One-year law enforcement certificate now available

Feb 18, 2016 | Intercom, Student News

TRAVERSE CITY — Northwestern Michigan College is now offering a one-year law enforcement certificate in addition to a degree, creating a more affordable option for individuals interested in law enforcement careers.

The Michigan Commission on Law Enforcement Standards, MCOLES, requires a minimum of an associate degree before prospective officers may take a state licensing exam. NMC’s two-year degree program, also known as the Police Academy, was designed as one year of general education credits, and a second year of law enforcement-specific credits.

The new certificate will consist of just the second-year curriculum and serve as an option for students who have already earned some college credits or an associate degree or higher from NMC or any other institution. Five police cadets will have the opportunity to earn the new certificate this spring.

With the creation of the certificate, MCOLES has also agreed to waive the degree requirement for honorably-discharged military veterans with one year of military police officer service. Veterans who meet this criteria can use their GI Bill funding to enroll in the certificate program and become a police officer in two semesters.

The new credential comes as NMC’s law enforcement program approaches its 30^th anniversary this fall. Police Academy Director Brian Heffner, said the new certificate is timely in an era of higher educational attainment and more frequent career changes.

“We have many inquiries at NMC from individuals who have degrees in other fields that are wishing to change careers – this creates an opportunity for students to gain their MCOLES certification to become a police officer in two semester,” Heffner said.

Police Academy cadet Nathan Lentz will be among the first to receive the new certificate in May. Lentz graduated from NMC in 2013 with an associate degree in Business Administration.  While working in the business environment he returned to NMC to complete the Police Academy in two semesters.

“Offering a certificate for us who already have our degree is not only something else we can add to our resume, it’s something tangible that we can be proud of,” Lentz said.

The certificate was approved by the NMC Board of Trustees Jan. 25.

Release date: February 19, 2016

For more information:

Brian Heffner
NMC Police Academy director
(231) 995-1283
bheffner@nmc.edu

Success Story: Student engagement fosters academic success

Feb 17, 2016 | Intercom, Student News

February 17, 2016

Black Lives Matter. So do women’s lives, LGBT lives, and allies’ lives. And all of those causes might matter, it turns out, to whether the students advocating for them graduate, or even earn a better GPA.

NMC’s Student Life office presently has more groups focused on social issues — including a Black Student Union, a feminist-oriented Students United for Gender Rights (SUGR), and PRIDE, an LGBT group — than Student Life dean Lisa Thomas can remember.

That’s important because research shows engaged students are more likely to succeed in college. (A 2010 Purdue study even showed that student group members earned higher GPAs than non-members. Group officers had higher GPAs still.) 

Moreover, Thomas says that when the groups are related to a student’s area of academic interest, it magnifies the connection between engagement and success.

“Seventy-five to 80 percent of the time, the student group they’re in makes sense because of an academic interest they have in their area,” she said. “This kind of engagement leads to student success.”

SUGR founder Kia Schwert exemplifies that. A dean’s list student, she entered NMC intending to study social work. After her sociology instructor gave her a book, “Feminism is for Everyone,” by bell hooks, she decided to start a feminist group.

That instructor, Rachel Johansen-Wilczewski, now advises SUGR. She said the members’ dedication, even meeting over the winter holiday break, impresses her.

“They mean business,” she said.

In addition to on-campus events, SUGR is now focused planning an alternative spring break trip focused on awareness of human trafficking and assistance to victims. Schwert herself is looking ahead to transferring to a school with a women’s studies program.

BSU founder Maya James, who’s believed to be the first dual-enrolled student to start a group, is another example of the activist-success feedback loop. She aspires to law school. Later this month, her group will go to Lansing to attend the Michigan Legislative Black Caucus Capitol Day.

“The activism we’ve been doing has been shaping our community,” said James, 17, who holds weekly discussion meetings, monthly black writer book club discussions and curated a display of books in the Osterlin Library for this month’s Black History Month.

James also initiated the January campus performance of Sampson McCormick, a gay black comedian, reaching out to Schwert and Caleb Yorty of PRIDE for help.

“There’s been a lot of student leadership stepping forward,” said Yorty, 20, who’s also a dean’s list student and involved with a grief support group in addition to the social justices causes. He studies psychology.

“I’ve never watched three student groups work so effectively together,” Thomas said of the comedy event. “While they have different missions, they have overlapping values. It was really encouraging.”

