The Student Leaders/Work Study Appreciation event was hosted by CT State Manchester President Dr. Joshua Moon-Johnson, in collaboration with the Department of Student Life. The event brought students and staff together in a welcoming, community‑focused setting. Attendees enjoyed community building, refreshments, care packages, encouraging notes, creating a relaxed and engaging atmosphere of appreciation and connection. Thank you to the MCC Foundation for sponsoring the event.
Celebrating the Season with Spring Fling. The event built community, showcased our student clubs and even dunked Dean of Students, Dr. Dalexh Hunt! A wonderful wrap up to an exciting year.
At the 2026 All-CT Academic Team ceremony on 4/24, CT State Manchester students Angelina Herdlein (PTK President) and Hannah Simpson (SGA Vice President) were recognized and awarded with a proclamation from the Governor, a medal, and a certificate demonstrating their academic excellence and service to the campus community.
So proud of our culinary students! They hosted a beautiful and delicious Moroccan gourmet dinner and raised over $7,000 to support the students in the culinary program. They shined and fed the sold out audience. Thanks to the amazing culinary students, the MCC Foundation, faculty and staff, CT State President Dr. Royal, Manchester Campus President Dr. Joshua Moon-Johnson , and many others
We are excited to announce that our 2026 Commencement Speaker will be Kelli-Marie Vallieres, PhD
Dr. Vallieres is a leader in workforce development, advanced manufacturing, and cross-sector system building. She serves as Connecticut’s Chief Workforce Officer and leads the Office of Workforce Strategy, acting as the Governor’s primary advisor on statewide workforce initiatives. She is the owner of Sound Manufacturing and Monster Power Equipment, Inc., two Connecticut-based manufacturing companies.
Dr. Vallieres earned her Ph.D. in Educational Leadership and Adult Learning from the University of Connecticut, a foundation that shapes her approach to system design, adult learning, and organizational leadership. She began her academic journey as a student at Manchester Community College.
Please join us at Commencement on May 28.
✂️🎉 A memorable celebration at CT State Manchester!
Today, we proudly celebrated the opening of the ECE/OTA Learning Labs and Child Development Center with a ribbon cutting ceremony highlighting Experience in Action. Welcoming remarks were shared by Donna Sweeney, M.Ed., OTR/L, Program Coordinator for OTA, and Brittany Zavaski, MS ECE, Director of the Child Development Center, who spoke about the impact these new spaces will have on student learning and community engagement.
The ribbon cutting featured Christina Royal, Ph.D., Interim President of CT State Community College; Joshua Moon‑Johnson, Ed.D., Campus President of CT State Manchester; June Dunn, Ph.D., Dean of Faculty and Lori Rich, Teacher at the Child Development Center.
The celebration concluded with final reflections from Brittany Zavaski, alongside student speakers Diana Lopez, ECE, and Mark Tayo, OTA, followed by hands‑on activities in the ECE/OTA Learning Lab and CDC. Thank you to everyone who joined us to mark this exciting milestone for our campus!
The CT State Manchester Radiography Program won the Connecticut Society of Radiologic Technologists won the Annual Student Competition. The Manchester Team students were Jon Baballeku, Arelys Cosme, Emily Feldman, and Xavier Mastarreno won the trophy during the final round.
🌟🌟Art Student Highlight Star Conly @artadventureswithstar !! 🌟🌟 (this student highlight by gallery work study & art student Sheela Wilkie @sheelacreates !)
“Star Conly- A woman of many talents that reach far beyond her artwork.
Currently, Star works with us here at CT State Manchester as an internship student in our galleries. Without fail, she’s taken initiative with every gallery project with a smile as she’s eager to take on any learning experience she can. She’s taken a variety of painting classes with painting professor Brett Eberhardt, and created incredible works of art with her unique representational painting style. She prefers this medium, however she still dabbles in the art of photography as well as other mediums. She’s heavily influenced by many artists, such as Jenny Saville, Artemisia Gentileschi, Gregory Crewdson and Cindy Sherman.
When asked what she wants to do with her future, she says she’s “doing what I should’ve done 20 years ago!”, in that she’s starting to lean into her passions instead of worrying about fitting into the 9-5 desk job lifestyle, which is what she started out her college career doing. She wants to continue to stay in the field of art education and possibly gallery maintenance, and it suits her. She tells the gallery team about her busy schedule, full of volunteering and work at her home campus, CT State Asnuntuck, as well as CT State Tunxis. As they say, home is where your heart is, and she feels at home in the art community. I speak for us all when I say we are so glad to have her.”
You are truly a star, Star! Follow her Instagram @artadventureswithstar to see uncropped images & so much more!
@ctstateasnuntuck@ctstatetunxis@ctstatemanchester@ctstateedu
Manchester students competing in the NASA Space Grant Drone Challenge. Congrats to Elhame Adams, Marcelus Brown, Bradley Carlson and faculty advisor Merhdad Faezi.
The CT State Manchester Music Department presents Misa Tango (Misa a Buenos Aires) by Martin Palmeri at the Spring Arts Festival.
This work blends the tradition of the Latin Mass with the passion and rhythm of Argentine tango, featuring the CT State Manchester Chorale, Crescendo, Inc. The concert will also include performances by the Jazz and Chamber Ensembles directed by Dr. Deborah Simmons.
Featuring Rodolfo Zanetti, bandoneón, and Nadia Aguilar, soprano, under the direction of guest conductor and Crescendo’s Artistic Director, Christine Gevert.
📅 May 15, 2026
🕕 6:00 PM
📍 CT State Manchester, SBM Auditorium
🎟 Free and open to the public
#misatango
✨ SAVE THE DATE: SPRING ARTS FESTIVAL ✨
Join us for an evening of art, music + inspiration
Visual Fine Arts & Graphic Design team up with our Music Performance Programs for a campus-wide celebration featuring:
Student exhibitions across the
Hans Weiss Newspace Gallery, Dehn Gallery + Art Studio halls
(Painting, Ceramics, Drawing, Photography, Printmaking, Sculpture, Graphic Design + Illustration — all from Spring 2026!)
Live Performance: Misatango by Martín Palmeri
Featuring CT State Manchester Chorale, Jazz + Chamber Ensembles, guest musicians, conductor Christine Gevert + soloist Dr. Nadia Aguilar
(Supported by the Manchester Arts Commission)
✨ Refreshments + community + seriously good vibes 1st poster design by @muram_maki !!
⏳ BONUS TIME: Exhibitions Extended through April 28!
Don’t miss:
With My Pencil, I Wrote Myself Into Being
Works by Angel Abreu (K.O.S.), Deborah Dancy, Imo Nse Imeh + Kamil Peters
In dialogue with James by Percival Everett
The Living Archive
Altered photographs by our very own multi-talented music Professor, Dr. Deborah A. Simmons
