June '24 News Blog
News briefs from the HCC campus and beyond
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Now Serving
A few years ago, when she was enrolled in HCC's free, six-week line-cook training program, Marangelly Vargas-Gonzalez '24 told a television reporter that her ambition was to one day run a food truck operation. Now, having just graduated from HCC with her associate degree in culinary arts, she is getting a chance to do exactly that. This summer, Vargas-Gonzalez and her culinary arts classmate Luis Centeno '24 are selling lunches in the HCC Courtyard on Tuesdays and Thursdays out of the college's culinary arts truck, otherwise known as the CAT. Their first day was Tuesday, June 11. "We're trying to bring diverse cultures to the menu," said Vargas-Gonzalez, 34. "This week is Mediterranean." For $10, customers had their choice of a Greek-stye quinoa salad with either grilled chicken or crispy chickpeas, bottle of water and cookie included. The meals are prepared in advance at the culinary arts institute, where they both also work as lab techs, and then packaged for sale in to-go containers. "We have an Asian menu coming up," said Vargas-Gonzalez. "We'll have American classics, like BLT wraps, and then we have Caribbean - Jamaican - because we wanted to showcase our culture. We're both Puerto Rican, but we didn't want to just have Puerto Rican food." Centeno, 57, a retired U.S. Army veteran, said they want to be able to offer something unique. "We didn't just want to offer tacos, hot dogs, and hamburgers." They will also be taking the truck on the road for a few community events, working with farmer's markets in the area and partnering with the Salvation Army. "We want to be able to showcase our skills but also show that healthy food can be good," said Vargas-Gonzalez. If all goes well, they would like to expand the menu and offer hot meals as well as cold. "We're testing the waters," Centeno said. PHOTOS: (Thumbnail) Culinary arts alumni Marangelly Vargas-Gonzalez '24 and Luis Centeno '24 in the window of the HCC Culinary Arts Truck. (Above) Vargas-Gonzalez and Centeno, center, had assistance from their culinary arts classmates Diana Swanigan '24 and Joe Mickens '24.
Gateway Takes Stage
The Gateway to College program marked a special occasion on Friday, June 7. Not only did HCC's alternative high school program celebrate the graduation of 56 new students, it did so in the Leslie Phillips Theater, marking the first Gateway graduation held there since January 2020. "I pulled out my usual graduation script and had to throw it away, as this is a brave new world," Gateway to College director Vivian Ostrowski said in her opening remarks. "Gateway has always served students for whom traditional high school is not a good fit. With Covid, traditional high school wasn't a good fit for anyone." Students experienced anxiety, depression, lost family and friends, dealt with addiction, eating disorders, court cases, isolation, and work, she said. "It's been a rough go." Nevertheless, students "kept showing up." And when they couldn't show up, they kept in touch. "These are some exceptional human beings, my friends, strong and resilient," she told the crowd. Now, HCC's Gateway program has graduated a total of 598 students since 2008. The current crop of 56 earned their high school diplomas from 12 different area high schools while also collecting 304 college credits. Thirty-three of them plan to continue on to college. "These are remarkable numbers," she said. "I bow my head to these students, and to their instructors." PHOTOS: (Above) Gateway students Payton Baer, Devika Darjee, Grace David, Glory Perez, and Angel Villanueva accept awards recognizing their Gateway achievements from director Vivian Ostrowski, left, and Gateway adademic counselor Shannon Glenn, right. (Thumbnail) Student speaker Glory Perez takes the stage with Gateway director Vivian Ostrowski.
Changing of the Guard
EJ Jackson admitted he was nervous. Not because he was in a place he'd never been before -- the office of President George Timmons. He was nervous about the awesome prospect of representing the HCC student body as their new representative on the HCC Board of Trustees. This spring, Jackson, an environmental science major from Agawam and president of the Rainbow Forward Club, was elected as student-trustee by his peers for the 2024-2025 academic year. The recent meeting in the president's office was not part of his official duties, which have yet to begin, however. This was more of a welcome-to-the-board and get-acquainted opportunity. Jackson was escorted there by outgoing student-trustee, now alum, Barney Garcia '24, who knows his way around and has spoken a lot about the impact his time with the president has meant to his personal development. "I can only encourage everyone that, if you can spend 30 minutes to an hour with this man, take the opportunity," Garcia said during a speech he gave during President Timmons' April inauguration. "He's helped change my life; he may be able to do the same for you." Garcia wasn't talking specifically to Jackson then, but he could have been. "We have a lot in common, and I think we will get along really well," Jackson said later. about the president. "Both he and Barney have a lot of faith in me. I'm both nervous and excited for the change that we can bring to campus." PHOTO: Incoming student-trustee EJ Jackson, center, meets with President George Timmons, and outgoing student-trustee Barney Garcia '24.
