Virtual Veterans Day ceremony Nov. 11

Nov 4, 2020 | Intercom, Student News

TRAVERSE CITY — NMC invites the community to attend its annual Veterans Day ceremonies virtually beginning at 9 a.m. Wednesday, Nov. 11, via Zoom: https://nmc.zoom.us/j/93088013765

The schedule is as follows:

9 a.m.:  Opening Remarks by Student Veterans of America President, Alex Swainston and Northwestern Michigan College President, Nick Nissley, Ed.D.
9:15: Posting the colors, playing of “Taps” and three volleys by VFW Cherryland Post 2780
9:20: Coining Ceremony for VFW Veterans
9:25: Closing remarks by POC, Military & Veteran Services/Advisor, Scott Herzberg

Serving those who have served the nation is a year-round priority at NMC, where about 5 percent of students are veterans or active duty military. This year, for the third year in a row, NMC is ranked as the No. 2 community college in the country for veterans by Military Times magazine in its annual Best for Vets list.

Release date: November 5, 2020

For more information:

Scott Herzberg
POC, Military & Veteran Services
sherzberg@nmc.edu
(231) 995-2526

Incumbent, two newcomers elected to Board of Trustees

Nov 4, 2020 | Intercom, Student News

TRAVERSE CITY — Rachel Johnson, Laura Oblinger and Ken Warner were elected to six-year terms on the Northwestern Michigan College Board of Trustees Tuesday, in an election that attracted the largest slate of candidates in 30 years.

Rachel Johnson
(click for high-resolution version)Laura Oblinger
(click for high-resolution version)Current board vice-chair Johnson was re-elected, and first-time candidates Oblinger and Warner received the three highest vote totals from Grand Traverse County voters. Oblinger and Warner will succeed K. Ross Childs and Jane T. McNabb, who did not seek re-election. All three will be sworn in Jan. 1, 2021, for six-year terms expiring in 2026.

“We are excited to welcome these new trustees, and appreciate the interest in the college shown by all the candidates,” said NMC President Nick Nissley. “We’re also grateful for the service of Trustees Childs and McNabb, and wish them well.”

Johnson was appointed to fill a vacancy in 2016 and first elected in 2018 to fill the remainder of her current term. She serves on the NMC Audit Committee, the Policy Committee and the Presidential Performance & Compensation Committee and is the member relations manager at Cherryland Electric Cooperative.

Oblinger, an NMC alumna, is a Traverse City native. The past executive director of the Traverse City Area Chamber of Commerce, she now is director of client services and business development for Rehmann.

Ken Warner
(click for high-resolution version)

Warner is retired from the University of Michigan, where he spent 45 years as a professor, including 15 as a department chair and School of Public Health dean.

Childs was one of NMC’s longest-serving trustees, appointed to the board in 2001 and first elected in 2002. McNabb was appointed in 2017 and elected in 2018 to fill the remainder of a term that expires Dec. 31.

Release date: November 4. 2020

For more information:

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

COVID-19 update: Region now in Phase 4, NMC remains at Stage 2

Oct 30, 2020 | Intercom, Student News

TRAVERSE CITY — The Traverse City region and the state have recently set new record highs in cumulative coronavirus cases, new daily cases and active cases. In an effort to curb this increase, and the health impact on the people in our communities, the state has moved our region from phase 5 to phase 4 and increased restrictions across Michigan on gathering size and masks. Please note NMC remains at stage 2 of its reopening plan and continues all safety protocols including requiring masks and social distancing on all campuses.

Since the start of the pandemic we have remained committed to two main goals: keeping our students and employees safe and limiting the disruption to learning. With the increase of cases in the region and on our campuses, it is critical that each of us continues to do everything we can to keep the virus from spreading at NMC, at home and in the community. In addition to wearing face masks and practicing social distancing and good hygiene, please make sure you do the daily health self-screening and please stay home if you believe you might be sick with any illness or have been in close contact with a positive case. Instructors and supervisors are ready and willing to work with you on this and know it will take all of us together to limit the spread of the disease.

We only have 3 ½ weeks to go before Thanksgiving break where we will pivot to remote learning as planned. We will continue to monitor the spread of the virus and will adjust our response as needed to work to keep you safe. Our hope is that we can continue to deliver learning and services as we are now without increasing restrictions.

