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Martha Escobar is the recipient of a 29 Who Shine Award for her work with survivors of domestic violence and sexual assault and with the immigrant community.
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Escobar with BCC President Ellen Kennedy and associate professor Melody Fisher, who nominated her for the award with professor Wayne Klug.

BCC Student Honored with 29 Who Shine Award

By Brittany PolitoiBerkshires Staff
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Martha Escobar with her daughter, Deisy, who does a Spanish-English radio show with her on Pittsfield Community Radio. 

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — Berkshire Community College student Martha Escobar has been honored with this year's 29 Who Shine Award for her work with survivors of domestic violence and sexual assault and with the immigrant community.

Escobar recently graduated from BCC with an associate degree in psychology and will go on to study social work at Elms College in Chicopee. On top of her studies, she works at the Elizabeth Freeman Center as a bilingual counselor and hosts a weekly show called "Mundo Latino" on Pittsfield Community Radio.

She founded the show 14 years ago as a resource for fellow immigrants.

As a survivor of domestic violence, she was described as being deeply motivated to provide support to those who are struggling to escape violence in their own lives.

"She has a really amazing combination. She has this fierce determination, creativity and intelligence, and a heart that's full of compassion. Her love for her community, her desire to help others is so apparent in everything she does and her other skills vastly increase her impact," assistant professor of psychology Melody Fisher said at a recognition for Escobar on Tuesday.

"Ever since I met Martha, she has been driven to be a force for good in her community. Throughout her life here in the Berkshires, she has been interpreting, she has been advocating, organizing events, facilitating community forums, and producing radio programs."

The award was launched by the Massachusetts Department of Higher Education in 2011 to recognize 29 outstanding student graduates from the commonwealth's higher education system that show exceptional promise as future leaders and intend to pursue a career that is a demonstrated need.

Fisher and psychology professor Wayne Klug nominated Escobar for the award.

Escobar said this award is not just for herself: It is also for her daughter, Deisy, who joins her on the radio show, and for the immigrant population.  

She hopes to inspire others to continue their education without language being a barrier.



"I love to help people, I love to keep them informed because it's not easy to come to this country without any family when we don't speak the language," she said.

"And we face a lot of depression, isolation, so I want to welcome them and keep them informed that there are a lot of resources for them."

In 1999, Escobar emigrated to the United States from Bogota, Colombia. She enrolled in the college's free Adult English to Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) program and even went on to explore American Sign Language.

Fisher highlighted that Escobar taught herself English and taught herself to broadcast. She also went beyond the requirements of her program at BCC.

"Not only did Martha complete all the requirements for her degree at BCC and the psychology concentration, but her curiosity also led her to explore other courses, American Sign Language, women's world literature that weren't even required by her program," she added.

"Because she's that kind of person who wants to know and wants to connect."

President Ellen Kennedy pointed out that "Mundo Latino" was recently featured on CBS and said the college is proud to be able to call Escobar one of their own.


Tags: BCC,   recognition event,   

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ADOPTED! Companion Corner: Cali and Kyzer at Berkshire Humane Society

By Breanna SteeleiBerkshires Staff

Great news, Kyzer and Cali found a home for Christmas already! Still looking for a new friend for the holidays? There are plenty of dogs and cats and small animals at Berkshire Humane who would love to go home with you.

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — There's a bonded dog pair awaiting a new family at the Berkshire Humane Society.

Kyzer and Cali are both poodles. Kyzer is the male and is 7 years old, a quite a bit bigger than his sister Cali, who is a miniature of Kyzer and 8 years old.

Canine adoption counselor Rhonda Cyr introduced us to the two.

"They came from a household that couldn't hold on to them, and it sounds like they may have been abandoned by their previous owner with somebody else, and so they came to us looking for a new home," she said.

The two love to be around you and snuggle. But both are very happy dogs.

"Kyzer is 7 years old, and his personality is that he kind of wants to be in everything. He's very loving, very snuggly, as you can tell. And Callie here, she's 8 years old, and she is kind of like the life of the party," said Cyr. "She wants to tell you everything about her day, and she's a little bit of a little ham."

The two are considered seniors and really like soft treats as Cali just had a few teeth removed and Kyzer has a tooth procedure coming up.

"Currently, they really like soft treats, because they are both on the senior side of things. So they have had some dental work, so they are really in need of something softer. They are not big chewers at this age, really, their main focus right now is just really socializing and cuddling," Cyr said.

The two would love a quiet home with someone who wants to snuggle. They shouldn't go to a home with bigger dogs but if you have a dog, you can bring them in for a visitation with the poodles to see if they will get along. Cats will be fine and the preference is for older and more responsible children so that the pups don't get hurt, as they are senior citizens.

"The perfect home for them would be a quiet home that's not too active. Like I said, they're very social, so they could handle some visitors," she said. "They're very friendly, but I don't think that they would really enjoy any other dogs in the home."

Poodles need to be regularly groomed, and the prospective adopter will have to keep an eye on their health. Kyzer has a heart murmur that needs to be monitored. This doesn't mean he is in bad health, as he could live a perfectly normal life, but he will need to be checked by a veterinary specialist routinely.

"Ideally, he would go to a home that could provide further health care with a specialist in cardiac care. And you know, he could very well live out the rest of his life comfortably and happy," Cyr said. "We just don't have all that information at the moment, but I think that you know the way he's going right now. He's got a good spirit, and he seems to be pretty happy."

The shelter is hoping the to get them a home for the holidays.

"We would love to get them a home in time for the holidays. They've been here since the eighth of November, and they're really, really looking as much as the staff loves them here, we're really looking to get them into a home and somewhere nice and cozy so they can spend the rest of their life together," she said.

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