Jan 22, 2018 | Intercom, Student News
TRAVERSE CITY — NMC Enrollment Services will host a financial aid fair for prospective college students, parents, alumni, and current NMC students from 4 to 7 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 15 in the Osterlin Library, room 113.
There will be half-hour workshop sessions and time for students to meet individually with a financial aid representative. Participants are asked to sign up for sessions in advance online.
Counting the Cost of College – Comparing Schools
4 p.m. session
5:30 p.m. session
Types of Financial Aid
4:30 p.m. session
6 p.m. session
How to Find and Apply for Scholarships
5 p.m. session
6:30 p.m. session
Students may also sign up for one-on-one assistance to discuss completing the FAFSA by the March 1 Michigan deadline, applying for scholarships, completing financial aid requirements (for current NMC students), comparing award letters and student loan counseling. Links to sign up for both workshop sessions and individual assistance are also available at nmc.edu/financial-aid.
Release date: January 23, 2018
For more information:
Jessie Elliott
Enrollment Services
Phone: (231) 995-1035
E-mail: sfs@nmc.edu
NON-DISCRIMINATION POLICY NOTICE
Northwestern Michigan College is committed to a policy of equal opportunity for all persons and does not unlawfully discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, religion, disability, genetic information, height, weight, marital status or veteran status in employment, educational programs and activities, and admissions. nmc.edu/non-discrimination
Jan 20, 2018 | Intercom, Student News
TRAVERSE CITY — Employers are invited to register for Northwestern Michigan College’s annual career fair held March 1 at the Hagerty Center on the Great Lakes Campus.
The event runs from 4–6 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 is open to students, NMC alumni and community members. An alumni reception follows the event from 6–8 p.m. at Lobdell’s: A Teaching Restaurant.
Employer registration is on a first-come, first-serve basis and begins on Jan. 21. To register or for more information, visit nmc.edu/career-fair.
Release Date: January 19, 2017
For More Information:
Sally Smarsty
NMC Advising Center
ssmarsty @nmc.edu
(231) 995-1369
NON-DISCRIMINATION POLICY NOTICE
Northwestern Michigan College is committed to a policy of equal opportunity for all persons and does not unlawfully discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, religion, disability, genetic information, height, weight, marital status or veteran status in employment, educational programs and activities, and admissions. nmc.edu/non-discrimination
Jan 17, 2018 | Intercom, Student News
A PALE BLUE DOT – NMC Magazine Spring 2017 – Volume 40 Issue 2
Earth is engraved with its past: wars, plagues, triumphs, growth, and discoveries. Though the path forward is obscured by the horizon of the present, we can spin the possibilities the future beholds, whether it be for good or ill, next month or next century.
NMC Magazine invites students, faculty, staff, and alumni to imagine those tomorrows today. The deadline for spring submissions is Friday, February 23.
Submit your art, designs, essays, fiction, illustrations, nonfiction, photographs, poetry, and more to nmcmag@mail.nmc.edu. Hard copies can be delivered to Fine Arts (attn: Caroline Schaefer-Hills) or Scholars Hall 214 (attn: Alissia Lingaur). Include a completed submission form with each entry, available at nmc.edu/nmcmagazine.
Jan 15, 2018 | Student News
The season starts Monday, January 29 for six weeks.
Two games per week played Monday–Thursday
At 2:10, 3:10 or 4:10 p.m.
*ALL PLAYERS MUST BE CURRENT NMC STUDENTS! ALL TEAMS MUST BE CO-ED!
*At least one female player must be on the court at all times or you will play short. Female points count double.
Mandatory Captains’ meeting and Sign-up Deadline
Thursday, January 25 at 5 p.m. in the PE Lobby.
For more information or questions, please call Steve Dixon at 995-1379.
Sponsored by N.M.C. Student Life/Student Activities and NMC Physical Education, Sports and Recreation
Jan 15, 2018 | Intercom, Student News
Is your NMC student group looking for a way to raise money?
