Press Releases, March 2007
March 2
HOLYOKE – The March 8 presentation and book-signing by HCC Professor Diane L. Beers has been canceled due to illness.
Copies of Beers’ book “For the Prevention Of Cruelty” are still available at the HCC Bookstore for $19.95.
March 5
Rufus Reid to headline 10th Annual HCC Jazz Festival March 30-31
HOLYOKE –
The public is invited to Holyoke Community College March 30-31 for the 10th Annual Jazz Festival.
The two-day festival will kick-off in the Leslie Phillips Forum on Friday night March 30 with a concert by New Jersey recording artist Rufus Reid, accompanied by the Amherst Jazz Orchestra. The concert begins at 8 p.m., and tickets will be available at the door. General admission is $10, ($8 for students and seniors.) Members of the HCC community will receive free admission.
Reid will return to the Forum on Saturday, March 31, 4-6 p.m. where he will perform with select high school jazz musicians in a free concert that is also open to the public.
Also on Saturday, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., Reid and other music educators will lead a series of jazz workshops, which the public is invited to observe. Jazz musicians from Hampshire Regional, Holyoke, Amherst Regional, Cathedral, Ellington, Enfield high schools will participate in these workshops, which will be critiqued by a panel of music educators. Students tapped to receive honorable mentions by that panel will be announced at the 4 p.m. concert.
For more information on any aspect of the Jazz Festival, please call Deb Golas at (413) 552-2485.
A native of Atlanta, Reid has received numerous awards and recognition for his work, including the 2005 Mellon Jazz Living Legacy Award, the 2006 New Jersey State Council on the Arts fellowship, and the Charlie Parker Jazz Composition Award. A noted jazz educator, Reid’s book “The Evolving Bassist” is widely recognized as having set the industry standard for the bass method. It was recently released on DVD.
This two-day event is sponsored by the HCC Music Department, the HCC Music Club, and Gerry’s Music Shop in South Hadley.
March 6
HOLYOKE –
The Holyoke Community College Lady Cougars Basketball team is poised to compete for the National Junior Athletic Association (NJCAA) Division III national title later this month, having clinched the New England title in a two-day match-up on March 3, and 4.
Recently ranked 10th in the NJCAA poll, the Lady Cougars will travel to Utica, New York on March 15 –17 as a part of the Elite Eight, a group of teams that will compete for the national title. The Lady Cougars come into this tournament with an enviable 21–3 record. The team’s first game in Utica will be against the defending national champions, the Lady Mustangs from Monroe College in the Bronx, New York. The Lady Mustangs are currently ranked number one in the NJCAA poll.
The Cougars won the Region XXI (New England) title during a two-day semi-final tournament at HCC on March 3-4. First, they bested the UConn-Avery Point Pointers by a score of 47-36. They then went on to beat the Quinsigamond Community College Lady Chiefs by a score of 62-48.
In related news, the NJCAA Region XXI Basketball Committee on February 26 named three members of the Lady Cougars to the All-New England Basketball Team. Named to the first team were sophomore forward Dominique Finkley of Easthampton and freshman center Erin Russell of Northampton. Named to the second team was freshman point guard Tara Henson of Williamsburg. Head Coach Al Wolejko of Hatfield was selected as the Region XXI Basketball Coach of the Year.
March 7
By Radostina Koleva
Holyoke Community College
HOLYOKE – We often think of identity theft as something that happens to other people … the ones who don’t pay their bills quickly or people who don’t read their mail carefully. Unfortunately, this is not true. These days, I teach courses in computer and information security, but, seven years ago, when I was a struggling graduate student, I was one of the first generation of credit card holders who learned how easily our privacy can be breached.
It was Christmas Eve 2000 when I received a call from a collection agency. The voice on the other end of the phone politely inquired if I would like to make arrangements to pay my Visa balance, which was, by then, many months in arrears. Rarely in my life have I been so shocked. I had always prided myself at paying my bills the day they arrived. Waiting several months to mail a payment was not something I would ever consider doing.
After the initial shock I asked the caller which credit card had an overdue balance. The representative was happy to give me the account number of a card that I did not have. I was momentarily relieved.
“I do not have CapitalOne Visa!” I said.
The caller was not so overjoyed.
“Yes you do,” he said in a friendly but firm tone. Then he read the billing address that was on file. It was an old address – one of the many that I had while working my way through a graduate program in physics. Familiar, but foreign at the same time. I hadn’t lived there for quite sometime.
