No, Tweety Bird is not calling the signal to give up!
Middlesex Community College is now officially tweeting! And for those who don't know what that means, take a couple of seconds to do some research on Twitter, the newest internet rage that's used for on-line communication and social networking.
Last week, a group of MCC administrators got together to discuss new methods we can use to communicate better with our students, faculty, staff, and the world at large. While many divisions within the college have been using their own versions of Twitter pages to get out the word on their respective areas, the college has now created its own Twitter site to follow all things MCC!
The link can be found here (you need to have a Twitter account to access the site):
http://twitter.com/middlesex_cc
In the meantime, let's hear from you! Who's using Twitter? Why? When? How do you think the college should best use the tool?
We look forward to tweeting you to all kinds of MCC tidbits via this tool. Keep on twitterpating (a nod to Walt Disney Bambi fans among us!)
Ah, the Fourth of July in Boston! A staple of Americana when more than half a million revelers turn out to celebrate our nation's birthday! And what a party it is, with Keith Lockhart and the Boston Pops, a fantastic fireworks show, and behind the scenes - MCC's Homeland Security team?!?!?
For the second year in a row, MCC is partnering to provide sophisticated electronic security to the Unified Command Center that will oversee operations and public safety for the Independence Day Celebrations at the Hatch Shell / Charles River Esplanade in Boston this Friday and Saturday.
The MCC folks involved are Associate Dean Neil Sheer and Professor Joe Kalus from the Radio Frequency Identification Program, and Terry Downes from the Program on Homeland Security.
Boston 4 Celebrations Foundation, Inc. ("B4") is again providing the financial underwriting and the management of the overall event. The Massachusetts State Police again are in charge of public safety. Forty-four agencies are involved, including "B4", the State Police, the Mass. Dept. of Conservation and Recreation (the successor agency to the MDC), City of Boston (including Boston Police - Fire - and EMS), the City of Cambridge (including police, fire and DPW), the U.S. Coast Guard, the FBI, the MBTA, and others.
All the concert and fireworks related operations will be managed from within the Unified Command Center (UCC), which is located away from the Esplanade. Its actual location is not made public for public safety reasons.
Given the state of the national economy, the high unemployment rate, and the fact that July 4 falls on a Saturday (most people have Sunday off), an unusually large crowd is anticipated this year. This will be true both for the July 4 concert and fireworks, and for the popular July 3 evening "dress rehearsal," which hosts about 200,000 people and is the exact same program as the Fourth except for the absence of fireworks.
MCC has been asked to design, build and operate an electronic credentials system that will allow speedy access to the UCC for properly authorized public safety personnel, while denying access to unauthorized persons. MCC has played a lead role in this effort since its earliest days in the Fall of 2008. The MCC RFID Lab, located on the Bedford campus, has been the location of the design system and its testing and improvement efforts.
Once again, MCC is working with its partners from the MITRE Corp. and RFIDGlobal Solution, Inc. to design, evaluate, build and operate the system. This year also features two new partners, as well - the United States Air Force Electronic Systems Center (from Hanscom AFB), and Fenwick Technologies are joining in the effort. This will make for a broadly based group all working towards the same goal of keeping the event safe for concert goers and their families: academia (MCC), private organizations (MITRE, RFIDGlobal and Fenwick Technologies) and public agencies (the USAF and the Mass. State Police) from both the state and the federal levels.
So as you watch the cannons reverberate during the inspirational finish to the 1812 Overture, rest easy knowing the MCC team is behind the scenes helping to keep everyone safe!
Lowell native Ed McMahon who went on to fame as TV's most famous sidekick working for decades alongside Johnny Carson on the Tonight Show passed away on Tuesday at the age of 86.
In 1996, McMahon returned to his old stomping grounds, and MCC took the opportunity to dedicate a park bench in his honor, with the help of Paul Sullivan, an MCC adjunct professor, a former Lowell Sun writer, and a former radio host at WLLH where McMahon spent some of his earlier years. The dedication was part of MCC's 25th anniversary celebration.
