Gentile begins as NSCC president

LYNN – Patricia Gentile had an auspicious start to her new career as president of North Shore Community College.”On my first day, January 1, my first official act was to close the college for two days,” she said.The reason was a snowstorm, and it did little to slow the New Jersey transplant down. Since stepping into the role of president, Gentile has met with legislators, school officials and corporate partners of North Shore Community College, but she has much more listening to do, she said. She said she plans to meet with local school superintendents, businesses, community leaders, department heads and professors within NSCC as well as students to hear what their needs are and what their vision is for the school.”My first 100 days is a listening tour,” she said.It was the lure of a presidency that drew Gentile to the North Shore from a job as the dean of continuing education and resource development for Cape May County Campus, Atlantic Cape Community College in New Jersey. She called it exciting.She brings with her a master’s in business administration from the Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania, a doctorate in education from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, as well as experience in teaching, grant writing and casinos.As a senior staff member responsible for college-wide continuing education programs, such as the Casino Career Institute, Gentile said she has experience that could be integral to starting a program at NSCC should a casino come to Revere or Everett.Gentile said working in an environment so close to Atlantic City she knows the industry and the labor market that comes with it.”I can add some value, even with the state commission because I bring the expertise,” she said.She also brings enthusiasm and passion, she added.Gentile said she got into community colleges by happenstance when she began as an adjunct professor. She stayed, after one brief hiatus, because she loves the environment. Geographically, her corner of New Jersey was decidedly more rural than Lynn but program-wise they are similar, she said. She worked on a grant program aimed at the most at-risk students, and through that met a woman who shared her story. A single mom who suffered from depression over her circumstances, she enrolled in a the job readiness program, finished and it gave her the push she needed to get her high school equivalency, Gentile said.”I think it was that transformative stuff that was so amazing to me,” she said. “My heart was moved. That program really had an impact and I wanted to be a part of it.”Three weeks into her tenure, Gentile said she has no grand plans other than listening and learning more about the college, its programs and culture.”I knew North Shore was a gem, but I didn’t realize how broad and deep the programs were until this weekend,” she said. “I think people would be really surprised by what North Shore does on a daily basis.”Gentile hopes to celebrate that when the college begins to plan its 50th anniversary celebration in the fall, after it breaks ground on a major expansion to its Lynn campus.”It’s a great time to be president at North Shore,” she said.While she isn’t sure yet what her tenure will bring, she knows exactly what it will leave behind. The former executive director of two Girl Scout Councils said, “the whole purpose of Girl Scouts is to leave a place better than when you came, and that’s my job here.”