Young Adult Authors Bring Their Books to NVCC

By Hobson Lopes

In November, Courtney Sheinmel and Nina Nelson came to the Playbox theatre at Naugatuck Valley Community College to talk about the process they take when writing their novels and to answer questions from the NVCC student body. Sheinmel, the author of My So Called Family, and the recently released Positively and Nelson's Bringing the Boy Home were the main topic of the event. They were both very excited to come to NVCC to talk to our students and faculty about their books. The event was coordinated by English instructor Steve Parlato who is also an author himself. Parlato, the instructor in the first ever adolescent young adult fiction class at NVCC wanted to bring the author’s to “do ‘something special’ for my inaugural YA fiction class.” When asked about why he chose Sheinmel and Nelson to appear at the event, Parlato said that, “they’re both filled with positive energy and love what they do. I thought it’d be nice to bring a couple of authors who had a real spark for their genre.”
The event started off on a high note as Nina worked out her nervous energy by jumping around the stage, which drew plenty of laughter from the crowd in attendance. Nina talked about the process she uses to write her novels. She is even her own biggest critic as she had Courtney read off a list of critiques about Nina’s work, which turned out to be Nina’s own comments. Nina went on to say that, “you have to approve of yourself no matter how you wrote,” which was her way of saying don’t let a poor writing day bring you completely down. Courtney’s presentation showed us how she got into writing. She was a lawyer, and hated how she had to take every bit of creativeness out of her work. Once she realized writing novels is what she wanted to do, she was only able to spend, “one day a week for six months” to write her first book Sincerely Sophie, “because being a lawyer sucks.” Due to issues inside her publishing company, that first book has now turned into her third book. Courtney read a passage from Positively, before turning the podium over to a Q&A session from the audience.
Courtney said growing up, she and her sister, “used to ‘play’ at being writers.” Writing was the only career that made sense to her because, “I have all these stories in my head, and being a writer validates them.” Nina had several inklings throughout her life that led her to the career she has now. She finally decided on this career path when as she put it, “I was bored out of my mind and battling with pregnancy induced insomnia.” John Greene, Chris Crutcher and Suzanne Collins are some of the authors credited to inspiring Nina. Both authors have great advice to anyone who may want to be a writer some day. Nelson’s advice for potential writers are, “trust the process, separate yourself from the process, enter contests, join a good critique group and go to conferences.” Sheinmel recommends inspiring authors to “read a lot; write a lot about things that interest YOU, and to be persevering.”
Positively is about a girl named Emerson, Emmy for short, who loses her mother to AIDS. Emmy is HIV positive, and after the loss of her mother, has to move in with her father and step mother Meg. Emmy does not want to get close to her father because he left her mother, and she especially doesn't want to get to close to Meg in fear that her mother is watching from heaven, and would be upset because Emmy shouldn't like her. Emmy experiences difficulties in all relationships after the death. She lashes out against her friends and family. She says at one point, “I hated everyone who didn’t have AIDS.” After an episode where Emmy broke Meg’s dishes, her dad decided to send her to a HIV camp. Emmy doesn't want to go, but is forced. What happens at the camp is Emmy begins to realize that people do care about her, and she makes strong connections with her fellow campers, especially Whitney. When Whitney has to leave the camp unexpectedly, Emmy feels lost again. While at camp, Emmy grew and actually ended up missing her father and Meg.
Bringing the Boy Home is about a tribe in the Amazon called the Takunami. In this tribe, all boys must complete the soche seche tente test that requires the boys to use all of their senses to get through the jungle. In this book, we follow the very different paths that Luka and Tirio take to their respective soche seche tente tests. What makes this test so important in this tribe is if you don’t pass the test, you are exiled from the tribe. Under these circumstances, your mother and father must have another boy that will have to take the test. Only when the boys pass their test, will they meet their father. During the test, the father will communicate to his son telepathically to help him through the jungle. Expect the unexpected with this book and the surprise ending will leave you in awe.
The next book from Courtney is the first book she wrote, Sincerely, Sophie/Sincerely, Katie and will be published in June 2010 by Simon & Schuster. It is a story about two cross country pen pals who confide in each other about their personal lives. She is also working on another book to be released in 2011 called You Can’t Even Measure It. This book allows Courtney to use her knowledge she obtained while earning her law degree for this first time as an author. Nina’s next book is a contemporary, humorous young adult book called Greener Pastures. She describes this book as “Dear John meets John Deere.”
The authors visit is a first in what will hopefully be many more such events at NVCC in the future. Courtney and Nina had a great time at our campus and everyone at the Playbox was excited to have them here. The tips and advice they gave about life as an author was great knowledge for anyone who may want to become a writer. As Courtney put it, whether or not your work is published, as long as you are writing, you are an author. An event like this helps expand the culture here on campus, and hopefully help influence our students who may want to become authors themselves.

