On Nov. 13, 2024, �鶹��ý � Concord�s Community College hosted the annual NHDOT Popsicle Stick Bridge Competition on its Concord campus featuring 43 teams from Concord High School, Gorham Middle High School, Hopkinton High School, Milford High School, Nashua High School South, Plymouth Regional High School, and Winnisquam Regional Middle School. Students poured into Sweeney Hall Auditorium laden with bridges created from nothing more than popsicle sticks, hot glue, and the imagination built from long hours studying bridge construction with an NHDOT engineer mentor throughout the fall term.

To test these bridges, students registered them with the DOT and then placed each end on a tall pillar rigged with a load distribution system. The team members � and in some cases, more � stepped onto a gangway used to measure load and �tested� their bridges� load capacity vs. total weight. The teams whose bridges could hold the most load with the least building material weight were declared the winners: This year, the winning teams were Hopkinton High School in first place, Hopkinton High School in second, and Milford High School in third.

The competition is part of the AASHTO STEM Outreach Solutions Program wherein individual state departments of transportation work with high schools in their state by providing the curricula and resources for the schools and bring engineers into classrooms to serve as speakers, teach a hands-on activity, and/or talk to students about the importance of math and science in preparing for their future.

And the high school students weren�t the only ones to get in on the fun. �鶹��ý students from the college�s Architecture and Civil Engineering Technology programs designed, machined, and built their bridges made from aluminum. Not a formal part of the competition but instead a showcase of what�s capable at a college level, these �鶹��ý bridges were built on campus by the students as part of the Steel and Timber Design course.

For a full report of the final weights, load capacities, and more, contact �鶹��ý�s Architecture and Civil Engineering Technology programs at vtcarter@ccsnh.edu

�鶹��ý � Concord�s Community College

�鶹��ý is a dynamic public institution of higher learning that provides accessible, rigorous education for students, businesses, and the community. We create pathways for lifelong learning, career advancement, and civic engagement, offering 80+ academic and workforce programs to over 3,400 students annually. �鶹��ý is a member of the Community College System of New Hampshire and is accredited by the New England Commission of Higher Education.

Students Learn to Brew Beer as Part of �鶹��ý�s Innovative Chemistry Curriculum

Going to a local brewery and enjoying taste tests is weekend entertainment for many, but it�s classroom work for �鶹��ý students in

Ryan Connor, head brewer at , has opened his brewery to accommodate the �鶹��ý-Concord�s Community College course for two educational sessions per semester. He has also participated in a classroom panel discussion and hosted final evaluations and beer tasting events, the most recent occurring in the Fall 2023 semester.

We caught up with him for a quick QA to learn more.

How did Feathered Friend get involved with �鶹��ý?

Michael Hauptly-Pierce, a New Hampshire writer and brewing podcaster, suggested that the program director reach out to our owner, Tucker Jadczak. We thought it sounded like a fun project and a great way to help the younger generation interested in the industry.

What was the goal of the Feathered Friend/�鶹��ý partnership?

When you�re in a classroom learning about beer brewing, you are learning the classroom version. We wanted to focused on providing a hands-on, real-life experience. It was good for the students to get a different perspective on the entire process. They got to see how we do things and get feedback from us on their home brews.

What was the curriculum when the class came to Feathered Friend?

We brewed a raspberry stout with the whole class as an experiment, and they bottled it. Then, they each made their own home brew and brought them here. Tucker, my assistant, and I did a taste test and gave them individual feedback. We weren�t going to grade them � they were all pretty good � but we decided to pick our favorite and actually brew that recipe this spring. It�s a watermelon wheat created by �鶹��ý student Solymar Hernandez. I usually hate watermelon, so if I liked it, it couldn�t not win. It�s going to be a popular beer. Her name will be on it, and the whole story will be on the can.

• READ MORE: Learn about the innovative curriculum of �鶹��ý�s beer-brewing course!
• VISIT for location and hours.

What was the focus when you went into the classroom?

