SCENE
LEARNING OPPORTUNITIES
Fall
2016
STATE UNIVERSITY OF NEW YORK
For Friends and Alumni
The Connection Center
Offers Help when
“Life Happens”
M
ost community college students
who drop out do so because
they can’t handle the academics,
right? Actually, a few years ago, RCC
administrators were surprised to discover
that most RCC students who withdrew
from classes did so for personal reasons
such as family, health or financial issues. In
the words of Susan Deer, PhD, Provost and
Executive VP, “The main reason for students
withdrawing is that life happens.”
In response to this challenge, RCC
applied for and was one of the first three
SUNY sites to receive a $500,000 grant
from NY state to establish The Connection
Center, an on-campus resource that goes
beyond traditional college services to
connect students and their family members
to the resources they need and to help
students stay enrolled.
Students and family members can visit
The Connection Center on campus and
speak with a Resource Navigator, who
can provide referral information, linking
them to assistance in health and human
services areas such as: housing, childcare,
employment, food, mental health, medical,
legal, health insurance, taxes, utilities and
more.
“Even though we just launched, The
Connection Center has already been
instrumental in helping RCC students
and their family members solve problems
when life happens,” said Joseph Falco,
Coordinator. “The Connection Center
Joseph Falco, Coordinator of the Connection Center (photo by Sophia Wood ’17)
bridges the gap between the College and
the community.”
In addition, because the College partners
with United Way on this project, people
seeking help can also dial 211 directly for
a confidential, free Helpline, available in
multiple languages 365 days a year. Callers
affiliated with RCC will be prompted to
press a specific extension and encouraged
to follow-up with staff of The Connection
Center for additional support.
THE CONNECTION CENTER
Technology Center, 3rd Floor, Rm. 8372
845-574-4414 • [email protected]
JOSEPH FALCO
Licensed Marriage & Family Therapist
Coordinator
Inside
Honoring our veterans
2
Public health degree
3
New faculty
4
Presidential search
5
NYPD Commissioner
6
Student honors
7
Alumni notes
8
New alumni chair
9
Students of note
10
Free career classes
11
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