Success Story: Restaurant Week chefs earn chops at GLCI

Feb 19, 2020 | Intercom, Student News

February 19, 2020

Ten years ago, Traverse City started Restaurant Week with 18 restaurants offering special menus.

Fifteen years ago, NMC’s Great Lakes Culinary Institute moved to brand-new bayfront facilities, including Lobdell’s Teaching Restaurant.

Ten years before that, in the mid-1990s, NMC’s culinary program made a distinct shift to focus on the art and craft of cooking.

Those culinary ripple effects will crest next week, when Traverse City’s tenth annual Restaurant Week takes place with more than doubled restaurant participation. Fully one-quarter of those 40 restaurants count GLCI alumni as owners or in kitchen leadership roles. At other restaurants, current GLCI students and other alumni can be found as line cooks, sous chefs and managers, all collectively contributing to Traverse City’s stellar reputation as a food and wine destination

“Just the fact that we have so many incredible restaurants, (GLCI) is one of the sources behind it,” said Colleen Paveglio, marketing director at the Traverse City Downtown Development Authority.

The DDA originally organized Restaurant Week to be a shot in the arm to business during the lull of midwinter. To say it worked is an understatement, said 2014 Culinary Institute graduate Fletcher Gross (above), a chef partner in HM Group. Their five restaurants — Slate, Sorellina, McGee’s 72, McGee’s 31 and Harrington’s by the Bay — all participate.

“Restaurant Week is literally like pulling a week out of the middle of July and putting it in February,” Gross said. “It’s one of my favorite weeks of the year, because we can showcase what we do best.”

Gross credits GLCI for giving him the skills not only to become a chef, but to build a career in the restaurant industry. He joined HM Group in 2011 and bought into the ownership group in 2018. 

“I learned how to be a better manager,” said Gross, 26, who handles all the purchasing for the five restaurants and trains the head chef for each kitchen. Between them, the five restaurants employ around 100 people this time of year, a figure that will double in the summer. 

 “I’m very grateful for my restaurant career,” Gross said.

He also pitches into whichever kitchen is expecting the highest volume in a given week.

Next week, that may be a tough call, as reservations pour in.

“People look forward to it,” Paveglio said.

Besides the HM Group restaurants, the others participating in Restaurant Week with GLCI alumni connections are Minervas, PepeNero, Smoke & Porter, The Good Bowl and Towne Plaza.

NMC Career Week

Feb 17, 2020 | Intercom, Student News

Are you looking for employment? Get help from NMC’s Employment Readiness Specialist, Lisa Baldyga, during Career Week! Work on your resume, get some networking tips and come to NMC’s Career Fair!

• Tuesday, Feb. 25: Resume Workshop 11:30 a.m.-12:45 p.m. Osterlin O113
• Monday, March 2: Keep Calm and Network On! 6-8 p.m. Dennos Museum Center
• Tuesday, March 3: Resume Workshop 9-11 a.m. Osterlin O113
• Wednesday, March 4: Resume Workshop 2-4 p.m. Osterlin O113
• Thursday, March 5: NMC Career Fair 3-6 p.m. (2 p.m. for Veterans) Hagerty Center 715 E. Front St.

For more info and Pre-Registration, visit nmc.edu/career-fair.

Record $1.28 million in NMC scholarships awarded

Feb 6, 2020 | Intercom, Student News

Number of student recipients rises 45 percent

Traverse City — Northwestern Michigan College has awarded a record amount of scholarship dollars to a record number of recipients this academic year, another example of NMC’s commitment to break down barriers to education, including financial.

As of Feb. 3, the college had awarded $1.28 million in scholarships to 964 recipients for the 2019-20 school year. That’s a 12-percent increase in dollars awarded and a whopping 45 percent increase in recipients. In 2018-19 the college awarded $1.14 million to 662 recipients.

NMC Director of Financial Aid Linda Berlin said the increase is the result of process enhancements undertaken to encourage more scholarship applications, so that available funds are fully awarded. Enhancements included a second application cycle, a communication plan to students and a reformatted, more user-friendly application.