While here, MCC had a special package of hot dogs delivered from Elliot's hot dogs, a staple of Lowell cuisine that McMahon happily chowed down on upon his new bench, which still sits out in front of MCC's Lowell campus.
Rest in peace, Ed.
A royal shout out to all of MCC's supporters who helped make this year's Celebrity Forum a regal event all around!
Sarah Ferguson, the Duchess of York was this year's guest, and brought with her a surprise guest - her daughter, Princess Eugenie, the sixth in line for the throne.
Both of the women were extremely gracious, working the crowd at the event, and chatting up conversations with anyone who came within arm's reach.
The night also featured the awarding of four Celebrity Forum scholarships. The scholarships were delivered by MCC Foundation Chair Jim Henderson and the Foundation's Investment Chair, David Basile.
All four recipients are part of the college's Connections program, a collaboration with the University of Massachusetts at Lowell.
Shariful Islam of Somerville will be majoring in business administration at the University in the fall. Sok Kruy of Lowell will be majoring in electrical engineering in September. Brittni O'Brien of Billerica will be majoring in elementary education, and the fourth student, the winner of the Debra Chemelli Evans Scholarship, was Linda Khun of Lowell, who graduated from MCC with honors and will be majoring in business administration at UML.
A near-record amount of sponsors this year helped filled the floor at the Lowell Memorial Auditorium to hear the Duchess' speech about her personal voyage to an authentic life.
Thanks to Kevin Harkins for the event photos. Believe it or not, plans are already in the works for next year's Celebrity Forum! Who's it gonna be? Place your bets and/or tell us your wish list now!
(Belated) kudos go out to the folks in our Information Technology Department who claimed victory at MCC's first-ever Trivia Night!
The Tech-Know Geeks squeaked out a win, barely edging past the Queen Bees in Pursuit of Happiness and the Mickey Mouse Club to claim bragging rights at the first trivia tourney, held Friday night at the Bedford cafe.
More than 100 folks joined teams for the event, which by all indications, was a ton of fun for folks. Special shout-out to the MCC hockey team, who showed up that night as ringers, and nearly captured the win!
Thanks to judges President Carole Cowan and Provost Mary-Jane McCarthy, the 100 questions were graded fairly, with the results being posted on running scoreboards alongside the judges.
An over-abundance of food was on hand for the night, too, since most teams brought their own tail-gate-esque spreads and shared the food around. Noisemakers, decorations, costumes, the night had it all!
Thanks also to the other groups - Ask us Something We Know, the M&Ms, the MCC Global Trotters: From Here to Infinity, El Conquistadors, the Beach Combers, the EKGs, and the FAO Wizards.
The event ended up raising some nice funds for the MCC Annual Fund, an extra bonus to the night.The buzz is already out there, and it's not coming from the Queen Bees. Look for a return engagement of the event sometime in the fall! Hope to see everyone there! (In the meantime, here's a look at some of the other trivia geeks among us.)
The buzz is already out there, and it's not coming from the Queen Bees. Look for a return engagement of the event sometime in the fall! Hope to see everyone there! (In the meantime, here's a look at some of the other trivia geeks among us.)
UPDATE (Friday, 5/15) - Since tonight is the MCC Trivia Night contest, we figured it was safe to unveil the answers, so without further ado, (and congrats to Pat Burns, and Jon Myerov, who both answered 8 of the 10 questions right)
1) It occurs once in a minute, twice in a week and once in a year. What is it? (The letter E)
2) What does HTML stand for? Hyper Text Mark-Up Language
3) Which U.S. Presidents are featured on Mount Rushmore? (Washington, Jefferson, Roosevelt, Lincoln)
4) How many tentacles does a squid have? (10)
5) Besides the Beatles, what group were John Lennon, Paul McCartney and George Harrison in? (The Quarrymen)
6) Who was the goddess of love in Roman mythology? (Aphrodite)
7) What year did the Berlin wall come down? (1989)
8) What is a beaver's home called? (A lodge)
9) What is 1/2 of 1/4? (1/8)
10) What was Dirty Harry's last name? (Callahan)
So there's 10 quick questions for you to whet your trivia appetite. Consider those a hint of things to come!
