Worcester Business Journal

16 Worcester Business Journal | January 27, 2025 | wbjournal.com All of our events are available within MA State Guidelines. BOOK A SUMMER COMPANY OUTING TODAY AT WACHUSETT. Call 978.464.2300 x3175 or email sales@wachusett.com Put the "OUT" back in your Company Outing. Bring your colleagues OUT to Wachusett Mountain. Aer a year of working remotely, head OUTside with your team this summer. Enjoy OUTdoor recreation, hiking, fun activities, and our scenic Skyride. Get OUT together, socially distant within our spacious grounds and custom tented areas. Regardless of your group size, time to think OUT-of-the box. We'll create an OUTstanding menu for you, from clambakes to barbecues (as low as $28.50 per person). F O C U S N O R T H C E N T R A L M A S S . myself in college. And C) maybe most importantly at least in my eyes, is when I go to college, I know what I'm going to do,'" said LePage. e state has early college programs between Worcester Public Schools and institutions like MWCC, Worcester State University, and Quinsigamond Community Col- lege in Worcester. Like MWCC, QCC has made sig- nificant strides in providing academic and career support for its students. QCC has a mentoring program, partnering students with facul- ty, staff, and community members from different industries. e program can be particularly beneficial for first-generation college students, like QCC President Luis Pedraja was. Not having that generational knowledge sur- rounding higher education can leave students without the tools to utilize the resources available to them, Pedraja said. Pedraja, who mentors students himself, credits past college mentees for helping him achieve much of his success. "e mentors that I had [were] mostly unofficial people that took an interest in me in the community… and kept advising me," he said. "My parents never went to college, so they couldn't tell me what to do." Help beyond the classroom More obstacles outside of the college walls can easily hinder a student's ability to remain engaged in their studies. Vander Hooven has seen issues includ- ing transportation, housing security, food security, and affordable child care access all negatively impact students. MWCC has a fully operational food bank and a drop-in child watch center for student parents. e school has made efforts to align its class schedules with the Montachusett Regional Transit Authority, so students taking mass transportation are better able to attend classes. QCC operates its HomePlate Food Pantry & Resource Center. QCC has a partnership with Goya Foods to supply culturally appropriate food, and the pan- try is stocked with toiletries, formula, and diapers. Retention rates for students who use the pantry are between 76% and 94%. MWCC is seeing elevated persistence rates of students returning for their subsequent years, Vander Hooven said. e MWCC persistence rate of 72% from fall 2024 to spring 2025 is higher than the 67% persistence rate among MassRe- connect students from fall 2023 to spring 2024 found in a November report by Boston research firm Hildreth Institute. To keep things moving in a positive di- rection, MWCC is working to strengthen its holistic efforts with the beginning of MWCC's spring semester just days away. "I could go out and say, 'Our work is done here,'" said Vander Hooven. "e first domino in success is getting them in the door. It's making sure that they're en- gaged, that they are receiving the support that they need in that they are academi- cally and personally successful." PHOTO | EDD COTE Conitinued from previous page All students enrolled in at least one credited class at Mount Wachusett Community College can access the school's food pantry, Marty's Market, without needing to provide proof of income. Bob LePage, assistant secretary for career education at Mass. Executive Office of Education Luis Pedraja, president of Quinsigamond Community College W

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