myriad campus organizations, including the Pathways to Academic and Career Excellence (PACE) program, the Criminal Justice Club, Phi Theta Kappa, and the National Society of Leadership and Success. More recently, he took on an internship position at the Lawrence District Court, which helped refine his interest in and understanding of the criminal justice field.
“My goal is to eventually work in forensics,” he explains. “I want to use my knowledge in this field to become a good role model, serve the community, and have a positive influence on my family, friends, and peers.”
With a degree and full scholarship in hand, Mankarios is certainly well on his way to doing just that. He will begin working toward a bachelor’s degree in criminology at UMass Boston this fall.
Mankarios believes that his academic success could not have been possible were it not for the support that his professors, advisors, and peers offered throughout his time on campus.
“In the end, NECC was the right choice,” he says. “The staff are just amazing – they helped me along the way. They gave me hope and encouragement when I was very down. If it weren’t for them, and for PACE especially, I know I would be lost.”
NECC offers an associate degree in criminal justice. For more information, please visit www.necc.mass.edu.
To learn more about NECC’s Commencement, visit the website.
Watch Commencement Live from Anywhere, Thanks to HC Media
Do you know someone who would like to attend commencement but can’t make it to campus for the 11 a.m. ceremony on Saturday, May 18?
Thanks to our friends at HC Media, there will be two ways to watch the commencement ceremony on your computer or mobile device.
For the second time, commencement will be on Facebook Live. Just like HC Media’s Facebook page and you’ll receive a notification when the ceremony goes live.
If you don’t have Facebook, HC Media will be live streaming commencement so you can watch it live on your computer or mobile devices To watch commencement live, go to the haverhillcommunitytv.org website and click the watch live link in the upper right corner of the home page. You will be able to view the live-streamed event 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.
Want to know more about this year’s commencement? Visit the website.
Decades in the Making Lawrence Man Earns Associate Degree
Luis Estevez says his nearly 28 years at Malden Mills helped him earn his associate degree in business management from Northern Essex.
This dedicated employee, waited until his employer closed its doors before he took advantage of a retraining act that made it possible for him to earn a long sought-after college degree.
At 48 years old, the Lawrence resident will cross the stage on Saturday, May 18, and finally accept his diploma. However, make no mistake. He isn’t finished yet. Estevez intends to earn his bachelor’s degree before he is 50 or shortly thereafter.
The Dominican Republic native was 16 when he and his family immigrated to the United States. He enrolled at Lawrence High School – graduating in 1989. He went directly from school to work at Malden Mills and was happy to do so. For nearly 28 years, through a marriage and four children, he reported to work growing his way from union employee to technical staff to supervisor.
“I am very grateful to have been a leader for that company,” he said.
By the time the Lawrence company shuttered its operations, Estevez had more than 30 people reporting to him and was responsible for 105 machines operating for 12 hours a day.
During those working years, Estevez said, a growing family and home ownership led to 80 and 90-hour work weeks.
“Any time I had extra time, it became overtime. I did the best I could until the day they closed the door,” he said.
Once the doors closed, Estevez was looking to open new ones. He enrolled as a full-time student in NECC’s business management program. His first class was “Reading, Writing & Reasoning.”
“On the first day of class we were asked to write an essay. An essay? I thought. I haven’t been in school in 28 years. What’s an essay,” he joked.
He tackled the essay and plenty of other assignments over the next two years. He found his nearly 28 years with a large company had provided its own education. Wisdom, he said, he was allowed to share with classmates. It turns out being a supervisor has its merits in the classroom. Through hard work and collaboration, Estevez will graduate with a 3.67 GPA and membership in the Alpha Beta Gamma business honors society.
And that’s not all.
In the spring of his second year, Estevez enrolled in the internship course. In addition to earning college credit, he worked in Haverhill Mayor James Fiorentini’s office as an unpaid administrative assistant helping with office tasks and constituents’ concerns. He was also able to employ his bilingual skills.
“You acquire a lot of knowledge through an internship,” he said. “More students should take advantage of it.”
Estevez hopes to continue his volunteering in the Mayor’s office over the summer while he mulls over where to attend college to earn his bachelor’s degree. He admits to being spoiled by Northern Essex.
“Northern Essex is a great family. The staff is tremendous,” he said. “From tutors to faculty to staff, everyone is helpful. I’m sad to be leaving. I always tell my children, ‘Education is power. You don’t know what doors it will open’.”