In one week (Friday, May 15), trivia geeks from all over will descend on MCC's Bedford campus cafeteria for the college's first Trivia Night, and the smack talk has already commenced.
Besides competing for the vaunted Trivia Cup, teams have also launched friendly competitions both in the order of team names, costumes and themes, but even more importantly - their feedbags! Teams are setting up "tailgate" style offerings, hoping to rattle their competition with the best looking snacks and treats.
The event is open to everyone - not just MCC personnel, but the community as well. WCAP radio personality Jack Baldwin is going to moderate the questions, with MCC President Carole Cowan and MCC Vice-President and Provost Mary-Jane McCarthy serving as - ahem - impartial judges.
The entry fee is $40 per team, payable at the door prior to the start of the event. Proceeds from the event will support the MCC Foundation Annual Fund. Teams can consist of 4-8 players. While the contest begins at 7 p.m., folks can begin to arrive and set up their spreads by 6 p.m. Additionally, there will be Boston sports memorabilia on hand for a silent auction for any interested afficionados.
To register, email Jonathan Crockett at crockettj@middlesex.mass.edu or call him at 781-280-3785.
Top honors were doled out last night to dozens of MCC's finest during the annual Leadership Recognition Ceremony held at MCC's Lowell campus.
This year's awards night theme was "Celebrating Great Moments in Leadership," intended to make the connection between the great dedication, commitment and efforts of student leaders with those same attributes found in the highest leadership position in the country - that of President of the United States.
The event is engineered annually by the folks in Student Activities, who worked tirelessly to collect recommendations from across all walks of the college's curriculum and activities groups to highlight the top students on campus.
Special props to Rebecca Newell, Melissa Welch, Rae Perry, Jonathan Crockett, and Dean of Students Pam Flaherty, who pulled everything together for another flawless night of awards!
Here's a quick overview of the night's big winners:
The James E. Houlihan Jr. Award for Student of the Year went to Thang Thai of Lowell. This is the highest award a student can receive at MCC, in recognition of exemplary participation in MCC activities and support for the quality of student life at the college. Thai maintained a 4.0 GPA, made the Dean's List every semester, and served as the student representative to the MCC Board of Trustees. Said President Carole Cowan in presenting the award: "As an academic scholar, Thai is determined to succeed and has set his sights on incredible goals within the business field to influence economic, social and political change on a grand scale. Resiliency, humility, and perseverance are three words used to describe him."
The Dorothy O'Connell Unsung Hero Award went to Jennifer Muth of Lowell. Vice President and Provost Mary-Jane McCarthy said Buth engages in a slew of MCC programs "because they are important initiatives and she cares deeply about people and the community. She does not seek recognition or a pat on the back for all of her good deeds."
The Core Commitments Service Award went to Victor Balala of Lowell. Balala volunteers with the Minutemen Senior Services Organization in Burlington, and delivers meals and visits the elderly. In the summer, he works as a park ranger for the Lowell National Historic Park. He is also active with the African immigrant community in Lowell. He was initiated into the Phi Theta Kappa organization at MCC, and boasts a 3.96 GPA as a biotechnology major. He plans to graduate from UMass Lowell and apply to medical school.
The MCC Student Spirit Award went to Michael Doherty of Lowell. He was described by one of his professors as "the essence of school spirit and committed to MCC in every way." Dean of Students Pam Flaherty said Doherty's "spirited and supportive nature for everything MCC has to offer will be sorely missed when he graduates in a few weeks." Doherty also won the Multicultural Achievement Peer Mentor Program award.
Jay Crosby of Townsend won the MVP award. Jaime Moriconi of Tewksbury won the Student Success award.
The Student Life All-Star Award, presented to an MCC staffer who goes above and beyond to reach out to students and improve campus life went to Patrick Cook, the Executive Director of Public Affairs.
