The Bergen Community College Newsletter | Spring 2020 • Volume 7, Issue 2
Communication Card Speaks Volumes F
or more than a decade, the Bergen County Sheriff’s Office has maintained a substation at the College to support the campus’ overall safety. In addition to providing the College with uniformed law enforcement, officers have often collaborated with the institution’s faculty and staff to develop programs aimed at enhancing community relations – including a communication initiative that gives new voice to deaf students. A colorful communication card, created by the Office of Specialized Services and the Sheriff’s Office removes barriers between the deaf community and law enforcement, allowing both to interact via pictures and words. “It is our hope that this card will serve as a regional model for all law enforcement in Northern New Jersey,” Bergen County Sheriff Anthony Cureton said. “You have my commitment that my office and I will take this card to the Bergen County Chiefs Association in hopes to implement in departments across Bergen County.” The Sheriff’s Office has laminated the card and will place it in 70 departmental vehicles and distribute among 52 officers. The College will also distribute the card among students and at social service, governmental and public agencies.
Members of the College’s Office of Specialized Services, which assists nearly 1,300 students with disabilities each year, led the development of the card. “This card will help to keep officers safe and in legal compliance with communication needs until an interpreter can arrive on the
scene,” department coordinator Jennifer Flynn said. “This communication card offers a great deal of assistance for the officer and the driver alike; but our work is not yet done. We are continuing our training and collaboration on this and future endeavors.” n
Student Service First! Coming soon: an entirely redesigned student enrollment experience in the “one-stop” at the main campus. Placing personal, physical and digital resources at students’ fingertips, the one-stop will streamline the admission, enrollment and registration process, removing many of the barriers that can frustrate students. n m
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Campus Calendar Fahrenheit 451 February 28 and 29, March 5 and 6, 7:30 p.m. March 7, 2/7:30 p.m. Ender Hall Theatre “The Vagina Monologues” Readings Proceeds Benefit the Center for Hope and Safety March 4, 12:30 p.m., C-211/6:30 p.m., A-104 Pitkin Education Center Women’s History Month Keynote Address Penny Coleman on “The Vote: Women’s Fierce Fight” March 5, 12:30 p.m., C-211 Pitkin Education Center Once Upon a Mattress April 3, 9, and 10, 7:30 p.m. April 4, 2/7:30 p.m. Anna Maria Ciccone Theatre Curtain Up Special Event Rock N’ Roll Never Forgets with Dennis Elsas April 25, 7:30 p.m. Anna Maria Ciccone Theatre Just a Jersey Guy and Son May 1, 7:30 p.m. Anna Maria Ciccone Theatre Peter Yarrow May 16, 7:30 p.m. Anna Maria Ciccone Theatre Commencement 2020 May 18, 5:30 p.m. MetLife Stadium I Do, I Do A Benefit Concert in Memory of Carol Otis June 18, 7:30 p.m. Anna Maria Ciccone Theatre Tickets available at tickets.bergen.edu
REGISTRATION
FACULTYFOCUS Sara Mastellone
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rofessor Sara Mastellone has received the John and Suanne Roueche Excellence Award from the League for Innovation in the Community College for her work developing new methods for students to read, write and present their ideas orally in mathematics. Mastellone used three specific techniques to instruct students including anticipation guides, a “gallery walk” for students to discuss answers to mathematics problems and presentations by groups of students collaborating to solve problems collectively. These methods allow students to become actively engaged in reading the mathematical problems in the textbook and understanding how to solve and express the answers, she said. Working to collaborate within the College’s mathematics department and across disciplines, Mastellone expanded the reach of the project into the College’s English, English as a Second Language and advanced language programs. Professors Tracy Saltwick, Melanie Walker, Afsheen Akbar, Bonnie MacDougall,
Student Research Recognized
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hirteen students mentored by Professor Dr. Luis Jimenez recently had their research published in international journals. If that wasn’t enough, another student also mentored by Dr. Jimenez won a competition for his research at a major biology conference. “The recent publications and honors secured by STEM students demonstrate that Bergen Community College is a leader among community colleges not only in New Jersey but across the nation fostering and promoting innovative approaches in STEM education,” Dr. Jimenez, a biology professor and researcher, said.
