Success story: NMC adds fifth water-related program

Nov 30, 2022 | Intercom, Student News

November 30, 2022

A new associate degree in water quality environmental technology coming next fall will expand NMC’s leadership in water-related career preparation as well as meet the needs of the new blue economy.

The new Wet Tech degree will be the only one of its kind in Michigan. It will utilize existing core and surveying and unmanned aerial systems courses, as well as create new courses in environmental site assessment, aquifer sampling, and groundwater monitoring. An internship is also required. NMC’s Board of Trustees approved it unanimously last week.

“This program will focus on training a workforce supporting the direct monitoring and cleanup of waters within the Great Lakes watershed and focusing on the direct impact to the quality of our water resources,” said Great Lakes Water Studies Institute Executive Director Hans Van Sumeren (above).

He said that nationwide, the U.S. EPA has documented 294,000 waste sites. Cleanup of those sites will generate more than $200 billion in economic activity, meaning graduates will find a strong job market.

“The water quality/environmental technician program intends to provide training for a skilled workforce that will be ready to respond to this growing need,” Van Sumeren said.

It joins four other NMC water-related degrees and programs:

• An associate’s and a bachelor’s in Marine Technology, the only one in the world, created in 2012 and 2018, respectively
• An associate’s in Freshwater Studies, the first in the nation when it was created in 2009.
• The Marine Center – professional development and training in marine systems, geospatial technologies and land surveying. 
• Great Lakes Maritime Academy – Trains deck and engineering officers for the commercial shipping industry. Bachelor’s degree offered since 2012; program founded in 1969.

NMC also partners with Western Michigan University to allow Freshwater Studies students to earn a bachelor’s degree in freshwater science and sustainability, and with Lake Superior State University for Fisheries and Wildlife Management and Conservation Biology.

Creation of the new degree is also part of NMC Next, NMC’s strategic plan. The Huckle Family Foundation will provide $100,000 over two years for equipment and other program support.

College to offer state’s first Wet Tech degree Fall ’23

Nov 30, 2022 | Intercom, Student News

TRAVERSE CITY — A new associate degree in water quality environmental technology coming next fall will further expand NMC’s leadership in water-related degrees and programs as well as serve industry demand in the new blue economy.

The new Wet Tech degree will be the only one of its kind in Michigan. It will utilize existing courses from surveying and unmanned aerial systems programs as well as create new courses in environmental site assessment, aquifer sampling, and groundwater monitoring. An internship is also required. NMC’s Board of Trustees approved it unanimously last week.

“This program will focus on training a workforce supporting the direct monitoring and cleanup of waters within the Great Lakes watershed and focusing on the direct impact to the quality of our water resources,” said Great Lakes Water Studies Institute Executive Director Hans VanSumeren.

He said that nationwide, the U.S. EPA has documented 294,000 waste sites. Cleanup of those sites will generate more than $200 billion in economic activity, meaning graduates will find a strong job market.

“The water quality/environmental Technician program intends to provide training for a skilled workforce that will be ready to respond to this growing need,” Van Sumeren said.

It joins four other NMC water-related degrees and programs:

• An associate and a bachelor’s degree in Marine Technology, the only one in the world, created in 2012 and 2018, respectively
• An associate degree in Freshwater Studies, the first in the nation when it was created in 2009.
• The Marine Center — professional development and training in marine systems, geospatial technologies and land surveying.
• Great Lakes Maritime Academy — Trains deck and engineering officers for the commercial shipping industry. Bachelor’s degree first granted in 2014; program founded in 1969.

Creation of the new degree is also part of NMC Next, NMC’s strategic plan. The Huckle Family Foundation will provide $100,000 over two years for equipment and other program support.

Release date: NOVEMBER 30, 2022

For more information:

Hans Van Sumeren
NMC Great Lakes Water Studies Institute Executive Director
(231) 995-1793
hvansumeren@nmc.edu

Success Story: Restaurant Week chefs earn chops at GLCI

Nov 27, 2022 | Intercom, Student News

February 19, 2020

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

“People look forward to it,” Paveglio said.