Winning outstanding Club Members of the Year were Christopher Mulenga of Lowell (African Student Association), Jon Paul O'Connor (Bowling Club), Michael J. Doherty of Lowell (International Club), Jeffrey Paulino of Lawrence (Latinos Unidos), Marlena Connors of Bedford (MAC), Sarah Odell of Billerica (Spectrum), Ian Moloney of Lexington (SUGA), Gissel Urena of Bedford (New Life Discovery Group), Lawrence McMahon of Lowell (Veterans Club), Justin Durso of Chelmsford (Business and Economics), Robert Searle of Maynard (Business and Economics), Sovanna Sor of Lowell (Dental Assisting), Tara Kirby of Nashua, N.H., (FGDA), Nick Myres of Belmont (Performing Arts), Nancy Curran of Dunstable (Nursing), Lisa Mezher of Andover (Radiography), Laura Barlow of Dracut (SADHA), and Maria Christina Gonzales of Acton (STEM). Outstanding sports team awards went to Jay Crosby of Townsend (basketball), Joshua Silberberg of Tewksbury (hockey), and Wendeckson Wanderley and Jasmin Patel, both of Lowell (soccer).
Named as this year's MCC emerging leaders were Rosie Austin of Randolph, Navil Bonilla, Jose Disla, Jefelin Faria, Jecelin Faria, Kirrsi Gonzalez, Doris Heredia, Amy Maldonado, Jeffrey Paulino, and Diana Regus, all of Lawrence, Rattha Bun, Izabela Kaczynska, Catherine Mbony, Maithao Nguyen, Kevin Oviedo, Vladimir Saldana, and Leakana Sorn, all of Lowell, Marlena Connors of Bedford, Doreen Deshler, Angela Marks, and Jennifer Martino, all of Chelmsford, Melissa Jackson of Tyngsboro, Meghan Maguire of Dracut, Ian Moloney of Lexington, Bryan O'Keefe and Kevin White of Billerica, and Danillo Sena and Misuzu Yamanaka, both of Acton.
Making it onto the list of Who's Who Among Students in American Colleges and Universities were Nada Almoujahed of Burlington, Victor Balala, WIlliam Brunelle, Maithao Nguyen and Thang Thai, all of Lowell, Laura Barlow and Rupal Patel of Dracut, and Valerie Joncas of Maynard.
Winners all, as far as we're concerned! We look forward to watching their careers unfold in the years ahead!
This year, while many college students were off enjoying their spring break in warmer climes, a hearty group of 20 MCC students took an alternative path to their break, helping to renovate an old farmhouse in Bedford and helping to rebuild homes damaged by a fire in Lawrence.
For the third year in a row, students took part in the Habitat for Humanity Alternative Spring Break, helping to work on the organization's homes throughout the Merrimack Valley. By all accounts, Habitat 2009 was a huge success for its participants!
At the Lawrence site, supervised by MCC's Melissa Welch, 10 students worked on homes damaged by a fire last year. The students completed a variety of projects, including siding, installing bathroom tiles, painting, and cleanup. After days spent getting the homes ready for their new occupants, the students got to meet one of the families, who is expected to move into the home before long!
In Bedford, with the assistance of MCC's Cynthia Lynch, students did a great deal of yard work, cleaning up the farmhouse site, pulling together 20 wheelbarrows of garbage in the process! Students raked, organized wood, helped prep a kitchen for cabinet installations, helped weatherize the home, painted some of the house trim, and organized a recycling effort at the site.
Most of the students hadn't met one another before volunteering for the spring break work, but apparently became fast friends, exchanging emails, Facebook data, and contact information with one another before week's end. A nice round of applause for a group of students who chose to make a difference in someone else's life with their spring break!
A little bit late, but congrats to the MCC folks involved with this year’s Lowell Women’s Week. In particular, kudos to the first Latina led, Latina focused program, held at the college’s Federal Building.
The program, entitled “Hispanic Women Moving Forward” brought folks together to celebrate Hispanic women and to strengthen partnerships with Latino and non-Latino members of the community in this first Hispanic Women’s program. The goal was to honor Hispanic women who are moving forward, and through their perseverance and hard work, contributing so much to their communities.
