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Gene and Marlene Epstein to Fund 100 Scholarships for Lower Bucks Students
Gene & Marlene Epstein are partnering with the Bucks County Community College Foundation and are giving 100 local Bucks County high school graduates the opportunity for higher education! One hundred area high school graduates will receive a scholarship award thanks to a very generous donation from the Gene & Marlene Epstein Humanitarian Fund. Committed to helping students in need earn a degree or credential, Gene & Marlene donated to the Bucks County Community College Foundation.
"Figuring out how to pay for college should not be a barrier for a person who wants to make a better life for themselves. We want every student in Bucks County to know that there is a path forward for them at Bucks County Community College, and this scholarship will help you get started today. Don’t think you can afford college, well now you can!" says Gene Epstein, long-time supporter, and advocate of Bucks County Community College.
"We are honored and gratified by the generosity of Gene and Marlene. Their support of our students enables us to stand firm on our mission of providing accessible educational opportunities for our community," says Dr. Felicia L. Ganther, President of Bucks County Community College.
The Gene & Marlene Epstein Humanitarian Fund will award 100 scholarships to students who have financial need. In combination with students’ financial aid package, this fund will result in full scholarships. The full scholarship awards will be announced by the College’s Foundation by the start of the Fall semester which begins on August 23. Scholarship eligibility is based on financial need and is for recent high school graduates from Lower Bucks County. For consideration, students must apply for admission, and complete a FAFSA application. College admission counselors are available in person and virtually for consultations and for support in applying to Bucks.
"Every student’s story is different, but the financial gap in paying for college is still apparent. Through the generosity of Gene and Marlene Epstein, a student can earn achieve greater success in college without a financial burden." says Dr. Rodney Altemose, Associate Vice President of Student Affairs.
Gene and Marlene Epstein have been generous donors to the College for many years. In 2017, the Foundation in collaboration with the College’s Board of Trustees dedicated the College’s Bristol campus as the Gene and Marlene Epstein Campus at Lower Bucks.
"We are grateful for their commitment to helping others and serving the Bucks County community. Gene’s motto is, ‘what can I do to make someone’s life better today?’ Every day, through their philanthropy and advocacy, they answer this question with intention and with pride." says Christina Kahmar, CFRE, Executive Director, Foundation, and Interim AVP, Advancement at Bucks County Community College.
In addition to this new scholarship, the Bucks County Community College Foundation also offers more than 150 scholarship funds for students pursuing their education at Bucks. For more information about the scholarship, please contact scholarships@bucks.edu or 215-968-8416.
Bucks Launches New Weekend College Program
With the Newly Launched Weekend College Program, Students Will Earn Credentials Faster in as Few as Eleven Months, leading to an Exciting and In-Demand Career or Accelerating the Transfer Process to a Four-Year University Faster! Bucks County Community College announces the launch of the new Weekend College Program beginning on August 23. Students who enroll in the Weekend College option will prepare for a new, exciting, and in-demand career while quickly and affordably accelerating their path to the workforce or a four-year university. Courses start at just $687 each, including both tuition and fees. Financial aid, scholarships, and payment plans are available! Bucks proudly launches the Weekend College option in the following disciplines:
Associate of Arts in Criminal Justice
Associate of Science in Health Science
Paralegal Certificate
“In as few as 11 months, the ABA-Approved Weekend College Paralegal Certificate program will prepare individuals with the practical skills and knowledge needed to excel in the high-demand, high-earning potential paralegal field.” – stated Greg Luce, Dean of Business + Innovation.
These accelerated cohorts will meet Fridays and Saturdays using a hybrid model for students’ needs for flexibility. Enrolled students will be able to learn from and work with industry experts while participating in networking events with local employers, alums, and students. Additional opportunities will be offered through dinners and breakfasts with faculty and guest speakers. Workshops will also be provided for students, focusing on career development, interviewing skills, resume building, and more. Financial aid and scholarships are readily available.
“Bucks is already well known for developing successful graduates who are fully prepared for gainful employment throughout our region. That said, we fully acknowledge the reality that some potential students simply cannot afford to give up time during the workweek to acquire the skills necessary for advancement to the next level. This program addresses that need and provides a flexible pathway for these students to pursue their dreams on their schedule” – Jody Seutter, Interim Associate Provost & AVP, Academic Affairs.
“The nursing profession is a well-respected, high-demand career. Students are getting recruited even before they graduate from our program. We are well known for developing successful graduates who pass the licensure exam and are respected employees of a great variety of institutions in the county.” – Dr. Connie Corrigan, Dean, Health Sciences
“A Criminal Justice degree from Bucks prepares you for the workforce or to transfer to a four-year college or university. This program offers you the opportunity to earn your degree in an accelerated timeframe while learning from and working with experts in the field.” – Samantha Gross, Dean, Social & Behavioral Science
Classes are forming now for the Weekend College cohort that begins August 23! Interested students can request more information online or contact weekendcollege@bucks.edu.
*Disclaimer: Paralegals may not provide legal services directly to the public except as permitted by law.
