As Mercer County Community College continues its efforts to support the suppression of COVID-19 throughout the state and region, we’d like to recognize the members of our community who are doing their part to “flatten the curve.”
You, too, can be a Mercer Hero.
Show your powers!Support our MCCC Student Emergency Fund at www.mccc.edu/mercermatters or by texting MercerMatters to 41444, to help students stay enrolled during the COVID-19 pandemic. Every dollar matters!
Meet our Mercer Heroes:
MCCC Alumnae Danielle Campoli and Nadine Clement are on the Frontlines Fighting COVID-19
6/2/20
West Windsor, N.J. – What is the most important skill students learn in Mercer County Community College’s (MCCC) Medical Labortory Technician (MLT) program? For alumnae Danielle Campoli and Nadine Clement, it was the art of pipetting.
“There was a lot I have taken from MCCC MLT program,” Campoli said. “One of which was learning to have great pipetting skills. The program helped me to understand the methodology behind the PCR testing we perform and apply critical thinking.”
Campoli, who graduated in 2018, works at the Virtua Health System in Voorhees while Clement, who graduated in 2017, works at the CentraState Medical Facility in Freehold.
Photography from Afar: How MCCC’s Photo Program is Teaching from Home
5/19/20
West Windsor, N.J. – Though public venues are closed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, photographers around the world are continuing to create art. They’ve taken to photographing landscapes, shooting self-portraits, and even directing virtual photoshoots over Facetime and Zoom calls.
But for Mercer County Community College (MCCC) photography students, the closures have impeded access to the crucial photo software – located on campus computers - needed to continue their education.
Recognizing the challenge, Photography Professor Michael Chovan-Dalton collaborated with the college’s IT department to work up a solution during the state-wide quarantine. With Google’s Remote Desktop, a virtual software that emulates physical computing locations for any user that has an internet connection, Mercer photo students can access the entire suite of Adobe products from the comfort of their homes.
In Partnership With Tuchman Foundation, MCCC Set to Produce Hundreds of Protective Face Shields for Area Healthcare Professionals
4/8/20
WEST WINDSOR – With the help of a generous contribution from the Tuchman Foundation, Mercer County Community College (MCCC) will manufacture hundreds of face safety shields in its Advanced Manufacturing laboratory to safeguard the health and safety of the medical services professionals combating the spread of COVID-19 in the region.
“Our local heroes are the medical professionals and EMTs who are risking their lives every day. We must do our part to protect them,” said MCCC President Dr. Jianping Wang. “We are a community college. It is our duty to serve our communities, especially in the time like this. We must do all we can, and we know they need the protective gear to keep themselves, and our community, safe.”
Thus far, requests for the face shields have been received from Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital Hamilton, Penn Medicine, Mercer County Office of Emergency Management, Henry J. Austin Health Center, and other organizations that are on the front lines fighting against the COVID-19 pandemic.
MCCC Med Lab Tech Alum Nicole Torrone ’17 is Freehold's First Line of Defense
5/5/20
Freehold, N.J. – If you’ve been following the coronavirus news, you’ve probably heard about CentraState Medical Center. Located in Freehold, the facility has been a 287-bed focal point for COVID-19 infections. Its dire circumstances have inspired motions to assist from the world over – on April 13, advocates from Hong Kong organized the donation of 4,000 surgical masks to the center.
The supplies are helping out all manner of CentraState employees. One such beneficiary is Mercer County Community College (MCCC) alumna Nicole Torrone.
Torrone graduated from The College of New Jersey in 2013 with a Bachelor of Science in Biology Secondary Education. Two years later, she enrolled at Mercer, pursuing a degree in the Medical Laboratory Technology (MLT) program.
MCCC Student Tione Campbell Jr. is Saving Trenton ‘One Smile at a Time’
4/30/20
Trenton, N.J. – Sometimes, Mercer County Community College (MCCC) student Tione Campbell Jr. is wearing a Santa suit, much of his face covered by a stringy white beard and his eyes gleaming with excitement. Other times, his sleeves are rolled up and he has a broom in hand, after a hard day of cleaning up his neighborhood. Still other times Campbell is dressed to the nines, donning a suit as he heads into church service.
