Class Notes

1975

Marc St. Onge (communication) has retired after a long career as a photographer. His work history included a stint at the Holyoke Transcript before moving into commercial and industrial photography, in addition to working as a lab technician at Monsanto in Springfield. He was working as a warehouse manager for FG Clean Wipes in Chicopee when the pandemic started and he decided to retire. Now he works part time as a news and sports photographer for the Westfield News. His interest in photography first blossomed at HCC, where he was the yearbook photographer. He lives in Russell, Mass. 

Christopher Robert served as Aramark’s head chef of Dining Services at HCC for 13 years. He is now teaching culinary arts at Chicopee Comprehensive High School.

1979

Cynthia Hutton (environmental science) retired as a professor of biology from Northern Pioneer College in northern Arizona. 

1980

Philomena (Napoli) Burke (early childhood education) retired after teaching first grade for 20 years in the Springfield Public School system. 

1987

Tracy Kurstwan Livecchi, LCSW, published a book, Healing Hearts and Minds: A Holistic Approach to Coping Well with Congenital Heart Disease. Livecchi and her co-author Liza Morton, Ph.D., were both diagnosed with congenital heart conditions at birth, leading to a lifetime of invasive procedures, hospitalizations, and uncertainty. As mental health professionals, they decided to write a psychological guide book for patients, loved ones, and healthcare providers. 

1989

Jeffrey Mackey (business) was appointed president of Singer Kittredge (formerly Kittredge Equipment), a division of Singer Equipment, the nation’s fourth largest dealer of commercial food equipment and supplies. Mackey oversees the New England and upstate New York markets. 

1990

Erin Conroy-O’Brien (liberal arts) is the disability learning specialist for the Office for Students with Disabilities and Deaf Services at HCC and was honored with the Outstanding Professional Staff Member Award in 2018. She coordinated use of the Evac-U-Trac device for emergency evacuation and co-chaired the Smoke-Free Campus Committee. (HCC has been a smoke-free campus since August 2012.) 

1991

Joyce Emerle (liberal arts) is the founder of the Wilbraham Art League. Her work has been shown at Baystate Medical Center, Monson House of Art, The Piedmont Art Center, and libraries in Wilbraham, Palmer, West Springfield, and Northampton. 

Stephen Zajchowski is the new director for Chicopee’s Human Resources department. Zajchowski has worked in human resources for more than 26 years for a variety of businesses from small startups to Fortune 500 companies and has operated his own consulting firm for nonprofits.

1992

Nicole (Ollman) Shea (liberal arts) published her first book in March 2023, Horst to Holyoke, a father-daughter memoir about storytelling, memory, and meaning-making. In 2010, she co-founded FOE Gallery, a store for art and designer toys, in Northampton, with her spouse James Shea. After graduating from HCC, Shea earned a bachelor’s degree in English from UMass Amherst and a master’s in communication from Walden University.

1995

Ellen (McCloud) Boyle owns and operates two local businesses and is currently working on starting a third, all alongside her husband, Jim. ASAP Painting Inc., in its 25th year, is a residential and commercial painting business. Kitchen Concepts, in its 12th year, is a kitchen and bath remodeling business and has received several local awards. Their third business will be in self-storage. They sold their first facility in 2022 and are currently developing two new ones.

Myriam Quinones Feliciano (liberal arts) worked at HCC for 21 years and is now semi-retired and living in Puerto Rico. She is the founder of Adventuras Yuiza, a tourism and lodging business, with her wife, former HCC staff member Josse Valentin.

1996

Sean Mitchell (liberal arts) began a new role as director of business development for the new Valley Springs Behavior Health Hospital in Holyoke. 

2001

After years in private practice as a licensed clinical social worker, Kim Monson (liberal arts) daughter of Trudy Monson ’97 and sister of Sarah Monson ’03 (see next item)is the new associate director of practicum learning at Smith School for Social Work at Smith College in Northampton. 

2003

Sarah Monson (liberal arts) joined the Women’s Fund of Western Massachusetts as the senior director of philanthropy. Previously, she was the assistant director of donor engagement and planned giving at New England Public Media. Monson has a bachelor’s degree in health care administration from the University of Phoenix and a professional fundraising certificate from Boston University. 

2004

Nicholas Orgo owns and operates the Bear Mountain Inn & Barn in Waterford, Maine, as well as the company M.A.N.E. Catering and Event Services, which is named after his nieces and nephews: Madison, Alexander, Nicholas, and Eleni. He credits his culinary training at HCC for providing the foundation for his career in the culinary and hospitality field.

2005

Anna Zadworny was named to the Northampton Dollars for Scholars Board of Directors. She is the assistant vice president, employee development manager for Greenfield Savings Bank.

2009

Aly Putnam (biology),a Ph.D. candidate in organismic and evolutionary biology at UMass, was profiled in July on the STEM with Disabilities website (STEMwithDisabilities.com), talking about why she loves marine ecology and how she has navigated the challenges that come with having Crohn’s Disease. 

Samantha (Frady) Morrigan (human services) completed a bachelor’s degree in psychology from Columbia Southern University in 2018 and a master of science in clinical mental health counseling in 2023 from Walden University. She completed both degrees with honors. 

2014

Jessica Bresnahan (communication) was honored with a Pioneer Valley Excellence in Teaching Award for 2023. She teaches English language arts to seventh and eighth graders at Holyoke’s Lt. Clayre P. Sullivan School. 

2017

Jesenia DeJesus (elementary education) was honored with a Pioneer Valley Excellence in Teaching Award for 2023. She is a special education teacher at Holyoke Middle School. 

2018

Francis Sypek (liberal arts) got his start in journalism writing sports for the Phoenix student newspaper and interning with the Daily Hampshire Gazette in Northampton. He is now retired after a 35-year career as a sportswriter for the Springfield Newspapers. 

2020

Emily Rivas (criminal justice) was named a patrol officer for the Amherst Police Department. She previously worked for the Hampden County Sheriff’s Department as a corrections officer. 

Kendall Weake (criminal justice) was sworn in as a police officer for the West Hartford Police Department. She had previously worked as a summer correctional officer at a men’s medium-security jail in Ludlow. Weake was offered a position with the United States Secret Service before applying to the West Hartford Police Department, but decided she preferred to remain closer to her family in New England.

2021 

Caitlyn Feeley (communication) was named Springfield Colleen by the St. Patrick’s Parade Committee at the coronation ball and awards ceremony in February 2023. She is taking courses through the Commonwealth Institute of Funeral Service out of Houston, Texas, and volunteers for The Miracle League of western Massachusetts. 

Six years after Hurricane Maria destroyed her home, Tamika Shawnell Ortiz Acosta (liberal arts) received her bachelor’s degree in legal studies in May from the University of Massachusetts Amherst. She works as a legal clinic coordinator for the Hampden County Bar Association and plans on staying in western Massachusetts and providing legal services to underserved communities.