image description
BCC President Ellen Kennedy and Springfield College's Dean of the School of Health, Physical Education, and Recreation Tracey Dexter Matthews signed the new articulation agreement on Wednesday.
image description
Elizabeth O'Neill, Springfield's Program coordinator for applied exercise science, was impressed with BCC's program.
image description
Nicole Reyen, transfer coordinator at Springfield, said the agreement ensures smooth transition for students to the four-year school.
image description
BCC Fitness Center coordinator Eric Nystrom said both colleges share a mission of leadership and service to others.

BCC, Springfield College Sign Articulation Agreement For Exercise Science

By Andy McKeeveriBerkshires Staff
Print Story | Email Story

Jeffrey Moulton found success through BCC and then transferring to Springfield College and hopes others will take advantage of the opportunity as well.
PITTSFIELD, Mass. — Jeffrey Moulton was approaching graduation and he wasn't sure what he wanted to do with his life.
 
He sat with his advisers multiple times and they urged him to continue his education. He applied and was accepted to Springfield College and there he found the same level of support and "family atmosphere" he had at Berkshire Community College.
 
Moulton graduated from BCC with a degree in physical fitness and entered Springfield College's applied exercise science program.
 
Fresh off getting his bachelor's degree from Springfield, he got a job as a personal trainer.
 
He found his career opportunities seemed endless with the strong foundation from BCC and a bachelor's from a program with a storied and respected history.
 
On Wednesday, he returned to Berkshire Community College to encourage others to follow the same path, as the two schools now have an articulation agreement easing the transfer of BCC graduates to Springfield College program.
 
"Step out of your comfort zone, be uncomfortable because when you are comfortable, changes don't happen. You all have potential to do a lot," Moulton said to bleachers full of students who are now in the shoes he once wore.
 
Moulton's encouragement came moments before BCC President Ellen Kennedy and Springfield College's Dean of the School of Health, Physical Education and Recreation Tracey Dexter Matthews signed the new articulation agreement. 
 
"I think this is yet another example of what Berkshire Community College is all about. The faculty that are here are committed to student learning and student outcomes, student opportunity, possibility, and employment," Kennedy said.
 
BCC boasts of 100 percent employment rate program graduates who now have jobs as instructors, personal trainers, and other related professions.
 
Kennedy said BCC has been building its sports and fitness program for the last five years with a supportive board of trustees. The program not only helps prepare students but also helps the Berkshire County economy by strengthening the workforce in that sector.
 
"It is a real testimony to the students in our program and the curriculum that has been built," Kennedy said.
 
Sherry Scheer, BCC's physical education and fitness program director, said the school has crafted an array of American College of Sports Medicine certification programs, which are nationally recognized, and administration has helped with funding a renovation and refurbishment of the Paterson Field House. This agreement takes the program to the next level.
 
"This is a big win for all of us today. We are all winners. For me, this is a professional dream come true," Scheer said.
 
Springfield College Program Coordinator for Applied Exercise Science Elizabeth O'Neill was first intrigued by BCC's program through Fitness Center coordinator and Springfield College alum Eric Nystom and Moulton. O'Neill came to the community college to see it firsthand.
 
"I was very, very impressed with the facilities and what was happening here. Certainly it was a no-brainer to make this happen," O'Neill said.
 

For Sherry Scheer, the agreement is a professional dream come true.
She saw students, like Moulton, were "very well prepared" to take on the Springfield program with an array of concentrations from physical training to strength and conditioning to physical therapy.
 
"Exercise science is a very broad discipline and it lends itself to a lot of career opportunities, which is one of the beautiful things about our major. You are not pigeonholed into one career path," O'Neill said.
 
The private college has a long history in the field of sports. Basketball was invented there by graduate student James Naismith; alumni include volleyball inventor William Morgan and professional wrestler John Cena.
 
Eric Nystrom, coordinator of BCC's fitness center, said there are "giants in the strength and conditioning field" that graduated from the Springfield program including former NFL strength and conditioning coach Rusty Jones.
 
But perhaps more importantly, Nystrom said both BCC and Springfield College share a mission of leadership and service to others that permeates both schools.
 
Now the transition between schools is that much easier.
 
"The intent of this articulation agreement is to facilitate smooth transfers for graduates from Berkshire Community College's physical fitness program to Springfield College's applied exercise science program," said Nicole Reyen, associate director of undergraduate admission and transfer coordinator for Springfield College.

Tags: articulation,   BCC,   sports & fitness,   

If you would like to contribute information on this article, contact us at info@iberkshires.com.

EPA Lays Out Draft Plan for PCB Remediation in Pittsfield

By Brittany PolitoiBerkshires Staff

Ward 4 Councilor James Conant requested the meeting be held at Herberg Middle School as his ward will be most affected. 

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — U.S. The Environmental Protection Agency and General Electric have a preliminary plan to remediate polychlorinated biphenyls from the city's Rest of River stretch by 2032.

"We're going to implement the remedy, move on, and in five years we can be done with the majority of the issues in Pittsfield," Project Manager Dean Tagliaferro said during a hearing on Wednesday.

"The goal is to restore the (Housatonic) river, make the river an asset. Right now, it's a liability."

The PCB-polluted "Rest of River" stretches nearly 125 miles from the confluence of the East and West Branches of the river in Pittsfield to the end of Reach 16 just before Long Island Sound in Connecticut.  The city's five-mile reach, 5A, goes from the confluence to the wastewater treatment plant and includes river channels, banks, backwaters, and 325 acres of floodplains.

The event was held at Herberg Middle School, as Ward 4 Councilor James Conant wanted to ensure that the residents who will be most affected by the cleanup didn't have to travel far.

Conant emphasized that "nothing is set in actual stone" and it will not be solidified for many months.

In February 2020, the Rest of River settlement agreement that outlines the continued cleanup was signed by the U.S. EPA, GE, the state, the city of Pittsfield, the towns of Lenox, Lee, Stockbridge, Great Barrington, and Sheffield, and other interested parties.

Remediation has been in progress since the 1970s, including 27 cleanups. The remedy settled in 2020 includes the removal of one million cubic yards of contaminated sediment and floodplain soils, an 89 percent reduction of downstream transport of PCBs, an upland disposal facility located near Woods Pond (which has been contested by Southern Berkshire residents) as well as offsite disposal, and the removal of two dams.

The estimated cost is about $576 million and will take about 13 years to complete once construction begins.

View Full Story

More Pittsfield Stories