Three Rivers Community College Named 2021-2022 Military Spouse Friendly® School

Norwich​—Three Rivers Community College is pleased to announce that it has earned the 2021-2022 Military Spouse Friendly® School designation. Each year, the prestigious list of Military Friendly® Schools is provided to service members, veterans and their families, helping them select the best college to receive the education and training needed to pursue a civilian career. Three Rivers was chosen for their leading practices, outcomes, and effective programs for military spouses.

Institutions earning the Military Spouse Friendly® School designation were evaluated using public data sources and responses from a proprietary survey. Over 1,200 schools participated in the 2021-2022 survey, with 747 schools earning the designation as a Military Friendly School, of which only 194 were selected for the Military Spouse Friendly Schools list.

“Three Rivers has played a pivotal role in the military community in Southeastern Connecticut throughout its history. Military veterans have continued to advance their educational goals at the college in the backyard of so many military commands. The Military Spouse Friendly® School designation shows that our commitment for high-quality, affordable college an investment in the futures of the whole military family.” said Interim Dean of Academic and Student Affairs Kem Barfield.

Three Rivers’ dedication to its military, veteran and military spouses is evident in the resources that are provided for them. The College has a Veterans Organization Student Group and an OASIS Center, which serves as the focal point for veterans’ activities and access to services such as academic advising, Veterans Administration educational benefits, and counseling.

Military Friendly® is owned and operated by VIQTORY, a veteran-owned business. “Military Friendly® is committed to transparency and providing consistent data-driven standards, which assist schools by providing a benchmark that promotes positive educational outcomes, resources, and support services.” said Kayla Lopez, National Director of Military Partnerships, Military Friendly®.

For more information about Three Rivers commitment to supporting military students and their spouses, visit Three Rivers website at www.threerivers.edu/veteran. Three Rivers will be showcased along with other designated schools in Military Spouse magazine’s May issue and can be found at www.militaryfriendly.com.

READ MORE

Three Rivers Students Join the Phi Thea Kappa All-Connecticut Academic Team

Two Three Rivers Community College students, Jean Charles and Weili Li, were chosen to join the prestigious Phi Theta Kappa All-Connecticut Academic Team. They will be recognized at a virtual ceremony on Friday, April 16, 2021 at 3 pm.

Jean Charles, from New London, is majoring in Electrical Engineering. Weili Li, from Norwich, is majoring in Liberal Arts & Sciences. Both students plan to transfer to a four-year university upon graduation from Three Rivers, and both are members of Alpha Mu Gamma, the Three Rivers chapter of Phi Theta Kappa.

President Jukoski is thrilled with the news that Three Rivers Students were inducted into the Phi Theta Kappa All- Connecticut Academic Team. She said, “The dedication to these students have shown to their studies during the COVID pandemic is a testimony to their resilience and fortitude. I am so proud of them both. I know they have made sacrifices to make this happen.”

Phi Theta Kappa (PTK) is the international honor society of two-year colleges and academic programs, and the All-Connecticut Academic Team is one of the All-USA Community College qualifying teams. This honor recognizes high achieving two-year college students who demonstrate academic excellence, leadership, and service beyond the classroom.

To be considered for the PTK All-Connecticut Academic Team, the students completed a competitive application process that considered their academic standing, community involvement and volunteerism, as well as complete a “Significant Endeavor” essay. Both students will now received the national honor and benefits of being named to the PTK All USA Academic Team.

READ MORE

In The News | Why Poetry Matters Now With Hartford’s Poet Laureate

Connecticut Public Radio, April 9, 2021 — April is National Poetry Month. It’s a time to celebrate poets and their craft. So we asked Hartford’s poet laureate, Frederick-Douglass Knowles II, if he would share his talent and his thoughts about why poetry matters, especially right now. 

Knowles is Hartford’s inaugural poet laureate, named in 2018. He’s a professor of English at Three Rivers Community College in Norwich and the author of BlackRoseCity. He’s also a recipient of the Nutmeg Poetry Award and the 2020 Connecticut Office of the Arts Fellow in Artist Excellence for Poetry and Creative Non-Fiction.

Here is the poem he read during the interview.

How Many Fanatics In the Cosmic Realm of Roller Skating Actually Overdosed on Rhythm and Speed?

I laced my shiny black boots
and dashed to the boy’s bathroom
to christen fluorescent green
Zingers in lukewarm water,
assuring my wheels an extra grip.

Disco lights flickered like electronic
Christmas trees. Huge box speakers
dangled from the ceiling blaring
Michael Jackson’s “Thriller:”

It’s close to midnight,
something evil’s lurking
in the dark, under the moonlight…

Vincent Price hypnotizes
ambitious roller boogies with
the funk of forty thousand years.

Saturday nights belonged
to the skate gods; we, obedient
zealots circling their shrine.

Wilbert rolled in reverse,
sporting blue Dickies
and a crisp white polo T
embroidered skate guard.
Though he never benched
anyone for speeding.

Phillip Marshall owned
the only pair of triple
jump-bar skates ever seen
in the Rose; shiny, crisp blades

reflecting psychedelic hues
of turquoise, green and gold
that mesmerized white girls
as they floated past waving
blonde locks of allure.

Pete fancied an old
wheel for a toe stopper;
cool, the way he’d cut
his ankles screeching
his plump frame to a halt.

An exhilarated Chanise
offered me five dollars
for a blind couples’ skate.
I did the math, two slices
of pizza, a coke and some
chips for two songs: deal.

Allison, was the economically
advantaged out of the group
who dished out her allowance
for Pole Position tournaments.

And I, was the Shoot The Duck King,
the undefeated Chipped Tooth Champ.

When Afrikka Bambaata’s
“Planet Rock” hit the turntable
we’d drop conspiracy theories
on who shot J.R.?

And wager how many laps
one of us could achieve
before Rolo, the by the book
guard, blew his whistle.

We ignored the shrieks.
No time for rules.
Only time for speed.

More whistle-blowing
and then, Rolo’s pointed
finger. His direct order
to get off the floor
and sit by the office.

Damn! I got kicked off again.
eight laps into “White Lines,”
Melle Mel’s prophetic hook
shouting to a skate feign on
the verge of od’ing to don’t
don’t don’t don’t don’t don’t
do it ba ba ba ba ba ba baby!

Too late.

During my 10 minute suspension,
I contemplated how many fanatics
in the cosmic realm of roller skating
actually overdosed on rhythm and speed
in a world of bliss and 80’s pop music?

Times up.
I pressed my black
toe stopper firmly
into the carpet,
assuring me a solid
thrust back onto the floor.

 

— By Lori Mack, Connecticut Public’s Morning Edition host

The original article can be found here: “Why Poetry Matters Now With Hartford’s Poet Laureate”

 

READ MORE