Montgomery County Community College Foundation Awards Grants To Support Programs And Initiatives‏

Blue Bell/Pottstown, PA — Montgomery County Community College Foundation recently awarded $19,705 in grants for the 2015-16 year to support programs and initiatives that will improve student success and access, enhance students’ educational experience, promote sustainability and engage the community.

Grants were awarded for the following programs and initiatives:

• Veterans Retreat – A $5,000 award will allow 20 veteran students to attend a two-night Mindfulness Retreat in Bangor, PA, during which attendees will participate in activities to help build physical, cognitive and emotional resiliency; decrease levels of stress; improve quality of sleep; and improve emotional well-being. The program will be led by Ann Marie Donohue and Deborah Greenspan, MCCC psychology professors, with Veterans Services Coordinator Michael Brown.

• Reading Community of Practice: Reading in the Content Areas – A $3,779 grant will support this reading program designed to introduce and engage participants in active reading and critical thinking to help increase student success in the classroom. Through workshops, one-to-one faculty collaborations and ongoing support, students will learn to model reading strategies as demonstrated through best practices. The program will be led by Assistant Professor of Reading Barbara Maurer.

• Creating Accessible Videos with Closed Captioning – A $3,776 grant will enable MCCC’s Information Technology department to create closed captioning for course content videos used by faculty to increase access and student success. The grant funding will cover software costs and allow IT to hire students to learn and work alongside the academic training team, led by MCCC Instructional Designer Joshua Eckenrode.

• Software Development Academy Pilot Equipment Support – A $3,000 grant will enable MCCC’s Director of Enterprise Infrastructure Jim Stasik in IT to purchase additional computers and iOS devices to support MCCC’s proposed Software Development Academy pilot. This proposed pilot program will increase student access and success in the IT field by providing and innovative delivery of curriculum in a high-performance culture.

• The Betzwood Silent Film Festival – A $3,000 grant will enable MCCC’s Lively Arts Series under the direction of Interim Director Brent Woods to continue the presentation of The Betzwood Silent Film Festival on May 7, 2016. This annual festival informs the community about the unique history and culture of the silent film industry that developed in Montgomery County and engages the audience through the lively narration and presentation of silent films. The Betzwood Silent Film Archive is housed in MCCC’s Brendlinger Library at its Central Campus in Blue Bell.

• Bike Maintenance Station – A $1,150 grant will enable MCCC to provide a bicycle maintenance station at its Central Campus in addition to the station at West Campus in Pottstown. Nationally recognized as a Bike Friendly University by the American Bicyclists, MCCC encourages bicycling as an alternative form of transportation for nearby students. The initiative supports MCCC’s ongoing commitment to sustainability since signing the American College and University Presidents’ Climate Commitment in 2007.

Established in 1983, the Montgomery County Community College Foundation provides student scholarships; grants for projects, equipment and technology; student emergency funds; support for cultural enrichment activities and financial resources for programs and activities. The Foundation makes a difference in the lives of students thanks to the generosity of alumni, parents, community friends, private foundations and corporations. For more information, contact the Foundation at 215-641-6530.

Montgomery County Community College Announces Fall 2015 Dean’s List‏

Blue Bell/Pottstown, Pa.—Vice President of Academic Affairs and Provost Dr. Victoria Bastecki-Perez is pleased to announce the fall 2015 Dean’s List at Montgomery County Community College. The Dean’s List recognizes full-time students who have earned at least 12 cumulative credits with a grade point average (GPA) of 3.5 or higher during the fall 2015 semester.

Dean’s List honorees are listed by area of residence.