Members of your group can volunteer to help the NMC Foundation at select events throughout the school year. In return, the NMC Foundation will reimburse your student group for the amount of time each of your members volunteered. You will earn $10/hour for your student group.
Upcoming Activity: HAWK OWLS SAY THANKS (HOST) Booth
Dates, Times, Locations:
- Wednesday, February 7, 11 a.m- 1 p.m. at Parsons-Stulen
- Thursday, February 8, 11 a.m.- 1 p.m. at Great Lakes Campus
For more info, contact Katharine Zurek, Annual Giving Specialist at kzurek@nmc.edu or 231-995-1030. Or sign up here.
Jan 10, 2018 | Intercom, Student News
January 10, 2018
If luck is defined as preparation meeting opportunity, then Brendan Hunter, who said “aloha” to a new career this month, could be in contention for luckiest NMC graduate of 2017.
Fresh off his December graduation from NMC’s Marine Technology bachelor’s degree program, Hunter started this week as a junior ocean engineer for Sea Engineering in Oahu, Hawaii.
“I’m going to be working on a pier (Makai Research Pier, operated by the University of Hawaii) that juts out over a coral reef into the Pacific Ocean,” Hunter said, speaking in an interview as the last snowfall in his foreseeable future fell on campus.
The job is the culmination a streak of NMC opportunities Hunter, 27, took advantage of, starting with his enrollment in 2013, just as the college rolled out its first-in-the-nation associate’s degree in Freshwater Studies.
He completed that degree just as NMC introduced its first-in-Michigan community college bachelor’s degree. Without that program in marine technology, Hunter would have transferred.
“I would have gone into a tangential field, oceanography or engineering,” he said. “It worked out perfectly. I stayed at NMC and kept studying what I wanted to study.”
Last month, the Kalamazoo native became the second student to earn the BSMT degree. In terms of employment, the world became his oyster. He applied for jobs in the United Arab Emirates, Seattle, Alaska, Boston and the United Kingdom.
At Sea Engineering, Hunter will organize the use of and implement offshore data collection with remotely-operated vehicles. About 70 percent of his time will be spent on the water, including coral reef research and deep-sea research off mounts in the Pacific.
“I would have taken this job if had been anywhere else,” said Hunter, who also received job offers in Boston and Texas. “It’s just a bonus that it happens to be in Hawaii.”
It dovetails perfectly with the skills he learned at NMC. Sea Engineering is transitioning its industrial and environmental research operation from diving to remotely operated underwater vehicles (ROVs).
“That transition is a big part of the reason they chose me,” Hunter said. “The same day they called to offer me the position, they had just unboxed their first ROV.”
Ironically, his choice of marine technology traces back to some bad luck and timing. Hunter graduated from high school in 2008 and enrolled in a four-year college that fall, majoring in political science/pre-law. But by his second semester, he was already questioning that choice.
“A, it was boring, and B, it was literally in the middle of the financial crisis,” he said. Foreseeing a poor job market, he decided to cut his losses, dropped out and moved to Texas, where he raced sailboats and “soul-searched.”
“I’ve always had a love of the water and been naturally drawn to exploration,” he said. “When I decided to go back to school I decided I wanted it to be in the sciences.”
There was a hurdle, however: Math.
“I was super determined to get a grasp on math,” Hunter said. He had to start in a developmental course. But with the help of NMC professors like Mary Burget and Ernie East, and the drop-in tutoring available at the Math Center, he conquered it.
“I basically had to relearn from algebra up to calculus. Now I’m getting hired as an engineer,” Hunter said. “All the math professors have been great. It was a 180.”
Hunter credited NMC with helping him get scholarships that he estimated covered 15 to 20 percent of his educational costs. He also met his girlfriend at NMC, 2015 nursing alumna Victoria Peck. She’s moving with him to Hawaii and will look for a nursing job there.
“My life would have been completely different if it weren’t for NMC,” Hunter said.
Jan 10, 2018 | Intercom, Student News
January 10, 2018
If luck is defined as preparation meeting opportunity, then Brendan Hunter, who said “aloha” to a new career this month, could be in contention for luckiest NMC graduate of 2017.