Regardless of when you catch Campbell, or what you see him wearing, he’s almost assuredly helping out his community. Born and raised in Trenton, the MCCC freshman has been a fixture in the city’s various non-profit and social wellness organizations for the last few years. Recently, he's been working with Fathers & Men United for a Better Trenton and HelpSelf Inc.
“When I was 14 I started helping and giving back to my community and since then I haven’t ever stopped,” Campbell said. “And honestly I don’t think I ever will.”
MCCC Fitness Professor John Kalinowski Supports Virtual Student Learning
4/23/20
West Windsor, N.J. – As the world shifts to an implementing on digital strategies during the COVID-19 pandemic, health and fitness resources continue to be among the venues hit the hardest. Sporting events are cancelled. Gyms and fitness clubs are closed. Conferences, which are usually ripe for networking and education opportunities for coaches and athletes alike, shuttered their doors.
The shift hasn’t stopped one Mercer County Community College (MCCC) professor from helping his students when they need it most. Earlier this month, John Kalinowski, Associate Professor for Health and Physical Education, made sure that all of his students were able to make good on a learning opportunity that would shape the future of their careers.
Kalinowski personally funded each of his students to attend the National High School Strength Coaches Association regional conference. A day-long symposium dedicated to discussing program design, competitions, and strength and conditioning technology, the National High School Strength Coaches Association had to reformat its in-person event in response to the coronavirus pandemic.
MCCC Fire Science Grad Tim Lynch Appointed West Windsor Fire Chief
4/15/20
West Windsor, N.J. – No sooner than one Mercer County Community College (MCCC) graduate retired from the West Windsor Fire Department did another take his place.
Following the retirement of former MCCC student and Professor Jim Yates, who graduated from the college in 1978, MCCC graduate Tim Lynch was promoted to Chief of the West Windsor Fire Department on April 1.
A third-generation resident of Hopewell Township, Lynch graduated from Mercer in 2015 with an A.A.S in Fire Science. From there, Lynch took his Mercer degree and earned his B.S. in Public Safety Administration at Holy Family University in Philadelphia in 2017.
In 2018, Lynch passed the Managing Officer Program at the National Fire Academy. Earlier this year, he attended the National Fire Service Staff and Command Course at the Maryland Fire & Rescue Institute, University of Maryland, and is currently working on his master’s in public administration at Rutgers University.
MCCC Admins Give Back to
Mercer County COVID-19 Call Center
4/10/20
West Windsor, N.J. – Mercer County Community College (MCCC) administrators Elizabeth Knight, Barbara Pieslak and Debra Stotland are among the colleges most spirited members. They dress up for Halloween, help out at school functions, and are always quick to congratulate their co-workers on their achievements.
Now, Knight, Pieslak and Stotland are helping their college community in one of the most critical times, by volunteering at a COVID-19 call center.
The trio has spent time helping at Mercer County’s public health coronavirus call center, stationed at the Dempster Fire Academy in Lawrenceville. As coronavirus testing ramps up throughout the region, state and nation, call centers like Mercer County’s are becoming the measure to reduce strain on hospitals and pop-up COVID-19 test sites.
“We initiate phone calls to people whose primary physicians faxed in prescriptions for their patients to receive the COVID-19 test at the Quaker Bridge Mall drive-through site,” said Knight, Senior Executive Assistant for Student Affairs.
While the call centers operate like many other communication banks, Pieslak, Senior Executive Assistant for the Health Professions, noted that her service comes with an emotional load as well.
MCCC’s New Live Webinar Series Offers Personal Support and Primes Students for Success
4/6/20
West Windsor – The abrupt transition from physical campus to virtual learning has much of the Mercer community feeling oddly alone and looking for answers. In its ongoing effort to support and engage students during this time of change, the Mercer County Community College (MCCC) student support area hopes to ease the transition with a new live webinar series to launch this week.