Abington: Cory Bane, Catherine Bray, Dustyn Collins, Kevin Cruz, Kelly Durphy, Joseph Ganiszewski, Taylor Gordon, Brian Kelly, Adam Lin, Hudson Marsh, Abriana Outen, Allegra Schnitzel, Paige Taylor

Alburtis: Rachel Delp

Ambler: Shana Birdsong, Bridget Bouton, Hagin Butson, Michael Chrzanowski, Caroline Coloracci, Anthony Demarinis, Nisa Fabiani, Allison Fitzpatrick, Matthew Halligan, Kurt Herbine, Evelin James, Jake Kahn, Akshay Kulkarni, Akhil Kulkarni, Richard Lavrence-Mrvar, Brian Maggio, Collin Maurtua, Miranda McFerran, Patrick Mergenthaler, Megan Moyer, Melody Rolon, Eric Rubenstein, David Vigano, Marissa Ward, Amanda Willis, Kimberly Wolbach, Brianna Zera, Amanda Zhou

Ardmore: Richard Gallagher

Aston: Agustina Sosa

Audubon: Brooke Baldassano, Robert Betton, Alicia Bigelow, Jenny Firn, Kirstie Nicolo, Darshanaben Patel

Bala Cynwyd: Roy Li, Harriet Poe, Tiffany Weeks

Barto: Matthew Coldsmith, Tyler Keefer

Bechtelsville: Joseph Hartline, Corey Pettine, Janelle Walters

Birchrunville: Keenan McCormick, Tyler McGee

Birdsboro: Kaitlin Eichenberg

Blandon: Daniel Minto

Blue Bell: Sarah Carminati, Julia Dani, Emily Didomenico, Katelynn Gold, Eun Kyoung Han, Andrew Herbert, Roman Montijo, Patrick Nucci

Boyertown: Sean Bickhart, Courteney Coccie, Kaylie Dixon, Paris Herbst, Jonathan Johnson, Kyle Lee, Annie Renninger, David Rohrbach, Lauren Specht, Katelyn Wentzel

Bridgeport: Carolynne Collins, Amaris Colon

Bryn Mawr: Robert Klein, Arielle Ytterberg

Chalfont: Dahyeon Jeong

Cheltenham: Karlie Dieudonne, Stephanie Hill, Maliyah Howell, Stacy Parker

Chester Springs: Qianyan Wu

Collegeville: William Bianco, Rebekah Bondi, Nicole Bradbury, Sean Brady, Max Bugay, Philip Cappelli, Emily Cosmi, Elizabeth Cusmina, Nicole Dalasio, Anna Di Giovanni, Erin Donovan, Nicholas Duffy, Mark Dylinski, Ericka Hastings, Jordan Higley, Chris Luzeski, Regina MacMurtrie, Kacy Maroney, Geoffrey Melle, Ashley Muhlenberg, Ashley Parker, Brianna Patterson, Anna Poet, Michael Reiner, Kelsey Rush, Yasna Saez Tapia, Julie Scott, Greg Seraphin, Lindsay Siron, Jacqueline Smith, Audrey Sorber, Gisselle Tirado, Michael Topham, Kyle Umstead, Nicole Viola, Daniel Waslo, Stephanie Yovish

Colmar: Vincent Dirienzo, Jennifer Walton

Conshohocken: Kelby Chen, Rachel Dibenedetto, Brianna Labrice, Anthony Moore, Sheila Salcedo, Harry Silverwood

Douglassville: Anna Chandler, Anthony Davis, Lorenzo Giotti, Patrick Hennessey, Charles Hennessey, April Motta, Emilee Parizo, Lauren Tomlinson

Doylestown: Andrew Durkin

Dresher: Lindsey Glassberg, Dana Tascarella, Adam Wasserman

Eagleville: Daniel Buttorff, Kayla Dimitry, Joseph Dipaul, Julie Primavera, John Saviello, MacKenzie Shaughnessy, Bethany Smith

East Greenville: Stephen Andress, Jacob Berry, Heather Haby, Nicholas Haidl, Benjamin Hammill, Colin Hurrey, Shelby Reger

East Norriton: Katherine Bampfield, Emily King, Alison Koziczynski, Edward Lohmeyer, Raj Rawal, Nichole Romano, Kyle Sapovits