Fresh off his December graduation from NMC’s Marine Technology bachelor’s degree program, Hunter started this week as a junior ocean engineer for Sea Engineering in Oahu, Hawaii.
“I’m going to be working on a pier (Makai Research Pier, operated by the University of Hawaii) that juts out over a coral reef into the Pacific Ocean,” Hunter said, speaking in an interview as the last snowfall in his foreseeable future fell on campus.
The job is the culmination a streak of NMC opportunities Hunter, 27, took advantage of, starting with his enrollment in 2013, just as the college rolled out its first-in-the-nation associate’s degree in Freshwater Studies.
He completed that degree just as NMC introduced its first-in-Michigan community college bachelor’s degree. Without that program in marine technology, Hunter would have transferred.
“I would have gone into a tangential field, oceanography or engineering,” he said. “It worked out perfectly. I stayed at NMC and kept studying what I wanted to study.”
Last month, the Kalamazoo native became the second student to earn the BSMT degree. In terms of employment, the world became his oyster. He applied for jobs in the United Arab Emirates, Seattle, Alaska, Boston and the United Kingdom.
At Sea Engineering, Hunter will organize the use of and implement offshore data collection with remotely-operated vehicles. About 70 percent of his time will be spent on the water, including coral reef research and deep-sea research off mounts in the Pacific.
“I would have taken this job if had been anywhere else,” said Hunter, who also received job offers in Boston and Texas. “It’s just a bonus that it happens to be in Hawaii.”
It dovetails perfectly with the skills he learned at NMC. Sea Engineering is transitioning its industrial and environmental research operation from diving to remotely operated underwater vehicles (ROVs).
“That transition is a big part of the reason they chose me,” Hunter said. “The same day they called to offer me the position, they had just unboxed their first ROV.”
Ironically, his choice of marine technology traces back to some bad luck and timing. Hunter graduated from high school in 2008 and enrolled in a four-year college that fall, majoring in political science/pre-law. But by his second semester, he was already questioning that choice.
“A, it was boring, and B, it was literally in the middle of the financial crisis,” he said. Foreseeing a poor job market, he decided to cut his losses, dropped out and moved to Texas, where he raced sailboats and “soul-searched.”
“I’ve always had a love of the water and been naturally drawn to exploration,” he said. “When I decided to go back to school I decided I wanted it to be in the sciences.”
There was a hurdle, however: Math.
“I was super determined to get a grasp on math,” Hunter said. He had to start in a developmental course. But with the help of NMC professors like Mary Burget and Ernie East, and the drop-in tutoring available at the Math Center, he conquered it.
“I basically had to relearn from algebra up to calculus. Now I’m getting hired as an engineer,” Hunter said. “All the math professors have been great. It was a 180.”
Hunter credited NMC with helping him get scholarships that he estimated covered 15 to 20 percent of his educational costs. He also met his girlfriend at NMC, 2015 nursing alumna Victoria Peck. She’s moving with him to Hawaii and will look for a nursing job there.
“My life would have been completely different if it weren’t for NMC,” Hunter said.
Jan 9, 2018 | Intercom, Student News
January 10, 2018
If luck is defined as preparation meeting opportunity, then Brendan Hunter, who said “aloha” to a new career this month, could be in contention for luckiest NMC graduate of 2017.
Fresh off his December graduation from NMC’s Marine Technology bachelor’s degree program, Hunter started this week as a junior ocean engineer for Sea Engineering in Oahu, Hawaii.
“I’m going to be working on a pier (Makai Research Pier, operated by the University of Hawaii) that juts out over a coral reef into the Pacific Ocean,” Hunter said, speaking in an interview as the last snowfall in his foreseeable future fell on campus.
The job is the culmination a streak of NMC opportunities Hunter, 27, took advantage of, starting with his enrollment in 2013, just as the college rolled out its first-in-the-nation associate’s degree in Freshwater Studies.
He completed that degree just as NMC introduced its first-in-Michigan community college bachelor’s degree. Without that program in marine technology, Hunter would have transferred.