Success Story: Student engagement fosters academic success

Feb 17, 2016 | Intercom, Student News

February 17, 2016

Black Lives Matter. So do women’s lives, LGBT lives, and allies’ lives. And all of those causes might matter, it turns out, to whether the students advocating for them graduate, or even earn a better GPA.

NMC’s Student Life office presently has more groups focused on social issues — including a Black Student Union, a feminist-oriented Students United for Gender Rights (SUGR), and PRIDE, an LGBT group — than Student Life dean Lisa Thomas can remember.

That’s important because research shows engaged students are more likely to succeed in college. (A 2010 Purdue study even showed that student group members earned higher GPAs than non-members. Group officers had higher GPAs still.) 

Moreover, Thomas says that when the groups are related to a student’s area of academic interest, it magnifies the connection between engagement and success.

“Seventy-five to 80 percent of the time, the student group they’re in makes sense because of an academic interest they have in their area,” she said. “This kind of engagement leads to student success.”

SUGR founder Kia Schwert exemplifies that. A dean’s list student, she entered NMC intending to study social work. After her sociology instructor gave her a book, “Feminism is for Everyone,” by bell hooks, she decided to start a feminist group.

That instructor, Rachel Johansen-Wilczewski, now advises SUGR. She said the members’ dedication, even meeting over the winter holiday break, impresses her.

“They mean business,” she said.

In addition to on-campus events, SUGR is now focused planning an alternative spring break trip focused on awareness of human trafficking and assistance to victims. Schwert herself is looking ahead to transferring to a school with a women’s studies program.

BSU founder Maya James, who’s believed to be the first dual-enrolled student to start a group, is another example of the activist-success feedback loop. She aspires to law school. Later this month, her group will go to Lansing to attend the Michigan Legislative Black Caucus Capitol Day.

“The activism we’ve been doing has been shaping our community,” said James, 17, who holds weekly discussion meetings, monthly black writer book club discussions and curated a display of books in the Osterlin Library for this month’s Black History Month.

James also initiated the January campus performance of Sampson McCormick, a gay black comedian, reaching out to Schwert and Caleb Yorty of PRIDE for help.

“There’s been a lot of student leadership stepping forward,” said Yorty, 20, who’s also a dean’s list student and involved with a grief support group in addition to the social justices causes. He studies psychology.

“I’ve never watched three student groups work so effectively together,” Thomas said of the comedy event. “While they have different missions, they have overlapping values. It was really encouraging.”

West Hall highly ranked among governor’s capital outlay recommendations

Feb 11, 2016 | Intercom, Student News

TRAVERSE CITY — Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder’s budget recommendation for the fiscal year beginning in October includes NMC’s West Hall renovation and innovation project as one of only three recommended community college capital outlay projects.

If approved, the recommendation made to the Michigan Legislature this week would bring $7.2 million in state funds toward the $14.4 million total cost to renovate and expand 50-year-old West Hall. The goal is a new space housing robust, technology-rich and flexible learning labs to be used across the curriculum for simulation, team-based and project learning.

The ranking is a significant improvement for NMC. Last year the West Hall Innovation Center ranked fourteenth among capital outlay projects. The next step is for the House and Senate Joint Capital Outlay Appropriations Subcommittee to meet and determine if they will accept the governor’s proposal or make additions or subtractions to the capital outlay list.

Snyder has proposed that a capital outlay bill move concurrent with consideration of the overall fiscal 2017 budget bills, which would put completion of the capital outlay bill in June. However, any legislative effort to add projects could push consideration of a capital outlay bill into the post-election lame duck period this fall.

“We’re pleased to have risen significantly on the governor’s priority list,” said President Timothy J. Nelson, noting the support of regional legislators Representative Larry Inman (R-Traverse City), Senator Wayne Schmidt (R-Traverse City) and Senator Darwin Booher (R-Evart). “We now need to continue to make the case for the importance of this project to our learners and our region’s economy.”

The project would almost double the size of West Hall, from 20,000 to 38,000 square feet. It would provide for 13 adaptive learning spaces that can be configured to accommodate traditional learning, hacker space and entrepreneurial activities. Read more about the project.