Elkins Park: Danny Asmaro, Cecilia Dang, Caitlyn Deviney, Marin Harwood, Dylan Joyce, James Kang, Janice Lee, Amy Malloy, Eliot Pavlov-Rosenfeld, William Schwarz, Ryan Seifert, Katelyn Tausendffeunat, Angelo Torrecampo, Teri-Ann Wollyung

Elverson: Samantha Hyder

Erdenheim: Mark Vido

Flourtown: Jake Frye, Natalie Hargan, Vincent Madle

Fort Washington: Jonathan Basta, Michela Mennella, Victoria Sonetto

Gilbertsville: Brian Bibby, Kathryn Brown, Samuel Cocchimiglio, Zachary Dick, Addee Grabowski, Paul Jaworski, Magdolna Pinto, Bridget Rapp, Alex Siwik, Paige Stubblebine, Joshua Urbach, Charles Vitabile, Carly Watson, John Yoast

Glenside: Caroline Ciocca, Noah Cohen, Elisabeth Cripps, Sebastian Derosa, Joseph Fittipaldi, Chelsie Harmer, Harry Kim, Brendan Kirk, Anita Marie Kruse, Kiera Mahoney, Monica Mohammed, Regina Newlin, Dianna Pax, Peter Pritz, Sherri Razaq-Thiers, Maria Reitano, Kiersten Tasker, Tammi Watson

Green Lane: Sara Barndt, Caira Borchers, Zach Diehl, Emalene Sylvester, Jessica Yelito

Gwynedd Valley: Lauren Ratka

Harleysville: Katalin Abraham, Lane Alderfer, Christine Campbell, Dimitri Coachi, Jocelyn Cribbs, Alfred Derro, Marissa Gleason, Grace Guntz, Faith Guntz, Julie Hartman, John Jungers, Andrew Kramer, Jessica Margulies, Renee Marshall, Ansley Martin, Alexnder McConnell, Thomas Meehan, Alexander Minguez, Alexandra Murphy, George Park, Edbert Ruliff, Brandon Salvo, Samantha Schneider, Jessica Shields, Esther Thompson, Brianna Vandegrift, Dianarose Weiler, Lee Wilcox, Kevin Wood, Amanda Zacharias

Hatboro: Anna Angely, Hailey Beattie, Angelina Brown, Morgan Connell, Crystal Guzman, Nicholas Hildebrand, Kelsey Holm, Jennifer Jacker, Tori Lawlor, Donna-Jo Licciardi, Tara McMaster, Eric Moll, Valerie Natter, Kyle Owen, Rachel Schy

Hatfield: Eric Albaugh, Colleen Andris, Sandra Beitler, Varun Belani, Marc Buchhalter, Brian Burns, Vidhi Desai, Evan Famous, John Feher, Courtney Gill, Brandon Gilrain, Hon Ho, Michelle Hoffman, Scott Keffer, Alexandrea Kier, Ashley Leahy, Lauren Lee, Denise Lied, Andre Martin, Jenna Moyer, Lyn-Lynh Nguyen, Victoria Reeser, Angela Russak, Emily Seiler, Janeel Solanki, Connor Wallis, Ricardo White

Horsham: Stefanie Barszowski, Maria Boggi, Rachel Butler, Kristal Jusino, Da Eun Kim, Merve Kuyumcu, Danielle Lybrand, Kristen Mayo, Victoria McKale, Aaron Murphy, Heather Pringle, Victoria Rivers, Avery Romanoli, Woo Young Song, Ryan Wagner, Michaela Williams

Huntingdon: Christine Brown

Huntingdon Valley: Deena Derenzis, Dylan Kanter, Deborah Kauffman, Julie Schilling, Timothy Terrizzi

Jenkintown: Min Chang, Casey Kasitz, Jinman Li, Li Zhu

King of Prussia: Matthew Bickerdyke, Shaya Edelman, Spencer Edelman, Kyle Gutkowski, Kristen Lopez, Megan Lowery, Angelika Mari Morelos, Angelika Mae Morelos, Bao Nguyen, Laura Persofsky, Grant Smith, Gabrielle Sommese