Summer 2020 Sessions Summer I.........May 18 - June 29 Summer U..........May 18 - Aug. 4 Summer II.............July 1 - Aug. 4 Summer III ........Aug. 5 - Aug. 20
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Carol Miele, Leah Carmona, Maria Kasparova, Alina Malik, all of the “STEM cadre,” have showed interest in and provided support for the initiative. “I am pleasantly surprised to be selected for the Roueche Award and thankful to all my colleagues who were instrumental in making this project happen,” she said. Hired in 2010, Mastellone serves as an associate professor of mathematics. She has instructed mathematics for 49 years at the grammar school, high school and college levels and was named “Who’s Who of American Teachers” from 2000-06. n
Inside Bergen • The Bergen Community College Newsletter |
Spring 2020
Thirteen students had their research published in journals American Pharmaceutical Review this summer and Bios in the fall. Dr. Jimenez had research published in American Pharmaceutical Review as well. One group of students, Arianna Pinto, Adelajda Turku, Stephanie Perez and Vanesa Molina, focused on the rapid detection of bacteria in pharmaceutical products. The other group, Matthew Gardner, Joy Bochis, Theranda Jashari, Victoria Ellman, Jenifer Vasquez, Stephanie Zapata, Victorya Ramos, Tina Choe, and Mahtab Tazehabadi, examined mold cloning in soils – important for nutrient recycling and soil fertility. As for Tae Kim (pictured), who won first place in the category of environmental biology and ecology for his research and poster, “Comparison of Bacterial Communities in New Jersey Soils using Next Generation Sequencing” at the Metropolitan Association of College and University Biologists meeting, he said the competition “felt like I made my first big step in life.” n
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5 1. It’s a bird! It’s a plane! It’s both at Gallery Bergen’s “Ornithology: Patterns in Flight.” 2. Bergen County government officials delivered proclamations to Interim President Dr. Tony Ross and Professor Dr. Maureen Ellis-Davis in recognition of Black History Month. 3. Bergen PRIDE came to club day ready to welcome to new members. 4. The members of the December 2019 nursing class received their pins late last semester.
5. Freeholder Tracy Zur’s nonprofit “We the People” sponsored a service project for 700 students and volunteers on Martin Luther King Jr. Day at the College. 6. The student government association collected 187 cans of soup for the Center for Food Action pantry at the College. 7. Students, faculty and staff showed their love for the Sidney Silverman Library on “Snapshot Day,” which aims to capture metrics on the resource’s use. 8. Pearly whites shone bright at the annual “Give Kids A Smile Day” event sponsored by the dental hygiene program.
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Inside Bergen • The Bergen Community College Newsletter |
Spring 2020
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Alumna and Prof. Bound by Education
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The New Jersey Council of County Colleges selected trustee Dr. Sheetal Ranjan for one of two trustee at-large positions on the group’s executive committee. … The “Cinema Ciccone” silent film series featured “Docks of New York,” “A Santa Notte” and “The Adventurer” in February – all accompanied by live musicians providing the scores.
County Honors College Staff
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embers of Bergen County government, including Bergen County Executive James J. Tedesco III and the Bergen County Board of Chosen Freeholders, have recognized four staff members for their contributions to the community. Gloria Cevallos, Amparo Codding and Magali Muniz received the “Outstanding Education Contribution Awards” as longstanding members of Bergen’s Hispanic community, while honoring Dr. Robert Fusco (pictured) at the “Salute to Champions” event for his work in supporting students with disabilities. n
rofessors such as Dr. Paula Williams recognize the specific needs of international students and seek to provide guidance while championing the importance of education. For some, including alumna Dawn Marie (Petgrave) Lindo (‘96), that assistance can help shape the rest of their life — and even create a lifelong friendship. Lindo first came to Bergen in the mid-1990s as an international student from Jamaica. She met Professor Williams, a fellow Jamaican, who served as the adviser to the institution’s Caribbean club. Lindo eventually became the club’s president and developed new events such as a fashion show as part of Caribbean heritage week, while leaning on Williams for guidance and support. Lindo expressed her desire to provide this type of shared learning experience with others as an educator in Jamaica. “I always wanted to impact education in my country,” she said. “I know not every Jamaican student would have gotten the opportunity to study abroad, so I wanted to bring those opportunities to them in Jamaica.” After graduating with her associate’s degree in education in 1996, Lindo began a career in fashion, working for a who’s who of global icons including Estee Lauder, Clinique and Nordstrom, while also serving as an instructor of makeup artistry. Combining her passion for education and fashion, Lindo opened the D’Marie School of Makeup Artistry – now the
D’Marie Institute — a leading beauty and makeup school in Kingston, Jamaica in 2009. Since its founding, the school has earned numerous industry awards and accreditations, graduating more than 1,000 students. As fellow educators, Williams and Lindo remain close. In fact, Williams recently served as the keynote speaker at Lindo’s eighth graduation and runway show and sits on the school’s advisory board. n
PepsiCo Tabs Students for Mentoring
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o advance opportunities for women in leadership, Bergen has expanded its partnership with PepsiCo’s Women-in-STEM mentoring program — coordinated through the Million Women Mentors initiative — that provides students with mentors from the multinational food, snack and beverage corporation. Students shadow their mentors at PepsiCo’s research and development facility in Westchester, New York and meet via phone, email, text, FaceTime and Skype twice per month for one year. Past mentees include Jack Kent Cooke Foundation Undergraduate Transfer Scholarship semifinalists and one who earned the prestigious $40,000 per year scholarship. Other notable accomplishments a National
Institute of Health internship, a NJ Governor’s STEM Scholarship and a Hackensack Meridian Summer Physician Shadow Internship. n
InsideBergen is a publication of the Office of Public Relations. Send feedback to lhlavenka@bergen.edu.