Bill, from Oddball Brewing, Michael Hauptly-Pierce, and I did a round-robin panel where the students asked questions and we offered our perspectives and ideas. You�d be surprised how differently each person approached brewing. Bill is super science-based, while I�m more of a cook. I like to say that people are either bakers or cooks; a baker must be very precise while a cook just grabs handfuls of stuff. My recipes come from experience. I�m not just throwing things together; I know what they are going to do. But Bill does a lot of testing, and my approach is very different.

Did anything surprise you about the �鶹��ý class?

I heard that past classes were doing a lot of IPAs, but these students were doing crazy styles that you wouldn�t expect first-timers to want to do. So that was fun. I really enjoyed it.

This sounds like an incredible experience for the students. What did you get from your involvement with �鶹��ý?

I work for a great company where I have a lot of creative control, but your passion turns into a job. Watching the students and explaining things to them reminded me why I left my last career to pursue brewing. It got me more excited, and I didn�t see that coming. The students who were super excited about what they were learning reminded me of when I was more passionate, and they made me feel that way again. My involvement with �鶹��ý helped me remember why I do this.

Has the experience changed anything about the way you do your job as head brewer at Feathered Friend?

It did get me excited. We have our brews that are consistent sellers, but we also love to have an assortment of styles. My favorite style to brew is whatever I haven�t brewed yet. The class gave me a boost to get a little more creative. I also hadn�t home brewed for at least 6 years, so getting back to my roots in home brewing was fun!

Will you be continuing your involvement in �鶹��ý�s brewing class?

I�ve already agreed to do it again for the Fall 2024 semester. I had a great time and am eager to meet the next group of students.

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�鶹��ý � Concord�s Community College

�鶹��ý � Concord�s Community College is a dynamic public 2-year college that provides rewarding academics and a full campus experience for students, businesses, and the community.���鶹��ý offers 80+ academic programs to 4,600+ students annually. Our programs include Nursing, Dental Hygiene, Engineering, Liberal and Visual Arts, Education, Criminal Justice, and Mathematics, all with our stellar reputation for academic excellence earned over our more than 50 years serving the Concord community. �鶹��ý is accredited by the Commission on Institutions of Higher Education of the NE Association of Schools and Colleges and is part of the Community College System of New Hampshire.

By MICHAELA TOWFIGHI, Monitor Staff

As he accepted his Emmy in New York City, Samuel Habib was thankful and proud, but just like his award-winning film, he had a message.

�My goal for this film is that people won�t talk down to people with disabilities,� the 23-year-old Concord High School graduate told the crowd. �I want everyone to know that people with disabilities demand respect and rights.�

With a microphone held to the speaker of his computer-assisted communication device, he reiterated the themes of the coming-of-age film that he co-directed with his father, Dan Habib.

�I want other young adults with disabilities to have the same opportunities that I have had for healthcare, inclusive education, college, assistive technology, making friends and independent living,� Samuel said.

The father-son duo were honored for a documentary film they made about Samuel�s transition into adulthood, living with cerebral palsy and epilepsy, called.

When My Disability Roadmap was announced as the winner in the Outstanding Soft Feature Story, Long Form category, immediate screams came from the Habib entourage. Then, it was a beeline for the stage, through an accessible route in the hallway of the Palladium Times Square, where Samuel could drive his 350-pound motorized wheelchair to the podium.

In My Disability Roadmap, the Habibs take viewers on a journey across the country, as Samuel asks questions of disability activists on what it is like to transition into adulthood.

In one scene, Samuel ask��Joe Biden how he planned��to support inclusive education for students with disabilities if he were elected president.

�You should be integrated into all the classes,� Biden says. �Because you�re smart, you�re smart, you�re smart. The disability does not define who you are.�

Biden touched Samuel�s cheek as he answered the question.

�I can�t believe he stroked my face,� Samuel says in the film. �Weird.�

Still, Samuel voted for Biden, submitting his ballot into the machine at his Concord polling place.

Like most people his age, Samuel wants to start dating. Someday, he wants to get married and have kids, he says in the documentary, which was produced by the New York Times.

�I don�t want to rely on my mom and dad so much,� he said in the film. �I want to figure out how to follow my dreams. But nobody tells you how to be an adult, let alone an adult with a disability.�

They set out to talk to �bad-ass people with disabilities who figured it out.� Perhaps one could become a mentor, Samuel wondered in the film.