Lafayette Hill: Doris Aston, Johnny Barattucci, Alexis Dougherty, Michael Fitzpatrick, Brian Seyler, Daria Sykuleva

Langhorne: James Macomber

Lansdale: Rabbil Ahmed, Philip Ahn, Christopher Bean, Sebastian Braccia, Justin Carr, Marisa Christensen, Jiyoung Chun, Abby Dennis, Kennedy Dickhoff, Kevin Franklin, Jessica Furlong, Alex Gabriel, Regina Guzman, Kylie Hartman, Kandice Hill, Tamara Huff, Jae Jang, Mikay Ji, Samantha Jordan, Daniel Kappler, Paul Kendikian, Chang Yong Kim, Mason Koch, Mengwei Kong, Alex Larosa, Anthony Lento, Jacqueline Lepre, Kwan-Ho Lui, Justin Lynch, Destiny Ma, Jena Marron, John May, Michael McLaughlin, Konstantina Merianou, Seyed Ali Mirfakhar, James Mullan, Fatemah Najafali, Sarah Najafali, Sufi Noor, John Ockershausen, Young Oh, Greg Olsen, Doreen Panico, Hee Park, Alejo Pasquale, Rushi Patel, Brianna Phelps, Breanna Potts, Valerie Pry, Dylan Rainone, Natasha Scott, Jeet Shah, Devanshi Shah, Huixin Shen, Kawser Siddique, Kisu Sohn, Fahmida Sultana, Jenna Tieu, Robyn Tone-Pah-Hote, Bryana Whyte, Chaksa Williams, Liting Zou

Lederach: Hae Min Go

Limerick: Kyle Allebach, Abigail Budzilowicz, Sean Budzilowicz, Megan Nacarelli, Bryce Rhodenbaugh

Lower Gwynedd: Nancy Henggeler, Samantha Schafer

Malvern: Haydn Briggs

Maple Glen: Courtney Durham

Merion Station: Catherine Schaper

Mont Clare: Noah Cittadino

Montgomeryville: Elizabeth Flagler, Jake Flagler

Narberth: Colette Clark, Jesse Putnam, Brooke Starkman

Norristown: Nicodemus Andanje, Aamir Austin, Shaun Bradley, Jessica Christman, Caitlin Collis, Jaquelin Cruz-Jordan, Brianna Devenny, Maria Flores Chavez, Chante Forde, Vanessa Fosco, Thomas Gambone, Emma Hagel, Ryan Hamilton, Alison Henning, Brittany Hewitt, John Holleger, Loren Lomax, Gilbert Martinelli, Jacori McEachnie, Elizabeth Palesano, Ginger Peterson, Marina Resendiz, Cynthia Reyes, Davin Sao, Bridget Snyder, Joanna Thompson, Atik Vahora, Gabrielle Valitski, Chelsea Venezia, Dmitry Vereykin, Jessica Whittle

North Wales: Christian Aristizabal, Marissa Boorse, Olivia Camiola, Justin Colon, Derrick Dell, Lyudmila Denisova, Alicia Eglin, Jessica Fulford, Brianna Gaul, Michael Godown, Kyle Greenwood, Paul Hasyn, Samantha Hencken, Alyssa Hoos, Eric Knoblauch, Kevin Krier, Harry Lee, Ian Mack, Garret Macrone, Halifa Mounia, Yong-Eui Park, Dhavalkumar Patel, Keyur Patel, Dipesh Patel, Brandon Peel, Nicole Rademan, Rebecca Robinson, Karolina Rzepka, Taylor Snisky, Dolan Stimson, Fiamma Tulli, Grant Udinski, Christine Yi

Oreland: Cassandra Davis, Nina Grimes, Grace Harmer, Ryan Meinke, Robert Murphy, Jocelyn Smith

Penn Valley: Alexander Shetzen

Pennsburg: Asia Fell, Isabel Gandek-Gaspar, Megan Grams, Miranda Leidy, Julia Leonard, Gabriella Maine, Chad Petipren, Olivia Spilman, Tyler Whittaker, Andrew Zambanini

