Latest news with #SpringfieldCollege
Yahoo
13-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
These bills would protect Indigenous culture in Massachusetts
BOSTON (WWLP) – Indigenous residents and advocates came to the Boston State House on Monday to fight for bills that preserve and honor their culture. The advocacy group's priority legislation includes prohibiting the use of Native American mascots, establishing Indigenous Peoples Day, teaching their culture and history in K-12 curriculum, creating a permanent education commission for American Indian and Alaska Natives, and ensuring that sacred or historical objects in non-profit or government collections are not sold for profit. Healey administration awards grant funds to train thousands of workers across Mass. A Springfield professor explained that her research shows that Native people are still treated as second-class citizens. 'Native Americans are generally invisible in the dominant US culture, and are often visible in the form of misleading stereotypes about Native Americans in the past,' said Springfield College Sociology Professor Laurel Davis-Delano. One event speaker grew up in western Massachusetts and was often the only native student in their classes. They spoke about their negative experiences with non-Native peers and how better education can help. 'Too often we hear stories of the racial slurs, the backhanded comments, but we still live here in Massachusetts, a first-contact state,' said Reggi Alkiewicz, the Civic Engagement Coordinator of the Black & Indigenous Resistance Fund at the North American Indian Center of Boston. Education initiatives would include teaching contemporary native history and efforts to regain tribal sovereignty. The Indigenous Agenda Coalition was also behind the push to redesign the state flag and seal, and the Bay State is currently accepting suggestions for updated designs. WWLP-22News, an NBC affiliate, began broadcasting in March 1953 to provide local news, network, syndicated, and local programming to western Massachusetts. Watch the 22News Digital Edition weekdays at 4 p.m. on Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
04-05-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Miracle League kicks off 10th baseball season for disabled youth in western Mass.
SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (WWLP) – The Miracle League of Western Massachusetts kicked off its 10th season of offering young people with disabilities the chance to play baseball. Northeast Large Scale Train Show concludes this weekend in West Springfield Ninety players between the ages of four through 19 registered for the sport in under an hour. Instead of nine innings, participants got to play two innings in three games on the Aschermann Family Field at Springfield College. Each game was tailored to the abilities of each person, one of the many reasons why parents bring their children every Sunday morning. 'Being here every week, everybody is cheering him on and all the other kids, and no one is judging us,' said parent Angela Hansberry. 'Everyone is just having a good time and cheering on their kid, everyone to the best of their ability, you know, whatever they can do. Everyone is still cheering them on. It's really cute to see.' The founders of the Miracle League told 22News they're looking for volunteers to help this season. To sign up as a volunteer or for more information on the program, visit WWLP-22News, an NBC affiliate, began broadcasting in March 1953 to provide local news, network, syndicated, and local programming to western Massachusetts. Watch the 22News Digital Edition weekdays at 4 p.m. on Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
27-04-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Hundreds of volunteers gather in Springfield for Green N Fit Neighborhood Rebuild
SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (WWLP) – Hundreds of volunteers worked together Saturday morning to clean up a Springfield neighborhood. Since 1992, Revitalize Community Development Corporation has been helping out in the Springfield area, especially at their annual event, Green N Fit Neighborhood Rebuild. Mass. DCR awards thousands of dollars in grants to expand and protect urban forests 'We've got a great team of people working on 11 homes and one, The Miracle House behind me, which has eight men living there, it's a transitional home for them,' said Colleen Chanley-Loveless, President and CEO of Revitalize CDC. 'We're creating a garden, raised garden beds, for vegetables they won't be able to plant.' Revitalize CDC has brought the western Mass. community together, but also volunteers from up and down the East Coast, from Maine to Florida. 'People giving back, neighbors helping neighbors, and there's so much negativity in the world and it's really nice to be able to experience this,' Chanley-Loveless said. 'It's more of an experience. It's a lot of hard work too, but it's just an experience meeting other people.' Over 600 volunteers and 80 organizations all came together to clean up Calhoun Park and select surrounding homes. 'It's awesome, all these guys back here are also 413 guys,' said Ryan McConnell, a junior on the Springfield College football team. 'I'm from Wilbraham, and it's nice to be able to come over here, give back, but then also to be around in the summer and off-season and be able to see what we've done.' The Springfield College football team volunteered as a part of their annual Give Back Day, helping to clean up the park, create paved walkways, and landscape, heard about the impact they will have on the community. 'I know for this house, especially, they were giving us a little rundown before, the history behind the house and all the people living in it and what it means to them and means to this community to be able to have a nice place for them to come out and really appreciate,' McConnell said. Unfortunately, with the rain, the volunteers were not able to paint on Saturday, but they were still able to make a positive and lasting impact on the community. WWLP-22News, an NBC affiliate, began broadcasting in March 1953 to provide local news, network, syndicated, and local programming to western Massachusetts. Watch the 22News Digital Edition weekdays at 4 p.m. on Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
12-04-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Nashua native, cancer survivor Tejeda, 23, running Boston Marathon for Mass. General Hospital
