MCC Alumni Association Names Rios 2014 Alumnus of the Year

Jose D. Rios ’11, of East Hartford, Conn., has been named 2014 Alumnus of the Year by the Manchester Community College (MCC) Alumni Association. Rios was honored at the annual Homecoming Dinner held last Monday evening, November 24, in the MCC Culinary Arts Center on the main campus.

Alumnus of the Year recognition is bestowed on MCC alumni who have achieved outstanding levels of success in their careers and have brought credit to themselves and MCC through their accomplishments. Rios was one of five distinguished finalists and was chosen by the award committee for his involvement at MCC and in the community. He serves on the Information Management and Technology advisory board and works with current students to help them benefit from his experience.

“Manchester Community College has been instrumental to my success by providing the preparation and convenience needed to develop my career,” Rios said. “By joining the Student Training and Academic Retention Service (STARS) program and working with a counselor on the career assessment tool, I was able to quickly identify my degree program and obtain helpful skills necessary to start my college studies.”

He also credits the support he received from instructors and support staff at Manchester Community College, whom he called dedicated individuals who focused primarily on student development and academics. “It is for this reason that I was able to transition easily to a four-year school and continue my success towards a bachelor’s degree,” he said.

Of his success as a student in the STARS program, Jason Scappaticci, director, Student Success and First-Year programs, noted that Rios overcame the typical challenges that many students face. “As a first-generation college student, Jose came to MCC with a hunger for knowledge and the drive to get ahead but seeking the additional study-skills and mentoring our program provides,” he said. “His journey has been an impressive one, and it is gratifying to see that he now works so hard to share his success as he gives back to our students and community.”

Rios, whose GPA when an MCC student was never lower than 3.6, was a member of Phi Theta Kappa and Alpha Beta Gamma. He is currently employed by Windsor, Conn.-based Cigna and also is owner and president of Rios Computer Services LLC. In addition to his work on the advisory board at MCC, he has volunteered his information technology expertise to the East Hartford Board of Education and has served as a Youth Board member at the Hispanic Health Council in Hartford.

Since opening its doors in 1963, tens of thousands of students have enrolled in credit courses at MCC. Some took one or two courses. Others took courses and transferred. Still others completed a certificate or associate degree. Estimates are that there are more than 25,000 former MCC students.

The college is attempting to reconnect them with the new MCC Alumni Association.  All graduates of MCC shall be considered Alumni Association members, and anyone who has not graduated from MCC but has attended the college and completed a minimum of nine credits may request membership. There is no charge to join the Alumni Association.

“The Alumni Association is all about involvement, collaboration, and re-connecting with our former students,” says Diana Reid, development associate at MCC. “We want to build lifelong relationships with our alumni and help connect them to current students who could learn from their experiences.”

She added, “Our mission is to support the initiatives and mission of MCC and meet the changing needs of our diverse alumni. We want their input on programs and services they may be interested in so we can help them along their journey to success.”

Reid urges any former MCC student to contact her and “share their story” about where their MCC education took them.

For more information, visit the alumni page. MCC alumni can also contact Reid by email: dreid@manchestercc.edu. When on campus, alumni are encouraged to drop by her office in the MCC Development Office in the Student Services Center, second floor, room L202.