Top Forty
Shannon Glenn, academic counselor of HCC’s Gateway to College program, and HCC alum Payton North ’15, executive editor of The Reminder Publications, were selected by Business West magazine as 40 Under Forty award winners for 2024.
Emerging Leader
Julissa Colón ’13, director of El Centro, was featured on MassLive last fall as part of a series of profiles about emerging Hispanic leaders. The Sept. 17, 2023, story recounts how Colón, raised a proud Puerto Rican by her mother in Springfield’s North End, found her passion in human service, eventually landing at HCC.
Excellence Award
Tom Stewart, HCC director of athletics, received the 2024 George E. Killian Award of Excellence, the highest award bestowed each year by the National Junior College Athletic Association, the largest athletic association for two-year colleges in the United States. Stewart has worked in college athletics for more than 35 years, the past 26 at HCC.
Equity Award Winner
Anthropology Professor Vanessa Martínez received the inaugural Dr. Christina Royal Equity and Action Award May 15 during the annual faculty and staff awards ceremony. The award was created by the Board of Trustees in honor of HCC’s fourth president. Martínez is chair of Community Based Learning.
Still the Best
HCC received the top spot as Best Two-Year College for 2024 in the Daily Hampshire Gazette’s annual Readers Choice Awards. This was the 11th year in a row HCC has won the award. Also, HCC was voted Best College or University in the Republican/MassLive 2025 Reader Raves poll.
Catalyst for Change
Environmental science major and STEM Scholar Joe Black was selected for a Newman Civic Fellowship, a national award that recognizes leadership potential and a commitment to positive change in the community. “My love of nature has always been paramount in my life,” said Black, 21, a first-generation college student who lives in Palmer. “I want to use the skills and resources that schooling gives me to advocate for better environmental protections.”
STEM Fellow
Laurel Carpenter ’12, associate professor of environmental science, was awarded a national fellowship from the Community College Presidents Initiative in STEM. The fellowship is intended for community college faculty and administrators who are pursuing graduate degrees and conducting research related to STEM education and workforce development. Carpenter is a wildlife biologist, chair of the Environmental Studies Department, co-coordinator of the HCC STEM Scholars program, and a doctoral student at the University of Massachusetts Amherst.