Program participants included Darcy Orellana, Maria Cunha and Lura Smith from MCC, Giovanna Negretti, the guest speaker, Maria Vejar and Darmery Montoya from Lowell High School, as well as Maria Lopez from the Merrimack Valley Housing Partnership.
Approximately 75 women from the Greater Lowell area attended the event. Negretti made a special trip from Puerto Rico, where she had been caring for a sick grandmother, to attend the event. She spoke about the power and contributions of Hispanic women in their families, communities, schools and professional lives; the multiple ways Latinas contribute to their communities, often unrecognized; the need for Latinos to get involved in their communities, in community service and political action, and the importance of education as a key to success.
Negretti is the co-founder and Executive Director of Oiste, founded in 1999 by several Latino activists from across the state who were concerned about the lack of Latino political representation and participation in Massachusetts.
Sarah Ferguson, the Duchess of York, will be coming to Lowell as this year’s featured speaker at the MCC Celebrity Forum.
The event will be held at 8 p.m. on Wednesday, June 3, at the Lowell Memorial Auditorium.
Every year, MCC brings speakers from the entertainment or political world, as well as world leaders and news figures to Lowell as part of its speaker series, which is now in its 11th year. Past speakers include Jay Leno, George and Barbara Bush, Walter Cronkite, Tim Russert and Colin Powell. Proceeds from the fund-raiser event go to the MCC Foundation, which supports scholarships for MCC students. The TJX Companies have been a presenting sponsor of the Forum since its inception.
This year, the college signed the Duchess of York, who will be delivering a speech entitled the Road to Authentic Life, in which she will speak about the steps and missteps she made on the road to the life she leads today. Ferguson said that while most have never faced the public scrutiny that comes with royal life, her insights into finding inner peace will help the audience evaluate the authenticity of the lives they’re leading now.
“We always look to bring people in that our audience may not get a chance to hear from in the normal course of events,” said President Cowan. “We like to keep the genres as diverse as possible. Last year, we had a tremendous stand-up comedian. This year, we’re featuring Sarah Ferguson, who has lived an extraordinary life in the public spotlight and reinvented herself in the process.”
In 1986, Ferguson married Prince Andrew, the Duke of York and the second son of Her Majesty The Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh, in Westminster Abbey. Following the births of her children Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie, life in the royal spotlight became overwhelming for Ferguson. After 10 years of marriage and a very public separation, Sarah and Prince Andrew divorced in 1996.
With her fairytale a bit fractured, Ferguson found the need to reevaluate her own life. Having publicly tackled her personal weight issues, she was named spokesperson for Weight Watchers International. She has also authored numerous books, including several children’s books.
Tickets for Celebrity Forum are available at the Lowell Memorial Auditorium at 50 East Merrimack St., or through Ticketmaster at www.ticketmaster.com. Tickets begin at $37.
For information on how to become a sponsor of the event, contact Dennis Malvers at 781-280-3590.
MCC this week brought aboard a coordinator for its Veterans Resource Center, Richard T. Reppucci of Burlington. Reppucci was introduced on Wednesday to members of the college’s Veterans Advisory Board. Reppucci is being paid through a three-year grant the college received from the Ray and Grace Ciccolo Family Foundation to support the college’s new Veterans Resource Center. The Center, which opened on campus last semester, provides information about college resources, as well as outside support services, to military personnel and their eligible family members enrolled at Middlesex.
Reppucci is a Vietnam veteran, and worked from 1987 to 2008 with the Veterans Administration in Boston, both as a Vocational Rehabilitation Specialist and as Employment Coordinator. He will be staffing the Resource Center in a part-time capacity.
“By attending college, veterans can successfully transition from military service to civilian life,” said Pamela Flaherty, Dean of Students at Middlesex. “However, veterans may encounter some uniquely challenging barriers along the way. MCC’s Veterans Resource Center can help break down those barriers.” As an example, Flaherty cited an MCC student whose National Guard unit was deployed overseas on very short notice the week before final exams. He called the Veterans Resource Center and the college was able to notify his instructors and make special arrangements for him to take his final exams off-site.
