The 7th Annual Massasoit Arts Festival a Huge Success!

©2015 Massasoit Community College / J. Lynch

On Sunday, May 17, 2015, the 7th Annual Massasoit Arts Festival was held at the Canton Campus. Due to the efforts of dedicated volunteers, the Arts Festival rolled out like a well-oiled machine. Among the team were students, staff, faculty, and local artists. Thank you one and all who contributed their time and effort to make this day a success. A special thanks goes to the maintainers who handled all the needs of the day.

Perfect weather was the backdrop for another great day to celebrate the arts. Visitors came from near and far to browse and shop the thirty crafters and artisan’s tables, take a chance on great raffle items, and, of course, view the Open Juried Show under the tent, the Massasoit Students Juried Show in the Akillian Gallery, and the Regional High School Show in the 4th floor art studios. A total of 49 Awards and Ribbons were presented.

The live music line up, which continued throughout the day, was provided by Garry Coole, Eagle Sings Drum, and the Bright Moments Band. Festival-goers picnicked on goodies from The Chubby Chickpea, Cake Pop Culture, DL’s Fresh Squeeze as well as Joni’s Cannoli’s.

Crowd-pleasing highlights included the Ink Monkeys Sidewalk Steamroller Printmaking Demonstration, dedicated to the memory of Charles Heims, long time Ink Monkey. Their theme this year was Noah’s Ark which was comprised of the assemblage of 11 individual plates. The Children’s Activity Tent was also a big hit, where throughout the day, passersby added their touch to a mural, and kids of all ages created take-home buttons and sand art projects, and had their faces painted.

The goal of the Annual Arts Festival is to create public awareness of Massasoit’s Canton Campus as a cultural resource to the communities we serve, and to fund a scholarship for a Visual Arts student continuing their education in the arts in pursuit of a bachelor’s degree. This year, the proceeds provided a $1000 scholarship to a deserving visual arts student who will be attending UMass Dartmouth in the fall.

Thanks to everyone who sponsored, supported, and attended the Arts Festival. You all made a difference.

To view photos from the 7th Annual Arts Festival, please click here.

To view the Arts Festival Program Book, please click here.

Harvens Beauzile, Massasoit Class of ’15, Receives “29 Who Shine” Award from Department of Higher Education

On Thursday, May 14, the Massachusetts Department of Higher Education honored 29 outstanding students from the Commonwealth’s public colleges and universities, honoring one graduate from each community college, state university and University of Massachusetts campus. Massasoit Community College’s winner, Harvens Beauzile of Avon, plans to pursue a bachelor’s degree in biochemistry with a minor in sociology.

A student in the Commonwealth Honors Program, Harvens will graduate with a 3.92 GPA and an impressive list of activities on campus, including serving as a Student Senator, a Presidential Student Ambassador, a member of the International Touch Club and the Hearts for Haiti club, and as a peer tutor. He has also volunteered his time with the Red Cross and at a Brockton homeless shelter.

“Harvens is not only an exemplary student, he’s also compassionate, engaged, and deeply committed to Massasoit,” said Dr. Charles Wall, president of Massasoit Community College. “We are proud to see Harvens honored for his hard work and academic excellence and look forward to seeing his future successes.”

As part of the ceremony, students are asked to name a faculty or staff mentor who has contributed to their success. Harvens chose to honor Kathleen Reid, Massasoit’s director of student life. “When I first came to Massasoit, I was just learning how to speak English. Ms. Reid was patient and saw something in me that I didn’t see in myself,” said Harvens. “She showed me that I have potential and that I am a leader.”

Massasoit Student Wins Grand Prize in McGraw-Hill Video Contest

Jahath Harriott, a Liberal Arts Transfer Computer Science student and peer tutor in the Gateway to College accelerated program, recently won the grand prize in McGraw-Hill’s “Crash the ALEKS Class!” student video contest. Contestants submitted videos on how ALEKS (Assessment and LEarning in Knowledge Spaces) has helped them learn. Massasoit uses ALEKS in its self-paced math program.

“One of the major benefits to working with ALEKS is that it promotes mastery; students can’t move past a topic until they have demonstrated proficiency, so there are no holes in their math education,” said Doug Brown, dean of science and mathematics. “Also, since students work at their own pace, they can spend more time on the topics with which they struggle the most, rather than have to move on with the rest of the class.”

View Jahath’s winning video below!