Discover Your Inner Contractor Ring in the New Resources for ESL Students
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A voice for the students of Mount Wachusett Community College FEBRUARY 3, 2016 VOLUME 10, ISSUE 5 8 PAGES Ring in the New By President Daniel M. Asquino provement, but equally impres- events commemorating Black sive, is the transformation taking History Month and Women’s We ring in the new year at place inside the classroom walls. Mount Wachusett Community History Month. New student support services, College not with the customary The Center for Civic Learning new faculty and staff, new trans- noisemakers of bells and horns, and Community Engagement fer agreements, and new civic but with drills, hammers and continued on page 2>>> engagement initiatives will en- saws as construction continues hance our existing resources on our Gardner campus. to help students build up their Your patience as you make academic and career skills in your way to classrooms and of- preparation for the workforce or fices during the modernization of our 45-year-old facility is a bachelor’s degree. greatly appreciated. In the com- The semester ahead provides ing months, renovations to our opportunities to help students Courtesy photo / John Blombach Framework for Success Advising Center, Commons build up their résumés as well Area, Theatre at the Mount, and as increase understanding on na- main entrance will be unveiled, tional issues, including race, in- Discover your followed later this year by the come inequality, and citizenship. opening of our new science and Continuing programs through Inner Contractor technology building. the office of Student Life include Less obvious than these out- alternative spring break with By John Blombach wards signs of growth and im- Habitat for Humanity, the Lead- ership for Life workshop series, Want to learn some marketable tating and preserving homes. President Asquino skills? Snatch up the tool apron. Advocating for fair and just Grab a hammer, a square and a housing policies; and by pro- level. Let’s build something and viding training and access to re- Resources for ESL Students change somebody’s life. Volun- sources to help families improve just like her. “You learn a lot lack patience and teachers have teerism is alive and well at Habi- their shelter conditions. By Alexandra Rodriguez tat for Humanity. Discover your Habitat for Humanity was about other countries and make to be very patient with them. Mount Wachusett Community inner contractor! founded on the conviction that friends,” said Bruny. Madhu expresses how students College, a place where students The college has a partnership every man, woman and child In the other hand, Juliana Lu- need to practice outside of class from all over the world can learn with several community organi- should have a simple, durable cena, also an ESL student at the because the college is small and and grow with the help of ESL zations to provide service learn- place to live in dignity and MWCC Leominster campus, there are not many activities. Courses, Clubs and Student sup- ing experience for students. I’ve safety, and that decent shelter in came from Brazil and has re- TRIO Student Support Ser- port services. just completed a stint with Habi- decent communities should be a sided in Clinton for over a year. vices that assist students from The Language Café, home tat for Humanity. It has been matter of conscience and action She has a 1 years old son and first generation, low-income for ESL students of MWCC has a life changing experience for for all. she has come to the U.S with backgrounds, and students with brought life to students from all me as well as those underprivi- Habitat for Humanity NCM the purpose to learn English. Lu- disabilities to graduate and over the world to interact and leged families who will receive offers a hand up, not a hand cena sees herself speaking very transfer, is a federally funded have fun, with the help of Jose the benefit of the homes we are out to hard-working, low-in- clear and correct English. She program, one of roughly 1,900 Mangual, leader ambassador building. come families seeking afford- explained that it is very differ- TRIO programs throughout the of Language Café and Profes- Habitat has experience in able homeownership. Simple, ent speaking street English and United States. TRIO programs sor Madhu Sharma who feels home building. They have built decent, affordable homes are speaking correct English, using grew out of our nation’s com- empathy for her ESL students. over 300,000 homes around the built or rehabbed in partnership the right words and grammar, mitment to the ideal of providing The Language Café, English as globe in the last 30 years. They with families, donors and volun- but thanks to Language Café, she equal access to higher education a Second Language club, offered have developed more real estate teers who share our vision of a will be able to do so. to all Americans, regardless of for beginners in the English Lan- than Donald Trump. Simple, de- world where everyone has a de- Maduh Sharma, who’s been their backgrounds or economic guage is a place for students all cent, affordable housing is the teaching at the Mount for over circumstances. cent place to live. over the world practice conver- most basic human requirement 25 years, has a master’s degree According to Director, Gaurav What are habitat houses like? sational English at an informal for life. Habitat and its spon- in Intercultural education and a Khanna, the Visions Program Simple, decent and affordable. setting. It takes place six to sors offer alternative solutions to Doctorate in Foreign Languages, at the Mount emphasizes how Habitat houses are modestly seven times per semester at noon this ever growing need for basic expresses how her experience the TRIO program doesn’t spe- sized. They are large enough for in room 104 of the Leominster shelter. from learning languages and the cifically focus on ESL students the homeowner family’s needs, Campus. Habitat for Humanity builds professional preparation gives but works with students who but small enough to keep con- Darrege Marie Dorval Bruny, houses around the world accord- her an advantage for being a bet- are first generation, with lim- struction and maintenance costs a 23 year old Haitian lady, who ing to the same guiding prin- ter teacher. ited income background and to a minimum. is in the Intermediate level of ciples: A world where everyone “I became more sensitive with students with disabilities of any According to Habitat.org, the ESL Course at the Leomin- has a decent place to live. Habitat students,” expressed Sharma, kind. According to Khanna, just Habitat houses in the United ster Campus and has resided in for Humanity is part of a global, with her own experience of by virtue of the population that States are typically built using Massachusetts for a year and nonprofit housing organization learning Spanish as a foreign wood frame construction and 5 months, came to the Mount continued on page 2>>> operated on Christian principles language when she lived in home designs reflect the local to study level two of the ESL that seeks to put God’s love into Mexico, preparing her to teach climate and culture. Efficient course. She said that she has action by building homes, com- English as a second language to building methods and modest learned the most because they Inside this issue: munities and hope. Spanish speaking students. house sizes make the homes af- make you speak up and interact Habitat for Humanity is dedi- The most difficult part of Opinions ...................2 fordable. Habitat houses may with each other. cated to eliminating substandard teaching English as a second have no more than 1,050 square The Language Café is a place Reviews ....................6 housing locally and worldwide language according to Madhu, where Bruny shares her ideas through constructing, rehabili- continued on page 2>>> is patience! Very often, students Student Calendar ......8 and opinions with other lady’s www.mountobserver.com 2 OBSERVEROPINION February 3, 2016 its second year of program- ciety, with an emphasis on pro- Discover your Inner Contractor Ring in the New ming with “Myths, Monsters, fessionals working in the field of >>>continued from page 1 >>>continued from page 1 and Modern Science: Franken- healthcare. stein’s Legacy,” an in-depth With so much available in the feet of living space for a three vide decent, affordable shelter to is the go-to place for hands-on look at Mary Shelley’s 1818 months ahead, it’s important to bedroom home. families in need. experience through internships, novel Frankenstein, and its rel- keep sight of the main goals and Habitat for Humanity is a If you wish to make a differ- volunteerism and service learn- evance in today’s world. Free reasons you are pursuing a col- community-funded organization ence but don’t want to don the ing. Among the center’s upcom- events will take place on the lege education. If you encounter — a community that includes work boots, come work in the ing offerings is a not-to-miss Gardner campus and in the com- obstacles that seem insurmount- our Habitat homebuyers. The Re-Store or office. presentation on March 25 by munity at public libraries and able, I urge you to tap into the work of Habitat for Humanity Plan your Spring Break now; Harvard political scientist and other venues, funded through a many resources that are avail- would not be possible without no experience necessary, on the best-selling author Robert D. grant from the NEH to deepen able to you on campus, includ- the unwavering support of our job training.