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.”
Oct 27, 2020 | Intercom
The NMC Board of Trustees completed a performance evaluation of President Nick Nissley at the October 26, 2020, Board of Trustees meeting. The evaluation with President Nissley was held in closed session, pursuant to his request and in compliance with the Open Meetings Act.
The overall rating of President Nissley’s performance is “Very Effective,” stating his performance is at a very high level, demonstrates a high degree of proficiency and frequently exceeds standards of normal expected performance.
Read the performance evaluation here.
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.
Oct 26, 2020 | Hawk Owl Helpers and Heroes, Intercom
Congratulations to NMC’s Academic & Career Advising Center for successfully reimagining the college’s annual transfer fair as a week-long virtual event. Students were able to choose from over 50 interactive sessions between October 12 and 15, including 25 major-specific sessions focused on specialty transfer areas like Business, Cybersecurity, Engineering, Nursing and Pre-Med.
The event also cross-promoted High School College Night, retooled as two nights of virtual sessions, for students unable to attend the virtual transfer fair. And new transfer sessions hosted by other colleges and universities continue to be added to the virtual event page, which also promotes weekly Virtual Transfer Tuesday sessions featuring NMC University Center partners.
Who’s been a Hawk Owl Helper or Hero for you? Let us know at publicrelations@nmc.edu!
Oct 26, 2020 | Announcements & News, Intercom, Student News
The Health & Science Building’s first-floor atrium on NMC’s main campus will be used as a city polling place for Precinct 9 voters again this year, including on Tuesday, Nov. 3 between 7 a.m. and 8 p.m. Some parking in the Cedar lot will be set aside for voters at those times.
Voters are asked but not required to wear masks at the polling place. Masks will be provided for people who don’t have them but would like one, sneeze guards will be in place within the polling place where voters and election workers most interact, items will be sanitized and social distancing signs will be in place. Those not voting are asked to avoid the polling place during voting. (NMC’s Keep Safe plan requires that face masks be worn and social distancing practiced – staying at least six feet apart – in all other NMC common areas, hallways and classrooms.)
The NMC Bookstore will be closed Nov. 3 as well, and will reopen with normal hours Wednesday, Nov. 4.
Oct 26, 2020 | Intercom, Media Mentions
The following college events and stories have appeared in the media in the past two weeks. We want to share your media involvement too. Please send information about your NMC-related interview or appearance to publicrelations@nmc.edu. If possible, please include a link to the piece and information about where and when it was used.
Please note access to some stories may be limited by paywalls set up by the media outlet. This includes the Traverse City Record-Eagle, which limits free clicks to five per month. You may also read Record-Eagle articles in the print edition at the NMC Library.
Northwestern Michigan College Sees Campaign Donations Grow During Pandemic
9&10 News, October 21 (more…)
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!
Oct 19, 2020 | Intercom, Media Mentions
The following college events and stories have appeared in the media in the past two weeks. We want to share your media involvement too. Please send information about your NMC-related interview or appearance to publicrelations@nmc.edu. If possible, please include a link to the piece and information about where and when it was used.
Please note access to some stories may be limited by paywalls set up by the media outlet. This includes the Traverse City Record-Eagle, which limits free clicks to five per month. You may also read Record-Eagle articles in the print edition at the NMC Library.
People are giving — in record numbers — to NMC’s ambitious campaign
The Ticker, October 14 (more…)
Oct 19, 2020 | Hawk Owl Helpers and Heroes, Intercom
Thank you to Boy Scout Troop 34, led by Scoutmaster and NMC biology instructor Nick Roster (left), which tackled an invasive patch of phragmites near the Cherry parking lot on main campus earlier this month.
It’s part of what Roster, whose two sons are in the troop, expects to be a three-year conservation and service project eradicating invasive species on college property.
Invasive phragmites “creates tall, dense stands which degrade wetlands and coastal areas by crowding out native plants and animals, blocking shoreline views, reducing access for swimming, fishing, and hunting and can create fire hazards from dry plant material,” according to the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy.
Who’s been a Hawk Owl Helper or Hero for you? Let us know at publicrelations@nmc.edu!
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
Oct 19, 2020 | HR Corner, Intercom
The following employees are celebrating an anniversary soon. Please join us in congratulating them! (more…)
Oct 19, 2020 | HR Corner, Intercom
Please save the date for the open enrollment meeting on Monday, Nov. 9, 2020 at 10 a.m. More details will follow!
Oct 19, 2020 | HR Corner, Intercom, Student News
Kudos to all of our NMC students for following COVID-19 safety measures. We can see it all over campus with mask-wearing and social distancing keeping everyone healthy. Thank you!
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
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
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.
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.
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.
Oct 9, 2020 | HR Corner, Intercom
Step Challenge (access the flyer here)
- Challenge 9/21/2020 – 10/18/2020
- Last day to enter your steps is October 18. If you are not someone who accesses the portal on the weekend, feel free to project what you anticipate stepping so you have your totals included!
