Bookstore hours limited March 18 & 19
The Campus Bookstore will be open from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. on March 18 and 19. Normal business hours will resume on March 20.
New course: CIT 115 Intro to Generative AI
Check out NMC’s new course this fall: CIT115 – Intro to Generative AI! Learn to work with AI in your field of study. No tech background required. Use real-world applications to work smarter, think critically and stay competitive. Learn your way; CIT115 is offered online, livestream or face-to-face.
Fall registration is now open. Talk to your advisor today!
NMC Curling Night: A successful evening on the ice
On Friday, March 6, over 50 NMC faculty, staff, and students gathered at the Traverse City Curling Club for a fun night of learning a new sport, curling!
Participants were divided among the five curling sheets, and volunteers from the club led the instruction on the basics of curling and friendly competition.
Shout out to the 20 GLMA Cadets that showed up for the event! Way to represent the Academy!
Thanks to Marcus Bennett, Lynne Moritz and Terri Gustafson for organizing this event.
Summer textbook availability
Summer textbooks will be available April 1. Stop by the Campus Bookstore in the Health & Science Building on NMC’s Front Street Campus or check them out online at bookstore.nmc.edu.
St. Patrick’s Day sale at the Campus Bookstore
Happy St. Patrick’s Day! Stop by the Campus Bookstore on Tuesday, March 17 and get 10% off all regularly priced green items.
Mobile food pantry March 16
NMC will host a mobile food pantry on Monday, March 16 from 3–5 p.m. in the Maple Lot on the Front Street campus. The menu includes potatoes, onions, cottage cheese, applesauce, pinto beans, juice, cereal, venison and pasta.
While our program is designed for NMC college students and their families, it is open to all in the community who are in need of food.
We ask that recipients queue up in the car line in a counter-clockwise circle around the edge of the parking lot. Please do not block the main access roads, be aware of other students using the parking spaces and watch for children being picked up at the Oleson Learning Center adjacent to the Maple Lot.
On the menu: Hawk Owl Café specials for March 16–20
The Hawk Owl Café serves specials during the fall and spring semesters from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. and from 4:40 to 6:30 p.m. The protein option is $9.99, and the vegetarian option (V) is $7.99. Learn more at nmc.edu/dining.
Menu
Monday, March 16
Traditional Beef Lasagna served with garlic crostini & green beans
Roasted Vegetable Lasagna (V) served with garlic crostini & green beans
Tuesday, March 17
Beef Tacos with lettuce, cheese and chipotle ranch served with refried beans, tortilla chips & queso blanco
Tofu Tacos (V) with lettuce, cheese and chipotle ranch served with refried beans, tortilla chips & queso blanco
Wednesday, March 18
Chicken Tikka Masala with onions and red peppers served with yellow rice & grilled naan bread
Tofu Tikka Masala (V) with onions and red peppers served with yellow rice & grilled naan bread
Thursday, March 19
Country Fried Steak served with mashed potatoes and gravy & green beans
Roasted Cauliflower Steak (V) with chimichurri sauce served with mashed potatoes & green beans
Friday, March 20
Hawk Owl Café Sliders with bacon, cheese and onion straws served with asparagus & sweet potato fries
Impossible Burger on Brioche (V) with cheese and onion straws served with asparagus & sweet potato fries
NMC Nursing program informational sessions
Pre-nursing students are invited to attend one of the upcoming program informational sessions. Representatives from Admissions will discuss the steps to getting accepted into NMC’s Nursing program. Topics include how to apply to the program, how to register for the HESI exam as well as what courses are included in the program.
Tuesday, March 17
Timothy J. Nelson Innovation Center, room 104/105, Front Street Campus
Noon
Food will be provided
Wednesday, March 18
4 p.m.
Virtual
New books for March 2026
To find these selections and many other new titles, see the NMC library catalog.
Success Story: Commitment Scholarship expands access
March 4, 2026
The NMC Commitment Scholarship is vastly expanding the ranks of eligible first-generation college students this spring, increasing the impact of a unique college access opportunity that began more than thirty years ago.
