Outstanding MCC Students Named to All-Massachusetts Academic Team

Middlesex Community College students Zena Casteel of Waltham, Joohee “Judy” Hyung of Billerica, Kara Bologna Rea of Woburn, and Assaf Shahar of Bedford were recently recognized as outstanding two-year college students and members of the 2014 All-Massachusetts Academic Team during a ceremony at the State House.

Phi Theta Kappa (the international honor society for two-year colleges), community college presidents, and community college state associations annually co-sponsor All-State Academic Teams. Outstanding students nominated to the national All-USA Academic Teams are automatically named to the All-State Academic Teams.  

Casteel entered Middlesex as a Dual Enrollment Academy student and will leave as a member of the Commonwealth Honors Program. She will be graduating this spring with an Associate in Arts (AA) degree in Liberal Arts & Sciences with a Life Science Concentration. Casteel has been active with the Dean’s Advisory Council, and served as a Peer Mentor in a First-Year Experience class assisting new students in their transition to MCC.

Hyung has been active in MCC’s Student Union Government Association, the Women’s Leadership Network, and Paul H. Sullivan Leadership Institute. She is currently president of Phi Theta Kappa, serves as a Supplemental Instructor, and is enrolled in the Commonwealth Honors Program. After graduating this spring with an AA degree in Liberal Arts & Sciences, she plans to transfer to UMass Amherst to study biology or chemistry.

Rea is a former professional ballet dancer (with Ballet Austin and Oregon’s Eugene Ballet) who retired from dancing at age 23 to complete her education. This spring she is graduating from Middlesex with an Associate in Science degree in Business Administration Transfer, then plans to transfer to UMass Lowell’s Commonwealth Honors Program. She intends to pursue a double major in accounting and finance, and eventually earn a master’s degree in accounting.

Shahar graduated from MCC in December 2013, earning an AA degree in Liberal Arts & Sciences with a Psychology Concentration. He has transferred to Clark University. While at Middlesex, Shahar participated in the Debate Club, Phi Theta Kappa, the Commonwealth Honors Program, the student improvisational theater troupe, and Honors in Action.

For more information about MCC's All-Massachusetts Academic Team members, contact Rebecca Newell, Assistant Dean of Students, at newellr@middlesex.mass.edu or 781-280-3763.   

MCC is one of the largest, most comprehensive community colleges in the state. We offer more than 75 degree and certificate programs, plus hundreds of noncredit courses, during the day, evening and weekend, on our Bedford and Lowell campuses, and online. Middlesex – a great place to begin your future!