Steel & Sharpie ink tell story of Camden’s eds and meds revival

By Phaedra Trethan as seen in Courier Post Online

CAMDEN — As Dana Redd spoke Wednesday, a construction worker standing four stories above the ground began pounding a steel beam with a sledgehammer, punctuating the former mayor’s sentences, the sound echoing off nearby buildings.

Back on terra firma, another steel beam was adorned with signatures and messages inscribed in black Sharpie ink that told the story of Camden over the last few years.

“JHSC (Joint Health Sciences Center) Innovation & Collaboration!” wrote Redd, who now heads the Rowan University-Rutgers Camden Board of Governors, referencing the building that would soon receive the beam in a topping-off ceremony. “Another great step forward for Camden,” wrote former New Jersey Gov. Jim Florio.

“Gov. Christie!” someone else wrote without signing his or her name. “The man who remade Camden!” Christie, still governor, was in Camden in October when ground was broken on the center on Broadway.

And, at the end, “EDA was here,” a nod to the billions in state aid and tax incentives that have lured corporations like Holtec International, Subaru of America and American Water to move to Camden, and enabled longtime city institutions like Rutgers, Rowan and Cooper University Hospital to expand their respective, and in this case shared, footprints in the city.

Redd was joined by her successor, Mayor Frank Moran, and her predecessor at the Rowan-Rutgers board, Kris Kolluri, as well as Florio, state legislators, city officials and the presidents of Rutgers University, Rowan University and Camden County College at the ceremony.

She said the 95,000-square-foot center, slated to open in spring 2019, will be the first of its kind in the state, offering labs, classrooms and other facilities for three educational institutions — Rowan, Rutgers and Camden County College — under one roof.

But its significance for the city went beyond education, said Kolluri, now CEO of Cooper’s Ferry Partnership.
“This is four years in the making, and it is arguably the most significant piece of the eds and meds corridor in downtown Camden,” he noted. “This is a continuation of the narrative that the eds and meds corridor is vibrant and adaptive to a changing environment.”

Kolluri recalled how, when he was on the Rowan Rutgers Board, “this was still just a drawing on a piece of paper.”

His message on the beam proclaimed the building “a masterpiece” that has “shown NJ what true collaboration looks like.”

Kama Jean-Juste, a 2015 graduate of the city’s Woodrow Wilson High School, said he’s worked as a medical assistant at nonprofit Project HOPE and plans to continue his education at the Joint Health and Sciences Center, studying psychology at Rowan.

“Camden is my home,” he said. “I shouldn’t turn my back on it the first chance I get. I should use my future success to help children here reach their desires, other than what they’ve been labeled to be.”

Turnersville Student and Cherry Hill Student Named to All-State Academic Team

Blackwood/Camden, NJ – Turnersville resident Rebecca Keeny and Cherry Hill resident Claudia Jablonski were honored on Thursday as two of 38 students in the state who have earned entry onto the Phi Thera Kappa National Honor Society All-State Academic Team for New Jersey.

Each year, Phi Theta Kappa, the international honor society for community colleges, and two-year college presidents hold All-State Academic Team ceremonies in each participating state. The event, sponsored by Phi Theta Kappa, the Coca-Cola Foundation, and the New Jersey Education Association (NJEA), provides community college students statewide recognition from policymakers and legislators, as well as medallions and certificates, and in many cases, scholarships.

Rebecca Keeny earned her associate’s degree in mathematics from Camden County College last year and has been a student at Drexel University for one term. A finance major at Drexel, she plans to work in treasury one day. “I am the first person in my family to graduate college, and I am very proud of that,” states Keeny, who attended the PTK event with her niece.

While earning her degree at CCC, Keeny was VP of leadership in Phi Theta Kappa, a member of the mathematics honor society, Alpha Nu Mu, as well as a volunteer for the AWA, Unforgotten Haven, and the MS society. She was also a Math and English tutor and maintained a job at Starbuck’s. Keeny won the prestigious Miller Mathematics Award for Excellence in Mathematics and the Rising Alumni Award and was on the permanent President’s List, as well as being named an ALL USA Academic Team candidate for PTK.

Claudia Jablonski will receive her associate’s degree in pre-nursing from CCC in May 2018, and will continue her studies at CCC in the Rutgers-Newark nursing program. Jablonski was a NJSTAR and a CCC Honors program student. She hopes to attain a master’s degree in the future.

Jablonski was VP of service for Phi Theta Kappa and a William G. Rohrer Charitable Foundation Transfer Scholarship recipient. Jablonski also spent every Friday for the past two years, volunteering at Jefferson Hospital.

