Day: September 17, 2018

SPRINGFIELD — Springfield Technical Community College (STCC) will join forces on Friday, Oct. 19 with its partner in education, MGM Springfield, to raise money for student scholarships and support services.

The “Come Roar” event, to be held at MGM Springfield from 7 to 10 p.m., will include cocktails, hors d’oeuvres, live music, gift bags, and prizes, said Frank Quigley, president of the STCC Foundation board of directors.

“This will be a wonderful event in a terrific space — and we have a few surprises planned,” Quigley said. “I think everyone will have a great time and will feel good knowing the cost of the ticket will go toward supporting our students.”

Admission is $150 per person and includes food, music, and gifts. Cocktails can be purchased at the bar. A portion of the ticket price is tax-deductible.

The MGM Springfield fundraiser supports the mission of the STCC Foundation to help the college meet its goals and commitment to provide superior educational opportunities in the community. Each year, STCC and its foundation give more than $1 million in scholarships to students. The foundation relies on donations and has held fundraising events similar to the one planned at MGM Springfield. Proceeds will go toward scholarships and services for students.

“Our supporters in the region, be they alumni, staff, faculty, or friends in the community, always look forward to our fall fundraiser,” STCC President John Cook said. “This year we’re supporting students by working with our partner in education and workforce development, MGM Springfield. We are very grateful to MGM for hosting us in their new entertainment complex.”

STCC has collaborated with MGM Springfield to provide education through the Massachusetts Casino Career Training Institute. The gaming school at 95 State St., Springfield, was created to help people acquire skills to work at MGM Springfield, which opened on Aug. 24.

“Springfield Technical Community College has been an invaluable partner in our efforts to grow the workforce of tomorrow in downtown Springfield,” said Alex Dixon, general manager of MGM Springfield. “We’re honored to stand with them in this fundraising effort. We have been inspired by their strong commitment to creating a healthier economy through employment opportunities, and are grateful for their willingness to learn about and adapt teachings for our industry.”

Jennifer Brown, STCC Foundation board member and chairwoman of its development committee, called MGM Springfield an ideal location to hold this year’s fundraiser.

“MGM has been a great partner with STCC in workforce training,” said Brown, vice president of Business Development at United Personnel. “Together, we’ve helped many Springfield area residents get the skills they need to start new careers. We’re thrilled to hold the next fundraiser in MGM’s beautiful new facility.”

Ticket buyers will be invited to sign up for MGM Springfield’s M life Rewards loyalty-card program, which grants access to discounted room rates, pre-sale show tickets, priority reservations, and invitations to members-only events at MGM Resorts properties across the country.

Businesses that would like to sponsor the event should call Michael Buckley, interim director of Operations and Donor Relations, at (413) 755-4529. To purchase tickets, visit www.stcc.edu/mgmevent.

SPRINGFIELD — Dress for Success Western Massachusetts will host “Breaking Down the Barriers,” its second annual half-day conference with a focus on domestic violence, its impact on women in the workforce, and new legislation affecting both survivors and their employers. The event will be held on Thursday, Oct. 11 from 8:30 to 11:30 a.m. at the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in Springfield.

Panelists include Elizabeth Dineen from the YWCA, Morgan Ferrarotti from MassMutual, Diana Lozano from Riverside Industries, and Pamela Thornton from the Employers Assoc. of the NorthEast. The perspective of a survivor will also be part of the discussion. The keynote speaker will be a representative from Employers Against Domestic Violence.

Tickets are $25 per person and may be purchased through www.westernmass.dressforsuccess.org. They will also be available at the door.

The target audience includes lay people, managers and human-resource professionals, and anyone interested in the topic of domestic violence. The event is open to the public, and a light breakfast is included.

According to Dawn Creighton, past president of Dress for Success (DFS) Western Massachusetts, “domestic violence impacts one in every four women, a startling statistic that DFS thinks should be brought to the forefront,” she said. She urges people to come to “Breaking Down the Barriers” to learn how to be a resource and how employers can save valuable employees.

Event sponsorships are available, and interested parties should contact Margaret Tantillo, executive director, at [email protected].

NORTHAMPTON — Astronomer and Smith College Professor Suzan Edwards will deliver the Five College Jackie Pritzen Lecture, “Ashes to Ashes, Disk to Disk” on Tuesday, Sept. 25 in Seelye Hall, Room 106, at Smith College. This event is free and open to the public.

In “Ashes to Ashes,” Edwards will explore the theme of connections — in the universe through space and time, and within the Five College consortium through collaborating institutions and departments.

Edwards arrived at Smith College in 1980. For most of that time, she served as chair of the Five College Astronomy Senate, and has more recently served as chair of the Five College Astronomy Department. She is also a member of the American Astronomical Society, the Astronomical Society of the Pacific, and the International Astronomical Union. She has published many articles, most often in the Astrophysical Journal and the Astronomical Journal. Her scientific research is on the formation of young stars and proto-planetary systems using space and ground-based telescopes.

The annual Five College Jackie Pritzen Lecture is named for longtime consortium staff member Jackie Pritzen, who worked with many different faculty groups during her 25 years at the consortium. The lectures were initiated in tribute to the central role that faculty members play in furthering cooperation among the five institutions, and to celebrate a distinguished faculty member whose scholarship, teaching, and service continue that work.

HOLYOKE — Holyoke Community College (HCC) is launching a pilot program to teach English-language skills to nurses from Puerto Rico so they can re-enter the workforce in Massachusetts.

The project, called the Western Mass. Pipeline for Puerto Rican Nurses, gives priority to evacuees from Hurricane Maria but is also open to other nurses from Puerto Rico who now reside in Western Mass.

The free program, supported by a $35,000 Nursing and Allied Health Pathways grant from the Massachusetts Department of Higher Education, will provide 108 hours of ESOL (English as a second or other language) classes, six hours a week for 18 weeks, for up to 30 Puerto Rican nurses who want to pursue their licenses in Massachusetts.

“There is a need for more nurses in the region,” said Kermit Dunkelberg, HCC’s vice president of Adult Basic Education and Workforce Development. “At the same time, we have nurses from Puerto Rico who are already licensed, have experience, and are living here, and are not able to work in their field and typically working below their education and training because their license doesn’t apply in Massachusetts.”

The ESOL classes are designed to prepare participants to pass the IELTS (International English Language Testing System) exam, which will qualify them to take the NCLEX nursing exam.

The program is based on the successful Welcome Back Center at Bunker Hill Community College, one of HCC’s partners, along with MassHire Holyoke, formerly CareerPoint. Bunker Hill established the Boston Welcome Back Center in 2005 to help immigrant and refugee nurses who had earned their credentials outside the U.S. obtain their Massachusetts nursing licenses and find jobs.

“The Welcome Back Center has found that, generally, nurses from Puerto Rico don’t need to retake any coursework,” Dunkelberg said. “They need to pass the language exam, so it’s primarily an English barrier and a licensing barrier, and we’re addressing that.”

Dunkelberg said the pilot program could be expanded in the future to include other professionals, such as teachers, who may need to improve their English to get jobs in their fields. “This nursing initiative is hopefully the beginning of a wider look at licensure of people with credentials from Puerto Rico or from other countries so they can enter the workforce in Massachusetts more quickly.”

Classes are tentatively scheduled to begin by the end of September. Nurses from Puerto Rico who are interested in applying should contact Sheila Kelly at [email protected] or (413) 552-2027 for more information.