Inaugural Building & Construction Trades Cohort Celebrates Graduation
Bucks County Community College celebrated six Building & Construction Trades Pre-Apprenticeship program students during their inaugural cohort graduation on June 15 at the new Center for Advanced Technologies on the Gene and Marlene Epstein Campus at Lower Bucks in Bristol, PA. Graduates of this 10-week program will be applying for union-registered apprenticeships.
The program, funded through a PA Department of Labor and Industry PAsmart grant and believed to be the first of its kind in Pennsylvania, consists of 288-hour curricula that provides the fundamental education necessary for graduates to apply for a Registered Apprenticeship Program to potentially secure a high-paying, family-sustaining job. Additionally, students earn OSHA-10 and Aerial Platform Lift Safety certificates.
Throughout the 10-week program, students experienced hands-on training in a variety of building and construction trade disciplines including sheet metal working, electrical, and plumbing.
Luke Millevoi of Conshohocken, a member of the inaugural cohort of students who graduated from the program, praised the learning opportunities it provided him.
“Through this hands-on training and classroom instruction, I’ve gained a comprehensive understanding of the trades, and I am confident in my ability to contribute effectively to the workforce. The Building & Construction Trades program has opened doors to a career that aligns with my passions and values while allowing me to contribute to a better future for all workers. I am grateful for the opportunities it has presented, and excited about the journey that lies ahead.”
Millevoi, who has already applied to be accepted into Steamfitters Local 420, also said that the program has helped him form strong bonds with his classmates and Bucks County Community College staff.
“I’ve developed friendships with fellow students and instructors who share the same passion for the trades, creating a network of support that will endure throughout my career.”
Anjeannette Parlin of Philadelphia, another member of the inaugural cohort, said she chose to enter the Building and Construction Trades program because, “it ties into what I want to do in life, which is real estate and development.” Parlin, who has applied to be accepted into Philadelphia Carpenters Local 158 and Sheet Metal Workers Local 19, said that she enjoyed every day being in the program and that, “these were some of the best weeks of my life. I’m forever grateful for the opportunity, the knowledge, the experience, and exposure that I’ve gotten from these past 10 weeks.”
The pre-apprenticeship program can accommodate as many as 32 students over the next two years thanks to the current grant funding.
George School Senior Named Bucks County High School Poet of the Year
Rhianna Searle, a senior at the George School, has been named the 2023 Bucks County High School Poet of the Year, officials at Bucks County Community College announced.
Searle, who was first runner-up in last year’s contest, rose to the top of more than 120 entries in the 36rd annual contest, part of the Bucks County Poet Laureate Program administered by the college.
For the first-place finish, Searle wins $300 and will be honored with a poetry reading on Saturday, May 13 from 2-4 pm in Tyler Hall 142 on BCCC's Newtown Campus. The event will feature winners, finalists, and judges.
The three poems Searle submitted for the contest were entitled “Steady,” “Sugar Snap Peas” and “Springtime Sonnet.”
The judges were Tom Mallouk (the current Bucks County Poet Laureate) and Nicole Steinberg (last year's BCPL).
In addition to the winner, the judges also named Olivia Cao, a junior Central Bucks High School South, as first runner-up. Second runner-up was senior Eva Houlton from New Hope-Solebury school. Third runner-up was Charlotte Smyth, a junior from Central Bucks High School West.
The three runners-up will also read from their works during the celebration.
The annual Bucks County High School Poet of the Year contest is another way that Bucks County Community College contributes to the cultural heritage of the region.
For more information contact Dr. Ethel Rackin, a Professor of Language and Literature at Bucks and the director of the Wordsmiths Reading Series and Poet Laureate Program at Ethel.Rackin@bucks.edu.
Winning poems
Steady
I slide into womanhood like a glove trying on different sizes testing the waters. Most girls bloom, are written in poems as flowers, green metaphors. I wonder if most of those poems are written by men. I am the knot of roots beneath the soil.
As time’s waters roll women are the river stones shifting but standing firm. My own mother smells of muscle balm and quinoa. She sounds like summertime. Women are strong like wintering trees. Stop calling their beauty ephemeral like cherry blossoms. Womanhood is also private fitting in the crevices between stonework and sheets fingers tracing Georgia O’Keeffe patterns; Like cacti in deserts, women hold their own water.
Sugar Snap Peas
“Let me call my anxiety, desire, then. Let me call it, a garden.” -Natalie Diaz, “From the Desire Field”
It’s not that poetry isn’t truth –it’s a trellis. I’d like to untie the knots of my fear like tendons turned tendrils reaching towards the light to transplant myself
to let myself be wild and patient
I wrap metaphors around my arms like casts after some time I can crack them off, peel them off, I become one not a comparison or a shadow but bones and being.
Anger is red. Love is peach colored anxiety No–love is blossoms turned fruit and even fear is fertile.
What I mean to say is I love younot in spite of but through
My love is never adjacent
Fear and love are the same poem at different stages of revision, the same sentence, rewritten, translated.