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

Success Story: NMC provides a path for student government president

Nov 27, 2022 | Intercom, Student News

September 15, 2021

Edris Fana speaks at the 2016 NMC CommencementLast month, 2016 NMC graduate Edris Fana expected to see his parents for the first time in eight years, when they were to travel from Kabul, Afghanistan to Traverse City for his wedding to fellow alumna Emma Smith.

Instead, their wedding date, Aug. 15, became the day that Fana’s home country officially fell back to the Taliban, the Islamic military regime that resumed control of Afghanistan amid the final withdrawal of U.S./NATO troops after a 20-year presence.

“Everything just went downhill,” Fana said, adding that his parents have visas to travel to the United States, but cannot get a flight. (Very limited air travel resumed last week.) “To see it fall like this, it’s crazy to think about it.”

As the first international student to lead NMC’s Student Government Association, Fana, now 27, once aspired to apply that experience back home, and work in the government of the fledgling democratic republic.

“That was my all-time goal,” said Fana, who studied aviation. As the SGA president, he spoke at both the 2015 and 2016 commencement ceremonies.

“Coming from a place that I didn’t have the opportunity to practice leadership, or to have any experience of what I was capable of, it was NMC that presented me with opportunities to grow,” Fana told the audience in 2016.

Fana reciprocated those opportunities, contributing significantly to international understanding on campus, said Jim Bensley, NMC’s director of International Services and Service Learning.

“His interactions with fellow students helped many students gain a more intimate understanding of Afghan culture,” said Bensley, who invited Fana to speak to his World Cultures classes as well as wider campus audiences.

Fana’s 2013 departure to attend NMC was his second exodus from Afghanistan. In 1994 he was 11 days old when his parents fled with him and his brother to Pakistan as the Taliban began its first takeover of the country. The family returned to Afghanistan in 2003, when Fana was 10.

By then, the American invasion had ousted the Taliban from power and Afghanistan was heading into its first democratic elections. Despite attending an American school in Kabul and having parents who were educated and professional — his father runs a non-governmental organization called Partners in Aviation and Technology — Fana found his options for higher education limited. He wanted to study aviation.

As a young, Afghan man in a post-9/11 world, it wasn’t easy getting the acceptances and  documents he needed to study in the United States. But Fana finally succeeded, following his brother, a pre-med student, to Michigan.

“NMC provided a path to me, not just out of Afghanistan, but to study more, to study what I really love, and get involved in the community,” said Fana. In addition to the SGA, at NMC he joined the International Club, also serving as its president, was a resident assistant and worked in the library. He earned his bachelor’s degree in business from Ferris State University through NMC’s University Center in December 2020.

NMC Dean of Students Lisa Thomas is the adviser to the SGA and knew Fana well.

“His own life experiences and journey from across the world to NMC gave him a deep sense of appreciation for the education and opportunities at NMC,” Thomas said.

Currently working as a hotel manager, with a return to Afghanistan off the table, Fana is accruing flight hours in order to earn his flight instructor license.

Daily life in Kabul is “somewhat regular” now, as the Taliban seeks international recognition of its regime, and his parents are safe, Fana said, but they are still seeking a way to leave. It’s stunning to think the country is back where it was when he was an infant.

“I don’t think anybody expected an overnight takeover. Within two weeks, the whole country just fell in.”

Success Story: Equalizing opportunities in the cockpit

Nov 27, 2022 | Intercom, Student News

September 27, 2017

NMC Aviation, already celebrating its 50^th 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.

Success story: Experiential learning, diversity combined in “Voices” project

Nov 27, 2022 | Intercom, Student News

February 9, 2022

Asked to name notable Black Americans, and a few relatively contemporary figures usually come to mind: Martin Luther King Jr., Barack Obama, Oprah Winfrey.

The Voices Project, a new experiential learning project in conjunction with NMC’s Embrace the Dream Martin Luther King/Black History Month programming, aims to elevate the recognition of lesser-known individuals throughout history, like Capt. Hugh Mulzac, journalist Ida B. Wells-Barnett and nurse Mary Eliza Mahoney.