This is Luis Estevez’s story. What’s your story? #MyCommuityCollege
Haverhill Resident Discovers Passion for Accounting at NECC
Peter Orfanos is no novice when it comes to time management. The Haverhill resident, who will graduate from Northern Essex with his business transfer degree this month, manages three part-time jobs, a full-time course load, and a range of community service activities – and does it all with a can-do attitude.
“It’s definitely tough to juggle everything, but I love the challenge of it,” he says. “I try my best to compartmentalize and prioritize, working through projects one at a time rather than trying to multi-task too much.”
For Orfanos, who is the first in his immediate family to attend college, NECC had long been a part of his plans. Upon graduating from Haverhill High School in 2016, he was eager to continue his education in his hometown, which he knew would provide him with an accessible, affordable, and high-quality start to his college career.
“Attending NECC had always been in my mind,” he asserts. “I knew I wanted to go to college immediately after high school and I knew that I wanted to get my general education requirements completed at an affordable price. NECC just made sense.”
Several semesters into his education, Orfanos took an accounting course with John Sabbagh, professor emeritus, and became inspired to pursue a career in business. Sabbagh, recognizing the spark, recommended him for an accounting tutoring position on campus, which he has held since that time.
Orfanos has only continued to thrive while engaging in his studies. In addition to tutoring on campus, he has held an internship at Helfrich Brothers Boiler Works, where he assists with accounting needs, and has participated as an active member of Alpha Beta Gamma and the Pathways to Academic and Career Excellence (PACE) program. Outside of campus, he also organizes parades and festivals for the Greek Orthodox Church in Haverhill and works at a family-owned pizza shop in Bradford.
His commitment to academics and service has not gone unnoticed. This spring, Orfanos was nominated for both the “29 Who Shine” Award and the Outstanding Student Award, two highly selective honors.
In a letter of recommendation, Sabbagh wrote “In my teaching career, I have worked with more than 10,000 students at multiple colleges and Peter ranks in the top five percent of students with whom I have worked.”
Upon graduating, Orfanos will continue his undergraduate career in UMass Lowell’s accounting program. He expresses his gratitude for the role that NECC has played in helping him get there.
“NECC has helped me grow not only as a student, but as a person,” he says. “It really helped me evolve into who I want to be by encouraging me to extend myself and find opportunities to network. I can’t emphasize that enough.”
NECC offers associate degrees in accounting and business transfer. For more information, please visit www.necc.mass.edu.
To learn more about NECC’s Commencement, visit the website.
Student Receives Support Following Tragedy
Even before she walks across the stage to accept her associate degree in public health Lucia Rondon will have been on the receiving end of many of the roles for which she’s now trained.
Rondon and her entire family were supported by public and private agencies and organizations when her younger brother Leonel became the lone fatality in the Merrimack Valley Gas Explosions. The entire Lawrence community galvanized to advocate for the Rondons who found themselves immersed in a very public tragedy.
This, said the 29-year-old is what she wants to do…help others…educate and advocate for her community to help decrease social disparities and language barriers around health related issues. One day she hopes to gather all she has learned and possibly write policy and change laws and regulations to make the community better.
This Bronx, NY, native was educated in the Dominican Republic. She was a young teen when her family settled in Lawrence. Following her 2008 graduation from Lawrence High School she enrolled at Northern Essex and earned a associate degree in middle/high school education, a phlebotomy certificate and medical administration certificate. After training with the American Red Cross she worked as both a certified nurse assistant and then a medical assistant in a local physician’s office. Wanting to build on her medical knowledge and continue to work in the medical field, the now mom of two returned to NECC for her degree in public health.
“I love everything about it,” she said. “Public health is like a big umbrella. It includes so many things like environmental health, health hazards, disease prevention, and promotes and encourages healthy behavior to prolong life in the community. This degree will open more doors in my career. There are a lot of options for me to help people in their communities.”
Since January, Rondon has interned in Boston’s Public Health Department in the Community Health and Prevention Office. The experience has helped confirm she is on the right path. She hopes to extend that path to a four-year school where she will earn her bachelor’s degree in public health.
“I want to be a manager or a supervisor of community health workers,” she said. “I want to be involved with policy making and bring my ideas to the table to help make change.”
Rondon has the highest of praise about her many experiences at Northern Essex.
“I was thinking of stopping school after the explosion happened and my little brother died, but I received great support from my professors and the counseling office. There was always someone there every step of the way with me.”
Northern Essex offers an associate degree and public health and a certificate in community health worker. It is the only associate degree in public health offered in New England.