Perkasie: William Reimers, Crystal Serrano

Perkiomenville: Alexis Elsner, Chelsea Faulkner, Julianne Nacarelli, Brandon Taylor, Elizabeth Tcheiguine

Philadelphia: Tamara Ali, Ashley Ball, Anthony Calfapietra, Patrick Carr, Carly Handley, James McAllister, Gabriel Prichard-Ramage, Jacob Robertson, Stephano Saldutti, Cyerra Smith, Phallon Summerville, Christopher Tejeda, Hyuck Yun

Phoenixville: Niquella Berry, Kevin Colbert, Kaitlyn Evans, Ahmad Hasaan, Caroline Heasley, Monica Hritz, Jessica Jacobs, Michael Jones, Felicia Milano, Brandon Mormello, Kimberly Nihart, Timothy OBrien, Jacob Sims, Matthew Steplewski, Sarah Wochele

Plymouth Meeting: Nazanin Abdollahi, Kyle Bone, Michael Cairns, Rebecca Carbo, Nicholas DiSanto, Amelia Ellinger, Julian Giorno, Kristen Janfrancisco, Autumn McClure, Timothy McClure, Cristian Neagoe, Juman Safi, Juliette Stilley, Sarah Viola, Rachel Viola

Pottstown: Elaine Allen, Amy Bauer, Annmarie Binsfeld, Emily Bohn, Colin Bullock, Olivia Buszta, Mikayla Chippari, Zachary Davis, Anastasia Davis, Martin Dobbs, Samantha Faust, Bridget Geri, Casey Hand, Elizabeth Harley, Christopher Hayden, Sarah Hill, Ruth Holsopple, Gaia Houseal, Leif Hums, William Kabrich, Angela Kenney, Hans Konarkowski, David Kurtz, Tyesha Lewis, Kaitlyn Lichtley, Brian Lightcap, Brianna Maggio, James McKeon, Jaclyn Murphy, Megan Nazaryk, Emily Nazaryk, Pamela Oister, Paul Parrish, Jonathan Pavlick, Sorana Phal, Shelby Poston, Joseph Ragusa, Emily Reitmeyer, Hattie Sandberg, Jonece Sergent, Holly Shively, Samantha Shovelton, Sara Shultz, Joseph Stasik, Kirsten Staurowsky, Angelica Stone, Charlotte Stone, Julia Tartaglia, Alexandria Volinskie, Kali Wade, James Walmsley, Daniel Walters, Shane Woodrow

Quakertown: Anna Short

Reading: Nicaya Perera, Derek Peterson, Corrine Peterson

Red Hill: Catherine Camuso, Joanne Feldbruegge, Mary Heebner

Rockledge: Benjamin Miller, Julia Timlin

Roslyn: Daniel Fisher, Joseph Flint, Ruth Myers, Dawn O’Hara

Royersford: Blanca Anoushian, Nicole Bumbarger, Gwaelin Collison, Matthew Crocker, Daniel Dougherty, Philip Gardocki, Alec Harrod, Dani Keefer, Stephanie Kelley, Madalyn Kostyrka, Steven Landis, Lynn Lang, Tyler Lelii, Shreeda Patel, Kyle Richter, Isabella Rotta, Alyssa Salvo, Kyle Surbrook, Michele Taluc-Chance, Kayla Velasquez

Salfordville: Brandon Rahmer

Sanatoga: Hailee Tyson

Schwenksville: Nichole Bonsell, Erin Bullock, Christopher Camuso, Daniela Casalinuovo, Jennifer Ciccotosto, James Clendening, Colin English, Austin Flint, Jacob Hennessey, Kara Hoover, Blaine Kleiner, Heidi Liebenberg, Angela Malony, Zachary Olecki, Jessica Pupillo, Rachel Robinson, Corey Stenger