As a result, applications grew from 22 percent of students in 2016-17 to 28 percent last year. Simultaneously, scholarship funds awarded rose from 74 percent of available to 82 percent. Berlin expects to see those numbers continue to improve this year and next.

“We’re trying to make (scholarships) more accessible to all our students, and we’re trying to get the message out, it’s not just about merit,” Berlin said. Financial need, area of study, and hometown are all common scholarship award criteria.

Scholarship funds are donated through the NMC Foundation, which has made scholarships one of four priority areas in its current $35 million Be What’s Possible comprehensive fundraising campaign. Read more.

Recipient Dani Valentine, 26, is in her second semester at NMC. For the fall 2019 semester, she got a $500 scholarship. This spring, she was awarded two more totaling $1,500. After earning her associate’s degree at NMC, Valentine plans to complete her bachelor’s through NMC’s University Center, and then complete a graduate degree in optometry at Ferris State.

“It’s definitely a long road, but because of scholarships I feel like I can do this,” Valentine said.

One of her spring scholarships is the Global Opportunities scholarship for students studying abroad. Valentine will use the $1,000 to participate in NMC’s first-ever trip to Iceland. She plans to earn NMC’s Global Endorsement in addition to her degree.

“I think it will help set me apart for anything I apply for in the future, as far as jobs or grad school,” she said.

The average 2019-20 scholarship award is $1,327. Berlin said that her office is trying to keep the average above $1,000. Tuition and fees for a student like Valentine — a Grand Traverse County resident enrolled in 12 contact hours per semester and studying an NMC general program — total $1,714 per semester.

“I’m really just super grateful for all these scholarships, not just for me, but anybody,” Valentine said. ‘It really does make a huge difference. Any small amount really helps.”

• To help students and families learn how to pay for college, NMC will hold its annual Financial Aid Fair from 4-7 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 12 in the Osterlin Building. This event is a comprehensive overview of the cost of college, types of financial aid, finding and applying for scholarships, and a special session for Native American students. Individual assistance is also offered.
• A culinary scholarship-specific workshop will be held from noon-2 p.m. Friday, Feb. 14 at Lobdell’s Teaching Restaurant on the Great Lakes campus.
• A tech-aviation scholarship-specific workshop will be held from 12:30-1:30 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 26 in Parsons-Stulen 217/219 on the Aero Park Campus.

Release date: February 5, 2020

For more information:

Diana Fairbanks
Executive Director of Public Relations, Marketing and Communications
dfairbanks@nmc.edu
(231) 995-1019

Success Story: Record high dollars awarded to record number of recipients

Feb 5, 2020 | Intercom, Student News

February 5, 2020

Aspiring to an optometry degree, Dani Valentine anticipated many years of tuition bills. But thanks to NMC scholarships, in only her second semester she’s finding those bills substantially lower than expected.

Valentine is one of a record 964 institutional scholarship recipients this academic year, a whopping 40 percent more than in 2018-19. Collectively those students have been awarded a record $1.28 million, a 12-percent increase in scholarship dollars awarded over 2018-19.

“It’s definitely a long road, but because of scholarships I feel like I can do this,” Valentine, 26, said of achieving her goal of becoming an optometrist.

NMC Director of Financial Aid Linda Berlin said the increase is the result of process enhancements undertaken to encourage more scholarship applications, so that available funds are fully awarded. Enhancements included a second application cycle, a communication plan to students and a reformatted, more user-friendly scholarship application.

As a result, applications grew from 22 percent of students in 2016-17 to 28 percent last year. Simultaneously, scholarship funds awarded rose from 74 percent of available to 82 percent.

“We’re trying to make (scholarships) more accessible to all our students, and we’re trying to get the message out, it’s not just about merit,” Berlin said. Financial need, area of study, and hometown are all common scholarship award criteria.

Scholarship funds are donated through the NMC Foundation, which has made scholarships one of four priority areas in its current $35 million Be What’s Possible comprehensive fundraising campaign.