We will also continue to communicate with you about cases on campus. You can find more information on NMC’s response to the coronavirus pandemic, resources, safety guidelines and feedback form at nmc.edu/covid-19.

Release date: October 30, 2020

For more information:

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

COVID-19 update: Region now in Phase 4, NMC remains at Stage 2

Oct 30, 2020 | Intercom, Student News

TRAVERSE CITY — The Traverse City region and the state have recently set new record highs in cumulative coronavirus cases, new daily cases and active cases. In an effort to curb this increase, and the health impact on the people in our communities, the state has moved our region from phase 5 to phase 4 and increased restrictions across Michigan on gathering size and masks. Please note NMC remains at stage 2 of its reopening plan and continues all safety protocols including requiring masks and social distancing on all campuses.

Since the start of the pandemic we have remained committed to two main goals: keeping our students and employees safe and limiting the disruption to learning. With the increase of cases in the region and on our campuses, it is critical that each of us continues to do everything we can to keep the virus from spreading at NMC, at home and in the community. In addition to wearing face masks and practicing social distancing and good hygiene, please make sure you do the daily health self-screening and please stay home if you believe you might be sick with any illness or have been in close contact with a positive case. Instructors and supervisors are ready and willing to work with you on this and know it will take all of us together to limit the spread of the disease.

We only have 3 ½ weeks to go before Thanksgiving break where we will pivot to remote learning as planned. We will continue to monitor the spread of the virus and will adjust our response as needed to work to keep you safe. Our hope is that we can continue to deliver learning and services as we are now without increasing restrictions.

We will also continue to communicate with you about cases on campus. You can find more information on NMC’s response to the coronavirus pandemic, resources, safety guidelines and feedback form at nmc.edu/covid-19.

Release date: October 30, 2020

For more information:

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

IAF teams up with NWS and IPR for An Evening with Bob Giles

Oct 30, 2020 | Intercom, Student News

Robert Giles wrote his 2020 book “When Truth Mattered” about his experiences as a journalist covering the Kent State shootings. Fifty years later, when journalists are under attack from the very highest levels of government, the book is a reminder of why journalism — especially local journalism — is one of the last great guarantors of our democracy.

Giles (left) will be at the National Writers Series Tuesday, Nov. 10, for a free, virtual event starting at 7 p.m. ET. To register, go to the National Writers Series website via bit.ly/BobGiles or register at TCIAF.com.

The event is presented in partnership with the International Affairs Forum of Traverse City. The conversation will be simulcast on Interlochen Public Radio, 91.5 FM in Traverse City; 90.1 FM in Harbor Springs and 89.7 FM in Manistee and Ludington.

Giles was the young managing editor of the Akron Beacon Journal on May 4, 1970. His staff, writing stories that ran counter to most others, won a Pulitzer Prize for their coverage. Giles’ writing is absorbing and meticulous; he writes eloquently not just about the Kent State coverage, but of reporters and editors passionate about the truth and its importance to democracy and an informed nation. “When Truth Mattered” takes you inside the turmoil and drama of the newsroom. Join us on Nov. 10.

Guest host for the event is Cynthia Canty (right), an Emmy award-winning radio and TV journalist, anchor, and morning personality in Detroit. Now retired, she was host of WUOM’s program “Stateside” from 2012-2019.

Success Story: Campaign’s comprehensive nature aligns with COVID-19 needs

Oct 28, 2020 | Intercom, Student News

October 28, 2020

Emergency temporary housing for three NMC students. Steel-toed boots that enabled a welding student to stay enrolled. Internet hotspots for students who suddenly needed to attend classes virtually. All were made possible this year through the NMC Foundation’s Be What’s Possible $35 million fundraising campaign.

Such direct, crisis relief funding was possible because of the campaign’s comprehensive design, a decision made in 2016. Back then, launching Be What’s Possible seemed ambitious: It’s 10 times the size of any previous NMC campaign, and aimed at multiple priorities simultaneously, instead of a specific capital project.

Then the coronavirus hit just six months after the final, public phase was announced in October 2019. The ambitious, comprehensive campaign proved to be exactly the solution for students weathering the pandemic.

