“The month of activity reflects the very essence and vitality of the college and the surrounding community,” said Karen Gonya, NMCC associate director of development and college relations. “Students, faculty, staff, community friends and many others have scheduled events to showcase the campus community and the teaching and learning that happens here every day.”
The celebration kicks-off with NMCC proudly hosting the American Red Cross 11th annual Heroes Breakfast. The breakfast will take place Thursday, April 2 at 7:30 a.m. in the Edmunds Conference Center. Several honorees who have performed acts of heroism in the region will be honored at the touching event. The breakfast is coordinated by the Aroostook County Branch of the Pine Tree Chapter of the American Red Cross, WAGM-TV and NMCC. It is designed to celebrate the spirit of humanitarianism of the County and to honor those individuals who have shown courage, kindness, and unselfish character by their acts of heroism.
The community spirit keeps going with a birthday bash celebrating the 150th Sesquicentennial of Presque Isle Saturday, April 4 between 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. on the NMCC campus. The event, which is free and open to the public, will take part in the Edmunds and Christie buildings and promises fun for the entire family, including children’s activities, crafters, a County photo exhibit, entertainment, carriage rides, food vendors and the cutting of Presque Isle’s Sesquicentennial birthday cake.
Area residents have five opportunities left in April to take advantage of the College’s Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) program, offered annually by senior accounting program students. The popular program’s last sessions for this tax season are April 7, 8, 9, 14 and 15, beginning at 1 p.m. daily in the Edmunds Conference Center.
On Thursday, April 9, NMCC will be the host site for “Mission Transition,” a conference offered to youth with special needs in Aroostook County. The “school to life” transition forum coordinated by the Bridges Transition Council will introduce students to post high school educational programs and employment opportunities. The conference will be held in the Edmunds Conference Center between 8:30 a.m. and 1:30 p.m.
A celebration of literature will take place throughout the month in honor of both National Community College Month and National Poetry Month, with a reading series featuring both guest writers, as well as students from the College. The reading series will take place April 9, 16 and 23 at noon in the College’s library. Each of the days will feature a specific genre of writing: poetry, fiction and non-fiction. Community members who enjoy literature are invited to come to the College and hear original work by both experienced, published writers and talented beginners.
On Saturday, April 11, the NMCC Student Senate will host its annual “Support Maine Veterans” volleyball tournament. Proceeds from the event, which will be held in the college gymnasium beginning at 9 a.m., will be donated to the activity fund at the Maine Veterans’ Home in Caribou. Individuals and teams interested in participating in the tournament should contact Dennis Albert at 768-2757.
On Monday, April 13, NMCC will be hosting an Aroostook County Food Festival to benefit the NMCC Foundation. The event will take place in the Christie Lobby from 10 a.m.-3 p.m. A number of food items produced in Aroostook County will be sold to raise money to benefit the NMCC student scholarship fund, including ployes from Bouchard Family Farms in Fort Kent, bags of Fox Family potato chips from Mapleton and scoops of Houlton Farms Dairy Ice Cream.
The Northern Maine Pain Symposium, coordinated by the Maine Hospice Council and Center for End-of-Life Care and NMCC nursing and allied health department, will be held in the Edmunds Conference Center at NMCC Thursday, April 16 between 8:30 a.m. and 4 p.m. The event will highlight the importance of leadership and quality in pain management. Health care professionals from throughout the region and student nurses from both NMCC and the University of Maine at Fort Kent will be in attendance.
On Wednesday, April 22 at noon in the Edmunds Library, NMCC will celebrate Earth Day with presentations by Wayne Kilcollins, wind power technology instructor, and Pam Buck, computer aided drafting instructor. The two educators will speak about how individuals and communities can be more environmentally friendly to Mother Earth in terms of energy and building construction.
The final week of April will feature a community celebration and barbecue co-hosted by NMCC and the Presque Isle Kiwanis Club. The event will celebrate the near completion of the 32nd home constructed by NMCC trade and technical occupation students and faculty through the Sinawik project. Since its inception in 1976, NMCC has constructed 32 homes, which are now located in various Aroostook County communities. The barbecue, which is free and open to the public, will be held Tuesday, April 28 between 11:30 a.m. and 1 p.m. in the residential construction lab of the Mailman Building.
April 28 also marks the kick-off of the three-day silent auction held annually by students in the residential construction program. The quality handcrafted wood products that range from birdhouses and outdoor furniture to decorative shelving units and coffee tables are made by the students. Proceeds from the auction are used to purchase tools for graduating seniors in the residential construction program. The public is encouraged and invited to view the items and place bids at the community celebration/barbecue in the residential construction lab April 28, or in the Christie lobby April 29 and 30.
The month concludes with the annual Totally Trades conference hosted on campus through a collaborative effort between NMCC, Women, Work and Community and a number of community sponsors. The daylong event, designed to encourage girls to pursue careers in the trade and technology areas, includes several hands-on workshops ranging from highway construction and heavy equipment operation to metal fabrication and plumbing and heating.
Many other campus activities are scheduled to coincide with Community College Month, including several recognition events to honor individual students and numerous student groups.
For a complete listing of NMCC Community College Month activities, visit the College Web site at www.nmcc.edu. For more information on April events at NMCC, contact the development and college relations office at 768-2809.
National Community College Month to be celebrated locally
Several events planned throughout April are free and open to the public
PRESQUE ISLE – A month-long series of special events are getting under way at Northern Maine Community College as the campus prepares to celebrate Community College Month in April. More than two dozen activities will be taking place, and, while some are geared for the campus community, a number of them are free and open to the public.