For the fall 2019 semester, Valentine got a $500 scholarship. This spring, she was awarded two more totaling $1,500. After earning her associate’s degree, Valentine plans to complete her bachelor’s through NMC’s University Center, and then complete a graduate degree in optometry at Ferris State.

Valentine will use her $1,000 Global Opportunities scholarship to participate in NMC’s first-ever trip to Iceland. She plans to earn NMC’s Global Endorsement in addition to her degree.

“I think it will help set me apart for anything I apply for in the future, as far as jobs or grad school,” she said.

The average scholarship award is $1,327 this year. Berlin said that her office is trying to keep the average above $1,000. That’s more than half the cost of tuition and fees for a student like Valentine — a Grand Traverse County resident enrolled in 12 contact hours per semester and studying an NMC general program — which total $1,714 per semester.

“I’m really just super grateful for all these scholarships, not just for me, but anybody,” Valentine said. “It really does make a huge difference. Any small amount really helps.”

NMC Magazine Seeking Submissions

Feb 3, 2020 | Intercom, Student News

BOOTLEG – NMC Magazine Spring 2020

Prohibition-era, broken promises, or empty pockets. Raised fists in the air, fighting against the grain. Power to the B-sides of the mixed tapes and the grassroots family scraping by. Share the secret password to your speakeasy with us. Submit your art and writing for our consumption.

Submitted works can include art, design, illustration, photography, sculpture, fiction, nonfiction, poetry, music, and more.

• Fiction/Nonfiction: 1000 word limit
• Poetry/Lyrics: 30 line limit

Students, faculty, staff, and alumni are all welcome to submit to NMC Magazine.

The deadline for submissions is Friday, March 13, 2020.

Send in your submission* to nmcmag@mail.nmc.edu. Hard copies can be delivered to Fine Arts (attn: Caroline Schaefer-Hills) or Scholars Hall 214 (attn: Alissia Lingaur). Visit nmc.edu/nmcmagazine to complete a submission form with each entry.

* Submissions unaccompanied by completed submission forms will not be considered for publication.

NMC names first class of Experiential Learning fellowship recipients

Feb 3, 2020 | Intercom, Student News

Lisa Blackford
(click for high-resolution photo) Tamara Coleman
(click for high-resolution photo) Sarah Montgomery-Richards
(click for high-resolution photo) Caroline Schaefer-Hills
(click for high-resolution photo) Brian Sweeney
(click for high-resolution photo) John Velis
(click for high-resolution photo) TRAVERSE CITY — Northwestern Michigan College has selected six faculty members as the first recipients of an Experiential Learning fellowship intended to accelerate the prevalence of the high-impact instructional style across disciplines.

Each recipient will substantially convert or create a course based on EL principles, which include students working in teams, immersive experiences, project-based assignments and online. The recipients and courses are:

• Lisa Blackford and Tamara Coleman: The Science of Stress (new course)
• Sarah Montgomery-Richards: Western Religions
• Caroline Schaefer-Hills: Art Appreciation (online course)
• Brian Sweeney: Basic Metallurgy
• John Velis: Systems Analysis and Design

“It is exciting to see such a diverse group of faculty focused on innovation, collaboration and high impact teaching practices, as we uniquely prepare our students to live and work in the world of the 21st century,” said Kristy McDonald, director of NMC’s Experiential Learning Institute.

Montgomery-Richards said she hopes to overhaul Western Religions in order to boost enrollment. Currently the course draws half the enrollment of her Eastern Religions class.

“I think students feel like they know western religions,” she said. She hopes a new design will challenge that assumption and increase the relevance of the philosophy course, which most students take as an elective.

“How is an understanding of religion in general, and diverse religious perspectives, going to help them in the future?” Montgomery-Richards said.

Social work and psychology instructor Blackford and biology instructor Coleman are combining their disciplines into a new course, the Science of Stress. Slated to be offered in the fall 2020 semester, students will explore current research on stress and its impacts on body systems. It will meet in an anatomy and physiology lab, as well as in a simulation lab, and is intended to have practical applications, too, as students gain an experiential understanding of stress on learning, anxiety and depression and tools for resilience.