One of the campaign’s four priorities, The Fund for NMC, is dedicated to the college’s most urgent needs. That fund immediately pivoted to crisis relief. Dollars directed to the Office of Student Life paid for the three students’ short-term hotel stays, until more permanent solutions were found.

“I was going to be staying in my truck, sleeping in my vehicle,” said Elyce Newcomb, a culinary student from Sault Ste. Marie who received housing assistance in September. “I didn’t want to leave my college classes.”

“(The pandemic) shifted the priority message to student support,” said campaign coordinator Carly McCall (left). “It really shifted the attention onto general, unrestricted support.”

NMC’s Office of Financial Aid was another vehicle to route assistance.

“We were able to take those dollars raised, and transfer them, through financial aid, directly to the students,” said Rebecca Teahen, associate vice president of resource development.

That opportunity to directly support students resonated with donors like Bob and Kathy Garvey of Williamsburg, new NMC donors this year.

“After COVID it was health, food, education. Those things sort of came to the forefront in terms of our giving,” said Bob Garvey. A newspaper story he read on student needs propelled the semi-retired lawyer to donate to support NMC scholarships.

“A lot of students are in service jobs, and I thought, ‘Man, these kids are between a rock and a hard place.’ ” Garvey said.

Many other donors thought the same thing. April 2020 became the Foundation’s fifth highest donor month ever. The second quarter of 2020, with more than 1,300 donors, was its second-highest quarter ever. Teahen said the “significant participation” was a silver lining to the pandemic.

“We know that philanthropy and giving is a way to connect, connect with your community and connect neighbors,” she said.

It’s never been more critical. The three housing requests are an indicator of how dire community need is due to COVID. Prior to 2020, Dean of Student Life Lisa Thomas said she’s housed just one student. But community programs and agencies she would normally rely on are pinched for funds, volunteers and time.

Now the ambitious Be What’s Possible campaign, co-chaired by NMC alumni Bruce Byl and Susie Janis (right), is looking eminently doable, with just $3 million left to raise. That makes all kinds of things possible for NMC in the future.

“It changes the nature of how we can operate, to know that this community can support on that level,” McCall said.

Be What’s Possible expects to achieve its goal and conclude in the first half of 2021. In addition to the college’s most urgent needs, supported by The Fund for NMC, and scholarships, which the Garveys donated to, the priorities include:

• Innovative Facilities – To create places where students and the community can connect to resources and with each other. Focused on the Timothy J. Nelson Innovation Center and the expansion of the Dennos Museum, gifts for other facilities are also welcome.
• Strong Programs – To stay at the forefront of educational innovation and drive economic growth through top-notch learning opportunities in all areas, from language arts to engineering technology.

“It allows donors to give in the way that makes sense for them,” Teahen said. “People want to help. Even when times are tough, they want to have a way to help their community.”

“A Century of Gender Justice Activism” presentation Nov. 12

Oct 26, 2020 | Intercom, Student News

Caroline Heldman, Ph.D., Chair of the Critical Theory and Social Justice Department and Gender, Women, & Sexuality Studies at Occidental College, is the featured speaker at a 7 p.m. Nov. 12 presentation on “A Century of Gender Justice Activism”. Dr. Heidman will draw a timeline of the last century of gender justice activism with a focus on progress and pitfalls, and analyze the current status of women in the U.S. after a century of pushing for gender justice. The event will be hosted by NMC Psychology instructor Shilo Smith, MS. Join via Zoom here: nmc.zoom.us/j/94968308718.

The presentation is part of “100 Years of the 19th Amendment: Observing the Past and Looking Toward the Future,” NMC’s series of events exploring the amendment that gave U.S. women the right to vote.

Message to NMC from Dr. Nick Nissley: VIDEO

Oct 19, 2020 | Intercom, Student News

Please take a few short minutes to watch this video message to our NMC community from President Nick Nissley.

Thank you for all you do to keep safe and keep learning!

AAUW Great Lakes Water Studies Presentation

Oct 19, 2020 | Intercom, Student News

Tuesday, Nov. 10, 5:30 p.m. Zoom Meeting

Education & Outreach Coordinator Constanza Hazelwood of NMC’s Great Lakes Water Studies Institute will discuss the state of freshwater and how students in our area are learning about this valuable resource.

This event is free and open to the public, and presented by the American Association of University Women.