Hearing him read off that old address made me feel creepy, like I was being watched. I began to wonder whether I’d lost control of my life. It’s a hard feeling to shake, actually. I am not sure it will ever go away.
Ultimately, I was not responsible for the overdue balance, but climbing out of this mess took a lot of hard work on my part. I had to submit a written explanation of my situation to the credit card company in question, the collection agency that called me, and all of the major credit reporting agencies. I chose to file a victim’s statement on my credit report – a record that stayed with me for seven years. It’s designed to protect me from further breaches, but it was also a bit of a hassle: it requires all credit grantors to contact me by phone before granting me credit. That means it was nearly impossible for me to sign up for instant credit. (And the times that I have been able to get instant credit in spite of this protection are, quite frankly, a little concerning.) Also, every time I moved, I had to send a ton of information to the credit reporting agencies: my new phone bill, my addresses from last five years, my social security number, my date of birth, and two proofs of my new address.
The mistake I made is common to many young people – and others who find themselves moving to take advantage of lower rents, new jobs or other life opportunities. I was reckless with my personal information and my mail. Knowing that my address would change a lot during graduate school, I had opted to have my most important mail sent to me at the university. Then I could be sure that I wouldn’t miss paying a bill.
Great motivation. Lousy choice. I did not think of how many people would have access to my mail – at the university or at my old apartment. I did not consider the other mail that might still be sent by marketers or other credit card companies long after I moved. As long as I had my regular bills in hand, I felt like I had myself covered.
Wrong.
I’ve never been able to pinpoint where the breach occurred, but I have learned a thing or two about prevention. The best way to handle this looming threat is to protect yourself against being a victim. Here are some suggestions that I would give to anyone who does not want to go through the same thing (there are many more!):
A lot more great tips are available on the web:
http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/edu/microsites/idtheft/
http://www.consumeraction.gov/caw_protect_identity.shtml
For a free credit report:
https://www.annualcreditreport.com/cra/index.jsp
Radostina Koleva is an instructor in the Holyoke Community College which offers customized information security trainings as well as an associates degree in information security. Koleva and her colleague instructor Casey Storozuk are two of the organizers behind the Pioneer Valley Information Security & Assurance Conference, which will take place on April 7 at HCC. For more information about that conference, call (413) 552-2122 or visit http://hcc.edu/pvisac/index.html
March 7
Information Security Conference at HCC April 7
Priority deadline for registration is March 29HOLYOKE – Business professionals, educators, and individuals who are concerned about the growing threat of information theft are invited to Holyoke Community College on April 7 for the Pioneer Valley Information Security and Assurance Conference, 8 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.
The conference is free, but interested participants are asked to register by March 29. To register call (413) 552-2122 or visit our website at http://www.hcc.edu/pvisac/registration.htm.
Increasingly, the public has become aware of identity theft – the larceny of one’s social security number, credit card numbers and other personal information. But conference organizers emphasize that there are many other forms of information theft still preying on businesses and individuals: cell phones that can discretely download or photograph sensitive information; phishing scams lurking in email inboxes; easily cracked passwords, and employees who routinely bring home customer files on their laptops. All of these present breaches to information security and should be addressed, conference organizers note.
Educators and business professionals who have studied computer security and information policy will address these issues, giving attendees an opportunity to form their own solutions.
The seminar will include such topics as Firewalls and IDS, and Management of Information Security Policy and Risk Management. The keynote address Implementing an Information Security Program and the Partnership between Management and Security Functions will be given by James DiDonato, the information security officer for Baystate Health, Inc.
For more information on the conference, please visit the website http://hcc.edu/pvisac/index.html.
March 12
HOLYOKE – It’s a Catch 22 that has frustrated many working mothers: to get a better job, you have to have the education, but, to support your family, you’ve got to keep that job.
Somewhere in this impossible equation, ambitions get squeezed.
Not so, for 22 medical assistants at the Holyoke Health Center. Thanks to a partnership with Holyoke Community College, the employees recently completed a customized 9-week preparatory course that allowed 16 of them to pass the national certification exams (the other six will receive further training). Along with their certificates from the American Association of Allied Health Professionals, the assistants will get a nice bump in their pay, and, organizers hope, a bump in their ambitions.
“Not only does this allow them to get certified in their field, but it also gets them comfortable with the idea of college,” says HHC Executive Director Jay Breines. “I’d like our employees to begin their education at a college, because it will encourage them to take the next step and enroll.”
Breines and HCC President William F. Messner were both on hand to congratulate the graduates, who celebrated their accomplishment during a lunchtime recognition ceremony at the center on March 8. Instead of robes and mortarboards, the graduates wore hospital scrubs and broad smiles.
