Page 27 - BusinessWest Women of Impact 2020

Christina Royal meets with students at the HCC MGM Culinary Arts Institute, which opened its doors in
2019.
this community, and we have an opportunity to continually strengthen ourselves.
“Just like education is a journey, so is continuous improvement,” she went on, adding that this process can — and must — continue, even in the middle of a global pandemic.
Her commitment to this process, and her ability to effectively keep one eye on the present and the other on the future, certainly makes her a Women of Impact.
“And while it’s really
nice when we can come together in the same room, community is community, and we need to bring people together to feel a sense of community through this.”
Course of Action
Royal calls them ‘town meetings.’
These are Zoom sessions that she conducts with various audiences — students, faculty, members of the community — to keep them abreast of new developments and initiatives in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, and with the college in general. She’s staged 19 of them since March, including one just a few weeks ago in which the topic of conversation among faculty
food insecurity to lack of adequate housing and transportation — and she commits many of
her waking hours thinking about how to help students overcome such barriers and achieve success, however that might be defined.
Meanwhile, as an administrator, she he has put the emphasis on long-term planning and leading for today, as well as tomorrow. This is evidenced by her push for a new strategic plan for the school — the first in its existence — but also the manner in which she is addressing this pandemic.
Instead of something to be merely survived, although that is certainly important enough, she views it as a learning experience and, in many respects, an opportunity.
“One of the questions I bring up to employees of the college is, ‘what do we want to look like on the other side of this pandemic?’” she explained. “Because I don’t want to be a person who just felt like I was trying to weather the storm. I
want us to emerge stronger from this, and the work we have to do is so absolutely critical to
Holyoke Community College and the HCC Board of Trustees
congratulate
HCC President Christina Royal
and the Women of Impact 2020 Honorees on this well-deserved recognition.
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