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here in around BCC we have a new segment we're going to take a look at some the
Alumni
and the great work they're doing in our community here's the initial segment up
alumni in your community
hi I'm Joann Bentley I'm a graduate of BCC class of 1980
I pretty much always wanted to be an architect even as a little kid I was
always
drawing pictures of dog houses and bird houses and then trying to make them
myself and
and just do things like that in it was just I
I think my approach to architecture is it's like a puzzle to me which I love I
love puzzles
and its I enjoy talking to people
finding out what they need taking the pieces are there puzzel putting
them together in giving a building or space that they really like so I
it's just something that was always in the back of my mind since I was a little
kid I just
didn't really think I was gonna be able to do it
on and honestly I attribute a lot of me being able to do that to BCC
when I started there in 77 you was
actually very comfortable place for me the campus was very comfortable
I didn't live to far away and I was familiar with the campus because all
through high school I used to go and use the library there
anyway so it was a very homie comforting feeling for me to go to BCC
the campus I was familiar with the buildings
there's a lot more now than there were when I was there
but I just like the whole experience the campus was great
it felt kinda like you weren't in Fall River
because he had this great facility and all these buildings except
it was just you just nice it was kinda woodsy
and i was just a great campus at the time when I started at BCC I was in the
liberal arts program not really knowing
what I wanted to do actually I should say I knew what I wanted to do I didn't
know how to get there
I wanted to be an architect I couldn't really afford to go to any other private
colleges that were around here so I knew I would have to do something else first
so I started in the liberal arts program and then
at the end of my first year I went and spoke with a couple of advisers
who suggested i switch to the civil engineering program which I did
and that was a very different experience for me
I even now you we know we're approaching the eighties
it was still engineering was still very male-dominated field
and I switched into that starting
would which would've been my second year at BCC into the engineering program
I was the only girl in the majority of my classes even my physics class their
own there's only one other girl in that
and it was but the guys just treated me like one of the guys
it was no big deal to them that I was the only girl in engineering at the
time
and then I realized if I just took a few more classes I was able to get a
second degree
so I ended up getting a degree in engineering civil engineering and then
also one in land surveying
the faculty at BCC you want to get into the engineering program was great
not that they were great previously but the classes were small most of
engineering classes we only had eat or
nine or ten people at the most and I think anybody at that time who was at
BCC in engineering probably had Fred Hannic
and I had him for the majority of my classes
and we were pretty much there there is a group of about
eat almost that went through all our classes together
and we had mister hannic for a lot of our classes and he was
hard task master and he demands a lot from us but
we had a rivalry going on but it was an academic rivalry so we are all
motivated to succeed and do very well in our classes in
he would talk to us about what our plans were for the future and what we're gonna
do and where we gonna work in
even though he was in our advisor he kind of became our advisor and really
helped us
after BCC I ended up working for four years
I wanted to continue in engineering or architecture
but I needed I needed money to do that so I left BCC
and I worked for the Department public works for a year and then I went for to an
engineering company in Middleboro mass and I worked there for another three
years
before finally applying to different colleges for architecture
and I went to Rhode Island school of design and get my architecture degree from them
I I actually ended up receiving two degrees one was a bachelor
of Fine Arts and then a Bachelor of Architecture from RISSD
while I was at RISSD I started working for one of my professors was a
structural engineer in Providence
and I worked for him my last
year RISSD and then stayed for six years after graduation working for him
during that time I started my process of becoming a licensed architect
which is taking an exam also had two kids in the meantime
so that kinda slow down the process for me on
if I was a really pushing to do that so I'm I worked in Providence for seven
years
then I came back to Fall River worked for an architect here for the next
twelve and a half years
one of reasons coming back to Fall River was I had two little kids
I live in Somerset and it was convenient
when they are home when they're sick when they needed to go to graduation for
nursery school
it was much easier even though provinces and that far away it was nice
to come back
Fall River and start growing some of my roots again back here I'm from Fall
River I was born and raised in Fall River
some of my family is still here and I wanted to get back to Fall River
start my own business was
a great experience and a scary experience at the same time I really had
no business background so I really didn't
no kind of what he was doing one thing that was a tremendous tremendous help
for me is that I'm in the Rotary Club
and there are a lot of people who are just so willing to help you
and I had a lot of help from some accountants who
this is what you need to do when sign this paper and do this and do that
and just people are in the community who are in rotary are just very helpful
people
and they were very supportive of me and you can't do this and don't worry and
things are going to be great and
they've been great and they've been scary and
it's been I've been very very fortunate
I've got good clients and not that a good support system
and it's just it's working out well for me BCC
really helps me get where I am today I really
honestly believe I I would not have been able to
go back to school if I hadn't gone to BCC first
it was just a very affordable thing for me at the time I wanted to go to
college
and i couldnt I couldn't afford to go any place else it was an affordable
solution for me
the best thing was that all my credits that I took their transferred
and they were transferred to any college then I went to and it was just
it just worked out so well for me it was a small campus
already is a small campus compared to some of the others its
a very friendly feeling when you there on campus
you can navigate your way around the faculty a great
the advisers are great they help you to give you good advice
you know if you don't know where something is they'll find the answer for
you
but I I really really really believe that if I had gone there first I
wouldn't I would never have gone back to RISSD or any other school
are thanks go out to Joann Bentley and we wish her all the best in her future
endeavors