NVCC Hosts the 2010 Elementary School Leadership Conference

By Jamar Paris
On Monday January 11, 2010, while many of you were still enjoying your vacation, NVCC was jam packed with 4th through 6th grade students from all over the state. NVCC was host to the Elementary School Leadership Conference sponsored by the Connecticut Association of Schools. More than 100 students were in attendance and participated in various workshops and activities. Several students and faculty from NVCC were also in attendance as volunteers and workshop leaders.
The goal of the conference was to teach the students leadership and communication skills. Students were divided into small groups of 20-25 and sent to different workshops located in classrooms throughout the NVCC campus. The workshops that were presented to students pertained to productive thinking, communication and decision making.
Volunteers from NVCC led two different workshops. The NVCC team was engaged in a fun maze activity and a “Media and YOUth” workshop. SGA President Paula Massey led one team that conducted the maze activity. Students were presented with the challenge of having to go through a maze without receiving any verbal help from their peers. The rules were that they could only move forward and sideways, exit the maze the same way entered if they were unsuccessful at passing through, and no talking. The goal of this activity was to teach the students on how to work as a team while using a different form of communicating. This activity was a great success. The students successfully made it through the maze after working together as a team and had fun along the way.
The “Media and YOUth” workshop was put together by and led by Lara Chamberlin. Lara did a tremendous job in engaging the students in discussion concerning the media and their age group. To start off the class, students viewed a one-minute video in which a model goes from being a regular person to being on a billboard. Students viewed how tons of make-up artists were used to transform the model and then after the photos were taken, photo shop was used to further change the model. The video ended with, “no wonder our perception of beauty is distorted.” Next, Lara explained the concept of buzzwords and presented the students with magazine clippings in which the students were asked to identify the buzzwords. The students were very successful at identifying many of the buzzwords such as “hotter, best, perfect,” and many more. Lara then went on to define culture for the students and asked them where they learn their culture from. Some of the responses were TV, Internet, radio, and magazines. This led to the question as to why the media targets the students’ age groups. Some responses were, “because we are gullible,” “they want us to buy their stuff,” “we don’t feel that confident,” and many more thought out responses.
Students were then presented with the information that a family with 2 parents who earn up to $40,000 a year will spend on average $125,000 on their children from birth to age 17 and that a single parent earning up to $40,000 will spend just about the same much on their child from birth to the age of 17. When students were asked their thoughts about this, there were a lot of great responses. One response that stuck out was that, “maybe the single parent buys their child more stuff to make up for not having the other parent around.” Again, these were elementary grade students!
Lara’s “Media and YOUth” workshop ended with an activity in which students were asked to select a page from a magazine and write about and advertisement. They had the option to write about the ad being positive, negative, or a mixture of the two. Some of the ads chosen were of women with a ton of make up on and some of the responses to them were, “this ad is negative because she looks fake, they want you to spend a lot of money on their product, and their product may not work like that.” Other ads that were chosen had women in expensive outfits with the price tag for each item. Some responses to those ads were that “this ad is negative because I added up the price of the outfit and its $129” and “this ad is negative because this outfit is way too expensive and they just want you to spend your money on it.” Although many of the students perceived the ads as negative, there were many positive responses as well. One positive response was to an ad that showed a group of girls who were not being portrayed as the super slim model dressed in fancy clothes. One student commented, “I think this ad is positive because these girls are dressed regular and look normal. They’re all different sizes.”
The “Media and YOUth” workshop was a great success in helping the students to develop the skills needed to discern the media while also getting everyone involved in critical thinking and discussion. Everyone was very impressed and sometimes surprised at many of the responses the students gave. It’s safe to say that these students will not be fooled by magazine advertisement.
After this final lesson, all the students began to leave, many still laughing at the entertainment. Others were talking about the workshops they experienced. This conference will be a memorable one for the students and they will always remember NVCC for it.

