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������Ƶ Community College’s Marketing and Communications Department was recognized by the National Council for Marketing and Public Relations District 1 at the annual District 1 Conference in Baltimore, MD. From left to right, Deni Budd, Liz Cooper, and Jeremy Solomon, with members of ������Ƶ’s Admissions Department, Lisa Dunn and Luna Salman, Baltimore, MD, October 2024 (Photo/ ������Ƶ Community College).

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact:
Liz Cooper
781-540-1231
ecooper@massbay.edu

WELLESLEY HILLS, Mass. (January 9, 2025) — Lisa Dunn, a dedicated member of the Admissions team at ������Ƶ Community College since 2014, has inspired a meaningful initiative to promote inclusion and raise awareness about the Deaf community. Lisa, who is deaf, has been a driving force in sharing ������Ƶ’s welcoming spirit with students and the broader community.

Last spring, Lisa attended a game during their Deaf and Hard of Hearing Awareness Night, an event celebrating fans in the Deaf community. That evening, Lisa purchased a t-shirt featuring the WooSox logo written in American Sign Language (ASL). Lisa proudly wore the shirt and, inspired by its impact, shared the idea with her colleagues. Together, they envisioned creating a similar t-shirt to represent ������Ƶ’s support for the Deaf community.

“It was important to show the students and the wider community that ������Ƶ is a place where everyone belongs,” said Lisa. “We offer ASL classes, interpreters for Deaf students, and employ Deaf staff like me. We are an inclusive community, and I thought, why not celebrate that on a t-shirt?”

The final result was a ������Ƶ ASL t-shirt that features “������Ƶ” spelled out in ASL across the front, the College logo on one sleeve, and the phrase “I love you” in ASL on the other. The t-shirts were an immediate hit. “Staff members wear them outside of work, and people often approach them to ask where they got the shirt or to learn more about the College. That’s exactly what we hoped for – sparking conversations about ������Ƶ,” Lisa added. ]

In early fall 2024, ������Ƶ’s Marketing and Communications team submitted the ASL t-shirt to the National Council for Marketing and Public Relations (NCMPR) District 1 Medallion Awards. Competing in the “logo wear” category, which highlights creative and innovative college apparel, the t-shirt earned ������Ƶ a Gold Medallion Award, their highest honor. One of the judge’s commented, “Sometimes you just see something, and it is just wow. This is WOW! Great job.”

Lisa, a graduate of Newton North High School and California State University of Northridge, is a proud resident of Sherborn, MA. Her contributions to ������Ƶ’s mission of inclusion and accessibility continue to inspire her colleagues and the community.

������Ƶ Community College is the most affordable higher education option in MetroWest Boston, offering a robust portfolio of courses and more than 70 associate degree and certificate programs with flexible day, evening, and weekend classes in Ashland, Framingham, Wellesley Hills, and online. ������Ƶ students receive an unmatched educational value by earning stackable credits that transfer to bachelor’s degree programs, and workforce-ready skills necessary to advance careers in high-demand fields such as health and life sciences, automotive technology, engineering, business, cybersecurity, and the humanities. ������Ƶ’s Associate Degree in Nursing (RN) and Practical Nursing (LPN) programs were both ranked as the #1 Nursing Program in Massachusetts in 2020, 2021, and 2023 by national nursing advocacy organizations RegisteredNursing.org, and PracticalNursing.org. Since its founding in 1961, ������Ƶ has been accredited by several governing bodies and remains firmly committed to its mission of meeting the needs of the diverse local communities it serves. We value the intrinsic worth of all individuals, collectively in pursuit of inclusiveness and prioritize our work towards achieving equity within our community and beyond.