Don Borden, Rebecca Keeny, CCC Trustee, Helen Albright-Troxell, Claudia Jablonski, and David Nugiel

50th Commencement Activities

Please join us Friday, May 11, 2018 at 10 a.m. in the Truman Courtyard on the Blackwood Campus on College Drive and Peter Cheeseman Road in Blackwood, NJ.

This year marks the 50th commencement at Camden County College. To celebrate, we have created four videos highlighting the impact of the College on our students.

Other highlights include:

Congressman Donald Norcross will announce the winner of the Alumni Trustee for 2018-2019 and provide remarks about the importance of civic leadership.
Keynote speaker William J. Wilhelm has a long and rich history with Camden County College as a student, an administrator, a faculty member, and a volunteer. He is a living record of the history of the College.
Gloucester Township Chief of Police, Harry Earle, will accept the 2018 CCC Outstanding Alumnus Award. Chief Earle graduated from CCC in 1992 and served in various positions throughout his career with the Gloucester Township Police Department including Detective, Patrol Sergeant, Lieutenant assigned as a Watch Commander, Lieutenant assigned as the Traffic Safety Bureau Commander, Captain assigned as the Operations Commander, and Deputy Chief of Police before becoming Chief of Police in 2010.
Student speaker George Givens, a Business major from Camden, offers his remarks to the graduating class.
CCC student, Caitlin Hoffman, will perform the National Anthem.

Interesting facts about our 2018 graduating class:

There are 1,626 graduates.
The class of 2018 is one of the largest graduating classes of Camden County College and perhaps the brightest, having earned well over $2.5 million in scholarships.
Two-thirds are women; one-third are men.
71 are graduating with more than one degree or certificate.
The youngest is 17 and the oldest is 67.
Most are natives of Camden County. Some are from other areas of New Jersey. Some are from other states including Pennsylvania, Delaware, California, Florida, and New York. A number of you have travelled quite a bit farther – from twenty-three countries to include Algeria, Bangladesh, Brazil, Cambodia, China, Greece, Hong Kong, Morocco, Nigeria, Senegal, Venezuela, and Vietnam.
Quite a number of our graduates serve in a branch of the United States military, and 40 are veterans
155 graduates earned a perfect 4.0 grade point average.
75 graduates are nursing graduates who have completed requirements for an associate in science degree while also earning a diploma in nursing from Our Lady of Lourdes School of Nursing and 4 have completed certificates in Nursing.
Over 80 percent of our graduates have juggled the responsibilities of the classroom with the responsibilities of the working world, holding part-time or full-time jobs while pursuing a degree or certificate.

A message from President Don Borden regarding Monday’s protest

We did not approve of the negative protest that took place on our campus on Monday, and was organized by an external group. However, as a public institution we are legally bound to allow any group to assemble and exercise its 1st amendment rights. Despite very negative rhetoric, our students, faculty, staff and public safety officers were professional and restrained. As difficult an experience as this was, we were encouraged by the support, concern, and love shared by those who were victimized by this affront on decency. That said, Camden County College is proud of our students who, the very next day, organized a peaceful gathering in the same courtyard. These photos exemplify what Camden County College does support.

CCC Considers Arena Project

by Jim Walsh as featured in Courier Post

Officials are considering development of an indoor athletic complex at the Blackwood campus of Camden County College.

The project could support new programs that would “attract more diverse students to play college athletics,” said Don Borden, the school’s president.

It also could “help fill in some other community pieces that may be missing,” he added.

For instance, Borden said, the complex might host events “that are too large for typical high school gyms but too small for other large complexes like the Liacouras Center,” a 10,000-seat facility at Temple University in Philadelphia.

The county school’s current facility, the Joseph Papiano Gymnasium, can seat about 2,400 people.

Camden County’s Improvement Authority is currently seeking bids for a feasibility study on the project.

The bid request notes the complex is intended to allow for uses “that could provide additional revenue streams.”

“There is no question sports tourism is a big market,” said Borden. “Other areas have developed all types of event centers to capture this sector.”

“If the study comes back positive, we will explore all options as long as there is no negative impact to the finances or enrollment of the college,” he said.

Athletic facilities can be a factor when students choose a school, officials say.

“Adding new sports teams brings in students who might have skipped over community college and gone right to a four-year school,” Bill Banks, director of athletics, said last week in announcing the return of track and field to the county school.

Track and field events, last seen at the Blackwood campus 30 years ago, are to resume in January 2019, the school said.

After 30 Years, Track And Field Returns

Preparations for the sport’s return begin this summer, the college announced.

Featured in the Gloucester Township Patch by Anthony Bellano

After 30 years, track and field is coming back to Camden County College, and the college’s first national champion in the sport is eager to see it happen.
“To hear that the college has committed to bringing back this sport that is available to so many and is building the facilities needed to host practices right on campus is fantastic,” said Mike Chapman, a former track star at the college who is in the Camden County College Sports Hall of Fame. 