Springtime Sonnet
“And it’s over!” cry the leaves, as daybreak Chimes. And still and still…when I am leaning Here on you: it’s a sweeter kind of ache. Time is passing away, away, cleaning And rearranging. My ambitions changed. In hearts’ safe chambers, recollections sproutAnd melt as something soft becomes estranged. Now April comes around again with doubtOf Summer, then September. Trees turn green Again, and I will become old and new. And oh the tremor! Oh the thrill–eighteen! And yet…less fear when sitting here with you. We are young, and caught in April’s arm And now for just a moment, out of harm.
Learn About ‘Cultivating Your Resilience’ from Mental Health Expert at Bucks
Clinical psychologist Dr. Lise Deguire shares how to use cognitive tools of resilience to improve well-being at 12:30 Tue. April 25 at Newtown and online Bucks County Community College invites the public to “Finding and Cultivating Your Resistance,” a mental-health awareness program at 12:30 p.m. Tuesday, April 25, at the Newtown campus and online.
The forum is presented by clinical psychologist Dr. Lise Dequire, who suffered third-degree burns on two-thirds of her body at age four, setting her on a journey of pain, hospitalizations and social ostracism. Yet she now lives a life of great joy, meaning, and purpose.
In her talk, Dr. Deguire uses these personal experiences to discuss psychological resilience, the cognitive tools of resilience, and how we can cope more resiliently with life’s challenges. The award-winning author of Flashback Girl: Lessons on Resilience from a Burn Survivor has appeared on NPR, NBC, ABC, FOX, Sirius XM, and numerous podcasts, and writes a blog for Psychology Today. Learn more about the speaker at www.LiseDeguire.com.
The event takes place in the Library Learning Studio on the campus at 275 Swamp Rd., Newtown, Pa. It will be also offered live online to those who register at https://bit.ly/FindYourResilience.
“Finding and Cultivating Your Resilience” is brought to you by the Office of Community and Government Relations, and by the student-run Psychology Club. It’s among several educational forums to encourage engagement and dialog on issues surrounding diversity, equity, and inclusion in the community. To learn more, visit www.bucks.edu/diversity.
BCCC and Philadelphia Building Trades Announce Historic New Partnership
Pre-Apprenticeship Program To Provide Students with Path To Union Membership Officials of Bucks County Community College (BCCC) and the Philadelphia Building & Construction Trades Council today announced the launch of the “Bucks County Community College Building & Construction Trades Pre-Apprenticeship Program”, which is believed to be the first of its kind in Pennsylvania. The 11-week course offers BCCC students the opportunity to study many skilled Building Trades disciplines.
Skilled building and construction workers are in high demand. To help fill the need, BCCC has partnered with local Building Trades unions to offer its students free training and career service assistance. The launch of this new program is funded through a PA Department of Labor and Industry PAsmart grant. Participants will learn from industry experts with extensive experience in their fields at the state-of-the-art Center for Advanced Technologies (CAT) on the Gene and Marlene Epstein Campus at Lower Bucks in Bristol, PA.
The 11-week, 288-hour curricula will provide the fundamental education necessary for graduates to apply for a Registered Apprenticeship Program (RAP) to potentially secure a high-paying, family-sustaining job. Additionally, students will earn OSHA-10 and Aerial Platform Lift Safety certificates.
“The Philadelphia Building and Construction Trades Council is ecstatic to be partnering with Bucks County Community College on this unprecedented new Pre-Apprenticeship Program,” said Building Trades Business Manager Ryan N. Boyer. “This innovative program, taught by our experienced Trades’ instructors, will provide students who are interested in a career in the unionized construction trades with industry-specific knowledge and a significant edge on other apprentice training program applicants.”
“Bucks County Community College is proud to join forces with the Philadelphia Building and Construction Trades Council in this historic partnership,” said Dr. Felicia L. Ganther, President of Bucks County Community College. “Bucks is committed to providing students with pathways to meaningful and relevant career opportunities, and this collaboration furthers that commitment. We are thrilled to welcome our first cohort of students to this inaugural program!”
Joining Boyer and Dr. Ganther on the dais were BCCC Board Chair Tom Jennings and Associate Vice President Tracy Timby.
For many young people, a traditional four-year college degree is not a viable option, for various reasons. The Philadelphia Building & Construction Trades Council Apprenticeship programs provide young people with the opportunity to “earn while they learn”, along with entry into family-sustaining careers in the unionized construction industry, upon graduation. This unique Pre-Apprenticeship Program being offered by BCCC and the Trades offers participants a potential gateway into a highly-coveted Philadelphia Building Trades Apprenticeship Training Program.
The inaugural cohort of the BCCC Pre-Apprenticeship Program begins April 10, 2023 and will feature a total of eight students. With the current staff of seven Building Trades instructors, the BCCC Pre-Apprenticeship Program can accommodate as many as 32 students over the next two years under current grant funding.
For more information, contact Program Manager Christine Harvie at christine.harvie@bucks.edu.
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