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Posts tagged as “student life”

Pizza with the President

By editorialteam on February 13, 2023

Providing Opportunities While Strengthening the Community

By Stella Sarefield | Observer Contributor

President Vander Hooven and students in the Student Center.

On Thursday, February 2 2023, President Jim Vander Hooven was seen talking to both students and colleagues during the ‘Pizza with the President’ event in the student center.

When asked what this event is and why it is important to the college and student life, the Dean of Students, Jason Zelesky explained, “’Pizza with the President’ is a very informal event designed for students to get an opportunity to get to know the President.” Zelesky also shared that there are other events held by the Office of Student Life where students can speak with the President, “There were a couple each semester, one casual and one formal.” read more

Remembering Megan Bower

By editorialteam on December 16, 2022

Sincere, Charismatic, and Adventurous, Bower Will Be Dearly Missed By All Who Knew Her

By Isabelle Mascary | Assistant Editor

Megan Bower was an Automotive Technician student at the Mount who unexpectedly passed away on September 22. Born and raised in Littleton, Massachusetts, she was passionate about her dreams, family, friends, and, most importantly, helping others. She had a major impact on those she met. Although she has passed on, there is something we all can learn from her story. She was not just another young woman that passed away from an unfortunate accident, she was a beam of light, gone too soon, but her story will live on and help the lives of others, just as she lived. read more

I Am One in Four

By editorialteam on December 16, 2022

Student Shares Personal Journey to Remind Others “You Are Not Alone”

By Annabelle Kennedy | Observer Contributor

One in four American women will have an abortion by the time they are 45 years old, and I am one of those women.

 I had an abortion when I was 28 years old. I feared having a child. I was not in a place where I was mentally or emotionally ready to be responsible for another life. I was living in a small apartment in Allston at the time, had two roommates and a job as a waitress, and I felt incredibly alone and ashamed.

The baby’s father and I hadn’t been dating for long, and he wasn’t ready to have a child either. I decided that I could live with the decision of not having a child and regret it, more than I could live with the idea of having the child and not providing a loving, stable home for them.  read more

Profile: Lexi Gallagher

By editorialteam on November 8, 2022

MWCC Student Talks Photography and Pursuing College During the Pandemic

By Annabelle Kennedy | Observer Contributor

When Alexis “Lexi” Gallagher saw her mother taking pictures in middle school, she knew she wanted to do the same. What Gallagher didn’t know was it would open a lifetime love affair with photography. She grabbed her mom’s point-and-shoot camera and started taking photos. “I didn’t really understand how to use it yet, it was mostly because I saw my mom doing it, and I wanted to do the same.”

Gallagher, now 20 years old, attends Mount Wachusett Community College in Gardner, MA. While in high school, Lexi Gallagher, like most kids from her hometown of Jaffrey, New Hampshire, always knew she wanted to attend a 4-year college or university (and yes, she has heard plenty of jokes about her name due to the hit show Shameless). read more

Be Well at the Mount

By editorialteam on November 8, 2022

Mental Wellness at Any Time and on the Line

By Cody Nathanson | Assistant Editor

With the rollout of MWCC’s new “Be Well at the Mount” program, students can expect an easier time accessing mental health services on and off campus alongside a new host of options that give greater control to their mental health.

As of September 8, MWCC teamed up with mental health service and wellness provider Christie Campus, a Massachusetts-based company currently supporting over 70 campuses and just over 600,000 students across the U.S. The 30-year-old health insurance company now turned mental health provider, is still relatively new in the venture, only having made the switch back in 2018. read more

Profile: Annabelle Kennedy

By editorialteam on November 8, 2022

Professional Writing Major Discusses Interest in Pursuit of Being a Death Doula

By Lexi Gallagher | Observer Contributor

Lunenburg resident and Mount Wachusett professional writing student, Annabelle Kennedy, has a history with the written word and enjoys the act of writing. However, she also has a passion towards going in a different direction than most after graduating: being a death doula.

“Helping dying people and their families process emotions and help with a difficult transition really seemed to call to me,” Kennedy said. “I’ve been definitely exploring the idea of being a death doula. I started listening to a Tarot podcast about five years ago, and the woman who hosted it is a thanatologist and discussed the subject there.” From there, Kennedy found out about the death doula movement.  read more

A Mansion Turned Murderous

By editorialteam on October 30, 2022

Visitors Relay Paranormal Activity at SK Pierce Victorian Mansion

By Sandy Oser | Observer Contributor

According to the SK Pierce Haunted Mansion website, around the end of the 1880s, Sylvester Pierce, a businessman whose furniture company brought them to Gardner, decided to build a mansion. The mansion itself, 7000 square feet, was considered extravagant. Now, it’s considered one of the most haunted places in Massachusetts.

Currently open to public tours, the website explained that visitors have witnessed “voices,” “moving furniture,” “slamming doors,” and much more. However, the rest you may just have to witness yourself, just like Gardner resident Joanne Melvin and her daughter Olivia Warner. read more

Costumes on Campus

By editorialteam on October 30, 2022

Are Students Dressing Up for Halloween?

By Stella Sarefield | Observer Contributor

The Coronavirus pandemic began over two and a half years ago, causing a generation of students to lose not one but two Halloweens. However, between lifting mask restrictions and President Biden’s announcement that the pandemic is over, this Halloween seems promising.

The Mount itself has added to this with halloween festivities on campus, such as the recent “Scaryoke” and “Halloween Stroll ” on October 27, where some students attended in costume. However, there are still a few events to come. Today the Mount will be hosting a “Student Trick or Treat” at 11:30 am and the final “Halloween Musical Spooktacular” at 12:30 pm held in the Student Center by the Musicians at the Mount. However, apart from these events, are students planning to dress up for classes today? read more

Assisting First-Generation College Students

By editorialteam on October 6, 2022

TRIO SSS Continues a 30-Year Tradition

By Josilyn Straka | Assistant Editor

Graphic from the TRIO SSS web page

Mount Wachusett Community College (MWCC) has a program for students called TRIO Student Support Services (SSS), which includes Visions and Rx programs.  Their aim is to assist first-generation college students striving to earn a degree and have been doing so for more than thirty years.

Sara Williams, former Program Manager of TRIO SSS, hopes to meet all needs of students by providing academic advising, professional tutoring, transfer counseling, and offering personal support.  These programs also loan out equipment such as laptops and offer workshops and seminars. read more

Disguised in Your Own Skin

By editorialteam on October 6, 2022

Former Student and Psychology Professor Discuss Imposter Syndrome

By Skyler Elliot | Observer Contributor

Feelings of being and imposter, or "fake"

Many students face a time at some point in their lives when they feel uncomfortable in their own skin. Imposter Syndrome holds no prejudice when choosing its victims: race, age, gender, culture, physical ability, or level of intelligence, imposter syndrome isn’t picky, and it can affect anyone.

            Imposter Syndrome can be displayed in several forms, showing itself through symptoms of perfectionism and isolation, as well as established or recurring feelings of not belonging. It can also cause one to feel as if they don’t deserve the achievements that they have worked for. Someone with imposter syndrome may also feel as if the accomplishments they have achieved are not good enough. read more