One of those people was Judy Heumann. Samuel dedicated the film to her after she passed away in March.

The documentary has now received one of the highest forms of recognition, which serves to elevate the voices of anyone living with a disability, Dan Habib said in an interview on the drive back to Concord from New York.

�Samuel obviously has lived his whole life with a disability, that is his whole life experience. He has always felt and deserved a sense of belonging in all aspects of society,� he said. �But not everyone with a disability, in fact the majority of people with disabilities, don�t necessarily experience that.�

Instead, many people with disabilities often feel segregated from education, employment, housing, relationships, healthcare � you name it.

In the film, the Habibs not only began to answer some of Samuel�s questions � like how and when to start dating. But it also shows viewers the obstacles people with disabilities face as they try to access all parts of society.

This was not the Habibs� first film together, either. In 2018, Dan��chronicled��Concord High School Principal Gene Connolly�s��battle with��amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, a disease that stole his ability to walk and speak,��in a film simply titled,��.

That film featured��a video clip of Samuel and his principal communicating through fist bumps and hand gestures at a unified basketball game��At the end of his tenure at Concord High School, Connolly was communicating through a device similar to Samuel�s.

Habib wanted to ask Connolly a question that is ever present in his experience as a parent of a son living with a disability � what does it feel like when people speak down to him, like when people speak to Samuel as if he was four years old?

Did people begin to question Connolly�s intelligence after he lost his ability to speak and walk?

�People don�t understand the disease. They think the disease has affected my cognitive abilities. While I look different, inside I am still the same person,� Connolly replied. �It can be frustrating and exhausting. I have a newfound respect for people with disabilities.�

Samuel, who is pursuing a career in multimedia storytelling,��served as a consultant on that��documentary.

After that aired, Habib was contemplating his next project with��his son. They already built��a long history of collaboration. In 2007, Habib released a film called��, which addressed the family�s efforts to include Samuel in every facet of their lives.��Fifteen years later, father and son told the story together.

�All of our work has centered on elevating the perspectives of disabled people,� he said. �We just decided this would be a really fun and meaningful and exciting project to do together.�

The scholarship is the first of its kind to support students at associate degree-granting institutions on a national scale as they plan to enter the workforce. The program is sponsored by The Coca-Cola Foundation and Phi Theta Kappa National Honor Society (PTK).

�We believe education holds an extraordinary promise to change lives,� said Helen Smith Price, president of The Coca-Cola Foundation. �We hope that providing these college scholarships to deserving students will enable them to realize their full and unique potential.�

New Century Workforce Scholars are selected based on their academic accomplishments, leadership, activities, and how they extend their intellectual talents beyond the classroom. Over 2,400 students were nominated from more than 1,300 college campuses across the country. Only one New Century Workforce Scholar was selected from each state.

�We congratulate Rebecca for receiving this prestigious scholarship, and we are honored to partner with The Coca-Cola Foundation to recognize her outstanding achievements,� said Phi Theta Kappa�s president and CEO Dr. Lynn Tincher-Ladner. �Scholarship programs like this are integral for creating opportunities for students to succeed as they prepare to enter the workforce and for putting college completion within reach.�

The New Century Workforce Scholars will be recognized during the Association of Community College Trustees� Congress in Las Vegas in October.

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�鶹��ý � Concord�s Community College

�鶹��ý is a dynamic public institution of higher learning that provides accessible, rigorous education for students, businesses, and the community. We create pathways for lifelong learning, career advancement, and civic engagement, offering 90+ academic programs to 4,600+ students annually. �鶹��ý is a member of the Community College System of New Hampshire and since 1969 has been accredited by the New England Commission of Higher Education, a nongovernmental, nationally recognized accrediting agency. Visit for more information.

Press Contact ������������������ Amber Gavriluk�� |�� 603-230-4001�� |�� agavriluk@ccsnh.edu

�鶹��ý The Coca-Cola Foundation

The Coca-Cola Foundation is the global philanthropic arm of The Coca-Cola Company. Since its inception in 1984, the Foundation has awarded more than $1 billion in grants to support sustainable community initiatives around the world. For more information about The Coca-Cola Foundation, please visit .

