Middlesex Community College: Grant Funding Helps MCC Education Students Advance Careers

Press release from the Middlesex Community College:

Caitlin Buckley

9/16/2021

Both Chelmsford-native Hannah Sheehan and Laura Hastings of South Hadley wanted to take their careers in Education to the next level. While a previous college experience forced Sheehan to walk away with a lot of debt right after high school, Hastings felt unhappy in her work environment and needed a change.

The students each enrolled at Middlesex Community College as part of the Early Childhood Education (ECE) Pathways Grant. With the state funding, they were able to take classes, expand their knowledge and skills, and make reaching their goals possible.

When Sheehan found out about the ECE grant funding, she was excited to take advantage of the program. Along with access to online course offerings which helped her better balance classes with her full-time job, she was able to “not only return to school and advance my career, but also regain my confidence and view myself as an educated and capable person.”

Having dedicated her professional life to educating young children, Hastings wanted to gain the tools and background necessary to opening her own childcare center. Calling her experience at Middlesex “positive and rewarding,” she believes the grant and online course options made getting an education “so much easier with the busy life I have.”

Funded by the Massachusetts Department of Early Education and Care, the ECE grant helps students pursue professional development, certification and degree opportunities. Funding can go toward the cost of tuition and course materials and fees, and students are provided with full access to all of the student support services Middlesex offers. MCC was first awarded the grant in 2019 and has since helped 600 students earn their education.

“From course schedules to course formats, the ECE program is designed to provide students with opportunities and to meet their needs as they work toward a certificate or degree while fully employed in a licensed childcare program,” said Nancy Pynchon, MCC’s Assistant Director of ECE Career Pathways.
“The program flexibility, range of course offerings and accelerated semesters have been thoughtfully developed to respond to the individual student academic and professional goals while also responding to the community and the demands for a highly qualified early childhood workforce.”

Both Sheehan and Hastings are grateful to Pynchon for her guidance in navigating the pathway program. Sheehan calls Pynchon “an absolute asset” to the program, while Hastings credits Pynchon for helping her finish classes when she felt overwhelmed. The students also recommend others reach out to Pynchon for assistance in starting their education as it helped each turn their passions for educating young children into meaningful careers.

As a child, Sheehan’s teachers helped her deal with early childhood epilepsy and a related auditory processing disorder. Understanding the impact teachers can have on a student’s life and education because of her own experience, she wanted to enter a field where she can provide that same influence.

Sheehan has continued to receive support from her instructors while at Middlesex. In classes with Professor Nancy Higgins and Professor Karen Trenholm, she has enjoyed following lesson plans that are relevant to current social issues and being set up for success in tackling different subjects.

“My overall experience at MCC has been great,” Sheehan said. “I have loved the professors and staff and have been able to get a great start to my higher education. The professors are phenomenal and very good at being flexible with students who work full-time.”

A mother of three with one grandchild, Hastings loves working with children and has done so in some capacity for over 20 years, from volunteering at her children’s elementary school to working as a paraprofessional and then teacher. She knew that studying to become a lead teacher would improve her professional situation and give her more of a voice at work, which led her to start taking classes at Middlesex.

When her husband suggested she start her own center – the Tiny Toes Learning Center, which opened in September of 2021 – she jumped at the chance. In classes including Child Guidance and Health, Safety and Nutrition, Hastings has learned skills that are relevant to being in a pandemic and has reminded her of best practices to continue on in her own center.

“In childcare, you sometimes can take for granted the safety of toys, cleaning and observations of surroundings that you seem to forget the basics,” Hastings said. “Opening up my own center, I really appreciate the knowledge the courses had taught me. There is so much to learn and incorporate into a center."

Through MCC’s Education programs, Sheehan has earned both a Lead Teacher and Directors Certification as she works toward an associate degree. After she graduates from Middlesex in the Summer of 2022, she hopes to continue on to earn a bachelor’s degree. In the future, she plans to work in childcare administration and write curriculum for a program.

Before coming to Middlesex, Hastings did not think she would be able to afford an education. The ECE grant and support from her professors has made taking classes possible. She is looking forward to taking the Program Planning and Childcare Administration course for the Fall 2021 semester.

“MCC has changed my life and is a great school,” Sheehan said. Hastings is, “thankful for all the opportunities available to me from Middlesex.”

For more information on the ECE Career Pathways grant opportunities, contact Pynchon at pynchonn@middlesex.mass.edu.

The Education pathway at MCC helps students go into – and succeed in – the workforce or transfer to four-year schools with its award-winning and affordable offerings, small class sizes and flexible schedules. For more information, visit https://www.middlesex.mass.edu/education/ to discover your path at Middlesex.

MCC’s on campus and online courses come with award-winning student support services and resources. The Fall 2021 semester begins on Thursday, September 9. For more information and to register for classes, visit www.middlesex.mass.edu/registration/ or call 1-800-818-3434.

There is still time to register for MCC’s Fall Mini-mester session II, starting on Monday, November 1. Visit www.middlesex.mass.edu/registration/ or call 1-800-818-3434 to register.

Discover your path at Middlesex Community College. As one of the largest, most comprehensive community colleges in Massachusetts, MCC has been a proven leader in online education for more than 20 years. We educate, engage and empower a diverse community of learners, offering more than 80 degree and certificate programs – plus hundreds of noncredit courses. Middlesex Community College: Student success starts here!

This press release was produced by the Middlesex Community College. The views expressed here are the author’s own.