4Cs Faculty Spotlight: Dean David Ziemba
by Anthony Cubellis
Cape Cod Community College (4Cs) is lucky enough to have a plethora of amazingly talented and dedicated faculty members right here on campus. One of these hard-working staff members is Dean of Learning Resources and Student Success David Ziemba.
Ziemba grew up in Springfield, Massachusetts and went to West Springfield high school. After he graduated from high school, he enrolled at Umass Amherst, where he also earned a degree. After completing his degree, he moved to Boston for about eight years, working for the city of Boston. Eventually, he decided to move down to the Cape, specifically to Marston Mills, where Zeimba still resides today.
Ziemba started at 4Cs in 1987 and worked his way up to the position he holds now.
“It’s been a great experience, working at 4Cs,” said Ziemba. “All the students and staff members are really nice and everyone here has goals for themselves…in my eyes, the students are the future [at 4Cs] and we want the students to learn as much as they can here so that when they have to move on the next step of the journey, they’ll be ready.”
Since he was young, Ziemba has had a love of music. One of his favorite hobbies is just sitting down and playing the guitar.
“I’ve been playing since I was really young,” said Ziemba. “I always had a thing for music it’s just really relaxing.”
When Ziemba has some free time from working at 4Cs, he usually tries to get into a relaxed mindset. Whether that’s playing his guitar, listening to music, or even going to a yoga class to release stress. The students really appreciate and relate to his calm demeanor when they come to him with their problems.
It is not just the students who appreciate Ziemba and all of his hard work. He is also held in high regard by his fellow faculty members.
While talking with John French a professor at 4Cs the head of the language and Literature French said “Dean Ziemba and I began right around the same time in 1989,” said 4Cs Professor John French. “[Ziemba] is a man of dedication. He is dedicated to our students and to our our college. Also, he has this ability to have a calming voice in even the most stressful situations. I believe that he is responsible for many students staying [at 4Cs] and completing their degree or certificates. He is truly a fixture of the college after all his years of service.”
Ziemba is a part of a lot of the programs that are a staple part of 4Cs, including Project Forward. Project Forward is a program that helps students who are cognitively different achieve both in the classroom as well as in the work field. Ziemba also works with the veterans center program, which seeks to aid and support veterans here at 4Cs.
“The students really motivate me,” said Ziemba. “Because if I’m not doing my job right then it’s hard for the students to get what they need to graduate from here and move on to the next bigger step in life. So pretty much giving the students all there options that they need to become successful in their future.”
Ziemba is looking forward to the future of 4Cs because we have a great group of both staff members as well as students to help each other out. For any student who is struggling or simply needs advice, Dean Ziemba is at the top of the list for who you should try to set up a meeting with. He really cares about the students and truly wants to help.
“Another fun fact about [Ziemba] is that his humility keeps him from having bragging rights that he deserves,” French says with a smile. “He single-handedly invented the ‘butternut donut’, what many folks have enjoyed. It’s an amazing culinary delicacy, while the inventor quietly sits in his office as a college Dean.”
Categories: People, Around Campus