Gov. Snyder’s budget also proposes a 2.9 percent increase in total community college funding statewide, and a 2.3 percent increase for NMC. This breaks down to $9.2 million for operations and $209,500 in performance funding.

Release date: February 11, 2016

For more information:

Gabriel Schneider
517-449-6453
gabe@northernstrategies360.com

Tenth annual NMC Career Fair

Feb 8, 2016 | Intercom, Student News

TRAVERSE CITY — Employers are invited to register for NMC’s annual Career Fair, set for 4–5:30 p.m. March 3 at the Hagerty Center on NMC’s Great Lakes Campus.

This event affords employers the opportunity to recruit job-seekers for career-track positions, seasonal and entry-level opportunities, as well as internships and service learning. The Career Fair is open to students, NMC alumni and community members.

Wendy Walter, Human Development Manager at Oryana Natural Foods Market, has recruited at the fair for four years in a row.

“I know many employers, including Oryana, who have hired applicants that they first met at the Career Fair,” she said. “It’s a chance to meet others, learn about opportunities and industries, and determine your next steps.”

Employer registration deadline is February 12. To register and for the most up to date information, visit nmc.edu/career-fair.

FOR MORE INFORMATION:

Irina Grougan
NMC Advising Center
igrougan@nmc.edu
(231) 995-1040

Two other career fairs are also scheduled later in the spring:

• Veterans – March 22, noon- 3 p.m., Hagerty Center
• Information Technology – April 7, 4-7 p.m., Hagerty Center

Outstanding Alumni nominations now open

Feb 7, 2016 | Intercom, Student News

TRAVERSE CITY — The Northwestern Michigan College Foundation is seeking nominations for the 2016 Outstanding Alumni award through Feb. 20.

Created in 1988, the Outstanding Alumni award recognizes alumni for significant professional achievements and/or exemplary leadership in the local or global community. The award(s) will be presented at NMC’s annual Commencement ceremony April 30.

The nomination form is available online at nmc.edu/outstanding-alumni. Nominations may also be e-mailed to Director of Alumni Relations Betsy Coffia at bcoffia@nmc.edu or mailed to the NMC Foundation, 1701 E. Front St., Traverse City, MI 49686.

The 2015 Outstanding Alumni recipients were Al Zelinksi, Sally Rogers and Gary Seabrook.

Release date: january 21, 2016

For more information:

Betsy Coffia
Director of Alumni Relations
bcoffia@nmc.edu 
(231) 995-2825

“Collaborative Intelligence” lecture by Angie McArthur, hosted by Student Life

Feb 4, 2016 | Intercom, Student News

Angie McArthur, a featured speaker at Traverse City TEDx 2015 returns to Northwestern Michigan College on the evening of Wednesday, February 10, 2016 at 7:30 p.m. Hosted by NMC’s Office of Student Life, Angie will be presenting along with one of her collaborators, Anne Powe ll, at the Milliken Auditorium on NMC’s main campus.

Throughout their lecture they will present innovative ideas on the diverse ways people think, and how we can utilize this diversity in both radical and fundamental ways to improve how we learn and work on individual and community levels. (more…)

Germany: Merkel’s High-Stakes Gamble

Feb 4, 2016 | Intercom, Student News

TRAVERSE CITY — NMC’s International Affairs Forum continues its regular lecture series at 6 p.m. Feb. 18 with “Germany: Merkel’s High-Stakes Gamble,” presented by Dr. Ingrid Sandole-Staroste of the Department of Sociology and Anthropology at George Mason University

As Europe grapples with increasing demands including from terrorism and the refugee crisis, Chancellor Merkel remains Europe’s pre-eminent leader. Now in her third term, Merkel is under increasing pressure, engaged in a balancing act that will determine her political future – and that of Germany. Sandole-Staroste, a German-American expert, who will share insights on where Angela Merkel and Germany go from here.

Tickets are $10 each and available at the door. Tickets are free for current students and educators.

Release date: February 3, 2016

For more information:

Karen Segal
International Affairs Forum co-chair
(231) 715-6064
jsegal_kpuschel@yahoo.com

Success Story: Park City peak performers

Feb 3, 2016 | Intercom, Student News

February 3, 2016

It’s hard to top the commutes of Great Lakes Culinary Institute alumni Jared Pontius and Jeromy Stanley.

Executive chefs at on-mountain restaurants in Park City, Utah, both ride chairlifts and slopes to their kitchens each day.

