
Team Success Scholars (TSS) is designed for Student Success. Supporting students from traditionally underserved populations, we help young adults who are attending college for the first time to successfully navigate the college experience, and to achieve their educational and career goals. Check us out on Instagram and Facebook!
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Our Success speaks for itself. With an average cohort size of 25, Team Success Scholars:
- Are more likely to stay in college
- Earn on average a higher GPA of 2.90
- Finish English and Math coursework sooner
- Obtain at least one Workplace Recognized Credential
- Complete an Internship Experience
- Complete a Service Learning project
- Upwards of 80% graduate with an Associates Degree
- Graduate on average in 2.5 years
- Greater than 90% transfer on to a 4-year university
We are looking for gritty young adults who want to take charge of their future. Success can be You! Take the next step and apply today!
APPLY HERE 2023 application is opened!
Supporting Documents: We will email you a list of required documents
Deadline to Apply: June 1st
Interviews: July
Notification date: Mid July
How to Apply
Complete the online application by the June 1st deadline. All supporting documents (we will give you a list after you apply) must be submitted to complete the application packet. Incomplete applications will not move forward for consideration. During the COVID campus lockdown, we ask that applicants to please not mail or email any sensitive documents to us. All documents will be processed online.
Selection Process and Criteria for Admission
The TSS program is competitive but we encourage all interested students to apply. Careful consideration is given to each applicant. Eligibility does not automatically qualify the applicant for admission into the program. TSS applications are carefully reviewed, and strong consideration is given to:
- Barriers to college access or success
- High school grades
- Senior year attendance
- Engagement in school and community
- Motivation and grit to success
Applicants selected to move forward will be contacted for an interview with our TSS team. Final candidates will be contacted by phone of their selection. Students must sign a Team Success Scholars Contract to be fuly accepted into the program. Students who do not sign and return this contract will be removed form the admitted list.
What the TSS Program Offers
As a member of Team Success Scholars, students benefit from a holistic support system that focuses on personal development and academic and career success. The tightly-knit cohort of students are engaged on campus with faculty, staff and student activities, and in their communities as young professionals. As recognized leaders, TSSers are routinely asked to speaker before groups and to act as ambassadors to the college and the TSS program. Through these opportunities TSS students develop a robust network of professional contacts and enrich their professional portfolio.
TSS helps students to develop their own career pathway toward an associate’s degree, including earning at least one workplace recognized credential, ultimately helping them to secure a better job and economic security. Workplace credentials may include Security Officer certificate, OSHA 9 certification, CNA certification, EMT certification or ServSafe certification. All training costs are supporting by the TSS program. Upon completion of training and certification, we assist students with securing employment utilizing the credential.
Students meet weekly for individualized sessions focusing on any barriers the students may be facing, and facilitating an action plan for positive resolution. Actionable items may include meeting with a professor, going to tutoring, pro-active advising, meeting with our study coach, visiting the campus food pantry, reaching out to a campus or community professional, or financial assistance. We encourage self-resolution with facilitated guidance.
We have a dedicated TSS room on campus where students engage in learning cohorts, peer tutoring, individual study time, and weekly TSS Workshops. The room is open and accessible whenever the campus is open, supporting faculty and peer connections, socializing, and sometimes simply downtime. We also hold two TSS Leadership Retreats off campus, encouraging leadership training, teamwork and cohort building. Weekly TSS Workshop include topics such as:
- Financial literacy
- Career focused Panel discussions
- Community Action Planning
- Developing your Personal Brand – LinkedIn, Social media & You
- Resume writing & Interview Preparation
- Virtual Savvy & Dress for Success
- Scholarship writing
- Mental Health
Our students regularly attend statewide, national and international conferences and volunteering experiences. TSSers regularly are part of:
- NCCC’s many clubs and student activities
- NCCC’s Campus Ambassadors Program through the Admissions Department
- Northwest Chamber of Commerce’s Wow! Forum
- Oxford Consortium for Human Rights conferences
- NCCC’s Cross Cultural Communications course (traveling to Spain & France in 2020)
- Random Hacks of Kindness Junior
- CT Food Bank Mobile Food Pantry
Financial Support
TSS offers financial resources and guidance to students facing economic challenges. Financial support addresses individual needs, which may include costs for books, transportation, eyeglasses, professional clothes, credentialing costs, food, rent or housing. The program also supports students wishing to train and earn workplace recognized credentials as part of their career plans, assisting with tuition, books and supply costs.
All TSSers are encouraged to have at least one internship experience while at NCCC. We have a robust database of internship worksites, and encourage students to secure a new internship worksite if this site more closely matches to their career interests. TSSers have interned at the American Mural Project, Five Points Gallery, Torrington Historical Society, Salvation Army of Winsted, Northwest Community Bank, Ed Advance Day Support Program, Prime Time House, to name a few. We also assist those students who wish to secure part time work on campus in one of our departments.
All TSSers are involved in yearlong Community Action Planning (CAP) projects, addressing a need in the community and assisting the stakeholder with developing a sustainable solution. Working in partnership with Quinnipiac University, students meet at least twice a year to collaborate on projects and share successes. Past projects have included planting and landscaping for elder care and veteran centers, understanding and addressing food insecurity, improving police and student relations, and addressing the access and equity in education. Ongoing projects include “The Mosaic Project“, a collaborative effort with the Torrington Historical Society to develop an online space to document and celebrate the diversity of the immigrants who have chosen to call Torrington home.
Video produced by Erin Sullivan, NCCC May ’21 graduate & TSS alum
“Being a part of Team Success Scholars gave me the opportunity to be more involved on campus and taught me several life lessons.The workshops taught me how to properly write a resume, apply for jobs, get out of my comfort zone, and communicate with my professors and faculty. The TSS Leadership Retreat forced me to be out of my comfort zone and do things I never thought I would do, such as zip lining. After being in the TSS program for 3 years, I was able to job shadow at The Jackson Laboratory last summer. This experience helped me to get hired at my current job at Dymax, which I have been trying to work at for years. Being in Team Success Scholars has greatly impacted my experience at NCCC and helped me to achieve my goals.” – Cynthia Pitcher, May 2020 graduate
“Team Success Scholars has helped me find myself and become someone that I have always dreamed to be. It has pushed me to be the best version of myself. Team Success Scholars is not only there to help you succeed – it’s a family that is there for support when you feel as if you can’t succeed.” – Sarah Kruse, May 2020 graduate
“The Team Success Scholars program provides me with many great opportunities to give back to my community, and to acquire useful job experiences for my future. I have been able to be a part of many events that are deeply important to me. I was able to have a voice for my Hispanic community by speaking before the Legislative Budget Appropriations Committee Hearing in Hartford. I have been able to volunteer and provide food for the people who need it most in our community through NCCC’s CT Food Bank Mobile Food Pantry. I am very grateful for this program .” – David Castillo, 1st year Business Administration major
“TSS has helped me an extreme amount through my time here. I would wager without it I would have dropped out a long time ago if it wasn’t for the support I received from TSS. I owe my internship and international experience to this program. Team Success Scholars has instilled a sense of urgency in me; I felt I was capable of doing much more than just taking classes at the college.” – Tommy Le, May 2020 graduate
Team Success Scholars is a Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) youth funded program, administered through the Northwest Regional Workforce Investment Board. Additional funding is provided by Northwest Community Bank of Winsted CT.
Contact Jesse DePonte, Program Director of Team Success Scholars, by email at jdeponte@nwcc.edu or call 860.738.6348. or
Contact Maggie Sullivan, Program Assistant of Team Success Scholars, by email at msullivan@nwcc.commnet.edu or call 860-738-6361.