“Number one, you all did a terrific job. You should feel really good about sitting here today because you spent time, money, and energy on your education,” said Messner. “You did this while working, and, my hunch is, you had other obligations, like your families. But you didn’t take this for granted.”
For nine weeks, participants in the HCC Medical Assistant Certification Preparation training worked from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the health center before diving into five hours of classroom instruction. Funded through grants from the state Office of Minority Health and the Blue Cross Blue Shield Foundation, the program took root when HCC created curricula designed to meet the unique needs of the center.
“It’s something we do all the time for public and private businesses,” said HCC’s Jeffrey Hayden, who heads up the Kittredge Center for Business and Workforce Development. “We are in the business of designing training programs to meet these needs.”
Instructors from HCC’s Medical Assistant program modified their regular curricula, often combining a semester’s worth of learning into a night of intensive instruction. They taught their classes at the Holyoke Health Center to make the course convenient. That didn’t make it easy.
“Right from the beginning, I studied very hard,” said 52-year-old Gloria Cortez, who has worked at the health center for almost 20 years. “We made study groups, but sometimes I didn’t have time for them. So I carried around flash cards in my smocks.”
All of the participants in the HCC Medical Assistant Certification Preparation program had previously received formal training at private vocational schools, but, bowing to the pressure to work, none of them had gone on to take the certification exams. The farther they got from their classroom training, Breines said, the less confident they felt about taking an exam. The nine-week HCC preparatory class gave them just the right boost.
“I think it adds to their confidence on the job, and, for us, it gives us the confidence that, yes, they are certified,” Breines said. "It was exciting to see them studying during their lunch breaks and quizzing the doctors at the center, too. They really took their lessons into the workplace."
Breines said the connection between the health center and the college is one he’d like to develop further. In the future, he hopes HCC will develop a more flexible scheduling process, so it can more easily enroll unemployed residents into its year-long Medical Assistant Training Certificate program. In addition to its low cost, he said, the HCC program gives local residents a much-needed gateway to higher education.
“I think the Holyoke Community College collaboration has shown us all that we can get together and meet the needs of the community,” he said. “We can give people hope for better things.”
That sounds about right to Gloria Cortez, who is now talking to HCC officials about entering the college’s nursing program.
“I had friends who told me ‘Don’t do it. You’ll fail. That test is so hard,’” she said of the Medical Assistant exam that she recently passed. “But I said ‘You know what? I’m just going to do it. And if I fail, I will try again.’”
March 14
More than $100,000 in scholarships offered at HCC
HOLYOKE - With just two weeks until the March 28 deadline, the HCC Foundation has yet to receive applications for all of the more than 90 scholarships it is offering to students who plan to either remain or transfer from Holyoke Community College during the 2007-2008 academic year.
Foundation President Erica Broman says each year many students do not apply because they mistakenly assume they would not qualify for assistance. She says this is a common misconception, which the Foundation would like to wipe out. The Foundation is prepared to disburse more than $100,000 in aid, earmarked for a variety of reasons, including specific fields of study, transfer opportunities, and a variety of life circumstances and interests. For a full list of scholarships, or an application, call the HCC Foundation at (413) 552-2182 or visit the HCC website http://www.hcc.edu
March 15
Editor's Note: Regarding the letter writer's claims, we
sought clarification from Kermit Dunkelberg, program
coordinator of Holyoke Community College’s Ludlow Area Adult Learning Center
(LAALC). According to Dunkelberg, the LAALC is in full compliance with state Department of Education regulations, which prohibit staff from requesting the social security numbers of participants. Dunkelberg pointed out that 72 percent of LAALC’s students
are employed and are therefore paying taxes.
March 20
HCC to host two children’s plays on March 25
HOLYOKE - Children and their parents are invited to Holyoke Community College on Sunday, March 25 from 4-6 p.m. for two free musical productions, “Stone Soup” and “Sneetches” presented by the Children’s Theatre Company of Greater Boston.
Both productions will take place in the Leslie Phillips Forum at HCC, 303 Homestead Avenue. Parking is available on campus.
The Dr. Seuss classic "Sneetches" is a story about yellow bird-like creatures called Sneetches who teach children valuable lessons about racism. The much-loved fable “Stone Soup” tells a story about cooperation amidst scarcity.
March 22
Chef J. Warren mentors HCC culinary arts students
Two Southwick students will accompany Warren at Home Show, March 24
HOLYOKE – If you aspire to be a top chef, education is a key ingredient.