“There isn’t anybody on the mountain, and it’s my time to relax before the busy day,” said Stanley, 29, whose Summit House restaurant is located 9,400 feet and two chairlift rides up the Wasatch Mountains. Over the course of the day, he’ll supervise 13 employees serving hundreds of skiers passing through the 300-seat restaurant.

“Every employee has to ride down at least one run to the restaurant,” said Pontius, 26, whose 400-seat Miners Camp restaurant is perched at 8,500 feet and keeps 12-15 cooks busy. Both restaurants are part of Park City Mountain Resort, the largest ski resort in the U.S., and host to many events in the 2002 Olympics.

Both chefs began their educations elsewhere. Pontius attended culinary school in his home state of Indiana and transferred to NMC and the Culinary Institute when his parents moved to Traverse City for jobs of their own. Stanley studied secondary education at Western Michigan University for two years before deciding he wanted a more hands-on career. At GLCI, he found small classes and personal attention from an outstanding faculty.

“You had their undivided attention every day,” said Stanley, who graduated in 2011. “They taught me to effectively communicate amongst my peers, as a leader and in my everyday life.”

Pontius, a 2010 graduate, said events like the annual Tasters Guild Auction, now called A Taste of Success and coming up Feb. 19, set GLCI apart for him.

The mountains were a big factor in the original westward pull for Stanley, who skied on the Traverse City West High School team before graduating in 2005. Pontius interned at a Park City town restaurant while at GLCI and returned when a mentor chef from the internship moved to the resort.

Working at an on-mountain restaurant also means none of the night shifts notorious in the culinary world.

“That is a huge advantage for me. I’ve done those night kitchens for years and that’s not for me,” Stanley said.

In the future, Pontius might return to Traverse City to open his own restaurant. In the meantime, the mountains – and that commute— will do just fine.

“I definitely fell in love with it when I first came out here. The mountains are a majestic place to live,” Pontius said. “Sometimes that one run at the beginning and end of the day is perk enough.”

Success Story: Park City peak performers

Feb 3, 2016 | Intercom, Student News

February 3, 2016

It’s hard to top the commutes of Great Lakes Culinary Institute alumni Jared Pontius and Jeromy Stanley.

Executive chefs at on-mountain restaurants in Park City, Utah, both ride chairlifts and slopes to their kitchens each day.

“There isn’t anybody on the mountain, and it’s my time to relax before the busy day,” said Stanley, 29, whose Summit House restaurant is located 9,400 feet and two chairlift rides up the Wasatch Mountains. Over the course of the day, he’ll supervise 13 employees serving hundreds of skiers passing through the 300-seat restaurant.

“Every employee has to ride down at least one run to the restaurant,” said Pontius, 26, whose 400-seat Miners Camp restaurant is perched at 8,500 feet and keeps 12-15 cooks busy. Both restaurants are part of Park City Mountain Resort, the largest ski resort in the U.S., and host to many events in the 2002 Olympics.

Both chefs began their educations elsewhere. Pontius attended culinary school in his home state of Indiana and transferred to NMC and the Culinary Institute when his parents moved to Traverse City for jobs of their own. Stanley studied secondary education at Western Michigan University for two years before deciding he wanted a more hands-on career. At GLCI, he found small classes and personal attention from an outstanding faculty.

“You had their undivided attention every day,” said Stanley, who graduated in 2011. “They taught me to effectively communicate amongst my peers, as a leader and in my everyday life.”

Pontius, a 2010 graduate, said events like the annual Tasters Guild Auction, now called A Taste of Success and coming up Feb. 19, set GLCI apart for him.

The mountains were a big factor in the original westward pull for Stanley, who skied on the Traverse City West High School team before graduating in 2005. Pontius interned at a Park City town restaurant while at GLCI and returned when a mentor chef from the internship moved to the resort.

Working at an on-mountain restaurant also means none of the night shifts notorious in the culinary world.

“That is a huge advantage for me. I’ve done those night kitchens for years and that’s not for me,” Stanley said.

In the future, Pontius might return to Traverse City to open his own restaurant. In the meantime, the mountains – and that commute— will do just fine.

“I definitely fell in love with it when I first came out here. The mountains are a majestic place to live,” Pontius said. “Sometimes that one run at the beginning and end of the day is perk enough.”