WHEN Nathanael 'Smiley' Tejeda got to know Dave Jurewicz, he realized that they have a lot in common. They're around the same age. Tejeda, a Nashua native, is 23, and Jurewicz recently turned 20. Jurewicz studies at Springfield College, where Tejeda got his undergraduate degree in exercise science. They also have the same oncologist. Jurewicz recently finished his treatment at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) for Hodgkin lymphoma, the same kind of cancer that Tejeda had. Tejeda was diagnosed at MGH with stage 2 Hodgkin lymphoma in 2019 at age 17. Now cancer-free, Tejeda is partnered with Jurewicz through MGH for the April 21st Boston Marathon. Tejeda is running Boston — it will be his first-ever marathon — as part of MGH's marathon team. Jurewicz will cheer Tejeda on with the other MGH runners' patient partners near Mile 20 in Newton, Mass., which comes just before Heartbreak Hill. 'I think, for me, it was really cool to just hang out with him and kind of show him, hey, man, life after treatment is not the end,' Tejeda said. 'You can honestly go on and continue to live your life and be the person you want to be. There's no holding back from what you are.' Tejeda graduated from Springfield College last year. The Nashua South graduate is now working on his master's degree in exercise physiology with a focus on cancer research at the University of North Carolina. With fewer than two weeks until the Boston Marathon, Tejeda has raised more than $11,000 for MGH on his GivenGain webpage. Tejeda, who got the nickname 'Smiley' from one of his Pee Wee football teammates because of his upbeat attitude, was first diagnosed with Hodgkin lymphoma at MGH, where he also received his treatment. Then in his senior year at South, Tejeda learned he had cancer the day after he reached the quarterfinals in the 195-pound weight class at the wrestling NHIAA Meet of Champions. A few days before the meet, Tejeda discovered a golf-ball sized lump on his neck. 'I was kind of in shock,' Tejeda said. 'I didn't really fully understand at the time the severity of it all but knew that it was a big deal, and my family was very impacted by the whole situation.' Tejeda, who also played football and baseball at South, didn't let cancer affect his signature 'Smiley' demeanor. Purple Panthers baseball coach James Gaj still remembers how Tejeda told him about having to miss the season that spring. 'He sent me a text message,' Gaj said, 'and it said, 'Coach, I just want to let you know some of the good and some the bad — the bad news is I'm not going to be playing baseball because I was diagnosed with cancer. The good news is I caught it early.' His exact words were, 'I'm Gucci (good) — not to worry about it. I've never met anybody that had cancer and tell me that they're Gucci.' Tejeda, a defensive end/offensive guard in football and third baseman/outfielder in baseball at South, never liked running. He has always been more of a weightlifter. But being a patient partner for Eva Melanson, who ran the Boston Marathon on MGH's team in 2019, inspired him to do the same with the hospital that helped him beat cancer. 'I've said it a few times before to my family and my friends — this really is that full-circle moment of having been on the other side,' Tejeda said, 'and now I get to be on the flip side of this whole entire experience and really finish it off in the right way.' Tejeda started his marathon training late last year and at one point was running between 30 and 40 miles per week. He ran his first half-marathon last April. 'Hopefully this won't be my last marathon,' Tejeda said. 'Hopefully this is just the beginning of a new chapter in my life.' Scott Knight, who was Tejeda's football coach at South, wasn't surprised when he learned Tejeda was running the marathon in an effort to help others. When Tejeda was going through his cancer treatment, he met with Make-A-Wish. For his Make-A-Wish options, he could have met a childhood hero or gone on a nice trip, Knight noted. Instead, Tejeda had Make-A-Wish upgrade the South weight room. 'This is 'Smiley' to a T,' Knight said. 'He could have done anything ... but he chose to do something that would benefit others.' That outlook led Tejeda to pursue his studies at UNC. Tejeda knew he wanted to major in exercise science when he got to Springfield College. Because of his own experience, Tejeda realized while at Springfield that he wanted to work with cancer survivors and current cancer patients, using exercise to improve their quality of life. Tejeda was drawn to North Carolina in part because of the school's exercise oncology research laboratory. 'He cares more about helping others than himself,' Gaj said of Tejeda. 'He's one of the most selfless people I've ever met in my life.' ahall@
Yahoo
09-04-2025
- General
- Yahoo
The City of Springfield honors Alvin J. McKenzie with an honorary street naming
SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (WWLP)- The Springfield Community came together on Tuesday to recognize Alvin J. McKenzie on what would have been his 91st birthday with an honorary street naming. Alvin J. Mckenzie was an orphan born on April 8, 1936. He was all about using education to change lives and improve communities. 'Back home, we had to read, as soon as we got out of school. One of the things that he did, I used to watch was mentor in his community. He has an affiliation with building stuff, making things better no matter where he went,' said Maria Parkinson Mckenzie, oldest daughter of Alvin J. Mckenzie. At the age of 39, he followed his family to Massachusetts, without letting his circumstances define his future. When Alvin McKenzie immigrated to Springfield from Jamaica in 1976, he raised his family on Colonial Avenue before settling in a home on Marlborough Street. 'Never went to school, you know learn and read from his friends coming home from school and he came to this country and got an associate degree and a bachelor degree,' said Junior Mckenzie, Son of Alvin J. Mckenzie. While Alvin started from scratch, he quickly became a product of Springfield College after graduating in 1992. He died in 2007 after a five-year battle with prostate cancer. 'Even though as much as my dad was educated, there are just certain things that are in him culturally that we couldn't change. I mean he could've had the surgery, he probably would've still been living,' said Maria Parkinson Mckenzie. Alvin was a mentor, a police officer, and a security guard who showed everyone that no matter where you start, you can achieve the American Dream. In his memory, his family began a scholarship fund at Springfield College in 2023, to benefit other minority students. They plan to extend this endowment to other local colleges soon. WWLP-22News, an NBC affiliate, began broadcasting in March 1953 to provide local news, network, syndicated, and local programming to western Massachusetts. Watch the 22News Digital Edition weekdays at 4 p.m. on Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