This is Lucia’s story. What’s your story? #MyCommunityCollege
To learn more about NECC’s Commencement, visit the website.
Communications Student Finds a Fresh Start at NECC
Back in the spring of 2017, Alexis “Lexi” Fontaine found herself at a crossroads. Nearly two years into her education at a college in Connecticut, the Methuen resident had dreams of pursuing a communications career, but lacked the support and financial assistance she needed to get there.
“I wasn’t getting where I should have with my schoolwork and goals,” she says of her experience. “I felt like another number in an overcrowded student body.”
Amid mounting debt and a disappointing academic career, she decided to make a jump she was uncertain of at the time. She returned to Methuen to pursue work, refine her goals and, later, to enroll at Northern Essex Community College as a journalism/communications major.
“At the time, NECC just seemed like a convenient option,” she says. “I knew it would allow me to save up some money before transferring again.”
But what started out as a mere convenience, she notes, quickly became a life-changer. By the fall of 2018 she found herself unexpectedly immersed in a vibrant and tight-knit community, and fueled by a renewed sense of determination to work toward her goals.
“I think it’s so easy to underestimate the type of community NECC can foster as a commuter school,” she says. “But I made so many more friends here, connected with professors more, and participated in so many more opportunities than I ever would have at my four-year college.”
Fontaine is now involved in a number of campus leadership roles, serving as the opinion editor for the NECC Observer, as manager of the @knightlife_necc student Instagram account, and as a public relations assistant in the NECC marketing communications office, all while holding down two part-time jobs and maintaining a 3.73 GPA. She also recently assisted in running the 2019 Speechapalooza, a free showcase of student presentations managed by the journalism/communication department.
She notes that none of these roles would have been possible were it not for the constant guidance she received from mentors and educators along the way.
“The support I’ve received from NECC professors and staff has helped me absolutely thrive,” she says. “I wasn’t ready for the atmosphere of a four year institution when I first started my college career, but now I feel fully prepared to go back and take on the challenge.”
Fontaine will continue her education at Merrimack College this fall, where she will pursue a bachelor’s degree in communications.
NECC offers associate degrees in liberal arts: journalism/communications and in liberal arts: writing. For more information, please visit www.necc.mass.edu.
To learn more about NECC’s Commencement, visit the website.
NECC was the Answer all Along
Jannyl Fabian wanted to attend college…just not in Haverhill.
So the 2016 Haverhill High School graduate turned to another Massachusetts community college 30 miles away, but after a year and a half the commute took its toll on her and her grades.
“It just wasn’t going well. The commute was challenging,” she said. “I was eager to be in a new environment, but I quickly realized college is not just about making new friends. It’s about how well you do in school.”
In the fall of 2017, she enrolled at NECC, which was much closer to her Haverhill home.
“It was the best decision I’ve ever made in my life,” the 21-year-old said.
In May she graduates with an associate degree in business transfer with a 3.48 GPA. Later this year, she hopes to join her mom in Florida, work full time, and earn her bachelor’s degree on a part-time basis.
Fabian was inspired to attend college by both her parents who emigrated from the Dominican Republic, learned English, and graduated from college.
“I knew if they could accomplish that, the least I could do is graduate with a degree. I want to make them proud,” she said. “I wanted to study business because I knew without an education, my goals would be much harder to obtain.”
Fabian was active in Northern Essex’s Pathways to Academic and Career Excellence (PACE) Program, a federally funded program that supports first generation and financial eligible students.
“The staff in PACE helped so much. They never let me miss a deadline. They were always checking on me. I appreciate everything they have done for me,” she said.
She was also a member of the Phi Theta Kappa, the business honors society.
Her praise doesn’t end with the PACE staff.
“Northern Essex has been great. The faculty and staff give you motivation to come to school and do your best,” she said. “The faculty care about you. You aren’t just a number. They want to help you succeed. They want you to be the best versions of yourself.”
Even before graduating from NECC, she is putting her business degree to use. For the last year she has been working at TD Bank branch in Haverhill. She was recently promoted to assistant head teller. She hopes to secure a banking position in Florida when she is ready to move.
In five years Fabian hopes to have earned her bachelor’s in business, hold a high ranking banking position, and be a homeowner.
This is Jannyl’s story. What’s yours? #mycommunitycollege
An Eye for Style: Business Management Graduate Empowers Others through Fashion
When Aida Santana walks across the stage at commencement next month and receives her Associate Degree in Business Management, she’ll do so knowing that she has fulfilled her late mother’s final wish – and so much more.