“The whole campus, we talk about how students’ stress has gone up,” Blackford said.

“We saw it as an epidemic,” Coleman added.

Each recipient will receive a $1,500 stipend. The fellowship, is one of the first initiatives of NMC’s Experiential Learning Institute, which launched in 2019 as a way to formalize efforts to expand experiential learning college-wide, which date to 2016. It will collaborate with both on-campus and community stakeholders to engage students and the community, locally, nationally and globally. The Institute will connect the community and NMC by seeking creative partnerships, serving ongoing community needs, and preparing learners for future employment.

Release date: FEBRUARY 3, 2020

For more information:

Kristy McDonald
Director, Experiential Learning Institute and Business Instructor
kmcdonald@nmc.edu
(231) 995-1059

Academic World Quest

Jan 27, 2020 | Intercom, Student News

TRAVERSE CITY — NMC’s International Affairs Forum will host 18 area high school teams at its annual Academic WorldQuest from noon-5 p.m. February 6, at the Hagerty Center.

The teams will compete for the chance to participate in the national competition, the flagship youth education program of the World Affairs Councils, to be held in Washington, D.C. in April. Topics in the 2020 competition include preventing violent extremism, ocean protection and US-Russia Relations.

“Academic WorldQuest has a great atmosphere of friendly competition. Studying current topics in foreign affairs helped me expand my view of the world, and traveling to Washington, D.C. was a fantastic experience,” said Ted Roe, a 2019 Traverse City Central High School graduate and member of the Trojans’ winning team. Currently a freshman at the University of Notre Dame, Roe participated in AWQ for three years.

The event is free and open to the public. Sponsors include: The Traverse City Record-Eagle, Jimmy John’s, Shanty Creek Resort, Target, Best Buy, Common Good Bakery, Mundos Roasting & Co, Cicero’s Pizza. State Theater, Cherry Republic, Grand Traverse Pie Co. and Paesano’s Pizza.

Release date: JANUARY 27, 2020

For more information:

Julie Doyal
juliedoyal@yahoo.com
(231) 649-1781

14th Annual Career Fair

Jan 24, 2020 | Intercom, Student News

TRAVERSE CITY — Employers are invited to register for Northwestern Michigan College’s 14th annual career fair, to be held March 5 at the Hagerty Center on the Great Lakes Campus.

The event runs from 3–6 p.m. Employers will have the opportunity to recruit job-seekers for career-track, seasonal and entry-level positions as well as internships and service learning.

The Career Fair now encompasses the formerly separate Jobs4Vets and NMC Technology Career Fair events, and is open to students, NMC alumni and community members. It will open one hour early, at 2 p.m., to veterans and military families only. It is held in partnership with Northwest Michigan Works and Networks Northwest.

An alumni reception follows the event from 5–6:30 p.m. at Lobdell’s: A Teaching Restaurant.

Employer registration is $25 and handled on a first-come, first-served basis. Registration begins Jan. 27. To register or for more information, visit nmc.edu/career-fair.

Release Date: January 23, 2020

For More Information:

Sally Smarsty
NMC Advising Center
ssmarsty@nmc.edu
231-995-1040

Success Story: Passports + Scholarships + Safety

Jan 22, 2020 | Intercom, Student News

January 22, 2020

NMC students from NMC’s Western Religions course examine the Derry Murals and the sordid history of “The Troubles” in Ireland.A near-record number of NMC students will study abroad in five countries this spring, gaining experiences to help them succeed in an increasingly global society.

Seventy students are registered to travel to Iceland, Ireland, Spain, England and Brazil. The previous high was 73 in 2015. Between 60-65 students have traveled each of the last three years, ranking NMC the No. 1 community college in Michigan for short-term study abroad, and usually in the top 25 nationally.

Faculty have been driving the additional interest this year, said Jim Bensley, director of International Services and Service Learning. Biology instructor Greg LaCross, who will co-lead the Iceland trip, says students gain lifelong benefits abroad, including maturity, self-assuredness and an appreciation of the world and different cultures. Once home, they share that.

