NSCC_Pennon_April15_Final:May Issue.QXD
4/22/15
3:11 PM
Page 1
April-May 2015
• A Monthly Publication For The Students of North Shore Community College, Danvers, Middleton, Lynn, & Beverly, Massachusetts • •Read The Pennon Online At: northshore.edu/pennon•
College Advice
Page 3
Atlantic Oil Drilling
Page 4
Boston Bruins
Page 7
Costa Rica Trip
Page 9
It’s that time of year! Commencement 2015 is here! Applying to graduate? Here are a few things you should know about the process. Download a graduation application from our website. Just visit www.northshore.edu/Registrar and click on the Graduation link on the left side of the screen. Applications may be faxed, mailed, or emailed to records@northshore.edu. Alternatively, you may also stop by either the Danvers or Lynn Enrollment Center and complete and submit an application while you are there. We are currently accepting graduation applications for May, June, and August. Although we require 4-6 weeks for application processing, we will do our best to review your application as soon as possible. Keep in mind that May applications will be processed first, followed by June, and then August. All applicants who are in the process of meeting the graduation requirements are considered potential graduates. One of the common misconceptions we hear is that students think they have officially graduated because they walked across the stage on the night of
Commencement. Students are not actually graduates until the final review of their record is done in the Registrar's office and it is determined that all requirements have been met. This may or may not take place prior to the Commencement Ceremony. Students who graduated last August 2014 and January 2015, and potential graduates for May and June of 2015,
are included in the Commencement Program. Students graduating in August 2015 will be included in next year's program. The deadline to ensure that your name gets in the Commencement Program was March 7th. However, we will still accept graduation applications up until approximately one week before the actual graduation date. Students who are marked as
confidential in our database will not have their name in the program or associated with any other graduation activities such as newspaper listings, etc. If you would like your name to be included, there is a box on the graduation application that you can initial, which will rescind your confidential status. Students often think that there is no way that they can be marked
graphic design talents! Soon, you will be able to sense the light at the end of the tunnel as the countdown to the close of the semester and graduation begins. If you are graduating this May, I look forward to seeing you at Commencement. Consider walking into the ceremony and showing off your new certificate or degree to your friends and family. Your hard work deserves a celebration! Summer and fall registration are underway; be sure to register if you haven’t. Why not consider a summer class to keep up your academic momentum? Also, I have to tell you how proud I was of Pennon
Editor-in-Chief Calvin Gil for his stellar participation in the Department of Higher Education’s recent Go Public event at Marblehead High School. Designed to introduce Marblehead and Swampscott high school sophomores and juniors to Massachusetts’s public higher education options, Cal was one of six student speakers at Go Public who addressed an audience of about three hundred, which included Governor Charlie Baker and his wife. He was as cool as a cucumber and deftly shared his dual enrollment and STEM experiences over the four years he’s spent at NSCC. Cal will complete high school and graduate from NSCC
this May and will transfer to a very prestigious four year school to study engineering. Not bad for an 18-year-old! Cal did NSCC proud and inspired prospective students. NSCC also had the best “toys” at their literature tables, e.g. STEM and health demos, including a 3D Printer, online gaming, and our SIM Jr. We are moving closer to beginning construction on the expansion of our Lynn campus. We hope to have shovels in the ground this summer and to get much of the noisiest work done in the summer months, when folks will be least impacted. When it’s done, which should be in about two years, our new
The President’s Column: Spring is in the air! By Patricia Gentile NSCC President
Spring has been in the air, which always signals the beginning of the busiest season of all here at the college. April is filled with events and activities, including Arts in April and the Forum on Tolerance. I hope you will take advantage of this flurry of activity as your schedule permits. I am particularly looking forward to the April 21st launch of the college’s literary magazine, Spark, which features a variety of different creative artistry, all done by NSCC’s own student talent. I am always deeply impressed with your writing, painting, photography, and
Intercultural Film Series
Page 12
as confidential and don’t initial the box. Unfortunately, some students were also accidentally marked as confidential, either from a previous work-study job or having possibly taken a Kids to College class when they were young, meaning their name is not included in the program. Don’t let this happen to you, initial the box! Diplomas are not handed out on the night of Commencement, but you will receive a beautiful diploma cover to put your diploma in. Diplomas are available to pick up in the Danvers Enrollment Center about five weeks after Commencement. When diplomas arrive, there is an announcement put on Facebook as well as the Registration Channel in Pipeline. If you wish to have your diploma mailed to you or you would like us to send it to the Lynn Enrollment Center so you can pick it up there, please email records@northshore.edu from your NSCC email account. Good luck and congratulations!
wing will feature ten sparkling new classrooms, spaces for student teamwork, and student support service space for our Lynn students. We can’t wait for you to be able to utilize it. As always, thank you for choosing North Shore Community College as your higher education partner. We appreciate being part of helping you reach the attainment of your dreams. Keep up your studies, stay active in student activities, and be sure to take advantage of all the resources that are available to you at NSCC. Finals will be here before you know it! Ciao, Pat