“I would have gone into a tangential field, oceanography or engineering,” he said. “It worked out perfectly. I stayed at NMC and kept studying what I wanted to study.”
Last month, the Kalamazoo native became the second student to earn the BSMT degree. In terms of employment, the world became his oyster. He applied for jobs in the United Arab Emirates, Seattle, Alaska, Boston and the United Kingdom.
At Sea Engineering, Hunter will organize the use of and implement offshore data collection with remotely-operated vehicles. About 70 percent of his time will be spent on the water, including coral reef research and deep-sea research off mounts in the Pacific.
“I would have taken this job if had been anywhere else,” said Hunter, who also received job offers in Boston and Texas. “It’s just a bonus that it happens to be in Hawaii.”
It dovetails perfectly with the skills he learned at NMC. Sea Engineering is transitioning its industrial and environmental research operation from diving to remotely operated underwater vehicles (ROVs).
“That transition is a big part of the reason they chose me,” Hunter said. “The same day they called to offer me the position, they had just unboxed their first ROV.”
Ironically, his choice of marine technology traces back to some bad luck and timing. Hunter graduated from high school in 2008 and enrolled in a four-year college that fall, majoring in political science/pre-law. But by his second semester, he was already questioning that choice.
“A, it was boring, and B, it was literally in the middle of the financial crisis,” he said. Foreseeing a poor job market, he decided to cut his losses, dropped out and moved to Texas, where he raced sailboats and “soul-searched.”
“I’ve always had a love of the water and been naturally drawn to exploration,” he said. “When I decided to go back to school I decided I wanted it to be in the sciences.”
There was a hurdle, however: Math.
“I was super determined to get a grasp on math,” Hunter said. He had to start in a developmental course. But with the help of NMC professors like Mary Burget and Ernie East, and the drop-in tutoring available at the Math Center, he conquered it.
“I basically had to relearn from algebra up to calculus. Now I’m getting hired as an engineer,” Hunter said. “All the math professors have been great. It was a 180.”
Hunter credited NMC with helping him get scholarships that he estimated covered 15 to 20 percent of his educational costs. He also met his girlfriend at NMC, 2015 nursing alumna Victoria Peck. She’s moving with him to Hawaii and will look for a nursing job there.
“My life would have been completely different if it weren’t for NMC,” Hunter said.
Jan 4, 2018 | Intercom, Student News
NMC now has nine pairs of snowshoes available for students and employees to sign out and use. Stop by the North Hall front desk or call 995-1410 to reserve a pair. This is a great opportunity for those who like to walk during their lunch breaks.
Also, don’t forget the NMC Fitness Center for those looking to burn off the extra calories consumed during the holidays, or those looking to start an exercise program for the new year. Please contact the fitness center at 995-1379 or stop by our new facility located inside North Hall for more information.
Jan 2, 2018 | Intercom, Student News
The library has purchased many new books so far this year. You can view a handful here along with partial descriptions or go here to see the full listing. These books are on display in the library’s lobby.
(more…)
Dec 23, 2017 | Intercom, Student News
September 27, 2017
NMC Aviation, already celebrating its 50th anniversary, notched another notable accomplishment this fall – the largest number of new female students ever.
The six women, from Michigan to Indiana to Alaska, more than double Aviation’s total female enrollment. They took various paths to the Aero Park campus – from a sight-unseen enrollment after a relative’s recommendation to a cold-hard calculation of cost to value. But after only a few weeks of class, they share a sentiment of satisfaction with the small, welcoming program that gets students into the pilot’s seat ASAP.
“It was amazing. The second week of school we were up in the air,” said Kate Hauch, 29 (above), the Alaskan who enrolled upon the recommendation of her brother-in-law, a former student. She never set foot on campus until she arrived from Juneau a couple days before classes, but has felt welcomed.
“You’re a new student, you don’t know how to fly, let’s learn,” is the attitude she found.
“Being able to fly the first week of school at NMC really made a big difference,” agreed Regan Lezotte, 18, of Howell. She had wanted to go to Western Michigan University and spent months agonizing over her choice. A cost analysis showing she’d save six figures by attending NMC tipped the scales.