Skippack: John Haasis, Michele Szabo

Souderton: Alysa Cianciarulo, Rebekah Doelp, Elizabeth Doelp, Sarah Doelp, Shane Grinkewitz, Brett Hale, Seth Hartley, Sandra Kilborn, Joseph Knesis, Tejaskumar Manvar, Hyeonjoo Min, Rebekah Negley, Christina Nguyen, Joseph Plank, Micah Plank, Daulton Rittenhouse, Melinda Simkins, Lavinia Soliman, Phuong Tran, Nathaniel Walmsley, Benjamin Walmsley, James Walsh

Spring City: Erik Aschendorf, Weston Finerfrock, David Rudart, Jocelyn Stanek

Springfield, Mass.: Derik Duklis

Stowe: Katelin Gladback, Austin Guyer

Telford: Hannah Bergauer, Carina Brown, Jimmy Bui, Katherine Derstine, Emily Freed, Kara Gaburon, Brooke Giannini, Danielle Halteman, Jillian Hartman, Stefan Hofmeister, David Hollinger, Claire Horrocks, Robert Jenne, Marisa Kampe, Lawrence Loughery, Marissa Medycki, Preston Moyer, Colin Moyer, Angela Ofalt, Lynn Saponaro, Christopher To

Trappe: Jose Catalan, Jessica Turner

Villanova: James Mearns

Warminster: Margaret West

Warrington: David Webster

Wayne: Audrey O’Keefe

West Chester: Jamie Hutchison

West Norriton: Madelynn Lund

West Point: Andrew McNaney

Willow Grove: Colleen Barbardo, Brian Behler, Natalie Berger, Gabrielle Biagi, Jonathan Dacosta, Nataliya Demkovych, Allison Lackovich, David Marcucci, Alicia Nicklas, Michelle Paripsky, Matthew Rickert, Mary Rosenbaum, Conner Shillington, James Soulges, Margaret Thompson, Amanda Warren, Zachary Wiley, Candice Yohe

Willowgrove: Melissa McCann

Worcester: Emily Hobbs

Wyncote: Joshua Kellem

Wyndmoor: Christine Fariss, Matthew Samson

Wynnewood: Rivka Gross

MCCC Writers’ Club Seeks Submissions For 29th Annual Fiction And Poetry Contest

Blue Bell/Pottstown, PA— The Writers’ Club at Montgomery County Community College (MCCC) is accepting submissions for its 29th Annual Fiction and Poetry Contest now through 2 p.m. on Thursday, March 10. The contest has categories for poetry and fiction for MCCC students, as well as for alumni, faculty, staff and community residents. Prizes include $100 for first place, $75 for second, $50 for third and $25 for fourth in each category.

Mailed entries must be postmarked no later than March 3 and should be addressed to Professor Susan Buchler, English Department, Montgomery County Community College, 340 DeKalb Pike, Blue Bell, PA 19422-0758.

Hand-delivered entries should be submitted by 2 p.m. on March 10 at Professor Buchler’s office, 402 Parkhouse Hall, Central Campus, Blue Bell, where they may be left under the door. Emailed entries will not be accepted.

Guidelines for submitting poetry and fiction are as follows:

Contestants must enter the appropriate category. Categories A1 MCCC Student Poetry and A2 MCCC Student Fiction are open only to MCCC students enrolled during the fall 2015 and spring 2016 school year. Categories B1 Non-Student Poetry and B2 Non-Student Fiction are open to alumni, staff and faculty, as well as Montgomery County residents. Only one entry can be submitted for each category in either the student or non-student classification.

Submissions should be typed on 8.5 x 11-inch paper. Prose should be typed double-spaced in Times New Roman, 12-point font, with one-inch margins. The maximum length is 3,000 words.

Name, address, email address and phone number must be typed on a separate title page, along with the category letter and contest entered. MCCC students must include their student identification numbers.

On all subsequent pages, the title of the work should be typed in the upper right-hand corners with the last four digits of the phone number from the title page typed underneath.

The contestant’s name should not appear on any page except for the title page, and all pages should be numbered and clipped together. Contestants may only submit one entry per category and entries will not be returned.

Winners will be notified by email, and complete results will be announced in an upcoming edition of the Writers’ Club’s The Pen and Ink Times.