�鶹��ý Phi Theta Kappa

Phi Theta Kappa is the premier honor society recognizing the academic achievement of students at associate degree-granting colleges and helping them to grow as scholars and leaders. The Society is made up of more than 3.8 million members and nearly 1,300 chapters in 11 countries, with approximately 240,000 active members in the nation�s colleges. Learn more at .

When it comes to the climate emergency, heat-trapping gases like CO2 and methane are the cause but not the problem. The problem is the buildup of heat that is changing global weather at an alarming rate.

So maybe we should be trying to reduce the heat as well as the greenhouse gases. How? By reflecting sunlight back into space with mirrors on the ground, of course!

That�s the crazy-sounding idea being tested in a field at �鶹��ý and alongside the airport in Plymouth. I don�t use the adjective �crazy-sounding� lightly.

�That�s the first reaction I had, the first reaction of everybody I�ve introduced the idea to,� admitted Lisa Doner, associate professor of environmental science at Plymouth State University, who is leading the New Hampshire experiments of Mirrors for Earth�s Energy Rebalancing or MEER. �But the more we explore the idea, the more we think that sometimes these simple solutions can be more effective than you give them credit for.�

Doner has overseen the installation of 235 mirrors on glass rods laid out in various patterns on a field roughly three football fields long and one field wide next to the Plymouth airport, which was the only field they could find that wasn�t shaded and didn�t get mowed for hay. Under those mirrors are a whole network of buried sensors to record what happens to the temperature and moisture in the soil in coming years.

A similar series of arrays are being installed near the Sycamore Community Garden at �鶹��ý. Tracey Lesser, a professor of chemistry at Concord�s community college, who coordinates its Environmental Science and Sustainable Agriculture program, was out there last week overseeing students placing stands and mirrors and sensors.

�We�re hoping to have some data pulled by the spring, maybe in time to start analyzing for (students�) capstone research project,� Lesser said.

�We are pleased to partner with NHDES on this project,� said Tracey Lesser, �鶹��ý professor. �The effects of these chemicals vary widely, and this study presents the opportunity to learn more about how they affect residents of New Hampshire. We are also thrilled to announce that, through the NHDES funding, �鶹��ý is providing a paid position for one of our students to participate in this study as an undergraduate research assistant.�

Through a combination of different soil types and water sources, the team seeks to understand what environmental factors influence uptake of these chemical into garden consumables falling into three categories � those where the plant root is consumed (radish), the plant leaf is consumed (basil), and the fruit is consumed (tomato) � as well as characterize any potential risks for consumers.

Since the 1940s, PFAS have been created and manufactured in industry- and consumer-based products, which include non-stick surfaces, stain-resistant fabrics and carpets, and even some cosmetics. Because of their widespread use and commercial usefulness, various PFAS compounds have made their way into the environment. The stability of these compounds � meaning, their tendency to not break down over time � has led to them being �found in the blood of people and animals all over the world [and] at low levels in a variety of food products and in the environment,� according to the . Additional studies are ongoing to determine the , including increased cholesterol levels, vaccine response, changes in liver enzymes, and multiple types of cancer.

The research team working on this includes �鶹��ý faculty members Lesser and Veronica Thibodeau Carter, along with toxicologist Jonathan Petali and staff in the NHDES Environmental Health Program. Financial support for this project comes from NHDES.

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�鶹��ý � Concord�s Community College

�鶹��ý is a dynamic public institution of higher learning that provides accessible, rigorous education for students, businesses, and the community. We create pathways for lifelong learning, career advancement, and civic engagement, offering 80+ academic programs to 4,600+ students annually. �鶹��ý is a member of the Community College System of New Hampshire and since 1969 has been accredited by the New England Commission of Higher Education, a nongovernmental, nationally recognized accrediting agency.

Press Contact ������������������ Amber Gavriluk ��| ��603-230-4001 ��| ��agavriluk@ccsnh.edu