MCC’s Veterans Resource Center helps Middlesex students access college services such as career and transfer counseling, disability-support services, and financial-aid information. Working closely with Bedford’s Edith Nourse Rogers Memorial Veterans Hospital and MCC’s Career Place in Woburn, the Center also refers veterans to outside services for assistance with health care, the GI Bill, career services and mental-health resources.
The Resource Center also provides a place on campus for veterans to gather and interact with each other. In addition, it will offer alternative therapies, such as meditation, acupuncture, massage and yoga, according to MCC Nursing Professor Marie Ryder, who has worked extensively with Bedford’s VA Hospital in addressing veterans’ health issues. Alternative therapies, especially acupuncture, have been clinically proven to help individuals who suffer from Post Traumatic Stress Syndrome, Ryder explained.
“We’re not only helping our veterans succeed at college, we’re also working with them to prevent diabetes and cardiac issues from developing,” said Ryder.
(From left to right, front row: Carlos "the Ringer" Borges, Bill "Rough" Howshan, Kevin "The Bellringer" Belfiore, "the Jammer" Pam Flaherty ; back row: "Sky a la" Pramod Bhardwaj, Patrick "Cookie Monster" Cook, Jonathan "the Rocket" Crockett, Kevin "the Tower of Power" Donovan, Chris "the Workforce Workhorse" Brennan and Dan "the Man" Martin.
The MCC Middle-Agers took to the court last night against our compadres over at the University of Massachusetts Lowell. Some of you may recall that UML drew first blood in the first Clash of the Campuses in 2008.
This year, an MCC crew looking for redemption took the lead right out of the gate and held onto it for just about the whole game. The game was a nail-biter, no doubt, with UML taking the lead at one point. But tenacious MCC rebounding, coupled with some fluid passing and a fast break that would make the Celtics proud, allowed MCC to regain and maintain its lead. With just seconds to go, "Sky a la" Pramod Bhardwaj dropped a soft jumper into the hoop to give the Middle-Agers some breathing room as the clock ran out, with MCC notching a "W" with a final score of 35-30.
A great time had by all, and special thanks to the MCC faculty, staff, and family members who turned out to watch the Middle-Agers trucking up and down the court. Special props go out to Jonathan "the Rocket" Crockett for pulling the game together.
Give it up for this year's round of MCC scholarship winners, awarded recently during a ceremony in partnership with the MCC Foundation at the Morse Federal Building. Winners all, as far as we're concerned!
Jaime Moriconi of Tewksbury won the Allied Barton Security Scholarship which recognizes a student who demonstrates a commitment to academics as well as public safety by pursuing a career in law enforcement. Jaime also was awarded the Arthur Gallerani Memorial Scholarship, given in honor of the late MCC Professor Arthur Gallerani to a student who demonstrates promise in the humanities or social sciences. Jaime is a CJ major who plans to attend UMass Lowell and obtain her bachelor’s degree, and then attend law school, hoping to one day become a judge.
Reuben Solomon of Lexington was awarded the Robert Cataldo Scholarship, established by the family, friends and colleagues of Robert Cataldo to honor his commitment to the community and MCC. Reuben is working toward an associate’s degree in physical science and plans to pursue his bachelor’s in chemistry.
The Geraldine B. Deragon Scholarship is named for a woman who received her associate’s degree in nursing from MCC, worked in psychiatric nursing for 25 years, and then returned to teach at MCC. Tina LaTorella of Winchester received one of the awards. She is working to become a registered nurse. Michelle Riley of Tyngsboro received the other, and is considered a shining star in the college’s nursing program.
The Follett College Stores Scholarship funds a student’s full academic year. This year’s award went to Jacob Worrell of Nashua, N.H., a military veteran who holds a 4.0 grade point average at MCC. He is enrolled in the honors program and will be inducted into the Phi Theta Kappa Honor Society this spring.
