The 2025 HCC women’s volleyball team celebrates at City Hall after being honored by the Holyoke City Council.
‘Trust, cover, commit’
HCC volleyball team completes historic season
The HCC volleyball team made its first-ever appearance in a national championship tournament after winning its first New England championship in 11 years. Although the team’s historic season ended in November, the accolades did not.
The Cougars were the stars of a Holyoke City Council meeting on Dec. 16 where they were recognized for their achievements. Councilors invited the players, HCC President George Timmons and Athletic Director Tom Stewart up on the dais, where they presented coach Ju’wan Collins with an official proclamation.
“Thank you to our president and our athletic director for their unwavering support throughout the entire season, for allowing us to go to nationals, and to represent the Birthplace of Volleyball out in Iowa,” Collins said. “These girls played hard. They had an amazing season — on and off the court.”
The Cougars lost to Finger Lakes Community College in the consolation bracket of the National Junior College Athletic Association Division III Volleyball Championship on Nov. 14 after losing their opening game to the Dallas College Eastfield Harvester Bees, who won the tournament for the third consecutive year.
“They’re still one of the top 16 teams in the country — that’s pretty good,” said Stewart, who accompanied the team to Cedar Rapids for the three-day tournament. “The trip was a great experience for the team and a great experience for the players. Some of our kids had never been on a plane before. But that’s the epitome of what HCC is all about — giving opportunities to kids who might not get them elsewhere.”
The Cougars arrived in Iowa after compiling a record of 19 and 6 on the way to winning the Division III New England Championship. Some of the credit for the team’s success belongs to freshman Caidence White, who was named New England Player of the Year and third-team All American in NJCAA Division III. She is the first All American volleyball player in HCC history.
Freshman Jaylanie Nieves received first-team All New England honors, while sophomore Isabelle Garutti and freshman Serymar Santos received second-team All New England honors. Also contributing this year were their teammates Khimorah Aria, Sehkinah Delvalle, Alianiz Bonilla, Brittany Sumba, Aldene Scott, Nyvaeh Fisher, Desirae Robinson, Shaliyah Toledo-Cruz, and Yohadlie Pabon.
“Everybody knew what they could bring to this team,” said Collins. “The main part of having good team chemistry is everybody understanding their roles. Our motto is ‘trust, cover, and commit,’ and do it with discipline. That’s exactly what they did.”
Each player and Coach Collins also received a personal letter of congratulations from U.S. Congressman Richard Neal.
– CHRIS YURKO
HCC Opens Student Tech Center
HCC celebrated the grand opening of its new student tech center with a ribbon-cutting ceremony on Sept. 3. Located on the second floor of the HCC Campus Center, right off the cafeteria, the HCC Tech Center aims to provide students with all the technological resources they need to be successful. “We provide the first level of support to students and all their personal devices — laptops, cell phones, tablets,” said Tech Center manager Walter Pfau. “If it’s got a screen and a power button, we’ll help them troubleshoot it. But the heart of this space isn’t about fixing devices, it’s about helping students feel more capable, more technologically independent, and, ultimately, more connected.” In addition to one-on-one tech help, provided by Pfau, other IT staff members, and student interns, the Tech Center has computer stations, a classroom for interactive workshops, and cubicles where support staff, such as financial aid and admissions counselors, can set up during special events. “No other community college in the Commonwealth has a facility like this one dedicated to helping students succeed in today’s technological world,” said Chief Information Officer Kim Florek, head of the HCC IT Department.
HCC Tech Center manager Walter Pfau, right, leads a workshop in the new HCC Tech Center.
Child Watch Hailed as Success
When the Itsy Bitsy Child Watch Center opened in 2022, officials heralded the free program as a potential game-changer for parents whose college aspirations floundered as they failed to find affordable childcare. Since then, the Itsy Bitsy Child Watch has proven its value, speakers said, during a Sept. 24 celebration of the center in a newly renovated and much larger space on the second floor of Frost. “Today, we’re not just celebrating the reopening of the Itsy Bitsy Child Watch facility,” said President George Timmons. “This is a celebration of our unwavering commitment to student success and our understanding that students bring their whole lives with them when they walk through our doors.” By the end of its second semester, the center, then on the first floor of the Marieb building, had maxed out on the number of students it could serve. Expansion became possible after a $600,000 grant from the Irene E. and George A. Davis Foundation. Kimm Quinlan, HCC director of early childhood initiatives, said student parents who use the child watch service are more likely to graduate. “We know it works,” she said, “and that’s the story.”
HCC’s Itsy Bitsy Child Watch Center opened in a larger, newly renovated space in September 2025.Amanda Cummings ’14, during her playing days at HCC
‘She’ll always be with us’
On the field, she was fierce, one of the toughest defenders ever to wear a Holyoke Community College soccer jersey, a two-time team MVP, two-time first-team All-New England player, and a first-team All-American. In 2011, her second and final year playing for the HCC Cougars, Amanda Cummings ’14 led the team to a New England Championship and its highest ever national ranking in the National Junior College Athletic Association, number two. “Not just one of the best players to ever wear the Cougar uniform, but one of the greatest people,” said Rob Galazka, HCC women’s soccer coach. Cummings’ family members and former teammates returned to HCC’s O’Connell Field on Oct. 18 to honor the young woman who died tragically in 2023 at the age of 31 and bear witness as her soccer jersey — #7 — was officially retired, the first time HCC has ever retired a player’s uniform. One framed jersey was presented to Cummings’ mother and sister, Lynn and Katie Cummings of Agawam. A second will be displayed in the Bartley Center for Athletics and Recreation. “In my 32 years as athletic director, this is probably the toughest thing I’ve had to do in my career,” said Tom Stewart. “Hopefully, this will bring some peace to her family. We’re proud to have done this, and she will always be with us.”
Shannon Glenn, left, Gateway’s new program director, and recently retired Gateway director Vivian Ostrowski, celebrate Gateway’s national excellence award.
Still Excellent
For the third consecutive year — and sixth time in the past nine — the Gateway to College program at HCC has received a national excellence award from its parent network, Achieving the Dream. Achieving the Dream presents excellence awards to its affiliates when those programs meet or exceed four benchmark criteria: grade point average, retention (one-year persistence and two-year persistence rates), and graduation rate. The Gateway to College program at HCC, which started in 2008, has won one or more benchmark awards for the last 10 years, and the excellence award in 2016, 2017, 2020, 2022, 2024, and 2025. Through Gateway to College, students who have students who have left high school or are significantly off track, complete their high school diplomas in college classes while simultaneously earning transferable college credits. “We earned this award because young people who disconnected from traditional education were willing to trust us and give school another chance, and our amazing instructors and staff were patient and flexible and willing to give some grace as our young people navigated really challenging lives,” said (now retired) Gateway program director Vivian Ostrowski. “We now have 662 high school graduates from 25 school districts, and we hope that our community is stronger and kinder because of those grads and the hope and investment they bring.”