“It’s kind of a ripple effect. You tell one person, it sparks interest in the world beyond your borders,” said LaCross, who has also led trips to South Africa and Ecuador and the Galapagos Islands. “You don’t want to suffer from a parochial view of the world.”

Students agree that soft skills, in particular, improve on the trips. Those skills go with them into the workplace and community.

“The experience overall has served to benefit my patience, my perspective, and my humility,” said Jacqueline Ewing, who traveled to Brazil in 2016.

New this year, students will earn credit specifically for the study abroad experience. Previously it was part of the regular class credit. Most trips take place during spring break at the end of March, or immediately after the spring semester ends, in early May.

In Tiradantes, Brazil, future soccer stars show their U.S. visitors from an NMC study abroad trip how the game is played.“They’re not just traveling to see the sights. Our experiences are integrated with the curriculum being taught in the classroom,” Bensley said.

“It fits right into my teaching. It reinforces it and helps the students understand it in a larger context,” LaCross said.

Iceland (biology and freshwater studies) and Spain (culinary) are both new destinations in 2020. Aviation and archaeology students have previously visited England, and this year nursing and surgical technology students are making the trip.

Safety and security of students and faculty is a top priority of all trips. NMC works closely with in-country providers and host institutions, as well as U.S. agencies including the State Department and Centers for Disease Control.

“We’ve been smart in the way we’ve developed the programs, the places we’ve visited, and the teams we’ve built,” Bensley said. “We always attempt to mitigate any risk to our students and faculty,” he said.

Financial aid is also important to a successful study abroad program. Forty students received NMC’s Global Opportunities Scholarship. Sixteen culinary students received A Taste of Success scholarship.

Success Story: Passports + Scholarships + Safety

Jan 22, 2020 | Intercom, Student News

January 22, 2020

NMC students from NMC’s Western Religions course examine the Derry Murals and the sordid history of “The Troubles” in Ireland.A near-record number of NMC students will study abroad in five countries this spring, gaining experiences to help them succeed in an increasingly global society.

Seventy students are registered to travel to Iceland, Ireland, Spain, England and Brazil. The previous high was 73 in 2015. Between 60-65 students have traveled each of the last three years, ranking NMC the No. 1 community college in Michigan for short-term study abroad, and usually in the top 25 nationally.

Faculty have been driving the additional interest this year, said Jim Bensley, director of International Services and Service Learning. Biology instructor Greg LaCross, who will co-lead the Iceland trip, says students gain lifelong benefits abroad, including maturity, self-assuredness and an appreciation of the world and different cultures. Once home, they share that.

“It’s kind of a ripple effect. You tell one person, it sparks interest in the world beyond your borders,” said LaCross, who has also led trips to South Africa and Ecuador and the Galapagos Islands. “You don’t want to suffer from a parochial view of the world.”

Students agree that soft skills, in particular, improve on the trips. Those skills go with them into the workplace and community.

“The experience overall has served to benefit my patience, my perspective, and my humility,” said Jacqueline Ewing, who traveled to Brazil in 2016.

New this year, students will earn credit specifically for the study abroad experience. Previously it was part of the regular class credit. Most trips take place during spring break at the end of March, or immediately after the spring semester ends, in early May.

In Tiradantes, Brazil, future soccer stars show their U.S. visitors from an NMC study abroad trip how the game is played.“They’re not just traveling to see the sights. Our experiences are integrated with the curriculum being taught in the classroom,” Bensley said.

“It fits right into my teaching. It reinforces it and helps the students understand it in a larger context,” LaCross said.

Iceland (biology and freshwater studies) and Spain (culinary) are both new destinations in 2020. Aviation and archaeology students have previously visited England, and this year nursing and surgical technology students are making the trip.

Safety and security of students and faculty is a top priority of all trips. NMC works closely with in-country providers and host institutions, as well as U.S. agencies including the State Department and Centers for Disease Control.

“We’ve been smart in the way we’ve developed the programs, the places we’ve visited, and the teams we’ve built,” Bensley said. “We always attempt to mitigate any risk to our students and faculty,” he said.

