This week@NCC
April 28, 2015
Volume 29, Number 14
I N T HIS ISS U E
Page 2
Student World Assembly Marks
Earth Day
Page 3
Stress Lecture: Fight or Flight?
NCC Names Men of Promise
and Distinction
Page 4
Outdoor Wellness Walk
Ethics Across the Curriculum
NCC LIVE!
NCC Employee Health Benefit
Open Enrollment Fair
Page 5
News and Announcements
S U B M ISSI O N S
to Karen Hart
[email protected]
NCC Holds Second
Annual freshcheckday™
On April 21, NCC kicked off its second annual
freshcheckday™ by hosting several therapy dogs
ranging in size from a small terrier mix to two giant
Bernese Mountain Dogs. No matter what their size,
the dogs shared equal amounts of love with students,
faculty and staff members who stopped by to meet them in the East Campus Atrium.
That evening, a Mental Health panel discussion was held in the Gen Re Forum
that brought together a group of professionals who specialize in the health and
wellness areas that help people maintain total health of mind and body. The audience
was invited to ask questions of the experts.
The following day on April 22, a fair was held in the West Campus Cafeteria to
promote general wellness of both mind and body by providing students with information about how to deal with stress, depression and anxiety. Participants were
provided with food, interactive booths,
live music, prizes and giveaways.
NCC cares about students and their mental
health and well-being. If you are a student
experiencing challenges, call the NCC Mental
Health Counselor at (203) 857-6870. After
hours, please dial 211 or visit www.211.org.
Next issue published:
May 5, 2015
Deadline for submissions:
April 30, 2015
Counselor Cathy Miller staffs an
information booth for students.
This Week @ NCC is published
by the Public Relations Office of
Norwalk Community College
Copy Editor and Writer
Karen Hart
[email protected]
Copy Editor and Writer
Madeline Barillo
[email protected]
Graphic Designer
Cindy Zaref
[email protected]
Students create “gratuity postcards” at an interactive
freshcheckday™ table sponsored by Laurel House.
Therapy dog “Ollie” visited NCC
with his handler Karen Bloom
during the kick-off event.
Student World Assembly
Marks Earth Day
On Earth Day, April 22, members of the NCC Chapter
of the Student World Assembly (SWA) drew colorful
chalk footprints in front of the East Campus building to
symbolize the carbon footprints of various nations and
to bring awareness to the extremely large U.S. carbon
footprint. SWA members hosted an information table in the
East Campus Atrium. Students, faculty and staff were
invited to write environmental pledges on a table cloth
to be later displayed on campus. The pledges included
messages like “I pledge to bike and walk more” and
“I pledge to recycle daily!”
The students also gave away North Star Cherry
Tree seedlings to anyone who promised to plant them.
One of the trees will be planted at a later date by Early
Childhood Education students and children from the
Child Development Laboratory School. On Earth Day,
the children did environmental activities led by SWA
members Marie Antoinette Junes and Michela Piazza.
Chalk “carbon footprints” were drawn outside the East Campus
building to illustrate how much more energy is used by the U.S.
than most other countries.
Members of the Student World Assembly raised awareness of
sustainability issues on Earth Day. Shown from left are students
Bes Hoti, Pavli Dallta, Senan Agblonon, Fifame Agblonon and SWA
President Sarah Emigh.
SWA students
(shown center left
and right) Marie
Antoinette Junes
and Michela Piazza
read to Early
Childhood Lab
School children
during Earth Day.
In preparation for planting non-toxic herbs and flowers on the
CDLS grounds, the children spent part of their morning picking up
garbage and debris from the playground.
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U pcom i n g
E v e nt s
VOYA Representative
To Be on Campus
NCC Names Men of
Promise and Distinction
Wednesday, April 29, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
East Campus, Room E118
Wednesday, April 29, 7 to 9 p.m.
West Campus, Culinary Arts Dining Room
Marilyn Timbers of VOYA Financial Advisers, LLC will
be on campus to meet with new and current employees for
the Spring 2015 semester to review the following plans:
On April 29, Norwalk Community College
will honor the 2015 Men of Promise and Distinction by
hosting a dinner in the Culinary Art Dining Room.
