News.....
About Student Activities and SkillsUSA!!
NEIT is pleased to announce the appointment of Melissa Hague to the position of student activities coordinator. Melissa comes to NEIT with seven years of experience coordinating activities for the Boys & Girls Club of Pawtucket as well as numerous activities for the city of Pawtucket. She is a member of the board of directors for the Kiwanis Club of Pawtucket and has been a member of numerous community organizations including the Pawtucket Comprehensive Strategy Committee, Pawtucket Pleasant View Weed & Seed Steering and Program Committee, and the Pawtucket Assessment and Referral Team.
Melissa is looking forward to working with our students faculty and staff. If you are interested in student activities, please stop by Melissa's office, which is located in the CT Bldg. student lounge, or call her at 401-739-5000, extension 3565.

Melissa McCulloch waits patiently in the dunk tank to help raise money for SkillsUSA

NEIT's SkillsUSA Chapter would like to thank all of the students, faculty and staff who came out in support of the SkillsUSA Dunk Tank fundraiser. SkillsUSA was able to raise $250.00 from this event. The group would like to thank RI Rentals for donating the dunk tank, as well as Fleet Pool Water Delivery for donating 500 gallons of water to fill the tank, because of their generous donations all of the money raised that day will go directly to the SkillsUSA national travel fund.
SkillsUSA continues to raise money throughout the quarter for their national travel fund by selling lollipops, candy bars, and raffle tickets for reserved parking spots. All parking spots are reserved from week 1 to week 10.
The winners from the Summer Quarter raffles are as follow:
Winner of the CT Lot parking spot is Alissa Resnik of OTA
Winner of the Gouse Lot parking spot is Justin Lebel of MCT
Winner of the portable CD player is Bethany Quinn of ID
Thanks to everyone who bought tickets to the three raffles. Remember if you didn't win this quarter you can try again for the Winter Quarter. Think how nice it would be to have a reserved parking spot during the snowy months!

SkillsUSA held elections Oct 19th and the following were elected into office:

President: Justin Lebel (MCT) Parliamentarian: Charles Shaw (MWD)
Vice-President: Crystal Hartung (MCT) Historian: Brian Kenny (MWD)
Secretary: John Steiner (MWD) Reporter: David Flanagan (MWD)
Treasurer: Franz Steiner (BCC)
If you would like more information about SkillsUSA please email our Chapter President Justin Lebel at jdlebel@cox.net or contact our Chapter Advisor Melissa McCulloch at mmcculloch@neit.edu.

Announcing the new "Community Enrichment Club"

Find out about in-house activities for students to earn an extra credit toward graduation. Volunteer opportunities exist for all Associate level students in all technology programs. Community Enrichment benefits students, the communities we live in and the college community.
The first meeting is Oct. 19 in room 317 of the CT Building. All meetings are on the first Tuesday of each month. For more information contact Arlene Potvin, Feinstein Community Enrichment Program Coordinator at 739-5000, x 3352 or apotvin@neit.edu
Dates for the next meetings of the Community Enrichment Club: Nov 2 and Dec 7, both in Student Lounge.

proved himself as a very creative, reliable and honest individual. After the first meeting with him, we mutually agreed to work together.
A. (Bill) I always enjoyed the creative process. After meeting and working with Slav very efficiently on several school projects, we had a similar view and mutual respect for each other's talents and decided we would work together sometime in the future. Slav said he was going to open a business and asked if I would work with him and knowing his work ethic and skills, it really is a no-brainer.
Q. Did you have many obstacles in the way of getting your business off the ground?
A. (Slav) Starting a new business is always a risk and challenge. An excellent way to avoid obstacles is to carefully craft a business plan, to try to predict as many difficulties as possible, and start steering away from them. NEIT gave an exceptional jump-start in this regard. High-end expertise of instructors with their real life experience in the production fields was just what a doctor ordered. This is what makes NEIT different.
Q. How would you describe your business and the clients you work with?
A. As I mentioned before, Vaskevich Studios is a full service multimedia production company. We specialize in corporate and business video production, studio and location photography, print, web, motion and audio design, CD-ROM/DVD Authoring. We handle the complete process Ð from concept, to production, to distribution. Our current clients are various size businesses, corporations and educational organizations.
Q. Bill, what do you like best about your role in the business? Did you ever think you would be in sales/marketing?
A. No, however it doesn't hurt that I'm not afraid to talk to people. I like knowing my input is valued and appreciated. I don't mind marketing but you do what you have to do to make things happen. I like the amount of freedom and creativity this job enables me to have, which Slav encourages. Q. What do the two of you remember most from your experiences here at NEIT?
A. (Slav) I could talk a lot about it; however, my most memorable experiences came from the people who are called instructors!
A. (Bill) I learned a lot at my internship at WWRX 103.7. Volunteer work allowed me to watch, work and learn from professionals. Volunteering also enabled me to network with other people in the industry for which you can never have enough contacts.
Q. What experiences/classes, helped to prepare you for what you are doing today?
A. (Slav) NEIT offers a highly creative environment. Professional instructors with great personalities combined with a well-designed curriculum and outstanding production facilities, are the main ingredients of a perfect learning atmosphere. Every single class was so unique and invaluable that the whole program of study became one great experience.
A. (Bill) My classes taught me to use time management and brought my multitasking skills to a level I didn't know I had.
Q. Knowing what you know nowÉis there anything you would have liked to do differently?
A. (Slav) I'd spend more time learning from my instructors!
A. (Bill) I'd like to have had more time to devote to each project.
Q. What are the future plans for the business?
A. (Slav) Grow at a pace that is just right for us. We do not want to rush things when it comes to internal development. We value our clients, so we need to have enough time to make their experience of working with us a good one. A long lasting relationship is everything!

When asked what advice the pair had for students entering the market today, they both agree that you really have to love what you do. Slav stated that the field could be very challenging. "You have to really like what you do in order to be successful. The production process should be a part of who you are. Only then you will see the results. Thus, my advice for the students preparing to enter the market would be to concentrate on their expert development while building a professional image. Your portfolio is what will make a difference." Bill mentioned that students must pay their dues and "stay focused, love what you do, volunteer, don't do it just for the money or you'll never be successful. Don't be afraid to make mistakes, as long as you learn from them, and last but not least, don't burn bridges. You never know who could help you in the future. Remember, it's not where you start but where you finish."
Vaskevich Studios can be found at
www.vstudios.us

The Occupational Therapy Assistant Technology Department (OTA) invited Donna Dickerman from the RI Department of Health and Professional Regulations to speak to the students in one of the final courses offered in the OTA curriculum. To help the students understand the process for state licensing to practice in Rhode Island, Donna led the class through a simple process for successfully applying. Students also engaged in a discussion to prepare for the national certification exam sponsored by the National Board for Certification of Occupational Therapy (NBCOT). A candidate must successfully complete this exam in order to be considered for licensure. The graduates of the OTA program who completed the certification exam from January 2004 to June 2004 all passed resulting in a 100% pass rate the first-time test-takers during this period. The OTA Technology program congratulates the following graduates who successfully passed the NBCOT exam this year: Courtney Crone, Roger LaValley, Alanna Murphy, Courtney Russo, Shelley Taillon, Dietra Uribe, and Breanne Vaughan.