The new series is fully staffed with live counsellors, advisors and Success Coaches from the West Windsor and James Kerney campuses and was put together as a collaborative effort among Enrollment Services, the Counselling Department, the Center for Retention and Completion and the Educational Opportunity Fund. The program consists of a month-long offering of topics focusing on subjects such as academic support, time management and study skills while underscoring the mindfulness and anxiety associated with the current pandemic. The series has no official name but could very well be called “We Are Here for You.” According to Senior Counselor Specialist Tricia Mayers, students are encouraged to participate as are faculty and administrators or anyone else in the MCCC community looking for guidance, reassurance and camaraderie. “These are tools not just for students, but for us as human beings,” Mayers said.
MCCC Fashion Design Students to Hold Virtual ‘Sew-a-Thon’ to Make Masks to Combat COVID
4/6/20
TRENTON – With the U.S. Center for Disease Control (CDC) now recommending all citizens wear facemasks when venturing out in public to help curb the spread of COVID-19, Mercer County Community College (MCCC) Fashion Merchandising and Design students and faculty will launch a virtual “Sew-a-Thon” to help meet the local need.
“This is a great time to band together and do what we do best – sew,” said Katina Lindsay, coordinator of the MCCC Fashion Merchandising and Design program. “So we thought: Why not do something as a school, and as a community? Why not do something that is community driven?”
MCCC’s Fashion Merchandising and Design program, headquartered at the college’s James Kerney Campus in Trenton, is equipped with a state-of-the-art design and sewing lab that prepares graduates for entry into the fashion industry or for transfer to a four-year degree program. With so much creative energy, Lindsay said, students are eager to get back to their sewing machines and in this case, make a difference.
MCCC Nursing Professor Liz Mizerek Serves Her Community During Coronavirus Pandemic
4/2/20
West Windsor, N.J. – When Mercer County Community College Director of Nursing Elizabeth Mizerek found out that the COVID-19 pandemic would impact her community, she immediately sprung into action to help.
Mizerek is a member of the Mercer County Medical Reserve Corps (MCMRC), an organization that enlists licensed healthcare professionals (and retirees) to assist during times of medical crisis. In 2018, Mizerek and the MCMRC led a training for students, faculty and staff, but now, Mizerek is putting those skills to practice.
“Today [Tuesday, April 1] I was volunteering at the COVID test site, assisting with specimen collection,” Mizerek said. Mercer County set up its first coronavirus testing site in the parking lot of the now-shuttered Quakerbridge Mall in Lawrence Township.
“The process is very controlled to minimize the risk of exposure. I worked with nurses from local hospitals who were in full biohazard protection suits to assist them with collecting and processing the specimens.”
Community Help
- In Partnership With Tuchman Foundation, MCCC Set to Produce Hundreds of Protective Face Shields for Area Healthcare Professionals... more
- MCCC Begins Distribution of CARES Act Checks to Students Through Need-Based System... more
- MCCC Partners with Google to Create Virtual Mac Lab for Photo and Graphic Design Students... more
- Following Student Poll, Mercer County Community College Launches Effort to Address Student Food, Technology Needs Amid COVID-19 Pandemic... more
- MCCC’s Artistic Director Kitty Getlik Maps Out the Future During Kelsey Theatre COVID Closure... more
- MCCC’s Phi Theta Kappa Chapter Breaks Ground with First Virtual Induction Ceremony... more
- Mercer County Community College Prepares to Distribute $1.9 million in Federal CARES Act Funds to Assist Students in Need... more
- Mercer County Community College Board of Trustees Slashes Tuition by 20 Percent for Summer Classes... more
- MCCC Admins Give Back to Mercer County COVID-19 Call Center... more
- MCCC’s New Live Webinar Series Offers Personal Support and Primes Students for Success... more
- MCCC Fashion Design Students to Hold Virtual ‘Sew-a-Thon’ to Make Masks to Combat COVID... more
- MCCC Nursing Professor Liz Mizerek Serves Her Community During Coronavirus Pandemic... more
- MCCC Stuck at Home Study Tips and Resources... more
- Mercer County Community College Supports Students With Free Computers Through Partnership With TDI Connect... more
- Mercer County Community College Announces Initiatives to Aid Students, Employees During COVID Crisis... more