Rebecca Rose, Trisha Foster, NECC President Lane Glenn, and Diana Mele.

Three Northern Essex Community College employees Diana Mele of Byfield, Rebecca Rose of Kingston, NH, and Trisha Foster of Methuen, recently received the quarterly employee recognition award for the fourth quarter of 2011.

The Employee Recognition Award recognizes the many and varied contributions of the college’s nearly 700 employees. Employees are selected each quarter based on recommendations from supervisors and co-workers. Recipients receive a $150 certificate to the restaurant or mall of his or her choice.

Diana Mele, a professor in the human services department, was nominated by fellow co-worker Maureen Dadekian, who lauded her for her grace and finesse when working with students all while maintaining leadership qualities. “Witnessing the way Diana works with students is a learning experience in itself,” she wrote. “I continue to be a better teacher each semester because of Diana Mele’s example.”
She is highly credentialed and extremely skilled, Dadekian wrote.

Mele, a 15 year employee of NECC, earned an associate of science degree in deafness communications from NECC, a bachelor’s in psychology from Flagler College, and a master’s in mental health counseling from Gallaudet University. She has been a nationally certified sign language interpreter for more than 30 years.
Rebecca Rose, a staff assistant in the NECC Math Resource Center lab was nominated by staff members. Jillian Knowles, who teaches in the Math Center, credits Rose, who has worked at the college for five years, with establishing the center from scratch into a “truly vibrant, welcoming, and educationally and mathematically stimulating place”. Rose was charged with merging the Math Resource Center with the Math Center which she did with “grace and courage”.

Janice Rogers, Nancy Nickerson, and Eve Lopez praised her for her high work standards, consistently high on –the-job performance, empathy for students, and friendly, cooperative, courteous manner.
“Rebecca is a tireless worker with an infinite amount of energy and vision for the college- level math tutoring center. She has brought a positive slant to one of the most feared subjects and done it in a supportive and compassionate manner,” they wrote.

Rose holds a Bachelor of Science in Chemistry from UMass Amherst and a Master of Education in Interdisciplinary Studies from Cambridge College. She also is a certified math specialist.

For nearly two years, Trisha Foster has been an administrative assistant in the Foundational Studies, Liberal Arts & Sciences Department. Though the deans, assistant deans, and departments changed significantly over the past year, Trisha has maintained a calm, professional attitude. “She is one of the first staffers that adjuncts and full-time department members meet when they join the Division and she makes them feel welcome and at ease…” wrote co-worker Julie Carey.

Foster holds associate degrees from both Northern Essex and North Shore Community College.