NVCC Helps Combat Veteran Suffering PTSD

By Stormy Davis

PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder) is an anxiety disorder that can develop after exposure to a terrifying event, set of events, or on-going events (like war), in which grave physical harm occurred or was threatened.
PTSD is not limited to soldiers. It can be experienced by anyone who has been through a violent personal assault (rape, robbed at gun/knife point, domestic violence-whether themselves or witnessed among parents), and automobile accidents.
People with PTSD may have persistent frightening thoughts and memories of their ordeal. They may feel emotionally numb; especially with people they were once close to (why returning veterans isolate themselves). I've heard stories of combat veterans digging bunkers in their backyard and residing there.
Other signs and symptoms may be flashbacks (reliving and visualizing the trauma over and over) as well as re-occurring nightmares, depression (whether it's continuous or SAD-seasonal affective disorder----when leaves and time change). Others signs are being easily startled, feeling on the edge (jumpy) and being unable to sleep and easily bored.
Combat medics in Vietnam during the sixties are among the highest candidates for PTSD. It was my unit that went up “Hamburger Hill” in 1969. Today, I cannot remember how I got off that hill. Today, it is not that important.
Like many returning veterans during that time, I suffered from alcoholism, deep depression, and finally homelessness until I saw bottom. I battled to overcome these setbacks. First I had to fight the alcoholism, which I had used to cover my PTSD.
With a sober brain (like a sponge-soaking up everything I read), I enrolled in Nursing School and worked as an LPN for many years. I enjoyed working with the elderly and children.
I became an indefinite volunteer in the Connecticut State prison system where I counseled young people about the demons of substance abuse. As therapy for myself, I started to write my memoirs of Vietnam experiences. I saw a humorous side to my experiences and wanted to share that with others. I had trouble getting that book published because if you're not famous like-OJ Simpson-it's hard getting an autobiography published. So, I started my own Publishing Company—RACCO PRODUCTION.
While searching for a publisher, I found a lot of interested publishers wanting children's books. Therefore, I wrote and published-”CJ and the Pencil' and “The Adventures of Sir Laugh-a Lot.”
I'm sorry. I almost forgot what I was writing about.
In late December of 2007, after being under tremendous stress, I suffered a PTSD breakdown. After years of covering the PTSD, it broke through with a vengeance.
However, I finally got the diagnosis of PTSD for my combat services. I have retired as a nurse, and NVCC has helped me to cope with being around people again. I can almost deal with sudden/loud noises and am not depressed. I love coming to school, and getting good grades is a great motivating incentive for me.
For PTSD, you can approach me with questions and you can learn more by reading “Fighting The Elements-a combat medic's story” and “Living In a Shoe Box-the story of one young man's journey back to reality.” These are available on-line @ barnesandnoble.com and Amazon.com.
Thank you for listening

Join a Club!