In just a few years, the Andover resident has gone from being a student unsure of her ambitions to a college graduate, burgeoning entrepreneur and business leader. But the path to her current status hasn’t been without challenges.
Faced with a range of financial and personal hardships while raising a daughter and balancing full-time work and school, Santana often struggled to realize her goals in her early years as an NECC student. It was solely at the firm insistence of her mother, who was battling breast cancer, that Santana continued forward with her college education.
“I initially enrolled in NECC to grant her last wish,” she says. “But NECC changed my life.”
Santana reflects on the fact that many of her professors went out of her way to push and mentor her toward success, with one even going so far as to lend her textbooks during a time of particular financial struggle.
“I made it to the finish line due to NECC’s support, understanding, and to the extra mile that some of the faculty members took to ensure I was informed of all the help and support NECC could provide,” she says. “I sincerely wouldn’t have made it here if it weren’t for NECC.”
In 2017, Santana was inducted into the National Society for Leadership and Success, which would provide her the additional boost she needed to refine her goals.
“The speakers and leadership exercises made me realize what my true passion was and is: to empower others.”
A graduate as of December 2018, Santana is now taking that passion head-on. Over the course of the next year, she plans to launch Ritnery, her own Lawrence-based personal stylist business designed to empower consumers with a range of customized clothing options.
“My ultimate goal is to make a positive impact in my community,” she says. “I would like to continue my mother’s legacy and give back.”
She adds that a portion of her business profits will ideally support breast cancer research and patient care.
Santana is now furthering her business education through EparaTodos, a Lawrence-based nonprofit that aims to help Spanish-speaking entrepreneurs focus and execute their business plans.
NECC offers associate degrees in accounting, business management, hospitality management, business management: healthcare practice, and business transfer. For more information, please visit www.necc.mass.edu.
To learn more about the 2019 Commencement, visit the website.
Cuban Immigrant will Address NECC Class of 2019
Yexis Hechavarria of Lawrence, an aspiring medical doctor, who emigrated from Cuba to the United States when she was 17, will represent the Northern Essex Community College class of 2019 as the student commencement speaker.
A biology major and 2015 Lawrence High School graduate, Hechavarria was one of eight students nominated for this honor based on academic success—she has a 3.58 GPA— and contributions to the college and the community. She was nominated by Natural Sciences Professor Sarah Courchesne, who is her former Biology professor and current advisor, and chosen by a committee of Northern Essex faculty and staff. NECC President Lane Glenn made the final decision.
In her nomination, Courchesne wrote “Yexis is academically strong, intellectually curious, driven, and self-motivated. Referring to Hechavarria’s journey from Cuba to the United States, she also wrote “From the internet to microscopes, she had a steep learning curve that she climbed with astonishing rapidity and alacrity.”
When she arrived in Lawrence five years ago with her brother and her mother, Hechavarria could not speak English. “One, two, three, four…is all I knew,” she says.
She enrolled in Lawrence’s International High School and spent her junior year learning English with the help of “Jane Eyre”, a book which her teacher lent her. Her senior year she moved to the Math, Science, and Technology High School, based on her interest in the medical field.
Hechavarria’s parents were both doctors in Cuba, and, as a child, she sometimes went to work with them, an experience that fueled her interest in medicine.
“Life is so complex that it shouldn’t exist,” she says. “That’s what fascinates me about medicine.”
Her parents recently left the area to pursue work opportunities. Her father is now living in Texas, driving a truck, and her mother is in Miami, starting a new job as a social worker. As a result, the 22-year old is now alone supporting herself with four jobs while in college. She’s a baker at Walmart; a tutor for a program Northern Essex offers onsite at Raytheon; a peer tutor for NECC ESL students; and a tutor in the math center.
What Hechavarria appreciates most about Northern Essex is the personal attention she has received. “Sarah (Professor Courchesne) is always looking for opportunities for me…internships, scholarships.”
She joined Courchesne as a research assistant on a seabird ecology study in the Gulf of Maine two summer ago and, last summer, she was chosen for a highly selected Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU) at Northeastern University, where she was part of a lab team focused on studying aorta pathology in mice.
In the fall, Hechavarria plans to transfer to Merrimack College, and major in biochemistry. After that, she has her sights set on medical school.
To learn more about NECC’s Commencement, visit the website.
Honors Student has Rarely Been on Campus
When Sarath Men of Methuen arrives at his Northern Essex Community College graduation on Saturday, May 18, it will only be the third time he has been on campus.