“There are some smaller houses that I could buy with this money I’d be saving,” Lezotte said.
At Western she wouldn’t have been flying until summer 2018, and would have been among 800-900 students instead of 50.
“It’s more intimate. My instructor knows me, he knows my name,” said Lezotte, whose goal is to fly in corporate aviation. She’s also already found an internship for next semester, working in the Airport Operations and management offices at Cherry Capital Airport.
Hauch plans to return to Alaska and work in either the aerial survey industry or flying medical evacuation flights. Meanwhile, the Saginaw native is enjoying the warmer weather and the local scenery, like her “gorgeous” first flight up the Leelanau peninsula.
“I love the northern area,” she said.
NMC Aviation will celebrate its first half-century with a symposium and gala dinner at the Grand Traverse Resort Thursday. More details are available at nmc.edu/aviation50.
Dec 23, 2017 | Intercom, Student News
September 30, 2015
Stephine Deeren doesn’t just go to work at Addiction Treatment Services. She fulfills her calling.
Her job as a detox care coordinator can be stressful, but Deeren, a 2013 NMC graduate, says that it’s worth it for the chance to help clients individually as well as to change community stigmas about substance abuse.
“It’s really rewarding in that you’re really making a difference,” she said.
What goes around, comes around. Back in high school, Deeren, now 26, was selected as an NMC Commitment Scholar. Since 1993, NMC has offered full-tuition Commitment Scholarships to promising first-generation college students who might not have the means to attend otherwise. The goal: to make a difference in their lives.
The class of 2019 will be inducted next week. Consisting of 113 students from schools throughout the Traverse Bay Area Intermediate School District, it’s the largest Commitment class ever.
It’s a pivotal moment for those students, said Deeren. Her career path began with an Introduction to Psychology class at NMC. She’s now pursuing her bachelor’s degree through Grand Valley State University at NMC’s University Center, and she eventually plans to get her master’s in social work.
“That’s where I found out what I wanted to do, was my first two years at NMC,” she said. “It really allowed me to have that self-discovery that I needed.”
Like Deeren, each student entering Commitment next week will have a chance for a full-tuition scholarship by meeting graduation and grade point requirements. For students outside Grand Traverse County, the value is up to $25,000. Commitment Scholarships are funded through the NMC Foundation and are a priority area for the college.
More than 1,000 students have gone through Commitment, with 91 percent completing the requirements.
Emily Sklodowske is another alumna.
“It was so significant. It was a huge turning point for me,” said the 2007 graduate of Benzie Central High School.
Sklodowske decided to try going away to school first. But after a year at Ferris, she returned to NMC where her Commitment scholarship was still available.
After a year here, Sklodowske was approved to use remaining scholarship funds on a study abroad trip to Italy. That hooked her on international travel and set the course for her career path.
“I knew, after Italy, that I had to go back. I had to keep doing that,” she said.
She now works at Passageways Travel in Traverse City and is planning a trip to Costa Rica in December. Her advice to incoming Commitment scholars? Do everything they can to maximize the opportunity.
“ I would go right straight to NMC after high school, if I could go back and change that,” she said, citing the “top-notch” faculty, classes and experiences she found on campus. “This is something you need to take advantage of.”
Dec 23, 2017 | Intercom, Student News
September 15, 2015
Record donation makes expansion possible
It was time for something big, Diana and Richard Milock decided.
NMC today announced the largest single gift by living donors in college history, a $2 million gift to expand the Dennos Museum Center. That gift also happens to be the largest ever for the Milocks, stalwart cultural philanthropists whose touch is evident everywhere in northwest Michigan, from Milliken Auditorium to the Bijou Theatre to the YMCA.
“We saw this as an opportunity to have a major impact on a community resource that we think is really important to the life of Traverse City. We’re really just so excited to be able to do this,” Diana Milock said.
