COMMUNITY NEWS

Philly Student Surprised with Bear-Nanza Scholarship

The Admissions Team surprised a graduating senior at Community Academy of Philadelphia in Northeast Philly on June 7 during Commencement rehearsal with a $10,000 scholarship to study Animal Center Management.

School officials invited Dineyshka Alvarez Santos onto the stage where she met Harcum representatives, who presented her with a big check, balloons, and a gift bag. Last spring, Admissions announced that one lucky attendee to the April 23 Open House called “Bear-Nanza” would be selected at random for scholarship, and Santos was the big winner. Hatcher the Bear, the school mascot, was on hand to celebrate along with Santos’ parents, who were also in on the surprise and did an excellent job keeping the award a secret. While the surprise award rendered Santos speechless, her classmates wildly cheered her on. PICTURED: Admissions representatives Krystal Popiel (left) and Tyler Gangi (right) helped Hatcher surprise Dineyshka Alvarez Santos with a big check.

FIRST-EVER CURRICULUM CAMP SUCCEEDS Academic Affairs inaugurated the first annual Summer Curriculum Camp on May 16 in Room 101 of the Academic Center. “Camp” consisted of a threeday intensive workshop to review the select set of courses comprising a given area of study to determine whether the courses offered align with the goals articulated and will lead to the program’s stated outcomes. Their work included examining the Behavioral Health Science, Business, Criminal Justice, Graphic Design, and Human Services programs. The camp was run by two veteran College administrators Dave Weaver and Terri Groody. WELCOMING NEW TRUSTEE Carmen Rivé is the newest member of the Board of Trustees. She is a principal and department head in Vanguard Retirement Plan Client Services, where she leads a team of relationship executives who manage and oversee partnerships with

Vanguard’s largest full-service recordkeeping clients. Before her current role, Carmen spent seven years as head of Primary Flagship Services in Vanguard

Retail Investor Group. She started her professional career as a certified public accountant at Price Waterhouse LLP. After four years as a CPA, she began her Vanguard career in 1995. She earned a B.S.A. from Saint Joseph’s University, and she holds FINRA Series 6, 7, 24, and 63 licenses.

PROJECT RUNWAY STAR PRAJJÉ OSCAR JOINS FASHION FACULTY Philadelphia-based fashion designer Prajjé Oscar, a season 19 contestant on Bravo’s hit show “Project Runway,” is joining the Fashion Programs as an adjunct faculty member in Fall of 2022. The Haitian-born designer is a graduate of the Massachusetts College of Art in Boston. Prior to his appointment to the faculty, he has been deeply connected to fashion students, conducting muslin critiques and doing final critiques of the clothing lines. He is perhaps best known for his glamorous evening dresses and luxurious fabrics.

PARTNERSHIP SITES CELEBRATE GRADS Two sites that partner with Harcum College to offer degree programs in community neighborhoods slated events to recognize their newest graduates: Harcum at Coatesville A Coatesville graduate.

and Harcum at Grace Trinity. The Coatesville event shone a spotlight on each newly minted alum on Saturday, May 14, with dozens of family members and friends in attendance.

Grace Trinity’s celebration of graduates took place on Monday, May 9th at 5:30 pm. The program included felicitation and thanksgiving inside the church, followed by prayers at the beginning and the end of the event, but the messages were mostly commending students. Loniesha Landi '20 was the featured speaker. The commendatory message was given by Executive Director Rev. Dr. Chandra Soans. Graduates and their families gathered for food and fun, with Jennavieve Cappiabanchi ’22 providing face-painting. Site coordinator Dr. Mrinalini Sebastian reported that five Harcum graduates work as teachers at Grace-Trinity Academy, their affiliated pre-school.

FORMER PRESIDENT NORMA FURST’S GRANDSON VISITS COLLEGE Gilad Jacobs, grandson of former Harcum president Norma Furst (serving from 1983 to 1992), stopped by Harcum in June to donate equipment to the Athletics Department that his family company “Normatec” developed and sells. The boots are state of the art gear, designed for athletic recovery. Air is pumped into each boot, which then offers a patented massaging action to increase blood flow. Jacobs said that they have sold hundreds of thousands of units, many of which are used by the premier professional athletes of our day to recover faster, including Steph Curry and LeBron James. To conclude his visit, Jacobs and President Jon Jay DeTemple posed with the official portrait of Norma Furst outside the President’s Office.