The Common Folk Artist Collective will soon have a permanent home in downtown North Adams--thanks to years of hard work from local artists, many of whom are MCLA alumni.
Devyn Renzi '19, one of the first graduates of MCLA's health sciences degree program, is back on campus, consulting with students on nutrition.
While Emily Kelleher '23 and Hannah McCormick '22 presented on different research topics, their experiences at the COPLAC Virtual Northeastern Regional Conference have some things in common. They both spent time researching topics they were passionate about, delving deeply into their research and discovering surprising things. They both prepared and practiced--and they both say they would participate in another all-virtual conference.
In January, Associate Professor of Physics Kebra Ward will travel to South Africa on a Fulbright Award, working on physics education research at Nelson Mandela University. "In the last 20 years, there's been a lot of research into how to teach physics," she said. "The answer is not to do it lecture-style. Students need to work with the material, practice it, and engage with it."
MCLA faculty members are working to bring topics around care to museum-goers at the same time they're leading classes on care and the therapeutic arts, helping students develop empathy and critical thinking. In fact, they're being recognized nationally for their work, which offers a wide array of justice-oriented education and community resources.
Jackson O'Brien '18 has quite a lot of experience teaching, especially for someone who is about to turn 24. In fact, he's currently the youngest Red Cross instructor trainer, volunteering his time to educate others--so they can go on to provide Red Cross training in their own communities, and help people save lives.
A summer internship at National Grid led Eric Sniezek '21 to a part-time job while he finishes college--and a potential future at the company, thanks to its Graduate Development Program.
The MCLA community, who work here, live here, and learn here, has more to say about why MCLA has been named a Top Ten College for nine of the last 11 years, and keeps climbing the rankings lists each year.
Students interested in visiting MCLA can now preview the campus by walking through it online. MCLA's Office of Admission has released a new virtual tour that lets students explore the campus and tour classrooms, residence areas, and other campus landmarks.
As the new semester gets underway, Professor of Fine and Performing Arts Melanie Mowinski is finding equilibrium through her own personal artistic practice--and passing along the latest lessons she's learned to her students.