Spotlights

Helping others comes naturally to Martha Escobar, who recently graduated BCC with an associate degree in psychology. While Martha never expected accolades for her instinct to help, her efforts haven't gone unnoticed: She is the winner of a prestigious 29 Who Shine award, representing BCC among fellow public institutions of higher learning in the Commonwealth.

Nina Nunes, no stranger to higher education, has earned two associate degrees, a bachelor's degree and a master's degree. But of all those degrees, "it was the Physical Therapist Assistant (PTA) associate degree from BCC that changed my life the most," she says. "The intimate support you get from the instructors and from the college itself is invaluable."

Marsha Estabrook-Adams grew up in the bucolic town of Malden Bridge in Columbia County, NY and graduated from New Lebanon High School. After high school graduation, she spent a few years doing office work for engineering companies. But in the late 1980s, when she found herself unemployed, she used the opportunity to make a career change and enter the field of Health Information Management (HIM).

At Berkshire Community College, faculty, staff and students had to reimagine the ways they taught, or learned, or delivered incredible support services - remotely. Fortunately, the College had recently developed a division called Teaching and Learning Innovation, which was perfectly positioned to help its faculty, staff and students quickly adapt, not only to remote work and learning, but also to thrive long-term in a virtual and online environment.

When Kim Brookman began her employment at BCC as a work-study student in the Human Resources department, it became her "second family" -- but she could never have imagined herself becoming the assistant to the president. She slowly worked her way up, from a parking clerk position in 2004, to facilities clerk, assistant to the vice president of Administration & Finance, and finally as the assistant to the president. Now on the brink of retirement, Kim reflects on the many ways BCC has become part of her life.