Minority Fellows Named at MCC
Manchester, CT – (September 11, 2007) . . . Cecelia Peppers-Johnson, of Hartford, and Veronica Segarra, of New Haven, have been named to the position of Minority Fellow at Manchester Community College for the 2007-2008 academic year.
The Connecticut Community College System has administered a Minority Fellowship Program for qualified individuals interested in beginning or advancing a career in the community colleges for the past ten years. The Minority Fellowship Program pairs an experienced college professional with a “fellow” for a year-long mentoring experience. The goal of the program is to further diversify the system’s professional workforce and to promote community college career opportunities as desirable options for members of minority groups.
The program offers a superb opportunity to work with and learn from an experienced faculty or staff member, as well as a chance to build relationships with professionals in their field within the community college system. Fellows are exposed to the diverse needs and interests of students enrolled in the community college system. Fellows may be either current employees of the system or graduate students who have successfully completed at least six credits of graduate studies.
Peppers-Johnson will work in the Center for Business and Technologies division and will be mentored by Donna Waldron, assistant professor of management/marketing. Peppers-Johnson will learn various teaching techniques and observe business management courses including “Principles of Management.” She will teach a section of business management during the spring semester.
Peppers-Johnson is a graduate of Charter Oak State College with a bachelor of science degree in individual studies and holds a master of science degree in organizational management from Eastern Connecticut State University. She is employed with the Unites States Department of Housing & Urban Development as a community planning and development representative.
As a Minority Fellow in the Mathematics, Science and Health Careers division, Segarra will be mentored by Dr. C.K. Pai, assistant professor of chemistry. She will be responsible for observing general chemistry lectures and labs, assisting students during laboratory activities and, as appropriate, provide guest lectures in the class. Segarra will assume full responsibilities for teaching a section of “general chemistry” during the spring semester.
Segarra holds a bachelor of arts degree in chemistry and a bachelor of science degree in biochemistry from the University of Miami. She is currently a Ph.D. student in the Department of Molecular Biophysics and Biochemistry at Yale University. Segarra served as a teaching assistant, graduate student recruiter and international student mentor at Yale and received numerous awards, including the National Service Research Award Pre-Doctoral Fellowship from the National Institutes of Health.
Students of any age who possess the desire to pursue higher education are welcome at Manchester Community College. MCC is proud of its academic excellence, new facilities, flexible schedules, small classes, low tuition and faculty with both academic and “real world” credentials. The College offers over 60 programs, transfer options, financial aid and scholarships, as well as access to baccalaureate degrees through guaranteed admissions programs with several universities. MCC is situated on a park-like campus and is easily accessible from I-84.