By Jamar Paris

Congratulations everyone on your choice of attending Naugatuck Valley Community College (NVCC) and to those returning, welcome back. Now that everyone is settled into their schedule and routines, this is a great time to start thinking about joining a club and getting involved with some of the other ongoing student activities at the college.
As students, obtaining a degree should not be the only goal during college. Another goal to have is to develop into a well-rounded individual, with experience in activities outside of the classroom. Involvement in clubs and student activities is what will make some students stand out from the crowd when applying for a job or for transfer to a 4 year university.
College is a great place to network, a place to develop team working skills, develop leadership skills, and get a feel for how government works. Networking will be a very important part of your life. Sometimes getting what you want in life comes down to whom you know rather than what you know. The great thing about the clubs on campus is that there is a club for everyone. You can either get involved in a club that interests you or try something new.
It takes a lot of work and help from different people to keep the clubs going strong and the student activities happening. By getting involved, you will learn and develop the necessary teamwork skills that are needed throughout life. Our society is very diverse consisting of people from different cultures, many different practicing religions, and different political views. It is necessary to be able to work with a diverse group of people in order to get a job done.
To become a leader in life, you need to develop leadership skills and these skills are developed through the experience of working with others, volunteering, and taking on responsibilities. Clubs and student activities offer students a chance at developing leadership skills throughout the many club officer and committee positions available. Positions are available with the Student Government Association, Student Activities committees, and the volunteer work that is done throughout 42 separate and distinct clubs that are at NVCC.
Getting involved with a club is as easy as just showing up to a meeting or visiting the student activities office located in S515 in the prism lounge. All are welcomed and encouraged to attend club meetings as well as the SGA meetings. The SGA meetings are a great way participate in the local student government and experience how local government works. More importantly, all students are charged a student activities fee as part of their tuition, and the SGA decides where that money goes. Going to the meetings would be a way to learn how government works.
The campus community benefits greatly when more students are involved as your involvement and commitment is important to the success of the clubs, SGA, and student activities and for your future.

A New Life

By Luis Reyes and Lara Chamberlin

The important words, “Life is never a straight line,” resonated in the minds of students at NVCC’s Café West, as motivational speaker J.R. Martinez spoke about his life struggles, what he had gone through and what brought him to who he is today.
Martinez begins by explaining how his mother came from El Salvador to America in pursuit of a better life for her son, who was born on June 14, 1983. Martinez’s mother was left with a difficult choice to leave her daughters in El Salvador so that she could give her son the life her family never achieved. Having his father leave him at nine months, and having a sister he had never met die when he was five years old, left him with somber memories of his life as he grieved for the sister and father he never knew. Martinez remembers Going to El Salvador for the first time and seeing his sister’s grave site. He did not know who she was but he began to cry. Even though he had never met her and she was basically a stranger to him, Martinez’s heart still felt the pain and the loss of losing his sister and this was something he would never forget.
As Martinez grew, he developed a strong motivation to play football and did everything in his power to achieve that goal. He grew up thinking his purpose was to become a N.F.L football player. However, everything he tried never seemed to work out. His grades not being where they needed to be got him suspended off the team. When he finally got the grades he needed for next season, he injured his ankle so bad that he needed surgery and once again he could not play. Martinez did some research and decided to move to Dalton, Georgia, where he could play football for one of the Universities. He went to college and was able to play football, but was notified by the university that he could not play due to his grades. Martinez became angry and refused to go to college because he could not pursue his dreams. However, he still wondered if there was any possible way to turn his dream into reality.
As a last resort, Martinez decided to join the army, where he believed that this was the only option he had left. He joined as an infantry man and was soon sent to the frontlines in Iraq. On April 5th, 2003, Martinez was in the leading vehicle (loaded with enough ammunition to destroy a building) in a convoy of military vehicles when he was fully unaware that he was about to drive over a land mine. Without warning the truck blew up and catapulted every solider out of the vehicle except for the unlucky Martinez. He was conscious as his body was covered in fire. He felt pain as his skin melted from his body. Martinez felt as if this was end. He began to explain how he had given up for the first time in his life and he closed his eyes to accept that it was his time to go. However, Martinez saw a woman…his dead sister. She said to him that “Everything was going to be okay”. Within seconds of these words, Martinez was pulled out of the fire. He survived the fire, but with terrible third-degree burns that covered approximately 40% of his body.
During recovery Martinez wanted to see what he looked like. When he took one look in the mirror and saw the damage to his face and body he considered himself a freak and a monster. Martinez became frightened to even step foot anywhere as people would fear him and walk on the other side of the street. He began to feel as if maybe he was a mistake in this world. Martinez said, “God never gives you something you cannot handle.”
At the hospital and during his recovery he was asked to speak to a certain individual who had similar problems and this changed his life forever. He realized that he could help people by providing them comfort and purpose…this gave Martinez peace and joy.
Martinez was beginning to understand his true purpose in life…a life he was always suppose to have but just never knew. If it wasn’t for his passion for football Martinez would have never taken the paths that lead him to where he is today. When we see and hear the story of a deformed man with a perfect heart it touches us. Most of us have never experienced J.R. Martinez’s pain, but when he speaks to us, it’s as if we were right next to him at the time it occurred.
Martinez was supposed to be marked with his scares and burns to send a message to individuals that the struggles we go through bring us closer to the meaning and purpose of our lives. If J.R. Martinez became a football player, then we would have missed out on the insight that he gained from his experiences. In life, everything has a purpose…though you may not understand it in the beginning, that doesn’t necessarily mean you won’t in the future. Martinez now understands that, “life is never a straight line.”

