The Fall 2021 issue of The Connection celebrating HCC’s 75th anniversary elicited a lot of thoughts and memories from readers.
When my mother, Laura Ringuette ’99, first went back to school, she would bring me to HCC to get all of her books at the bookstore. As a young girl in middle school, that was so cool to me.
When I walked into HCC for the first time to register for classes in 2018, it brought me back to that happy memory of the precious time I had with my mother. After HCC, she worked in the community as a registered nurse for 20 years. I was working in retail management when she got sick, so I decided to make a change and follow her path into healthcare. She was my best friend, and I just wanted to make her proud. I am graduating this May from the ASN program, and in the very near future hope to create a memorial scholarship to honor her. I have received so many HCC scholarships myself that I thought it would be my way to give back.
— Melissa Perry ’22, Chicopee, Mass.
“Mr. Frost gave us all the opportunity for a better life. We are forever grateful.”
— Barbara ’54 and William Meckel ‘54, Leeds, Mass.
Nikki Burnett ’92
HCC was my foundation, and I am eternally grateful.
I will be starting my doctorate in October and it is such a blessing to see where my HCC education has allowed me to go.
— Nikki Burnett ’92, Springfield, Mass.
HCC gave me the opportunity to have a successful career in business. It was the best decision I made moving forward with my education.
— Robert Ciosek ’62, Madison, Conn.
A scholarship helped me graduate debt free, and now I’m paying it forward!
— Anneliese Burns ’15, Arnold, Maryland
I am proud to be first in my family to graduate college. HCC helped me to obtain greater knowledge and curiosity to further my career in the medical field. The HCC fire in 1968 was so devastating, but it opened a new chapter. HCC means local, low-cost opportunity to a quality education. So proud!
— Barbara Kusnick ’72, Westfield, Mass.
My husband Stanley died on May 12, 2021, at the age of 100. He contributed heavily for many years to student scholarship support – as I will continue to do as I am able. Education is of prime importance to our youth.
— Jean Melvin, Friend of HCC, Longmeadow, Mass.
HCC is a jewel in the crown of Holyoke. I have spent much time on the property since the early 1970s when I was very young and construction on the new campus had just begun. My father, William G. Sullivan, graduated in 1950 when it was called Holyoke Junior College.