The 9,000-square-foot expansion will house two new galleries intended to be named, respectively, the Gene Jenneman Permanent Collection Gallery and the Diana and Richard Milock Sculpture Gallery. The former honors the museum’s founding director. Under Jenneman’s quarter century of leadership the Dennos has built a strong permanent collection of works, but most sit in storage.
“We have wonderful works of art and there just isn’t room to show them,” Diana Milock said.
Art lovers and collectors themselves, the Milocks have supported both the Dennos and NMC’s Great Lakes Culinary Institute for more than a decade. Diana Milock has a special affinity for sculpture, which will be evident in the expansion. Windows lining one wall of the expansion will connect the new sculpture gallery to existing outdoor sculptures that surround the museum.
“I love outdoor sculpture. If we have access from the interior to observe the exterior, it’s a natural to fill that in,” she said.
The donation will also fund loading dock and storage improvements and a new classroom space.
“This gift from the Milocks speaks strongly to the support that Northwestern Michigan College has earned from this community and our shared desire to strengthen NMC’s role as a leader in providing cultural opportunities,” said NMC President Timothy J. Nelson.
“I am pleased to see this next step in the direction of the Dennos take place in our coming 25th year,” Jenneman said. “With these permanent collection galleries we will be positioned to make our art collection more accessible on an ongoing basis and to develop more defined connections to the College’s academic programs.”
Preliminary architectural drawings are complete. NMC hopes to bid the project in early 2016, the museum’s 25th anniversary year, and break ground later in the year.
Dec 23, 2017 | Intercom, Student News
June 17, 2015
When the National Cherry Queen is crowned next month, Hannah Beaudry will be hoping the luck of the pine tree is on her side.
The NMC student is one of four finalists vying for the 2015 crown. If she wins, Beaudry, 19, will become the fifth queen within the past decade with NMC connections.
“Being able to have a college experience in beautiful Traverse City, Michigan, is such a blessing to me. Hopefully there’s a lucky charm with NMC and cherry queen, but who knows,” said Beaudry, a 2013 Elk Rapids High School graduate who is studying elementary education.
She’ll finish her NMC classes in December and then go on to complete her bachelor’s through Central Michigan University at the University Center.
The Cherry Queen scholarship would cover the remainder of her tuition costs, she said.
“It would be life-changing to earn that scholarship and graduate college debt-free,” she said.
At NMC, Beaudry’s favorite instructor has been history professor Jim Press.
“He made us think in such an amazing way. He really focused on critical thinking,” she said. “The way he lectures is like he’s telling a story, and it just made history so interesting. And I did not love history before that.”
On July 10, Beaudry will hope to make National Cherry Festival history, walking away with the crown first awarded in 1925.
Dec 23, 2017 | Intercom, Student News
December 6, 2017
Commuters hurrying home along Eighth Street these dark evenings will find a bright spot, thanks to a collaboration between NMC and Roost.
NMC’s solar power trailer is lighting up the Roost prefabricated tiny home located at 444 E. Eighth, opposite Family Video. The home is illuminated from 5–8 p.m. nightly.
The collaboration is designed to show what’s possible with solar energy, said NMC construction technology adjunct instructor Mike Schmerl.
“It does work, in northern Michigan, in the winter,” said Schmerl.
And it’s ideal for Roost, said Geoff Nelson, a co-founder of the company that created the 370-square-foot, finish-ready home that’s occupied the former vacant lot since June.
“There’s a great many people who want to live smaller, greener,” Nelson said. Roost’s other green features include renewable materials, a sustainable building process and tight building envelope to maximize energy efficiency.
Parked on the home’s west side with its solar panels tilted south, the trailer is only illuminating the home, not heating it or powering appliances. Still, it kick-starts consideration of solar, said Schmerl, whose own Traverse City home is 50 percent solar-powered.
“All things are possible,” Schmerl said. “What we demonstrate is expandability.”
NMC first developed the solar trailer in 2006. Schmerl updated it for the Roost project using equipment sold to the college at a discount.
“The technology has become more user-friendly, easier to understand, and more adaptable to people’s power requirements,” said Schmerl. “Using that trailer and our classroom skill set, we can adapt to almost any inquiries.”