Gospel Choir celebrates its 10th Anniversary

By Rita O’ Sullivan


In the beginning they could do 2 of 3 things. They could clap and sing. They could rock and sing. Or they could clap and rock. What started as 13 students with little experience of gospel singing beyond a great love of the music has become the rocking, rousing NVCC Gospel Choir, now celebrating its 10th year bringing this joyful music to the college community and beyond.

The 10th anniversary year will culminate with the annual spring concert at the college in May. Previous concert venues have included the Mattatuck Museum Arts and History Center, Westover School, B'Nai Israel Synagogue, the Meriden Mall at Christmas-time, and many area churches.

"My most moving experience as a participant in the Gospel Choir has been singing at the Meriden Mall," said Marie Catuccio of Watertown, a member since the choir's first year. "I was so elated to take the gospel message out of the school halls and into the market place. I felt that was where we should be." Many shoppers stopped to enjoy the Christmas spirit.

The choir has participated in memorable Martin Luther King/Black History Month events at B'Nai Israel Synagogue in Southbury, and has also provided choral accompaniment for several plays written and produced by a NVCC professor, one of which was performed at the Mattatuck Museum.

The Gospel Choir was formed in 2000 through the efforts of Mr. Stuart Gillespie, former head of the music department at NVCC. He was seeking ways to involve more students in the music program and felt that a gospel choir would attract a diverse group of singers and would be a good addition to the existing musical offerings in the department.

Mr. Gillespie approached James Hurdle, a choir director at Zion Baptist Church in Waterbury, to help in establishing a gospel choir at NVCC. Mr. Hurdle, who is also a teacher at Waterbury's North End Middle School, was initially reluctant to accept the offer, thinking it beyond his abilities. However, he now admits that this decade as a gospel instructor has been a special experience. "Gospel singing," according to Mr. Hurdle, "is truly a ministry in itself."

Mr. Hurdle likes to quote Mahalia Jackson, the queen of gospel music: "When you sing gospel, you have the feeling there is a cure for what's wrong."

The Gospel Choir is composed of students and community members, several of whom have been with the group since the first season. This core group, affectionately called "the founding sisters" by Mr. Hurdle, forms a framework of an established gospel choir that new students can fit themselves into each semester without the need for starting a whole new choir each academic year. Blending the energy of new students with the experience of Gospel Choir veterans gets the choir performance-ready in short order.

The group sings modern and classic gospel songs, based on old Negro spirituals, incorporating jazz and rhythm and blues. Improvisation by soloists is welcome. "We are not bound by the notes," said Mr. Hurdle.

