These employees recently started working at the college. Let’s welcome them to the NMC community!
The next lunch and learn will be held at noon on Wednesday, February 11. Bring your lunch and join Brittany Hanbury on Zoom to explore the importance of carving out “me time” and getting creative. Together, we’ll discover free and easy ways to try new hobbies and explore the latest trends, including analog bags. There will also be a giveaway for a hobby starter kit—one lucky attendee will get the supplies needed to try three new hobbies including a Woobles crochet kit. This is event is open to all employees.
Questions? Email bhanbury@nmc.edu
Looking for easy, affordable recipes? Our colleague, Brittany Hanbury, has been testing a few crockpot recipes that can be added to your recipe rotation.
The first is a Chickpea Tortilla Soup from LiveEatLearn. When Brittany tested this recipe she used the tip from the original blog post and froze most of the ingredients aside from the broth, cream cheese, cilantro and lime in a ziploc bag and then added the frozen ingredients to the crock pot the day of with the broth and cooked on low for 6 hours before finishing the dish with the cream cheese, cilantro and lime. She also added extra jalapeños because they love a little extra spice. She says that her family are not typically soup people but this has become a staple in their household.
The second recipe is Lentil Sloppy Joes from Thyme and Love. Brittany has been a pescatarian for about 15 years and forgot how much she used to enjoy sloppy joes until she tried this recipe. She used regular Worcestershire sauce instead of vegan and says it still turned out great.
Try these recipes and enjoy!
These employees recently started working at the college. Let’s welcome them to the NMC community!
Kudos to Amy Klei! Amy was responsible for updating a BANNER report that was needed for Financial Aid to complete information for the National Center for Education Statistics. The instructions provided by IPEDS did not include all of the information that was needed for the report. This situation created a great deal of rework. Amy has a great deal of knowledge and experience which helped me find the missing pieces to this project. She was very responsive in working through this cumbersome process so we could meet our submission due date.
Experts suggest maintaining an “attitude of gratitude” increases positivity for yourself and for others. Please encourage your colleagues by submitting a KUDOS. Let them know you appreciate their hard work and are thinking of them!
These employees recently started working at the college. Let’s welcome them to the NMC community!
Is one of your goals for this year to be more active? Here are some creative ways to stay active during the day!
Also be sure to check out NMC’s fitness center; employees are eligible for a discounted rate, and it’s convenient location makes it easy to squeeze in a quick workout before or after work or even on your lunch break!
These employees recently started working at the college. Let’s welcome them to the NMC community!
Join us for these Embrace the Dream events and activities as we celebrate Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and Black History Month!
Beginning January 17 and continuing throughout the month, we invite you to take part in Embrace the Dream. This series of events and activities honors the legacy and values of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. These experiences center around reflection through learning, service, community, connection, and inclusion.
Join your colleagues and engage with these meaningful opportunities, both on campus and in the community. Below is a list of currently scheduled events and activities, with more to come:
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Freedom Walk & Celebration (sponsored by Northern Michigan E3)
January 17
Contact: Marcus Bennett, mbennett@nmc.edu
Dennos Museum “I have a dream” Day
January 19, 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Free admission to the Dennos
Contact: Craig Hadley, chadley@nmc.edu
5th Annual Embrace the Dream Read – Aloud and Craft Night
January 29, 4:30 – 6 p.m.
NMC Library
Kids, preschool through 6th grade are invited to the NMC Library to READ, CRAFT and receive a FREE Book!
Volunteers needed. Contact: Kerrey Woughter, kwoughter@nmc.edu
Children’s Literacy
January 30, 9:45 – 11:15 a.m.
Traverse Heights Elementary School
Join us in reading and crafting with local elementary school students at Traverse Heights Elementary School! You will be paired with one or two fourth-grade students to read part of a children’s book and do a related craft. Volunteers needed. Contact Kerrey Woughter, kwoughter@nmc.edu
Food for the Soul
Thursday, February 5, 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. and 4:30–6 p.m.
