MassBay Community College student and single mom, Jennifer Rahall, started college right after high school, but decided it wasn’t a good fit for her and left after three semesters to work two full-time jobs.

MassBay Community College student, Toni McCann, had been out of school for several years. She was recently laid off from her job of almost 15 years.

When MassBay Community College student, Ashley Osmecki, started at MassBay, she was 23 years old. At the time, she had made a few attempts at college, so she likes to say that the third time’s the charm.

Debra Brandy, MassBay’s Community College Senior Financial Aid Counselor, explains some of the services she and others provide at MassBay, including teaching students how to use the massbay.edu website to apply for scholarships, or via the O

Matthew Mori, a MassBay Community College student and 2020 graduate, started his higher education at a four-year institution, but left school to work out some personal issues.

Heidi Getchell-Bastien, J.D.
Associate Professor
Department of Criminal Justice and Government

Professor Getchell-Bastien joined MassBay Community College in the Fall of 2018. She teaches criminal justice and government courses, advises the Civic Engagement and Student Advocacy Club, and serves as the campus Civic Engagement Coordinator. In January of 2022, she was awarded the MassBay Distinguished Faculty Scholarship Award.

MassBay Community College alum Carlos Oviedo of Roslindale, MA, credits the hands-on biotech lab coursework he completed with MassBay biotechnology professor Dr. Nirmal Singh for helping him land a position as a product development assistant in the COVID lab at the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard in Cambridge, MA.

The Institute for Trauma, Adversity, and Resilience in Higher Education

With more than 20 years of teaching experience in both traditional academic institutions and nontraditional settings such as prisons and homeless shelters, she feels she has found her niche at community college.

MassBay Community College student, Isis Sanchez Zarate, originally came to the U.S. to participate in an exchange program to learn English. In her native country, she had earned a bachelor's degree in registered nursing.