Bunker Hill Community College

Message From the President

Welcome to Bunker Hill Community College.
 
There are so many different ways to learn, access knowledge or find information today through your iPhone, your laptop, Facebook, Twitter and more. The new technology seems to offer every bit of information you could need. So why take the time and make the effort to enroll in Bunker Hill Community College?

The answer is complex because there are so many reasons for you to learn here with us. For instance, at BHCC you are surrounded by students from more than 95 countries. You hear more than 75 different languages every day. In fact, when some students arrive from the Community College T stop and enter our main lobby for the first time and see flags representing our students' home countries, they say it feels like the United Nations. That is an education in itself. Come here and you'll never see the world the same way again.

You will never think about the environment in the same way either, nor will you lack opportunities to volunteer to contribute to community causes both here in our local communities and abroad. Our initiatives to promote sustainability recently resulted in a national award, and we've also been acknowledged by national and statewide organizations for everything from our community service programs, to our high-demand offerings in fields such as biotechnology and healthcare, to our long-term commitment to diversity.

Our classrooms feature the latest technology and you can also learn online right from home. Our courses prepare you for jobs in the fastest growing fields of today's economy. We offer numerous IT programs, with courses including computer gaming, iPhone app development and computer forensics. Graduates of our nursing and other healthcare programs such as sonography, respiratory therapy and computed tomography staff many of Greater Boston's hospitals and health clinics. Partnerships with business translate into apprenticeships and summer internships. New ideas can become new companies for students in our entrepreneurship program. We offer courses in video production, psychiatric rehabilitation, energy and the environment, financial management, advertising, early childhood education, microbiology, hazardous materials, engineering, and comparative governments, not to mention culinary arts courses that could lead you to a career as a master chef.

As important as the academic programs we offer is how we teach classes and how you will learn at BHCC. Many of our courses don't look or feel like those you took in high school or at other colleges in the past. For instance, in our "learning communities," students work in teams with other students, and the professor is more like a coach than a traditional teacher. The atmosphere is friendly and supportive and the course is focused on you, the student, as much as on what you are learning. In some learning communities you take two or three different courses that are linked together by a common theme, so you get a chance to see the connections between fields of study, and you can apply what you learn in one course to the assignments you receive in another.

All of that is inside of the classroom, but at our College, learning takes place outside of the classroom, too. Many of the professors you will encounter here are noted authors and practitioners whose wide-ranging expertise enriches the learning environment. Our Compelling Conversations speaker series has brought award-winning celebrities such as journalist Bob Woodward, women's rights activist Gloria Steinem and news analyst Juan Williams to the College to share their experiences and meet with students in class. Gallery exhibits provide opportunities for you to get to know working artists. Clubs and organizations as diverse as BHCC itself challenge you to pursue and expand your interests.

All of this is with one goal in mind. We want to involve you in your education. We want to help you finish what you start. We want you to meet your goals. We want you to walk across the stage at Commencement one day soon, pick up your degree or certificate, and transfer to a four-year institution or secure a job in your field of interest.

As the new academic year gets under way, I personally welcome you to Bunker Hill Community College. Have a great year.

Mary L. Fifield, Ph.D.
President