Starting with the high school class of 2028 (current high school sophomores), prospective first-generation college students in the six-county area can self-nominate for a Commitment Scholarship.
Previously students had to be nominated by their high school counselor as freshmen. Eligibility was limited to 18 regional public high schools, each of which could nominate only three students. Charter, private and homeschooled students are also now eligible.
In addition to the financial help (up to $2,000/year for up to three years) Commitment helps students gain confidence and focus. At a Michigan Tech recruiting fair last fall, seeking a summer internship among throngs of other students, sophomore Kai Collins (right) believes lessons he learned years earlier as an NMC Commitment Scholar helped him stand out.
“Being a Commitment scholar felt like I was being treated as an adult. I had to learn management skills,” said Collins, a 2024 Mancelona High School graduate. “It’s made me a lot more confident in my college journey. I know I can use opportunities I’m given to their fullest.”
Collins landed an internship, with Milwaukee Tool, and is headed to Wisconsin this summer.
The scholarship can be combined with other aid, including the Michigan Community College Guarantee. First-generation is defined as neither parent having earned an associate degree or higher.
The goal is to expand access and have more students take advantage of the scholarship, which was established by NMC donors in 1993. Students must also participate in two preparatory events prior to starting at NMC and maintain a 2.0 GPA in high school.
Gillian Lovett, a 2023 Bellaire High School graduate, is a Commitment scholar currently enrolled at NMC. She will graduate this May. She said the scholarship helped make college a realistic prospect for her.
“I was definitely pretty surprised. College wasn’t on my radar yet. I felt pretty lucky to be nominated, and I felt grateful that I did have an opportunity ahead of me to go to school and not worry about the money,” Lovett said.
Lovett is studying psychology and plans to transfer to Western Michigan University to complete her bachelor’s degree. She’s considering a career in the correctional field, as a rehabilitation counselor.
Collins expects to graduate from Michigan Tech in 2028 with a degree in mechanical engineering. While at NMC he also earned a certificate in Uncrewed Aerial Systems (UAS).
Faculty Excellence Award nominations
Have you had instructors this semester who you feel really excelled? NMC has a way for you to recognize those instructors: Nominate them for a Faculty Excellence Award!
Award criteria includes teaching excellence, supportive relationship with students, innovation in the classroom, sense of class community and dedication to the students/NMC.
Tell us what makes your instructors so great using this nomination form.
Submit your nomination by April 10.
Apply to graduate and RSVP for Commencement
Class of 2026—have you applied to graduate?
If this is your last semester of classes, now is the time to apply to graduate if you haven’t already! All students are required to submit this application to receive their credential. The graduation application is available in NMC Self-Service. Select “Apply to Graduate” under the “Student Records” tab to submit your application. Submit your application before April 15 to ensure your name will be listed in the Commencement program.
Those who have already applied to graduate should check their NMC student email to RSVP for Commencement. The deadline to RSVP for Commencement is April 20. Don’t forget to purchase your cap and gown from the Campus Bookstore!
If you have any questions, email records@nmc.edu or call (231) 995-1049.
Michigan Veteran Entrepreneur Lab (MVE-Lab)
Michigan Veteran Entrepreneur Lab (MVE-Lab) is a free entrepreneurial accelerator program tailored for military-connected individuals in Michigan. This program is developed and led by the Richard M. and Helen DeVos Center for Entrepreneurship & Innovation (CEI) at Grand Valley State University (GVSU).
Participants will cover relevant topics each week and will leave with actionable takeaways. Topic examples include:
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- Knowing your customer
- Marketing and messaging
- Financial modeling
- “Ask the Lawyer”
- Planning for growth
- Funding streams
The MVE-Lab cohort 17 will run in Traverse City from 6-9 p.m. on Tuesdays from April 7 through June 9 at GVSU’s Traverse City Regional Center located in the James Beckett Buildng on NMC’s Front Street Campus. Participants can join in-person of via Zoom. Dinner is provided. The program will conclude with a Final Pitch and Showcase event on Monday, June 15 to celebrate the end of the cohort with an opportunity to pitch for $15,000 in cash prizes.