Hawk Owl Café
$6.00/NMC staff & students; $12.00/community members
Food for the Soul
Thursday, February 12, 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. and 4:30–6 p.m.
Hawk Owl Café
$6.00/NMC staff & students; $12.00/community members
Food for the Soul
Thursday, February 19, 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. and 4:30–6 p.m.
Hawk Owl Café
$6.00/NMC staff & students; $12.00/community members
Food for the Soul
Thursday, February 26, 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. and 4:30–6 p.m.
Hawk Owl Café
$6.00/NMC staff & students; $12.00/community members
For full details, to add events to your Google Calendar, or to watch for new opportunities, visit the NMC Embrace the Dream calendar. If you have an event or activities to add, please contact lhodek@nmc.edu. Thank you for supporting inclusion and community at NMC!
Welcome to a new year full of possibilities! As we step into this fresh chapter, it’s the perfect time to embrace new opportunities and make positive changes. Check out the opportunities NMC already has available to help you on this journey below and keep an eye out for even more wellness events and information coming from NMC’s newly revamped wellness program!
Wellness Resources at NMC:
The following employees are celebrating an anniversary soon. Please join us in congratulating them!
Kudos to Rob Rider! I had a very new staff member who unexpectedly had to work from home the other day. I emailed Rob Rider asking if there was anyway to get her setup with MiCollab, so she could answer our phone from home. Rob responded within 30 minutes, and had our new employee up and running swiftly. Thank you, Rob, for your dedication to keeping things running (and ringing!) here at NMC. Your kind and swift communication and follow-through are so greatly appreciated.
Kudos to Krissy Steinebach! Krissy took charge and coordinated a gift box full of wishes for a Salvation Army family in need over the holidays. Without her efforts and thought fullness this family may have not enjoyed Christmas as much. We appreciated her efforts.
Kudos to Danielle Quinlan and Lynne Mortiz! On Tuesday, December 9, 2025, an NMC student was involved in a car accident on College Drive while exiting the Cedar Lot. The vehicle airbags deployed and the student was badly shaken up.NMC Employees Danielle Quinlan and Lynn Moritz comforted the student until her dad arrived on scene. Employees Quinlan and Moritz’s actions were valuable, should be recognized and commended.
Kudos to Angela Adamick and Kristi Hallett! Thank you to Kristi Hallett, Angela Adamick and the facilities crew for setting up the Osterlin first floor for the CIE Faculty PD. It was perfect for the event!
Kudos to Kyle Morrison and Dylan Schaub! Thank you to Kyle Morrison and Dylan Schaub for setting up all the technology needed for a successful CIE Faulty PD day!
Kudos to Crystal Bailey, Chef Scott Williams, Lindsey Bradeen and crew! Thank you to Crystal, Chef Jim and the crew at Food Services for the delicious breakfast at the CIE Faculty PD day.
Kudos to Janet Lively and the CIE board! Kudos to Janet Lively and the CIE board for bringing back Robert Talbert for the January Faculty professional development event!
Kudos to Anna Bachman! Many cheers and accolades to Anna Bachman for finding solutions that made the upgrade of the registration system in Banner as smooth as possible. There were considerable challenges to overcome and Anna was an open, informative and strategic team member as we worked through potential challenges. I am grateful every day for her support!
Experts suggest maintaining an “attitude of gratitude” increases positivity for yourself and for others. Please encourage your colleagues by submitting a KUDOS. Let them know you appreciate their hard work and are thinking of them!
These employees recently started working at the college. Let’s welcome them to the NMC community!
Have you ever thought about how awesome it is to just chill with a good book? Step away from the hustle and bustle for a bit and get lost in a story. Reading is the perfect way to unwind, spark your creativity, and build empathy. Whether you’re into gripping novels or inspiring biographies, each page is a chance for fun and growth. So, carve out a little “me time” every day. Let your imagination run wild and dive into new adventures.
