July '24 News Blog
News briefs from the HCC campus and beyond
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Seal of Approval
Congratulations to the nine HCC students who recently received the Global Seal of Biliteracy, a national credential that recognizes literacy in English and Spanish. To receive the certification, students must sit for an hours-long proctored exam that assesses their reading, writing, speaking, and listening skills, and scores them according to national standards. All of them, students enrolled in Spanish 202 with Professor Monica Torregrosa during the spring semester, earned the seal for the "functioning fluency" level. Based on the guidelines, Torregrosa said, the students have demonstrated that they can function in the certified language when completing familiar routines and tasks in predictable situations, describe products, services, policies or procedures, take orders, complete formulaic documents and payment transactions, and provide scripted presentations and answer expected, frequently asked questions. Pictured above: Emilie Pease, Mark Freise, Jose Roman '24, Samantha Moran, Jaal Gardin, and Maylene Rodriguez-Scott (HCC staff), with Professor Torregrosa. Not pictured: Sophia Bolston '24, Sonia Szala-Krotkov, Idalice Serrano.
Bridge to Success
HCC recently welcomed William Reyes-Cubides 
as assistant vice president of academic affairs and student success. In this new position in Academic and Student Affairs, Reyes-Cubides will serve a bridge between both sides of the division to ensure that students receive the support they need to achieve academic success. "I'm quite excited. I love the culture of this school and what I've seen so far," said Reyes-Cubides, who recently moved to South Hadley from San José, California, where he was dean of humanities, social science and arts at San José City College. "Everyone seems invested in student success. It's obvious to me how passionate they are." At HCC, he will oversee HCC student support programs, including El Centro, ALANA, TRIO, the Office for Students with Disabilities and Deaf Services, the Center for Academic Program Supports, academic English as a Second Language, and SAMP, HCC's Student Ambassador Mentorship Program. The son of a teacher, Reyes-Cubides was born and raised in Colombia. He holds a bachelor's degree in education, Spanish and English studies from the Universidad Pedagógica Nacional de Colombia in Bogota, and a master's degree in Romance languages and Hispanic studies from Boston College. He is pursuing his doctorate in education in leadership for equity in higher education from the University of Colorado-Denver.
