The Community College System of New Hampshire (CCSNH) played a high-profile role in two popular events this fall to increase awareness of our science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) programs.
On Saturday, September 20, Nashua Community College (NCC), Lakes Region Community College (LRCC), Manchester Community College (MCC), and NHTI-Concord’s Community College collaborated to create a crowd-stopping booth at the annual Wicked STEM technology festival at Southern New Hampshire University (SNHU) in Manchester. CCSNH representatives shared information about STEM degree programs while children and parents lingered at the booth to watch one robot roll and pick up dice and another draw pictures.
“This event is designed for a younger crowd from about third grade to high school freshmen who come with their parents. It is a great chance to have conversations with parents about all the STEM opportunities at CCSNH when their children are older. We planted the seed that CCSNH can create pathways to STEM careers,” said Dan Larochelle, department chair of Advanced Manufacturing and Robotics at MCC.
The New Hampshire Union Leader created the annual Wicked STEM event four years ago to inspire innovation and create connections between youth and STEM-related career opportunities in New England. In addition to CCSNH, the 2025 event was sponsored by SNHU, Fidelity Investments, Dartmouth Engineering, Armi BioFabUSA, Army National Guard, NH Saves, ReGen Valley and the NH Tech Alliance.
Just two weeks later, CCSNH participated in the 8th Annual Governor’s Cup robotics competition for high school teams on October 4 at Plymouth State University. The Governor’s Cup is an off-season event that has become essential preparation for FIRST Robotics Competition (FRC) teams preparing for the official season. Thirty high school teams from across the Granite State competed for awards and scholarships based on robot performance and judged elements.
CCSNH continues to support this annual competition with one-semester tuition waivers to seniors on the top three winning teams and $2,000 individual scholarships to eight students nominated by mentors.
“If kids go to college in New Hampshire, they tend to stay. The whole goal of the Governor’s Cup scholarship program is to keep students in New Hampshire to become great employees and leaders,” commented Frank Grossman, a board member of New England FIRST and the driving force behind efforts get FIRST Robotics into every school in New Hampshire.
The Governor’s Cup competition provided a wonderful chance for CCSNH educators such as MCC’s Dan Larochelle; Dennis Tappin, professor in Automated Manufacturing Technology at MCC; and Joe Smith, department chair for Advanced Manufacturing and Electrical Technologies at LRCC to share information about opportunities for high school students at CCSNH. They spoke to many event participants and parents to make sure they were aware that every high school sophomore, junior and senior is eligible to take two free classes at one of New Hampshire’s community colleges through the Early College program. “They can jump start their post-secondary education by taking dual and concurrent courses for high school and college credit. It is an amazing opportunity,” Larochelle said.
The Governor’s Cup and Wicked STEM were the ideal forums to showcase CCSNH’s STEM programs and highlight the important role that community colleges play in preparing the skilled workforce of tomorrow. We look forward to continuing to support these events and welcoming graduating seniors on the winning Governor’s Cup teams to CCSNH.