As electric cars become more prevalent, Schmerl sees more opportunity for solar growth. The website Charge Hub lists 26 public charging stations in Traverse City, including at the Cambria Suites hotel, the original Meijer parking lot, and the Old Towne parking deck just down the street from Roost.
“Why wouldn’t they package the sale of an electric vehicle with the sale of the charging equipment, which would lead to the sale of the solar,” he said.
Nelson agreed that he’s seeing interest increase among all kinds of clients, from millennials to boomers.
“It’s been super encouraging to see the people responding to living smaller, greener, low-maintenance,” he said.
Dec 23, 2017 | Intercom, Student News
February 25, 2015
Back in 2012, as one of NMC’s pioneer students in Unmanned Aircraft Systems, Brad Kent found himself with a job offer before he’d even finished his training, and headed overseas for six-figure work as a civilian contractor. Now, as approvals for domestic use of UAS rise by the week, Kent and fellow former NMC students are poised to help guide the industry’s development into its second, commercial phase.
NMC was on the forefront of unmanned aircraft training, offering its first classes in the fall of 2010. Students like Kent (front row, second from right) and Darrell Trueblood (back row, far right) found getting in on the ground floor paid off, literally
“Before I even finished my degree I had placement in industry,” said Kent, 24, of Traverse City. He and Trueblood, 35, are among four NMC pilots now deployed in Afghanistan as civilian contractors with an Arizona-based manufacturer of UAS.
They provide force protection services to military, a job both see as worthy and important. Lengthy deployments and life on a military installation create a trade-off, however. “Balancing the benefits of income vs. the moments you miss with your friends and family becomes the tough part,” said Trueblood, who is married and a father to three. His wife and three children live in Tennessee.
“It puts a strain on relationships, it puts a strain on a social life,” said Kent, who still says it’s an “amazing experience” to work overseas.
UAS industry gets go-ahead to expand
Now, however, the strains and trade-offs are easing as the UAS industry gets the go-ahead to expand domestically.
Until 2014, the FAA strictly limited use of UAS vehicles in U.S. airspace. The first commercial exemption was granted in June 2014, allowing surveillance of oil fields in Alaska. Since December 2014, the FAA has approved more than 20 other exemptions for uses ranging from photography to agriculture.
Kent anticipates returning stateside later this year, to corporate headquarters in Tucson, Ariz. He’ll work on UAS research and development and train other pilots to fill the vast number of openings the industry expects as commercial permissions expand. “With pending FAA regulations for Unmanned Aerial Systems on the very near horizon, growth in this industry will be immense. Activities like movie production, agriculture monitoring, and infrastructure inspection will become an everyday occurrence, requiring trained professionals,” said Tony Sauerbrey, UAS program manager.
“This career field will grow exponentially in the coming years, both with pilots and support staff,” Trueblood agreed. His advice to prospective students is to be open to change.
“What you know today may be different from what you learn tomorrow. Be willing to continuously learn and continue your education,” he said.
It was that kind of attitude that led Kent to enroll in the first UAS classes.
“At the time it was a couple classes that you could add on if you were going through the manned aviation program,” Kent said. “NMC was very cool in the fact that they were willing to offer classes like that, new technologies.”
Sauerbrey said NMC will continue to grow with the industry and plans to offer full UAS pilot certification once the FAA finalizes regulations. NMC will also continue to work with leading UAS companies to provide a conduit for students seeking to enter the industry.
Dec 23, 2017 | Intercom, Student News
November 8, 2017
Since 2012, NMC has prioritized the success of student veterans on campus with a host of initiatives led by the office of Military and Veterans Services — from customized orientation to a veterans lounge to efforts to convert service into credits.
Tonight, some NMC veterans will take a step toward connecting the broader community with the experience of contemporary military service by taking part in a panel discussion following the 7 p.m. free screening of Almost Sunrise at Milliken Auditorium. The documentary tells the story of two veterans who embark on a cross-country hike in an effort to heal the psychological wounds left by their military service.