That’s because Men, who will earn a Test B Technician’s Certificate with high honors, took all his courses at his worksite, Raytheon Integrated Defense Systems in Andover.
Available only to Raytheon employees, the 29-credit certificate program was created by Northern Essex to help prepare entry-level Raytheon employees for promotions.
That was in 2008, and, since then, 125 Raytheon employees, including Men, have gained the skills to move up in their field. The company also has expanded the program to include a noncredit option for Test B technicians that want to prepare for higher-level Test A technician jobs, and 70 have completed that program.
Courses are offered onsite at Raytheon and the company has built classrooms for lectures, problem solving, software simulations, and an electronics lab. Raytheon also pays for books, tuition, software, and calculators, and allows employees in the program to adjust their shifts so they can attend the classes, which run two afternoons a week for four hours for 16 weeks.
Men started at Raytheon as an assembler in 2012, and he enrolled in the program because he was looking to advance in his career.
Married with two young daughters, and, he adds, a puppy, Men admits that the program is challenging. “We all work full-time and most of us have kids. It’s non-stop,” he says. “But we’ve made this commitment to go to work and better ourselves.
When in school, Men works his shift from 5:30 am to 2 pm and then starts his four hours of classes at 2:30 pm. The evening is spent with his family and then, once his kids are in bed, he hits the books.
In January, Men was promoted to a new position, based on his enrollment in the program and an interview with company engineers.
Thirteen Raytheon employees will be awarded their certificates at the May 18 Commencement, and Men will be there with his proud family.
“I’m very appreciative of the opportunity Raytheon has given us,” says Men. “They make it convenient to go to school.”
CIS Major to be Honored at State House Ceremony
Ever since middle school, Tyler Evans knew he wanted to work with computers. So it’s no surprise that in May, he graduates with not one, but two computer science degrees from Northern Essex Community College.
What is even less of a surprise is that along the way the West Newbury resident has enthusiastically shared his knowledge with other computer fans including classmates struggling with comprehension and seniors citizens struggling with cybersecurity. On Friday, May 3, Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker will recognize Evans for his extraordinary accomplishments and contributions at a ceremony at the State House.
Evans has been selected as one of the “29 Who Shine”, an honor which is given to a top graduate from each of the state’s community colleges and public colleges and universities. Also recognized at the ceremony will be his mentor Adrianna Holden-Gouveia, an NECC computer information science faculty member.
The 2016 Pentucket High School graduate enrolled in his first NECC course as a junior through the Early College Program. By then, he had already revived the Pentucket High School Computer Club.
“I flourished once I was in a college setting,” he said. “I was in a classroom with like- minded adults being taught by professors who cared so much about what we were doing in class.”
In addition to working on his degrees, Evans also worked, first as a supplemental instructor and then a computer science tutor. He was just a high school student when a professor recognized his acumen and recommended him for the computer science tutoring role. Evans also volunteered his time to present to Northern Essex’s College of Older Learners (CoOL) on the basics of computer security and answered their technical questions.
His enthusiasm for computers continued to spill out into the world during an internship last summer. While working for three months in the support management center in the cyber security office of the Food & Drug Administration, he designed a monitoring tool app that is still used today.
Following graduation, the 21-year-old will take his computer science transfer degree and information technology degree to UMass Lowell where he will enroll in a computer & information sciences bachelor’s degree.
Eventually Evans hopes to return to the FDA as either a cybersecurity specialist or software designer.
In May 2011, the Massachusetts Department of Higher Education launched “29 Who Shine,” a program to recognize outstanding students representing each of the 29 public campuses. The honorees, chosen because of their academic achievements and record of student leadership and community service, stand poised to contribute greatly to the civic life and economic well-being of the state.
Northern Essex faculty and staff nominate students for this honor and President Lane Glenn chooses a candidate. Evans was nominated for the honor by computer & information science faculty Adrianna Gouviea-Holden, Jason Termini, Kristen Sparrow, and Michael Penta, English Professor Emeritus George Bailey, and Kristen Sparrow and CoOL’s Bonnie Pearlman.
“Every Professor I’ve had at NECC has left a profound impact on my development as a student and professional,” said Evans. “Among them, Adrianna always went the extra mile to sate my limitless curiosity, and ensure I was the best student I could be. I’m incredibly grateful for all she has done.”
The programs prepare students for career in computer information science or for transfer into a four-year program.
For additional information on the Northern Essex CIS programs contact Jason Termini, CIS program coordinator, at jtermini@necc.mass.edu
