HCC Students Providing Free Basic Tax Prep.  

HCC students Antonio Usedo (left) of Bridgeport and Lydia Rodriguez (right) of Stratford are among HCC students who will be providing free tax preparation to qualifying families this year through the Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) program. The two accounting students, shown chatting with Bridgeport Mayor Bill Finch, were trained by the Internal Revenue Service to prepare income tax returns for households earning less than $50,000. VITA kicked off  the new tax season with an event at HCC  Friday, Jan. 27.

Alum Is Grand Marshall

Of St. Patrick's Day Event

HCC alumnus Richard Owens and his wife Deborah have been named Grand Marshalls of Bridgeport's 30th annual St. Patrick's Day celebration. Richard grew up in Stratford, graduating from St. Mary's School and Bullard Havens Technical School in Bridgeport, before attending HCC. A US Navy veteran who served during the Vietnam War era, he is currently manager of customer service for the fitting department at Southern Connecticut Gas Company, where he has worked for 34 years. His wife, who holds bachelors' and masters' degrees in Nursing from Sacred Heart University, is currently director of the Magnet Program at St. Vincent's Medical Center, where she has worked for 18 years.

Chris Carollo Heads Institutional Advancement

Christopher Carollo has been named Director of Institutional Advancement at Housatonic Community College. Carollo, who comes to Housatonic from Southern Connecticut State University, brings fundraising, grant-writing and budget experience to the position. He also has experience working with community leaders and groups, as well as in managing and selecting portfolios for alumni and organizations. "We're delighted to welcome Chris Carollo to the college," said President Anita T. Gliniecki. "His extensive background, especially in fundraising and working with community leaders, will be especially valuable to the Housatonic Community College Foundation as it seeks to raise funds for student scholarships, student emergencies, program enhancements and the Housatonic Museum of Art."  

Students Collect Goods For Social Service Orgs.   

Dr. Kevin Boylan, an HCC History professor, "de-mythified" the Vietnam War's Tet Offensive Jan. 30 during an appearance on Jim Buchanan's evening drive talk show on WICC (600 AM).  During the offensive, North Vietnamese troops and Viet Cong guerrillas launched a coordinated series of attacks on South Vietnamese and U.S. troops. Boylan pointed out that, contrary to popular myth, it wasn't the general public that lost faith in the U.S. military as a result of the offensive but President Johnson's White House staff. He also debunked a myth that the offensive was over in four days, noting that this was the case in most of the cities but not in the countryside. In addition to college teaching, Boylan spent 10 years as a contract defense analyst for the Pentagon, dealing with NATO and other defense issues.