Financial aid is also important to a successful study abroad program. Forty students received NMC’s Global Opportunities Scholarship. Sixteen culinary students received A Taste of Success scholarship.

Parking enforcement starts Jan. 20

Jan 16, 2020 | Intercom, Student News

The Traverse City Parking Patrol will begin issuing citations for parking violations at NMC on Monday, January 20. All NMC students and employees must have their 2019-2020 permits displayed by that date.

The Traverse City Police Department has provided the following information on how to avoid parking tickets on campus by properly displaying your parking permit:

• Place your permit in the bottom left-hand corner of your windshield.
• Place your permit right side up. An upside-down permit will be considered invalid.
• Hangtags must be on the rearview mirror. 
• Be sure that the expiration date on your permit can be seen from the outside of your vehicle. (Some vehicles have a tint on the edges of their windshield, so be sure your permit is not behind a tint, as it will make it difficult to see from the outside.) When it doubt, get out of your vehicle and be sure you can see the entire permit from the outside.

If you do get a ticket, payment can be made at the red drop-off payment box at the east end of the Cedar lot in front of the Health & Science Building on main campus. You can also mail the fine to the city, or pay at the parking services office in the public parking garage at 303 E. State St. Payment information is also on each ticket.

If you have any questions about parking enforcement on campus, please call Campus Safety & Security at (231) 995-1111.

NMC joins basic needs initiative to support students

Jan 14, 2020 | Intercom, Student News

TRAVERSE CITY — NMC this month joins a statewide initiative to help students connect with resources to support basic needs. The Michigan Community College Association was awarded a $442,000 grant to launch the initiative focused on improving student completion and success by addressing economic instability among students including access to food, housing, transportation, childcare and other basic needs.

The Michigan – Building Economic Stability Today (MI-BEST) effort is funded through June 2022 by a grant from the Los Angeles-based ECMC Foundation as part of its Basic Needs Initiative, designed to address and alleviate basic needs insecurity among students. National survey findings reported that 45 percent of respondents had been food insecure in the past 30 days, 56 percent had been housing insecure in the previous year and 17 percent had been homeless during that year.

NMC will begin by forming a team of college personnel and community leaders. Dean of Students Lisa Thomas, NMC’s project lead, said members will include executive leadership, advisers, faculty, development/fundraising staff, financial aid staff and community partners.

“What I would hope is we learn some ways to better structure or provide internal supports to our students,” Thomas said.

NMC has offered a food pantry since November 2017. It serves between 80 and 90 people per month. This year’s usage is on pace to equal the 2018 academic year, the first full year of operation, when 1,087 total people were served.
In addition to the food pantry, Thomas also has emergency textbook funds available, as well as gas cards and BATA passes for students with transportation issues. Now, accessing those resources is handled on a case by case basis, rather than systematically.

“We’re going to take a deep dive to see what are the structures and processes in place at NMC to see what is supporting or what is a barrier to students completing their education,” Thomas said.

The Michigan Center for Student Success is leading the initiative for the MCCA and will partner with nationally-recognized organizations including the National Center for Inquiry and Improvement and Trellis Research along with Michigan-based organizations including the Michigan Association of United Ways, MiBridges, and Public Policy Associates to support Michigan’s participating community colleges.

“We know that the lack of access to basic needs is frequently the reason that students leave college,” said Erica Lee Orians, executive director of the Michigan Center for Student Success at the MCCA. “NMC’s participation in this initiative is a critical component of our student success efforts.”

The Michigan Center for Student Success, founded in 2011, serves as a hub connecting leadership, administrators, faculty, and staff in their emerging and ongoing efforts to improve student outcomes, emphasizing linkages between practice, research, and policy. The Center has led statewide initiatives focused on reengaging adults, developmental education, transfer, veterans, and advising. The Center is part of the 16-state Student Success Center Network working with over half of the community colleges across the nation.

Release date: January 14, 2019

For more information:

Lisa Thomas
Dean of Students
lthomas@nmc.edu
(231) 995-1043