The graduates were cheered as they received their diplomas and pins. See more photos here.
NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — McCann Technical School awarded diplomas and pins to 23 graduates of the cosmetology, dental assisting, medical assisting and surgical technology programs on Monday night.
The gymnasium at the school was filled with family members cheering the graduates. Superintendent James Brosnan noted that it was an opportunity to celebrate not just for the students completing their postsecondary programs but also for the families.
"You can celebrate their success, your success, because without you they wouldn't be here tonight," he said.
School Committee Chair Gary Rivers offered them three key things to remember: "Be flexible. Be flexible. Be flexible."
"The academic content in clinical experiences are extremely demanding. The material is technically demanding," he said. "Unlike anything you have studied in the past, your clinicals have given you practical application of your skills and the preview of the day-to-day life of a medical assistant, a cosmetologist, a dental assistant, a surgical tech ...
"You know what it takes to get the job done and you are willing to do it. Remember, the only thing constant is change. Your generation is expected to change careers at least four times. Job security is a thing of the past. ... Always get the education and the skills you need to change."
Assistant Principal Keith Daigneault recognized three graduates who won medals in SkillsUSA competitions: Kaliegh Eichstedt won state level gold in cosmetology and Sierra Beckman and Blake Smith, who both won gold in dental assisting. Kelly Sadlow and Ashley Massey took silver in dental assisting.
Eichstedt, Beckman and Blake will be competing in the national competition in Atlanta this month.
With that, Principal Justin Kratz called up the graduates as program coordinators joined Brosnan and Rivers to "pin" them and wish them success, after which the gathering made its way onto the lawn for pictures, and flowers and balloons.
Two cosmetology graduates were ready to embark on their new careers.
Cindy Slade of Dalton said she loved the course and was following in the footsteps of her mother, a hairdresser.
"Everyone was super sweet, and the teacher awesome," she said adding she's already working at Oasis Hair Design & Day Spa in Pittsfield and will be working at Loft 48 Salon in Lenox.
Gwendolyn Payne of Great Barrington also has a job lined up.
"It's always something I've been interested in," she said. "I've wanted to do it since middle school, so just decided to pursue that."
Makenna Kubli of Pittsfield had a personal reason for pursuing a careering dental assisting.
"I've always had an interest in it because I had a big gap in my teeth, and I needed orthodontic work when I was younger, and after the work, I felt really confident in myself, and I've always wanted to do that and help other people and make them feel confident," she said. "I reached out to McCann, and they brought me in touch with the instructor, Michelle [Racette, program coordinator], and she really helped me. And now I have a job."
She's working at Western Mass Periodontics' Pittsfield office and greatly enjoyed taking the program.
"It worked out well," she said. "I really enjoyed it I would really recommend it."
Cosmetology Graduates
Adams: Lauren Elizabeth Faucher, Aleecia Glory Richard, Jess Wiles
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Main & Mill: A Vibrant New Restaurant on Main Street
By Breanna SteeleiBerkshires Staff
NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — You can now enjoy another eatery on Main Street by well-known restaurant siblings Colleen and Sean Taylor.
Their restaurant Main & Mill opened for the first time Tuesday, bringing their vision of creating something vibrant and new to downtown North Adams.
"We have created Main & Mill to be part of our day. It's very seasonal ingredients, thoughtful cooking, beauty, beautiful presentation and dishes. And we really wanted to be part of the community, the downtown area, and start a vibrant area on this end, which has been shuttered for a while," said Colleen.
The building is owned by Ginko on Main Street LLC, which has granted 20 years exclusive possession of the property to Latent Builds as the developer. Jack and Suzy Wadsworth, behind Ginko, are development partners with Karla Rothstein and Salvatore Perry of Latent.
The bank closed in early 2021 and was purchased by Ginko late that year. Plans for the property unveiled three years ago envisioned a restaurant, retail, a park and rooftop bar.
Colleen saw potential and said she initially wanted the building when it first went up for sale. Being good friends with Rothstein and Perry, she helped them design the kitchen and the bar before learning in March that she could lease it as a restaurant space, something she told them would be a great idea.
She said one of the most important things about the restaurant was the collaboration between Rothstein, Perry, and the Wadsworths, who put a lot of time and energy into the building.
"If Sean and I had done it, we would not be able to do what the collaboration supported. The collaboration of the three of us being able to really have that kind of money to put in down here. The design that the architecture firm that Carla and Sal own is stunning," she said. "The time and effort, everyone came together to do this in a really trusting manner."
The two wanted the restaurant to be an all-day venture, so people could eat at any point throughout the day, all week long.
"We wanted it to be open for coffee and socialization in the morning where people can meet, have their cup of coffee, have a quiche, a vegetarian quiche, or croissant or yogurt. Something intentional with their coffee," she said. "Then move into a lunchtime for the downtown business or anybody, and then go into supper, dinner, with drinks later into the evening. So have it really be open all day long, so that there wasn't a void on any particular day."
They also wanted to do something different than the other restaurants they owned.
"We didn't want to mimic any other restaurant in town. We wanted to bring something that was inspiring, something that had some familiar things that people would see, and other things that we would bring to them for them to experience," she said.
As a woman business owner, Colleen said she wanted to bring a female chef into the kitchen.
Colleen brought on Chef Anna DeRose, who she said puts twists on a lot of her dishes.
"So we have a creme brulee, but our creme brulee is topped with marshmallow," she said. "Our creme brulee is like almost two desserts in one. It's a s'mores creme brulee. So you could have a s'mores, and you could have a creme brulee - but when you put both of them together, fireworks go off."
Jake Eberwein showed the committee sections of the nbess.org website, including the resources page, which will be key to keeping residents informed about the study’s findings and collecting information from those residents. click for more
The planes were paper, the buildings cardboard and Main Street was a hallway at Colegrove Park Elementary School, but the setup represented nearly two weeks of creative research and design by the pupils in the public schools' 21st Century Summer Program.
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