Kudos to Brittany Hanbury! Brittany coordinated the first ever NMC Book Swap, bringing book lovers from all departments together for some holiday cheer and great reads. Thanks to her for coordinating a fun gathering with the added bonus of sending participants home with new-to-them reads in time for the holiday break.
Kudos to Ben Post! Ben answered a very last-minute, very panicked, and very-end-of-the-semester call for help to correct a weighted scoring problem with a Canvas gradebook. Ben assessed the issue (after working hours), suggested a correction, then made the necessary changes himself (also after working hours). The result was an accurate gradebook and a majorly relieved faculty member. Ben saved the day in a totally selfless way!
Experts suggest maintaining an “attitude of gratitude” increases positivity for yourself and for others. Please encourage your colleagues by submitting a KUDOS. Let them know you appreciate their hard work and are thinking of them!
These employees recently started working at the college. Let’s welcome them to the NMC community!
Kudos to Molly Norville, Hollie DeWalt, Kim Gourlay, Lil Anderson and Brittany Hanbury! The holiday planning committee brought some serious joy and warmth to students and employees serving up hot cocoa on a very cold day. Thank you all for taking time during a very busy week to deliver holiday cheer and smiles to all!
Kudos to Lisa Boike and Andrew McCall! Andrew and Lisa worked quickly to mitigate an unplanned ‘early retirement’ of the college’s emergency alert system used to send voice, text and email alerts.They collaborated with the vendor and NMC staff to populate a new system with the contact information needed in case of an emergency. Because of their dedicated and timely work, NMC was ready and able to send out lockdown alerts to our NMC community in response to the incident on November 16. Many thanks Andrew and Lisa!
Kudos to Amy Shamroe! Amy Shamroe, Industry Navigator for the Sixty by 30 Grant Team in Extended Education & Training, had a very impact week! On December 3, Amy attended the MiLEAP event: Moving Michigan Males Forward. She has some great takeaways for our team, mainly around marketing (how are we portraying “Hot Jobs” – do we have equal representation of men and women when promoting fields such as healthcare, Education & Public Service, Legal, Agriculture & Natural Resources, Business/Information Services, and Manufacturing?). Watch Amy’s interview on 9&10 News at the event! In addition, Amy hosted her first “Meet the Industry Navigator” night on Thursday, December 4 in the community room at Westshore Bank. Business owners and NoMI Attainment Collaborative partners were in attendance. Partners included GROW Benzie and Kirkland Community College.
Kudos to Shannah Vergote! Extended Education & Training released its Winter/Spring 2026 catalog this week. All of the work on our catalogs is done in house at Extended Education. While it’s a team effort, and is the culmination of all of our roles here in Ext. Ed., Shannah Vergote is at the helm of all aspects of the catalog – design, layout, timelines, partner ads, sponsorships, & logistics. Since 2024, Shannah has been incorporating some impactful new elements. You may have noticed that we now have a catalog sponsor. That sponsorship is currently up to $3500, with previous sponsorships of $2500. Throughout the catalog, we have made the intentional decision to feature all authentic photos of real people, mostly people from our own community. Shannah has lowered the number of photos, while increasing the size and appeal of existing photos, for a clearer aesthetic, and to minimize the cost (# of pages) of the catalog. Our programmers are featuring more of what’s popular (like Date Nights), and leaning into NMC instructors more and more—like Tiffani Wilke! She works closely with partners on creating and fine-tuning their ads (like Peg Jonkoff with Reynolds Jonkoff Funeral Home). We’re very proud of this work which showcases the talent, expertise, dedication, and passion of our NMC College Community.
Kudos to Lindsey Dickinson and her staff! Lindsey and her staff helped to proctor an exam at the last minute when I was in a car accident during finals week. They helped reduce quite a bit of stress for me at a challenging time. I will be forever grateful.
Experts suggest maintaining an “attitude of gratitude” increases positivity for yourself and for others. Please encourage your colleagues by submitting a KUDOS. Let them know you appreciate their hard work and are thinking of them!
These employees recently started working at the college. Let’s welcome them to the NMC community!