Chapman is eager to attend the meets and be involved in the debut event, likely in January. The track and field season will run from January through May. There is no limit on the number of students who can participate, and the college encourages all interested students to try out.

“I graduated in 1972, and we had a state undefeated team until they ended the sport. There were 50 team members at that time,” Chapman said. “Coach Dennis Hurley made me set three goals: graduate on time, become a national junior college champion, and get a four-year college scholarship. I achieved all three goals because I was junior college national champion in the javelin. I received offers for full track and field scholarships from nine universities and ended up attending Arizona State University. Camden County College got me ready for this.”

After graduating from Arizona State, Chapman spent 35 years in Scottsdale, Arizona, where he also coached the throwers at Scottsdale Community College. Ten years ago, he moved back to South Jersey and has been coaching at Bishop Eustace. He plans to help out with the college team as well.

Preparations for the upcoming season will begin this summer, when the college will begin upgrades to its facilities, including throwing cages, hurdles, concrete pads, and clearing space for a track upgrade.

“We want to provide our students with many opportunities for success both academically and athletically,” said Camden County College Director of Athletics Bill Banks, who said the sport is returning based solely on enrollment and student support. “Adding new sports teams brings in students who might have skipped over community college and gone right to a four-year school. This gives them a chance to excel at a sport they love, or several sports, while getting the academic supports needed to transfer and obtain scholarships that might not have been available to them otherwise.”

“I believe students are savvy and are coming to terms with the fact that it is not only a better financial decision to pursue their college careers at a local community college, but there are also opportunities to pursue activities similar to those offered at four year schools,” Camden County College President Donald Borden said. “We offer 13 different sports, and over 20 student clubs and organizations, all of which provide excellent leadership and networking opportunities. This leads to extended scholarship opportunities for the second two years of college, and, if nothing else, important job skills.”

Camden County College cross country coach Wayne Merkh is excited to have another sport in which runners will have the chance to showcase their skills.

“Many of our student athletes participate in more than one sport, and adding track and field provides a cross training that many of them find so valuable,” Merkh said.

Kiddie Junction Chosen Best Childcare Center

Kiddie Junction Childcare Center at Camden County College has been chosen the BEST childcare center in South Jersey.

Senior Artists call for Entries

The Camden County Cultural and Heritage Commission at Camden County College invites artists age 60 and above who currently reside in Camden County to submit their original work to the 52nd annual Senior Citizens Juried Art Contest and Exhibition.

Artists at any level of skill or experience are invited to participate, including amateurs and non-professionals as well as working artists. Artists may submit one entry that has been created within the past three years, is an original creation of the artist, and has not been submitted previously to a county or state art show. Categories of work include acrylic painting; craft; digital art; drawing; mixed media; oil painting; pastel; print; photography; sculpture; and watercolor.

Artwork will be judged by an independent panel of artists. First-place winners in all categories will advance to compete at the state level in the New Jersey Senior Citizens Art Show.

Artwork will be accepted in the Marlin Gallery in Lincoln Hall on the Blackwood Campus of Camden County College on Tuesday, June 26, from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.; Wednesday, June 27, from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m.; and Thursday, June 28, from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. The exhibit opens July 17 with a meet-the-artists reception and awards ceremony from 1 to 3 p.m. and runs to August 16, 2018, at the Marlin Gallery.

Click here for more information about the contest, including eligibility and artwork display rules.

Contact the Camden County Cultural & Heritage Commission at Camden County College, (856) 374-4945

An Eye for Art

Plants have become Dawn Pritchard’s artistic medium

Dawn Pritchard is pictured with some of her handmade lavender products at Silver Linings Lavender in Westminster.
By Lyndi McNulty Featured in the Carroll County Times

Dawn Pritchard is the proprietor of Silver Linings Lavender in Westminster. Pritchard had a natural talent for art as she grew up. She did painting and sculpting. Although she did painting, Pritchard never had a specific style until later. She calls it “experimental.”

When she attended Williamstown High School in New Jersey, near Philadelphia, Pritchard took metal shop and created metal sculptures. She was just learning how to work with metal, so she made abstract sculptures.

Pritchard was told that she had to go to college to keep her health insurance. When she graduated from high school in 1997, she decided to attend Camden County Community College in New Jersey and majored in art. She took color theory, sculpture, art history, painting and drawing.

She enjoyed being creative.

“Since I have ADD, attention deficit disorder, art gave me something to hyper-focus on and I could lose myself in it,” she said.
Pritchard did a lot of exploring when she left college. She worked on a WWOOF farm, Willing Workers On Organic Farms, in Australia (wwoofusa.org). According to their website, “Worldwide Opportunities on Organic Farms, USA (WWOOF-USA) is part of a worldwide effort to link visitors with organic farmers, promote an educational exchange, and build a global community conscious of ecological farming practices.”