Register for the event here: us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZIqcuyuqjMrGtJjV2PbIMU82wJ7HKAMay-3

Mariners Memorial service goes virtual

Oct 16, 2020 | Intercom, Student News

TRAVERSE CITY — The community is invited to view the virtual 45th annual Mariners Memorial Service at noon Tuesday, November 10 via a Zoom webinar from the courtyard of NMC’s Great Lakes campus. The public can access the event at the following Zoom address: nmc.zoom.us/j/94889366773

The memorial service is held to remember and honor mariners who have perished on the Great Lakes and oceans and is sponsored by the Student Propeller Club, Port 150, of the Great Lakes Maritime Academy.

About GLMA and NMC: NMC is the only community college in the nation to grant a bachelor’s degree, in either maritime deck, maritime engineering or maritime power systems, to its Great Lakes Maritime Academy cadets. Celebrating 50 years of maritime education in 2019-2020, GLMA was commended by U.S. Maritime Administrator Rear Adm. Mark Buzby (USN, ret) as a “pillar of maritime education and training in the Great Lakes region, this great nation, and the entire world.”

Release date: OCTOBER 16, 2020

For more information:

Scott Fairbank
Great Lakes Maritime Academy Director of Admissions
(231) 995-1213
sfairbank@nmc.edu

Success Story: Reimagined Freshwater Studies class notches triple win

Oct 14, 2020 | Intercom, Student News

October 14, 2020

Adapting to the challenges of COVID-19 has led NMC’s flagship Freshwater Studies program to a triple win: improving student learning, community collaboration and career exploration in a single course.

Introduction to Freshwater Studies is the first course in NMC’s first-in-the-nation Freshwater Studies associate degree program. This fall, instructor Constanza Hazelwood reimagined the 20-student course to conform to group size restrictions and distancing requirements necessitated by the coronavirus. She divided it into three tracks that allow students to experience project research, management and communications in areas that align with their interests, from water quality monitoring to habitat restoration to laboratory testing.

“We didn’t want large groups gathering anywhere,” said Hazelwood, who has taught the class for the past 11 years on NMC’s Great Lakes campus. “That’s what got me thinking we must have students outdoors. We cannot teach this on a screen.”

Field work and community partnerships have been part of the course in the past, but this time, it’s a much deeper dive. Hazelwood tapped nine community organizations, many non-profit. Each student works with three as they go through their tracks.

“This time the students are really engaged in the work of the organizations,” said Hazelwood.

Groups like the Grand Traverse Conservation District, where students planted trees to help restore the Boardman River Watershed (photos, courtesy Alan Newton) and the Glen Lake Association in Leelanau County, where students worked on a project to eradicate invasive yellow iris in Big Fisher Lake, part of the Glen Lake/Crystal River watershed.

‘We’re so grateful, not just for the manual labor but the opportunity to work alongside these really incredible students,” said GLA’s Tricia Denton. “These are the future caretakers of our precious water resources.”

Other groups participating include For Love of Water, Circle of Blue, Freshwater Solutions and Fish Pass. (Watch a TV 9 & 10 story on the Fish Pass project.)

“A big component is career exploration,” Hazelwood said. “It’s very much immersion in the professional world.”

“They’re working with master’s and PhD-level professionals, some of them who have been in the field for over 40 years, which is so different from reading about something online or in a textbook,” said Denton, who is also eyeing the group of nine students she worked with for future association interns.

2019 graduate Abbey Hull, now pursuing her bachelor’s degree in Freshwater Science and Sustainability from Western Michigan University, a partnership with NMC, returned to mentor current students in a project using state-of-the-art technology to test water for E. coli.

Traverse City’s Freshwater Solutions is the partner for the project using qPCR technology, which extracts DNA from water samples. Also being deployed to monitor for COVID-19, for E. coli, results are available in two hours instead of the 24 hours it would take using the traditional method of sampling and then attempting to grow cultures.

Drilling down further, qPCR can determine the source of the bacteria — septic tanks, or waterfowl?— which guides appropriate mitigation.

“This was a great way for students to get hands-on, and meet people in the field and network from there,” Hull said.

Hazelwood points out that it’s another opportunity for alumni like Hull, too.

“Even after graduating, they’re still learning from NMC,” she said.