Meet Dean Mitch

By Jamar Paris

On a cool October afternoon, I had the pleasure of interviewing Dean Mitch Holmes who is the Acting Dean of Academic Affairs here at Naugatuck Valley Community College. The goal of the interview was for students here at NVCC to meet one of their deans and to find what he does. Many of us here at NVCC wonder why there are so many different deans and we haven’t a clue as to which does what. After reading this article, hopefully more students will have a better understanding of what Dean Holmes does.
Holmes has a degree in political science and 3 minors (Spanish, philosophy, and Latin American history) from the University of Utah, a master’s degree in international relations from George Washington University and an MBA from Sacred Heart University. Holmes came to NVCC in 1999, after working at Sacred Heart University for a number of years at various positions. Holmes came to NVCC as the Business Division Director before taking the role he has now. He accepted the role of Acting Dean of Academic affairs at the request of President De Filippis. “The President asked me. I love the institution and I believe in her. So it seemed like the right thing to do and I feel honored and privileged to be in this role.”
So what exactly is the role of Dean of Academic Affairs? Well as Holmes’ puts it, “I support and cheer for the academic divisions within the campus. Within an organizational chart I oversee the 6 academic divisions: arts and humanities, social behavioral science, math & science, business, engineering, and allied health. I also work with the library, oversee distance learning, and support the operation in Danbury where we also have a campus. I sit on the cabinet which is the Presidents cabinet with the other deans and we help make decisions to best manage and be stewards of the government’s money and taxpayer’s money and to also make sure students have the availability of courses and the support and agreements to leave us and go to the work force or a university. It’s a big and exciting job.”
When asked about his experience here at NVCC Holmes replied, "I'm delighted at the excellence level of education here. We do education very much as well as many of the privates in the state and I'm sure as well as most of the public in the state. We get real high level education and in a way that allows our students to afford it and move on to bigger and better days.” He went to say, “By and large what we do here is way above standard, and certainly in the state of Connecticut. I think we have one of the best technology programs and nursing programs in the state, I'm sure of that. And I know that we are unique in aviation, horticulture, digital arts, all of these programs you can't get anywhere else."
Some of Holmes’ accomplishments here at NVCC include playing a major role in the development of the A.C.E. learning center, leading the Connecticut Charitable Giving Campaign and many more including the Workforce Achievers Value Education, or W.A.V.E. W.A.V.E. is an urban youth program on campus. Holmes said, “I’ve been delighted to have an impact on our diversity graduation rates and the number of active urban youth on campus and how well they’ve done in school. My students graduated between an 88-92% rate depending on the year and as a result that’s impacted the college’s ability to graduate people of diverse backgrounds. I run that in conjunction with other colleagues but I was the originator of the grant and I’m the one that oversees the grant every year.”
One of Holmes’ goals as dean of academic affairs is to graduate more students. He firmly believes that education is the key to a fulfilling life. “The more people that are educated, in my mind, the better our society will be. The only barriers in my mind left in America aren’t about race or religion or money. It’s all about education. It’s going to be about those who have an education and those who don’t. We’re going to be divided by education and I see it happening already. The results of that will be socioeconomic, but the barrier really is education. The world according to Mitch, that’s’ my world.”
Holmes also feels that, “students don’t always realize how lucky they are to have a campus like this, that’s small, where you have access to your president, deans, faculty, and directors. And my one message to students is take advantage of it. Get to know your faculty and administrators because those folks can be really valuable to you in your education and connecting you to go forward with your education. I have always relied on faculty and administrators to help me find jobs and help me be connected with the community. And I find that not enough students ask me for that kind of help.”
“You have to find your voice. Students are adults. You turn 18 and society looks at you as an adult. In an adult world where you are choosing to be in school it’s an obligation in my mind to talk and ask questions. And if you’re not asking questions and engaging your faculty you are missing out on an important part of your education because the 100 plus full-time faculty here and the other 200 administrators and support people all were carefully chosen to do important work here on campus and they all have connections. In my mind we’re the best example of a bureaucracy because we’re supposed to be responsive and for the most part we are. But students don’t take advantage of that, and don’t seek out help when they’re having difficulty in a class, that’s a mistake. It’s a mistake certainly that the faculty member or administrator doesn’t reach out but it’s also a mistake of the student. Success is all about engagement. Students who are engaged succeed. Students that are not engaged don’t succeed. You are the measurer of success. What are you doing here? What are your goals? Make sure that your goals are able to be realized while you’re here. Now if your goal is only one class, then your successful if you finish that one class but I hope our students have a goal of graduation. What’s your goal?”