Construction technology student Fernando Cruz is familiar with that restless urge. An Army reservist between 1997 and 2010 who was deployed to Iraq for a year, he too crisscrossed the U.S. for work after his discharge.
“It’s not coincidental,” said Cruz, now of Kingsley, of his nomadic work transporting vehicles, and later for a drill rig company. “I was getting away. I had to get away.”
The father of twin 18-month-old sons, Cruz, 37, thinks there’s a “big disconnect” between civilians and military members. Tonight, he’ll try to help make that connection.
Veterans Day commemoration
Presented by NMC’s chapter of Student Veterans of America and 22 to None, an organization dedicated to stopping veteran suicide, the film comes as NMC prepares to commemorate Veterans Day on campus. The following events are scheduled for Monday, Nov. 13:
- 8:30 a.m. – Free breakfast for all veterans and active duty military in the Hawk Owl Cafe in West Hall.
- 9:20 a.m. – Walk of Honor. The campus community is invited to line up along the sidewalks from West Hall to the flagpoles west of the Tanis Building. Led by the Traverse City Central High School drum line, veterans will walk from West Hall to the flagpoles.
- 9:30 a.m. – Flag-raising ceremony conducted by the VFW with the Traverse City Central High School band.
- 10 a.m.–noon – Coffee and cake served in West Hall for the entire campus community in honor of veterans.
About five percent of NMC students are veterans. For the third consecutive year NMC has been certified as a Gold-Level Veteran-Friendly School by the Michigan Veterans Affairs Agency. NMC was also named the fifth-best “Best for Vets” community college nationwide by Military Times in 2016.
NMC will also focus on the student veteran transition in the January 2018 issue of Nexus, which will be published as the nation marks the ten-year anniversary of the post-9/11 GI Bill, which granted educational benefits to veterans serving after Sept. 11, 2001.
Dec 23, 2017 | Intercom, Student News
October 11, 2017
NMC welding students Andrew DuBois and Michael StolarczykSome NMC welding students are getting a dose of American history on top of this semester’s classes.
They’re helping to restore Civil War markers placed on the graves of Union Army veterans in northern Michigan cemeteries. Thanks to an instructor’s idea, the extracurricular project is increasing their skills and their citizenship, one cast iron star at a time.
Adjunct electrical instructor Jeff Morse is a member of the Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War, a national group that works to honor the memory of the soldiers killed between 1861-65. A feature of the Union graves the group charges itself with maintaining is a cast iron star flagholder, inserted into the ground with double spikes.
A Civil War marker repaired by NMC welding students“Over the years they became no match to power lawn mowers and brutal northern Michigan winters. Many markers became rusty and either one or both of the spikes had been broken off,” Morse said.
He mentioned it to welding instructor Devan DePauw, who agreed to take on repair as an extracurricular project with student volunteers. Students cut off the double legs, grind and prepare the stars for welding, and then weld one spike in a new, center position.
It’s an opportunity to learn new techniques from the typical steel-to-steel welding they do in class.
“Cast iron is notoriously difficult to weld,” DePauw said. Students are learning a “brazing” technique that uses a bronze filler to weld the spike back on.
It’s also an opportunity to apply their knowledge for a greater good.
“I like doing stuff that matters. This epitomizes that,” said Michael Stolarczyk, 18, of Traverse City.
“I just think it’s a good cause,” said Andrew DuBois, 28, of Flint.
Group member Scott Schwander, who has been cleaning the headstones as well, returns the repaired star flagholders to the graves. He started with Oakwood Cemetery near main campus, where about 300 Union veterans are buried. The Robert Finch Camp of which both Schwander and Morse are members serves 16 northern Michigan counties and estimates that more than 1,000 Union veterans are buried in the five-county Grand Traverse region.
Camp commander Ted Matti, sees the project as a win–win.
“Being they’re in a welding program, they have to work with various kinds of metal,” he said. “Any time you can get involved with anything in the community of historic significance, or helping others, that’s all part of being a citizen in the community, and that’s a good lesson, too.”