The following students have been named as this year’s
Men of Promise and Distinction: Besfort Alija, Fernando
Alves, Denzel Anderson, Brian Barkman, Tyrone Bullock,
Martin Errigo, Sebastian Gomez, Shawn Khan, Joshua
Kleinwaks, Mate Kovacs, Omar Lima, Christopher
McLaughlin, Sadrac Michel, Daniel Monahan, Jefferson
Moreno Gallego, Prasanta Nath, Kenny Ngo, Nicholas
Penella, Juan Ponce, Alvaro Ramirez, Craig Steadman,
Ronald Telemarque, Joshua Wrinn.
Student honorees are nominated by NCC faculty
and staff for exhibiting a number of different qualities.
Academic achievement is not the only factor used in
determining the students who will be selected for recognition. Potential, the ability to work through obstacles,
community service and overall improvement throughout
their academic career at NCC are among the other criteria
considered when selecting the students who will be
named “Men of Promise and Distinction.”
The guest speaker will be Cheikhou (T.J.) Diagne,
Adjunct Professor of the NCC Hospitality Management
Program. He is an NCC alumnus and manager of the
Woodway Beach Club.
A native of Senegal in West Africa, Diagne has worked
in the hospitality business since he was 18 years old. After
moving to the U.S. from Senegal, he enrolled at NCC
in 1998. He was active in student affairs and served as
President of the NCC Hosteurs Club. He graduated in
2000 and was awarded a $30,000 scholarship to complete
his Bachelor’s degree at Canisius College in Buffalo, New
York. Two years later, he returned to Fairfield County and
became the manager of Woodway Beach Club in Darien.
Diagne returned to NCC to begin a part-time career as
an adjunct instructor, while still working at the Woodway
Club in Darien. He currently teaches the Service Management class and is an especially popular instructor who is
dedicated to helping his students find jobs after graduation.”
Diagne is President of the Connecticut Club Managers
Association.
• Alternate Retirement Plan
• State of Connecticut 403(b)
• Roth 403(b)
• 457 (Deferred Compensation)
She will answer your financial questions, reallocate portfolios, and enroll new and current employees.
If you are interested in setting up an individual meeting, please contact Marilyn Timbers at (203) 355-3634
or [email protected]. She will confirm all
appointment times, the meeting place, and recommend
what information to bring to the meeting.
Stress Lecture: Fight or Flight? Wednesday, April 29, 12:30 to 1:30 p.m.
West Campus, Room H007 (adjacent to Wellness Center)
Guest speaker Dr. Robert Goldring, DC, CCST will
discuss stress and the “fight or flight” response. Is your
stress a slow-burn that motivates or is it an inferno that
burns you out? Did you know, if managed properly, some
stresses can be good for you?
Participants will be shown how stress can help them
achieve their goals instead of reducing them to illness and
a sense of failure. Join us to learn the causes of physical
and emotional stress and how to use that new knowledge
to turn stress-obstacles into improved health and success!
This is the last event in the Spring 2015 Wellness
Series, sponsored by the Pitney Bowes Foundation
Wellness Center and the Exercise Science Club. T his W eek @ N C C / V ol u me 29, N u mber 14 / A pril 28, 2015 / P A G E 3
Outdoor Wellness Walk:
Lung Force!
Thursday, April 30, 11:45 a.m.
West Campus, Center for Science, Health and
Wellness Atrium
Join Mohammad
Mallick from the
American Lung
Association, Northeast on the Outdoor Wellness Walk
leaving from the Center for Science, Health and Wellness
atrium at noon. (Please gather at 11:45 a.m. in the
Atrium.)
On the walk, and again afterwards in the Atrium, you
can learn more about events and projects being held by
the American Lung Association. Lung cancer is the leading
cause of death by cancer for men and women worldwide.
You’re invited to wear turquoise to show support for
lung awareness and health.
Panel Discussion: Ethics
Across the Curriculum
Thursday, April 30, 1 to 2 p.m.