Success Story: Reimagined Freshwater Studies class notches triple win

Oct 14, 2020 | Intercom, Student News

October 14, 2020

Adapting to the challenges of COVID-19 has led NMC’s flagship Freshwater Studies program to a triple win: improving student learning, community collaboration and career exploration in a single course.

Introduction to Freshwater Studies is the first course in NMC’s first-in-the-nation Freshwater Studies associate degree program. This fall, instructor Constanza Hazelwood reimagined the 20-student course to conform to group size restrictions and distancing requirements necessitated by the coronavirus. She divided it into three tracks that allow students to experience project research, management and communications in areas that align with their interests, from water quality monitoring to habitat restoration to laboratory testing.

“We didn’t want large groups gathering anywhere,” said Hazelwood, who has taught the class for the past 11 years on NMC’s Great Lakes campus. “That’s what got me thinking we must have students outdoors. We cannot teach this on a screen.”

Field work and community partnerships have been part of the course in the past, but this time, it’s a much deeper dive. Hazelwood tapped nine community organizations, many non-profit. Each student works with three as they go through their tracks.

“This time the students are really engaged in the work of the organizations,” said Hazelwood.

Groups like the Grand Traverse Conservation District, where students planted trees to help restore the Boardman River Watershed (photos, courtesy Alan Newton) and the Glen Lake Association in Leelanau County, where students worked on a project to eradicate invasive yellow iris in Big Fisher Lake, part of the Glen Lake/Crystal River watershed.

‘We’re so grateful, not just for the manual labor but the opportunity to work alongside these really incredible students,” said GLA’s Tricia Denton. “These are the future caretakers of our precious water resources.”

Other groups participating include For Love of Water, Circle of Blue, Freshwater Solutions and Fish Pass.

“A big component is career exploration,” Hazelwood said. “It’s very much immersion in the professional world.”

“They’re working with master’s and PhD-level professionals, some of them who have been in the field for over 40 years, which is so different from reading about something online or in a textbook,” said Denton, who is also eyeing the group of nine students she worked with for future association interns.

2019 graduate Abbey Hull, now pursuing her bachelor’s degree in Freshwater Science and Sustainability from Western Michigan University, a partnership with NMC, returned to mentor current students in a project using state-of-the-art technology to test water for E. coli.

Traverse City’s Freshwater Solutions is the partner for the project using qPCR technology, which extracts DNA from water samples. Also being deployed to monitor for COVID-19, for E. coli, results are available in two hours instead of the 24 hours it would take using the traditional method of sampling and then attempting to grow cultures.

Drilling down further, qPCR can determine the source of the bacteria — septic tanks, or waterfowl?— which guides appropriate mitigation.

“This was a great way for students to get hands-on, and meet people in the field and network from there,” Hull said.

Hazelwood points out that it’s another opportunity for alumni like Hull, too.

“Even after graduating, they’re still learning from NMC,” she said.

GLCI Charcuterie To Go

Oct 9, 2020 | Intercom, Student News

November 11, 2020

Support Great Lakes Culinary Institute students while enjoying a delicious spread of charcuterie. For this one-time event, you are invited to purchase charcuterie boxes delightfully prepared by the garde manger class. Boxes will include a variety of delicacies and each item is handcrafted from scratch. Choose between four different themes (pork, poultry/duck, fish/seafood, and vegetable/foraging) or purchase all four! Each box costs $40 and generously serves one person.

To purchase your box, visit nmc.edu/glci-togo. Call the NMC Foundation at (231) 995-1021 with questions.

Freshwater Studies and GT community forging our classroom in the Great Outdoors

Oct 9, 2020 | Intercom, Student News

During COVID-19 times, Freshwater Studies students are taking part in a community-based course to immerse themselves in local freshwater projects. Students in Intro to Freshwater Studies are rotating in small groups to contribute to exemplary freshwater projects in the Grand Traverse area. Community partners like the Grand Traverse Conservation District, The Watershed Center of Grand Traverse Bay, and the Glen Lake Association are hosting students for three weeks giving them opportunities to use sophisticated equipment and learn from top scientists and researchers.

Check out what our local 9&10 news channel had to say about our 2020 Freshwater Studies students and the role they are playing learning about remote sensing equipment and collecting data for the Fish Pass project.