As February began, Punxsutawney Phil caught a glimpse of his shadow and seemed determined to make good on the prediction of six more weeks of winter, bringing us more snow, delays, and cancellations than we’ve seen in many years. Thank you all for your patience, flexibility, and good humor as we navigated Mother Nature’s mood swings. Yet through every storm and every schedule change, our faculty and staff continued to show remarkable dedication. Your resilience, flexibility, and unwavering commitment to our students have carried us through a challenging month, and I am profoundly grateful. Additionally, our dedicated grounds crew worked tirelessly to clear snow and ice across our campuses, ensuring that we could all return safely. Please join me in thanking them for their exceptional effort when you see them.
Despite the wintry interruptions, it was a full and energizing month across campus, and I’m pleased to share some highlights from the events and gatherings I was fortunate to attend.
Throughout February, I had the opportunity to represent QCC, connect with students and colleagues, celebrate our community, and advance important initiatives. Early in the month I attended the QCC Foundation Scholarship Brunch. It was incredible to see how profoundly our student scholarship recipients were positively impacted by these awards. For many, the funding they receive is the difference between attending college or facing the possibility that higher education may never be within reach.
Other highlights from this month included the collegewide Patriots Hype Party and a friendly wager with North Seattle Community College for bragging rights on which city’s team would win the Super Bowl. It was such fun to have faculty, staff, and students join me as we cheered on our home team Patriots. Sadly, while the Patriots lost and I had to wear a Seattle Seahawks outfit, the real takeaways were the sense of camaraderie that spread across campus and the beginning of a new partnership with a sister community college across the country.
This month, I traveled with Trustees Max German, Maricelis Gonzalez, Jessica Mandes, Dr. Babur Rajeshkumar, Student Trustee Noah MacDonald, and Executive Assistant to the President Jess Ahrens Montecalvo to Washington, D.C., to attend the ACCT National Legislative Summit. It was a powerful opportunity to advocate for our college by meeting directly with our congressional leaders.
At the Summit we met with Congressman Jim McGovern and Daniel Ki from Senator Elizabeth Warren’s office to underscore urgent federal priorities affecting our students and institutions. This event was followed up shortly afterwards with our own Legislative Breakfast that featured Massachusetts Lt. Governor Kim Driscoll, Rep. Jim McGovern, Board of Trustees President Dr. Linda Maykel, Vice President of Strategic Enrollment & Student Engagement Michelle Tufau, Professor Jen Arner Walsh, Academic Advisor Della Burke, and myself. Discussion focused on statewide efforts, such as MassEducate and MassReconnect, the proposed BRIGHT Act, efforts to ensure fair compensation for community college faculty and staff, and the SUCCESS Program, which delivers comprehensive support services for underserved students. However, the most compelling part of the breakfast was the stories shared by three of our students, Fakhria Azimi, Jazlyn Alas, and Ryan Heath. Their journeys illuminated just how essential our work truly is. Following the breakfast, I was honored to give the Lt. Governor a tour of the Homeplate Food Pantry and Resource Center and a bit of our campus.
I greatly enjoyed spending time attending campus gatherings this month, such as Wyvern Wednesday, monthly meetings with campus leadership, sharing pizza with students, and attending the Alumni Black History Month Brunch. Local cultural and community events like the Twenty-Second Annual College Show at ArtsWorcester, as well as key governance meetings with the QCC Board of Trustees, also kept me engaged with our external community. Finally, I wrapped up the month in Washington, D.C. at the ACE Experience, further strengthening national connections and advocacy efforts.
While February is the shortest month of the year, it was certainly jam-packed!
Looking ahead, I’m excited for the momentum of spring and all the opportunities it brings. Stay warm, stay safe, and thank you for everything you do for our college.
Luis