That was the message that world-famous Chef Jerry (“J.”) Warren left with culinary arts students at Holyoke Community College on Thursday, March 22. Warren visited the college prior to his stint at the Western Mass Home Show, which runs March 21-25 in West Springfield’s Eastern States Exposition.
Warren urged students to pursue formal education, noting that it would give them a competitive edge in the workplace. Warren, himself, holds two degrees from Cornell University and has studied with many accomplished chefs in the U.S. and Europe.
“Without the education, you’re cannon fodder,” he told students. “Get a certificate, get a degree, and you’ll have control.”
He also urged the students to go easy on the body piercings, dress neatly, and gain knowledge from every job, no matter how menial.
“One of my first jobs was to get up at 4:30 in the morning to wake up the drunk bakers and get them into the bakery,” he said. “That was my start.”
On Saturday, Warren will give two HCC culinary arts students, Avi Foint and Matt Paige, some experience that is sure to inspire their careers. The two men, both from Southwick, will assist Warren’s food presentations at the Western Mass Home Show. The pair will join Warren in the Better Living Center at 3 p.m.
Holyoke Community Colleges offers one-year culinary arts certificates as well as food service management and hospitality management associates degrees. The culinary arts certificate program is limited to 32 students per year. There are still openings available for the fall 2007 semester. To find out more, call the HCC Welcome Center at (413) 552-2000.
March 23
HCC welcomes Mass Mutual donation
Friday, March 23, 10:30 a.m. MEDIA INVITED
HOLYOKE – A $60,000 donation from the Mass Mutual Financial Group is making it much easier for scholars at Holyoke Community College to get ahead.
The donation, part of a $100,000 grant that Mass Mutual made to the college, has allowed HCC to purchase 25 new computers, an LDC projection system, computer tables, and a walled-off study area for the library.
On Friday, March 23, the college will formally introduce Mass Mutual officials to the new library computer lab, at 10:30 a.m. The media is cordially invited to speak with officials and tour the lab.
The balance of the Mass Mutual grant will be used to renovate rooms and purchase new equipment for the college’s Center for Academic Program Support (CAPS).
“The new computers and increased capacity for research will make it so much easier for our students to tackle their school work,” said HCC Vice President for Institutional Development Erica Broman. “For students who work or have family commitments, the time that they are able to steal in our library is often the only time they’ll get for school work. Mass Mutual has made a significant commitment to their futures.”
More than 14 percent of Holyoke Community College’s student body comes from Springfield, making it the college’s largest feeder community, (outside of Holyoke), Broman said.
March 26
HOLYOKE – Prospective students and their families are invited to Holyoke Community College’s Kittredge Center on Thursday, April 12 for an Open House, 4:30 to 6:30 p.m.
For more information about HCC or about this Open House, please call the HCC Admissions Office at (413) 552-2321.
This drop-in event will feature free food, door prizes, Spanish interpreters, hands-on demonstrations of online classes, and information on the more than 100 degree and certificate options available at HCC. Visitors can even fill out a free application on the spot. Representatives from financial aid, transfer affairs, and student services will be on hand to answer questions as well.
At 4:30 and at 5:30 p.m., there will be special mini-presentations focusing on how an HCC degree or certificate can prepare students for a wide variety of careers.
March 28
HOLYOKE – Westfield resident Cori D. Marsh, daughter of Frederick Marsh of Westfield and Kim Gangwisch-Marsh of Heath has been named as the 2007 recipient of the Marjorie Green Scholarship by PeoplesBank.
A business administration major at Holyoke Community College, Marsh received the $1,000 scholarship from PeoplesBank President Douglas Bowen earlier this month. She will use the funds to continue her education at Bryant University this fall.
The scholarship was created by PeoplesBank to assist HCC business students who are not receiving aid from other sources. It was named after Marjorie Green, who rose to the position of senior vice president of the bank during the 1960s.
“There weren’t a lot of women in banking at that time,” said Bowen. “This scholarship honors her pioneering spirit.”
Marsh, 19, has earned a place on HCC’s Deans List each semester since she enrolled at the college in the fall of 2005. As co-captain of the Lady Cougars soccer team, she also played a pivotal role in the team’s first-ever Division III New England championship in the fall of 2006.
“I was accepted to Bryant right out of high school,” said Marsh. “But I went to HCC to get my first two years out of the way because I couldn’t afford four years (at Bryant). Now, all of my HCC credits are going toward my degree at Bryant. All of them. HCC helped me to plan it out so it all worked.”