Home Posts tagged June 4
Daily News

HOLYOKE — Springfield entrepreneur Mychal Connolly will be honored with a distinguished service award on June 4, as Holyoke Community College holds its 75th anniversary commencement exercises at the MassMutual Center.  

The ceremony begins at 10 a.m.  

HCC will confer associate degrees and certificates to more than 600 graduates from the class of 2022. Alumni from the classes of 2020 and 2021, who were not able to celebrate their graduations in person because of the COVID-19 pandemic, will also be recognized as HCC marks its 75th year as the oldest community college in Massachusetts.  

Sheila Gould, associate professor of Education and recipient of the 2022 Elaine Marieb Faculty Award for Teaching Excellence, will lead the procession of faculty, staff, and graduates into the MassMutual arena and give the keynote address.  

Biology major Yannelis Cruz ’22 of Springfield will give a speech to her classmates as student orator. Carolyn Sicbaldi ’22 of South Hadley will present the class gift. Liberal arts major Deanna Bach ’22 of Longmeadow and music major Elena Ciampa ’22 of Florence will both give musical performances of original songs.   

Connolly is an HCC alum from the class of 2004 and owner of Stand Out Truck, a digital mobile billboard company. In addition, Connolly has served as an alumni mentor for the HCC Alumni Champions Mentorship Network. In 2021, he established an annual scholarship through the HCC Foundation for business and marketing majors. He has also worked as a volunteer for HCC’s annual “Together HCC — Drive to Change Lives” fundraising campaigns.  

Gould, a Holyoke native and graduate of Holyoke High School who now lives in Chicopee, is coordinator of HCC’s Early Childhood Education program, co-host of HCC’s Itsy Bitsy Zoomcast, and one of the co-founders of HCC’s new Itsy Bitsy Child Watch program. This spring, she received the 2022 Marieb Award, which recognizes a full-time member of the faculty for outstanding classroom teaching. Award recipients serve for one year, receive a small stipend for professional development, lead the procession at Commencement, and also give the keynote graduation speech.  

HCC will also stream Saturday’s Commencement ceremony over the Internet. The live stream will be available both on Facebook and through a link on the main page of the college website, www.hcc.edu, where other details about this year’s Commencement can also be found. 

Daily News

NORTH ADAMS — On June 4, Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts Alumni Association will stage its annual Alumni Awards Brunch to recognize distinguished alumni and friends of the college for their accomplishments. 

The event will run from 10 a.m. to noon at Feigenbaum Center for Science and Innovation on the MCLA campus, with a special session for photos of awardees from noon to 12:30 p.m.  

The following recipients will be recognized:   

 

  • Ricardo Arroyo ’11, 2021 Vanguard Award;
  • James Casey ’00, 2020 Distinguished Alumnus Award;   
  • Mallory D’Aniello ’10, 2021 Outstanding Educator Award;   
  • Charlotte Degen ’73, 2020 Outstanding Service to the College Award; 
  • Mark Halloran ’77, 2020 Outstanding Educator Award; 
  • Robert Howland Jr. ’06, 2020 Community Service & Citizenship Award; 
  • George Jacobs ’83, 2021 Distinguished Alumnus Award; 
  • Celia Norcross, 2021 Outstanding Service to the College Award; 
  • Kimberly Roberts-Morandi ’91, ’01, M.Ed. ’00, 2021 Outstanding Educator Award;
  • Kaite Rosa ’10, 2020 Vanguard Award; 
  • Margaret (Meg) Skowron ’71, M.Ed. ’74, 2020 Outstanding Educator Emeritus Award;   
  • Darcie Sosa ’14, 2021 Community Service & Citizenship Award. 

 

This ceremony was deferred in 2020 and 2021 due to COVID-19, so this year, many alumni will be recognized for their accomplishments, as well as their contributions to the MCLA community.   

 

See descriptions of each award at https://alumni.mcla.edu/distinguished-alumni.   

Daily News


MONSON — Monson Savings Bank’s East Longmeadow Branch will host a Community Shred Day from 9 a.m. to noon on June 4. 

Monson Savings is partnering with PROSHRED of Wilbraham for this event. The goal of this event is to educate the public on the importance of protecting personal information in order to aid the safety of the community. 

People are welcome to safely and securely dispose of their private documents such as tax returns, bank or credit card statements, bills, medical records, and more. This event is free and open to the public. Pre-packaged refreshments will be available at the event, while supplies last, as well as giveaways for guests. 

For more information, visit Monson Savings Bank’s Safety and Security blog on their website, www.monsonsavings.bank.