Faculty Spotlights

"Our students are filling a need. If you look within a 50-mile radius, there are probably at least 25 or 30 open positions," says Maggie Goss, Assistant Professor of Respiratory Care. "There aren't many jobs out there where you can come out of school with a two-year associate degree and your starting salary is $65,000 to $70,000+ a year."

"Ever since I was very young, I had this intuition and strong passion to be a nurse. I was drawn to it. My grandfather was a medic in the Korean War, and I really looked up to that. I thought to myself, 'Even though I'm just one person, if I can be a nurse, I can make a difference,'" says Associate Professor of Nursing Kelley Alibozek.

Some students start with mechatronics but excel in math and earn engineering degrees, says Jose Colmenares, Engineering. "One good thing about being an engineer is that you’re always going to have a job. Once you get knowledgeable about what you’re doing, once you become an expert in your field, you will be making really good money."

"I think a community college education is the best thing ever. It is a way that anyone can try it," says Professor of Sociology Stacy Evans. "We have no entrance requirements except for a high school degree or its equivalency. We want everybody. That, to me, is the beauty of a community college. Everybody gets to try."

"What students get out of Berkshire Community College might be a lot more than what they get out of a four-year school," says Charles Park, Professor of English at BCC. "And it's not just the cost. It's the attention and the support we provide. Each student matters to us. It's our mandate."