Workers spend about a half a day on the farm working and learning about organic farming principles. There are more than 2,400 farms in America alone. No money is exchanged. Any organic farm, community project or garden can participate.

Pritchard worked on different farms in exchange for a place to stay and food.

“It is an inexpensive way to travel,” she commented.

Pritchard stayed there a year, working on cattle farms and agricultural farms that raised a plethora of plants.

She remembers planting a comfrey plant at one farm. It was the first time Pritchard had planted anything.

“I got bitten by the bug,” she explained. “The first thing I did when got home was to order a rose plant from a catalog.”

When it bloomed she became obsessed with plants.

Pritchard started a vegetable garden and decided to go back to school for horticulture. She attended Temple University and graduated with honors. She worked in various nurseries and eventually led landscape crews to do estate garden maintenance. “I did a lot of high end container plantings for wealthy residences. That was a lot of fun,” she mused.

“For me, plants became my artistic medium. I specialize in perennials. It allows me to make living paintings that change constantly,” Pritchard said.

When Pritchard visited family in England, she and her husband found a lavender farm. “As soon as we drove in, I put my hand on my husband’s shoulder and said, ‘We have to have one.’”

Pritchard had been planting lavender in everyone else’s yard but did not have a large yard of her own. When her family moved to Maryland, they could not afford a farm. In 2013, she applied for the Carroll Biz Challenge and won the $5,000 prize. The Biz Challenge is the brainchild of Jason Stambaugh.

According to carrollbiz2017.com: “The Biz Challenge is an annual tradition in Carroll County, which offers local entrepreneurs the exciting opportunity to pitch their new business ideas to make great connections, get loads of publicity, and this year, compete for a (cash prize).”

The prize was enough for Pritchard to start making the lavender-based products. It allowed her to build a business base, so she could work toward buying her dream farm.

Pritchard began to make lavender soap, candles and lotions that she sells online at silverlingingslavender.com. All of Pritchard’s products are handmade with pure essential lavender oils.

She also attended craft shows such as the one held at Liberty High School in Eldersburg annually. Although, since she had a small child at that time, Pritchard could not go out every weekend to sell her products at shows.

Pritchard has not yet bought a farm, but she still gardens on her 3 acres in Sykesville, where she grows some of her lavender. Pritchard gets 5 yards of soil for her yard every year as a birthday present. It is a mix of sand, compost and top soil.

In 2017, Pritchard opened Silver Linings Lavender on 235 East Main Street in Westminster, beside Birdie’s Cafe (birdiescoffee.com).

“The best part is that there is a lot of land behind my store — 58 lavender plants will be planted in the spring. There will also be a yoga garden,” Pritchard said.

“I love the connection to nature and I love that I can make something beautiful with it,” she explained. “Lavender, in particular, I can use to help people. It has been scientifically proven to help people sleep better and to have less anxiety.”

Pritchard can be contacted at dawn@silverliningslavender.com

Camden County College celebrates 50 years

On Friday, April 13, Camden County College celebrated 50 years of impact on Camden County and the surrounding region with a black-tie gala held in the Connector Building Atrium of the Blackwood campus.

Over 100 professors were honored along with groups of alumni and other community leaders. Those chosen had previously won of the following College awards: a Teaching Excellence Award, the Civic Leadership Award, or the Outstanding Alumni Award. Three new awards were presented at this event:

The Camden County College Presidential Impact Award was awarded to US Representative, Donald Norcross, for making an impact on a national level. Congressman Norcross had also previously received the Outstanding Alumnus Award and the Civic Leadership Award.
Cooper’s Ferry Partnership CEO, Kris Kolluri, received the Riletta Cream Impact Award for Civic Leadership and retired College trustee and former VP of The University of Delaware, Maxine Colm, received the Otto and Leah Mauke Impact Award for Education.
More information about the awards and the winners

Guests and honorees enjoyed refreshments from Visit South Jersey and Sodexo. Floral displays were provided by Michael Bruce Florist. Starlite Productions created several amazing light displays. CMR Entertainment provided amazing music as well as a photo booth. Britishmania performed several sets in costumes that coordinated with the era of each set of Beatles songs.

Faculty, staff, alumni, elected officials, students, and friends of the College enjoyed an amazing night. Main sponsors included Presenting Sponsor Rutgers University-Camden and Silver Sponsors Advanced Enviro Systems, Barnes & Noble, Cooper University Healthcare, Joseph A. Maressa Golf Tournament, and Republic Bank. Over $125,000 was raised for this event and all proceeds benefited the CCC Foundation and student scholarships.