The Lexington-Concord Chapter of the Armed Forces Communications and Electronics Association Scholarship promotes education in engineering, computer science, and physical science. This year’s winner was Maria Vidal of Lowell, who was also the winner of this year’s Unitas Scholarship, which assists a city resident of Hispanic origin who is currently attending MCC. Maria is pursuing a science engineering transfer degree.
The Thomas O’Mahony Spirit of Excellence Award is named after a former MCC Trustees Chairman and designed to assist a student in a business-related associate’s degree program. This year’s recipient was Robert Searle of Maynard, a founding member of the Business and Economics Club at MCC. He intends to pursue advanced degrees in finance and law. He also received one of the Middlesex Community College Foundation Merit Awards. Thang Thai of Lowell, who serves as the student representative to the MCC Board of Trustees and is currently a fellow in the Paul H. Sullivan Leadership Institute also received one of the Merit Awards. Bryan O’Keefe of Billerica also received an MCC Foundation Merit Scholarship. He hopes to pursue a career in engineering.
The Northeast Association of Realtors provides an award to an MCC student who resides in one of the association’s 17 cities and towns. This year’s winner was Angela Farrell of Billerica, a human services major who also received an MCC Foundation Merit Award.
Victoria Makumbi of Lowell received both an MCC Foundation Merit Scholarship as well as a Lura Smith Scholarship, which is presented to an African-American student at MCC.
Two other Lura Smith Scholarships were awarded, to Tanya Cameron of Lowell, a liberal arts major and Abdu Kinene of Lowell, who hopes to become a registered nurse and return to Africa to help his family and relatives.
The Marjowicz-Dundorf Scholarship honors the memory of Rev. Walter Markowicz, a professor of Latin and Greek and Creator of the Medical Ethics Program at Wayne State University. This year’s winner was Maithao Nguyen of Lowell, another fellow in the Leadership Institute, who hopes to transfer to the Massachusetts College of Pharmacy.
The New England Woodcarvers Scholarship is designed to assist a student pursuing an associate’s degree in the arts. Angel Ortiz of Chelsea was this year’s winner.
The John M. Keough Memorial Scholarship remembers a 2002 graduate of MCC who overcame physical challenges to continue his education. This year’s winners are Jennie Santos of Methuen, who is a talented artist, and Felix Rivera of Lawrence.
The Nashoba Valley Healthcare Fund Scholarship is administered by the Greater Lowell Community Foundation and was awarded this year to Mary Guarino of Dunstable, a student in the diagnostic medical sonography program, and Sally Navis of Townsend, a nursing major.
The National Grid Energy Utility Technology Scholarship helps students in the energy utility program at MCC, and was awarded to Royson Gonzalez of Lowell and Karl Ryan of North Reading.
Middlesex Community College proudly joins the efforts behind White Ribbon Day 2009, part of an international effort to engage more men and boys to help end violence against women.
MCC joins the Massachusetts Department of Employee Relations as part of its Campus Safety Initiative to help promote safety for women. Governor Patrick has declared tomorrow, Valentines Day, as Massachusetts White Ribbon Day. Essentially, the Day promotes a pledge that reads "from this day forward I promise to be part of the solution in violence against women." For more information about the initiative, please visit www.whiteribbon.com.
The project of Jane Doe Inc, and in particular, the Men's Initiative for Jane Doe Inc., the goals for the day are to celebrate the role that men play to help end male violence against women, promoting social values such that our world fully endorses positive masculinity, spreading powerful examples of men's work already happening in Massachusetts, and raising support for sexual assault and domestic violence services.
For whatever it's worth, here's MCC's ribbon to add to the cause: 
It takes two, baby! Here we are, two years later, still alive and kicking! Happy Birthday to us, the MCCBlog turned two this week!
Hopefully, we can circumvent the meltdowns and tantrums synonymous with that dreaded second year of life. Not to mention avoiding the sophomore slump.
Anyone out there who wants to dispel or validate those urban legends that surround the terrible twos, here's your chance to comment and share your war stories!
Onward and upward!