NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — A change in career, a chance to do something interesting, a desire to follow a passion.
The 14 graduates of McCann Technical School's postsecondary program had a variety of reasons for entering the nearly yearlong program. And at Monday night pinning, they celebrated their successful completion in the fields of cosmetology, dental assisting, medical assisting and surgical assisting.
"I like working with people. I worked at the nursing home for eight years now. I really enjoyed it so I wanted to pursue something a little bit more involved," Kathleen Lyon of North Adams said. "So I chose to come in and do medical assisting."
She enjoyed the course but acknowledged it was easy.
"It was a lot of hard work, but I did it," she smiled.
Lyon is taking a couple weeks off but but Kenzie Oblisk of Pittsfield already has a job lined up next week with Dr. Natalya Yantovsky.
"I'm excited to start working for real," Oblisk said.
"I guess I always was interested in dental hygiene, but this is a much more local program for me," she continued. "One year was more doable when you have a little one."
Superintendent James Brosnan described the graduates as the "most persevering people that are know."
Monday was also a time to thank the family members, he said, because without them, the graduates could not have succeeded.
"There is no program out there that is condensed, is as difficult in a short period as ours," he said of the courses that run from September to June.
Gary Rivers, chairman of the McCann School Committee and the school's former principal, recalled during his college years how they'd ask each other how many "older" students were in their evening classes.
"We were talking about nontraditional students," he said. "And it was always the more nontraditional students that were taking evening classes at the university, then the tougher the course was, because you guys always threw the curve right up to the top, so that we had to be more attentive to our studies."
The people who continue their pursuit of knowledge later in life, Rivers continued, "are extremely motivated and focused."
"They have life experience and now know what they want in life," he said. "So I'm not surprised your sitting here tonight. ...
"Because of your drive and determination, you have succeeded and are now ready to reap the rewards of your hard work."
The graduates are:
Cosmetology
Joelle Peterson of North Adams
Dental Assisting
Julia Cornwell of Dalton
Megan Cote of North Adams
Dominique Crews of Pittsfield
Alexandra Kowalczyk of Windsor
Kenzie Oblisk of Pittsfield
Medical Assisting
Anthony Carvalho of Williamstown
Kathleen Lyon of North Adams
Erica Prevey of North Adams
Jocelynne Smith of North Adams
Surgical Technology
Elizabeth Addington of Chester
Jessica Boulais of Pittsfield
Marley Brown of Adams
Stephanie Shatford of Adams
Skills USA State Leadership and Skills Conference Awards
Silver Medal Winner
Dental Assisting: Dominique Crews Gold Medal Winners
Dental Assisting: Kenzie Oblisk
Job Interview: Stephanie Shatford
Dominique Crews will be attending the annual Skills USA National Leadership & Skills Conference in Louisville, Ky., later this month.
Scholarships and Awards
Berkshire District Dental Assistants Association Scholarship: Kenzie Oblisk
Sharon Ferguson Memorial Scholarship: Megan Cote
Jamie Sacchetti Drennan Memorial Scholarship: Stephanie Shatford
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Clarksburg Sees Race for Select Board Seat
CLARKSBURG, Mass. — The town will see a three-way race for a seat on the Select Board in May.
Colton Andrews, Seth Alexander and Bryana Malloy returned papers by Wednesday's deadline to run for the three-year term vacated by Jeffrey Levanos.
Andrews ran unsuccessfully for School Committee and is former chairman of the North Adams Housing Authority, on which he was a union representative. He is also president of the Pioneer Valley Building Trades Council.
Malloy and Alexander are both newcomers to campaigning. Malloy is manager of industrial relations for the Berkshire Workforce Board and Alexander is a resident of Gates Avenue.
Alexander also returned papers for several other offices, including School Committee, moderator, library trustee and the five-year seat on the Planning Board. He took out papers for War Memorial trustee and tree warden but did not return them and withdrew a run for Board of Health.
He will face off in the three-year School Committee seat against incumbent Cynthia Brule, who is running for her third term, and fellow newcomer Bonnie Cunningham for library trustee.
Incumbent Ronald Boucher took out papers for a one-year term as moderator but did not return them. He was appointed by affirmation in 2021 when no won ran and accepted the post again last year as a write-in.
Officers Nicholas Lillie, Steven Wandrei, Nannette Reid and Elizabeth Zipp joined the force as full-time officers; Lillie and Wandrei recently graduated from the Police Academy.
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The proposal is to reconstruct some of the dry-laid stone retaining with new cast-in-place concrete and to relocated the existing drainage and stabilize the slope. The runoff will be tied into the storm drainage system at the bottom along State Street.
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