To apply, visit gvsu.edu/mve. Applications will close on April 7 at 11:59 p.m.
STEM Study Nights
Want a place to work on homework from your STEM classes with peers? Join STEM Study Nights! STEM Study Nights are open to all students who want to work on STEM homework and collaborate with others. Meetings are held weekly from 7-9 p.m. in the Timothy J. Nelson Innovation Center, room 14. Snacks will be provided!
Questions? Email zalews6@mail.nmc.edu
CPR video
Campus Safety and Security has completed multiple CPR training sessions at NMC with more to follow.
Kindly watch this important video on providing hands only CPR.
Keep in mind:
- The most likely emergency you will encounter on a college campus is a medical emergency.
- Good Samaritan laws protect bystanders from civil liability when providing voluntary and reasonable emergency assistance to injured or ill individuals.
Success Story: Eight straight semesters of growth led by high school students
February 18, 2026
More area high school students are getting a head start on degrees and careers through record enrollment at NMC this spring.
Combined, 613 high school students were dual enrolled or in Early College at NMC this spring, up from the previous record of 544 set just last fall. High school students now constitute 19.3%, or nearly one in five, of the 3,188 students enrolled.
The increase comes despite the fact that overall spring semester enrollment is lower than fall’s, as is typical. Spring-to-spring overall enrollment is up 1.2% from spring 2025.
“More students continued on, and we were able to get more students interested and enrolled,” said NMC Admissions director Lisa vonReichbauer.
Offering opportunities for high school students is one of the top two priorities of local residents, according to NMC’s latest Community Attitudes & Awareness survey.
Hence NMC put an all-out effort on financial, communication and programming fronts into affording residents those opportunities, including a special tuition rate. Tuition for both dual enrollment and early college is paid by local school districts, but until two years ago, the tuition rate for students outside Grand Traverse County left a difference that families paid out of pocket. In January 2024, NMC trustees approved a rate for out-of-district dual enrolled students that eliminates that out of pocket expense.
Equipped with that new rate, vonReichbauer said NMC has improved outreach to both high schools and families, including home school families.
“We’ve communicated better about the opportunities, so we’re seeing more people taking advantage of that,” she said.
Beyond saving money and a head start, research shows that students who dual-enroll in a college class or Early College students, who earn an associate degree in just one year, are more likely to get to the finish line – graduation.
“It increases college going skills, college success and college completion,” vonReichbauer said.
Most students can dual enroll as early as their sophomore year, take up to 10 classes and choose from more than 100 courses. However, each high school handles dual enrollment differently and NMC defers to each individual high school’s requirements.
Fall enrollment for all students, including dual enrolled, starts March 11. Find out more about opportunities for high school students.
Prioritize your wellbeing: Join a mental fitness meetup
Students looking for connection, support and practical tools for managing stress are invited to take part in the upcoming mental fitness meetups hosted by NAMI Grand Traverse, part of the broader mission of the National Alliance on Mental Illness to promote mental wellness and reduce stigma.
These welcoming, student-focused gatherings encourage participants to prioritize themselves during stressful times while learning about helpful strategies and local support. Sessions are held bi-weekly at 3 p.m. on Tuesdays in the Fireplace Room at the NMC Library. Snacks are provided and attendees will also have the chance to hang with therapy dogs.
Spring Meet Up Topics
Avoiding Burnout
February 17
Community Resources
March 3
Self-Care and Support
March 17
Stress Management
April 7
Wellness at Work/School
April 21
All students are welcome to attend. For more information, visit namigt.org or call (231)944-8448.
Curling interest survey
Campus Life is exploring the possibility of hosting a Curling Night on March 6 in partnership with the Traverse City Curling Club. To help make it happen, please complete the interest survey by Wednesday, February 18. Your input will directly shape event planning and scheduling.
Keep an eye out for updates — and get ready to sweep your way into a memorable winter experience!