West Campus, Room W248
Whether it’s addressing sensitive issues in your course or
helping students navigate ethical dilemmas in their lives
in or out of the classroom, this panel will offer practical
advice based on their vast store of knowledge and experience. Professors Lia Barone, Ed Grippe, and June-Ann
Greeley will comprise the panel.
To reply, please go to: https://docs.google.
com/forms/d/1oBti43HTX9QRD337CDSNHUmPEW1beM98jV9X2uibSY/viewform?c=0&w=1.
NCC LIVE!
Friday, May 1, 9:30 a.m. to 12 p.m.
East Campus, PepsiCo Theater
On May 1, NCC faculty will give area high school
students the chance to experience college classes on the
NCC Campus. Upon arrival, students will gather in the
PepsiCo Theater for an introductory assembly, then
attend workshops offered in various classrooms.
Students will be able to choose two from a selection
of 16 classes including: Architecture, Interior Design,
Construction, Criminal Justice, Early Childhood
Development, Computers, Hospitality Management,
Culinary Arts, Respiratory Therapy, Theater, Green Energy,
Nursing, Veterinary Technology, Exercise Science,
Accounting, Certified Nursing Assistant and more.
The following NCC faculty and staff have volunteered
to teach during the NCC LIVE! event: Nancy Kroszner,
Kathy Coppola, Mike Roe, Anne Hermans, Jacek
Bigosinski, Eric Gribin, Ty Griese, Tom Duffy, Justin
Davis, Kathy Fries, Althea Seaborn, Deysy Pelaez, Judy
Mocciola, Christine Mangone, Kiran Somaya and
Ken Scaglia.
Thank you to all who have generously donated their
time to show the visiting students the best of what NCC
has to offer in education.
NCC Employee Health
Benefit Open Enrollment Fair
Tuesday, May 12, 9 to 11:30 a.m.
East Campus Atrium
Save the date for NCC’s 2015-16 open enrollment fair
for full-time employee benefit plans.
The health, dental, and pharmacy carriers, as well as
our supplemental vendors, will be attending to answer
benefit plan questions and distribute related handouts. Our Health Enhancement Program (HEP) vendor,
Care Management Solutions (CMS), will also be
attending the fair. Representatives will be available to
answer general questions about HEP requirements for
2015 and the HEP web portal, and will be able to provide
educational information regarding the HEP chronic
conditions.
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N e w s
and
A nnounc e m e nt s
NCC Library System
Maintenance
NCC Continuing Notice of
Non-Discrimination
Due to system updates, A to Z Journal Locator will not
be available from 10 p.m. on Friday, May 1 to midnight
(12 a.m.) Saturday, May 2. E-journals and databases will
be available for access.
Norwalk Community College does not discriminate on
the basis of race, color, religious creed, age, sex, national
origin, marital status, ancestry, present or past history
of mental disorder, learning disability or physical disability,
sexual orientation, gender identity and expression or
genetic information in its programs and activities. In
addition, the College does not discriminate in employment
on the basis of veteran status or criminal record. The
following persons have been designated to handle inquiries
regarding the non-discrimination policies: Chief Diversity
Officer and Special Advisor, Cheryl DeVonish, Title IX
Coordinator at (203) 857-7016 or [email protected];
or Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) Coordinator
Fran Apfel at (203) 857-7192 or [email protected].
Spring 2015 Course
Evaluations Available Online
Through May 11
Course evaluations are available at www.mycommnet.edu
until the last day of class on Monday, May 11. Students
will be sent an email of these dates with instructions on
how to access the evaluation. The instructions will also be
available on the website.
Since the evaluation process for on-campus courses
changed in Spring 2010 from an in-class paper and pencil
process to an online survey, there has been a significant
decrease in our response rate from students. We need to
make every effort to increase this response rate. Please spend a few minutes in your class encouraging
your students to participate in this evaluation process and
reminding them that their feedback is important. The
evaluation results are anonymous and only provided to the
faculty member as a composite total for the entire class.
If you need directions to inform your students on how
to access the evaluation, please email Phyllis Fitzpatrick at
[email protected] or access this link on the NCC
website: www.ncc.commnet.edu/courseevaluations.
•••
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