Laurine Faro General Studies:Individualized Option

Once Laurine Faro learned about Northern Essex’s support services, she couldn’t imagine life without them. They were the academic lifeline she never knew she needed.

The Georgetown resident had already lived an accomplished life having worked as a defense contractor, a consultant to NATO, a certified massage therapist at an exclusive holistic resort, and successful sales and marketing executive in the auto industry.

Though she seemed to have done it all…Laurine, who says she struggled to graduate from high school because of family issues, never earned her college degree.

“I always had that lingering sense of unfinished business,” says the 53-year old. So a few years ago she enrolled at Northern Essex. Within days, she received a telephone call from an advisor in Pathways to Academic and Career Excellence (PACE), a federally-funded student support services program that offers a variety of resources and services for eligible NECC students.

“My involvement with PACE really has been nothing short of life changing,” She says. “With all that PACE offers, I thought it was too good to be true. But I had decided I wanted to make the most of my experience at Northern Essex and if there were resources available, I was going to use them.”

She attended PACE’s weekly workshops that reviewed writing resumes, cover letters, and scholarship applications and discussed how to be a successful student, develop good study habits, and ask for help. She also participated in PACE’s college and museum field trips.

“My experience has changed me as a person,” she says. “I have a different level of self-confidence…a sense of calm I’ve never before experienced.”

Laurine graduated in May with an associate degree in General Studies: Individualized Option. She will take the degree she never thought she would earn, to Merrimack College and work toward a bachelor’s degree in family and community studies.

To learn more about enrolling at Northern Essex for the spring, visit the website or contact Enrollment Services at admissions@necc.mass.edu or 978-556-3700.