NECC President Lane Glenn (left) and NECC Alumni Association Chairperson Bill Klueber (center) present Jason Moury with the college’s Outstanding Alumni Award.

Jason Moury, of Winchendon, Mass., was named this year’s recipient of Northern Essex Community College’s Outstanding Alumni Award at the college’s 55th annual Commencement Exercises on May 20. Selected by the NECC Alumni Association, the Outstanding Alumni Award recognizes an NECC graduate who has achieved career-related success, is active in the community and/or has exemplified active support for the college’s efforts.

Moury graduated from the respiratory care program in 2006, and he quickly began making waves in the field after taking his first job as a respiratory therapist at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston. Within five years of his graduation, he became the lead respiratory therapist at HealthAlliance Hospital in Leominster and was recruited to serve as an adjunct lab instructor at NECC. Since then, he’s become vice president of both the COPD Foundation in Miami, Fla., and of the Massachusetts Society for Respiratory Care.

The treatment of COPD (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease) is a central part of Moury’s career, and a crucial reason he was selected for the award. As one of the leading causes of death in the United States, largely due to its links with smoking, there is a large need for research and work related to its treatment in the country. Among other things, Moury has coordinated a nationwide public health campaign called “DRIVE4COPD,” written in several peer-related journals and was even appointed to the Massachusetts Special Commission for COPD by Governor Charlie Baker in 2015.

“Moury is the type of person who inspires us every day through his selfless devotion to helping others,” said Bill Klueber, chairperson of the NECC Alumni Association, who presented Moury with the award at the ceremony. “As a prominent leader in the field of respiratory care, he has demonstrated an unwavering commitment to bettering the lives of those around him.”

NECC offers an associate degree in respiratory care which prepares students for practice at the therapist level, where they will work closely with physicians and nurses to diagnose lung and breathing disorders, and evaluate and treat patients to help them recover lung function. Graduates are prepared for the National Board of Respiratory Care credentialing exams, CRT and RRT, and for state licensure as a respiratory therapist. The program is accredited by the Commission on Accreditation for Respiratory Care.

With campuses in Haverhill and Lawrence, Northern Essex Community College offers over 70 associate degree and certificate programs as well as hundreds of noncredit courses designed for personal enrichment and career growth. Each year, 8,500 students are enrolled in credit associate degree and certificate programs on the Haverhill and Lawrence campuses; and another 2,600 take noncredit workforce development and community education classes on campus, and at businesses and community sites across the Merrimack Valley. Northern Essex is the only state college located in the lower Merrimack Valley Region of Massachusetts. For more information, visit the website at www.necc.mass.edu.