Taking place in campus hallways through the end of the month, the Voices Project is part open-access history lesson, part diversity and inclusion showcase and is aligned with the Diversity, Equity and Inclusion area of NMC Next, the college’s new strategic plan. The poster-size portraits of Black Americans hang in the academic buildings corresponding to their subject’s field – from the first Black registered nurse (Mahoney) to the first Black merchant marine naval officer to command an integrated crew during World War II (Mulzac) to journalist and NAACP co-founder (Wells-Barnett) who was born into slavery.

The posters were designed by Fine Arts student Gavin Bebb.

“I think there’s a strong connection between art and social issues. I felt honored to be a part of the project and helping to bring awareness to others,” said Bebb, 21, of Traverse City. “These are unsung individuals who really changed how we progress in our world today.”

Fine arts instructor Glenn Wolff (right, with Bebb, far right) approached Bebb about the experiential learning project at the end of 2021. From a faculty-curated list of potential subjects, Wolff obtained images in the public domain or permission to use them. Bebb then created the Voices Project logo and edited the images into portraits, cropping, magnifying and manipulating small original files into the 30 x 40 posters.

“All the things I learned over the fall semester I put into these posters,” he said.

Each also includes short biographical text researched by NMC faculty, and a QR code that a viewer can scan for the complete list of poster subjects.

“To me a desired outcome is that students, when they view the posters in their various areas at NMC, discover these Black contributors and are inspired to learn more about, and reflect on, the importance of their stories, and the reasons for their relative absence,” Wolff said.

Wolff was able to obtain permission for 17 images. Other portrait subjects are research chemist Percy Julian, mathematician Gladys West and artist and illustrator Aaron Douglas. Wolff’s drawing students are now working on sketches for another five subjects for whom permission could not be obtained.

“It’s morphing into student artwork,” he said.

The Voices Project posters will be on display at least through February. Wolff envisions it becoming an annual event.

Success Story: ‘Not a normal experience, but so far, it’s been good.’

Nov 27, 2022 | Intercom, Student News

September 2, 2020

Kyle Korson gets food at the Hawk Owl CaféMasked students, faculty and staff members returned to a campus transformed in response to the coronavirus pandemic, as completely overhauled fall classes began last week in new instruction formats, with safety and learner success top-of-mind.

“We know some parts of the college experience will be different,” NMC President Nick Nissley said in a welcome video message to students. “Our faculty and staff are still here for you, in more new ways than ever before, to help you reach your goals.”

NMC’s fall learning plan is safety first, offering most classes remotely. It’s the reverse of 2019, when 83 percent of courses were offered in traditional face-to-face lecture format. This fall, only 13 percent are. Livestream debuts as a brand-new format. More than a third of classes are offered livestream, with an instructor teaching online at established days and times.

“Our instructors spent the summer learning how to make virtual learning even better,” Nissley said.

Classes are also offered in on-demand online format, hybrid, and in person where required for accreditation, such as nursing.

Nursing student Kendall McNitt had planned to transfer to NMC from Saginaw Valley State University pre-pandemic, but the safety and flexibility NMC is offering students in this unique semester has affirmed she made a good decision. She’s closer to her East Jordan home, in smaller classes and paying more affordable tuition. Her classes are a mix of all the formats.

“So far, everyone’s been very on top of the guidelines,” McNitt said of safety requirements like mandatory masks and social distancing in classrooms. “All of the nursing professors, they’re super willing to help.”

First-year student Kyle Korson, an East Hall resident, is taking all his classes online, but is grateful to be living on campus for the reliable wireless Internet connection. He lives in Leelanau County near Northport and said connectivity from his home is poor, and wouldn’t allow for livestreamed classes.

“It’s good to get away,” added the engineering student.

On-campus housing occupancy is at about 50 percent of capacity, to allow for social distancing. Fellow East Hall resident Lukus Herblet is glad to be living on campus and that some of his audio technology classes are in hybrid format, combining online and face-to-face instruction.

“I feel it’s part of the college experience,” he said.

New to this year’s college experience: Hand sanitizer stations in all building entrances, with complimentary face masks available to help visitors comply.

Also, the Timothy J. Nelson Innovation Center is now open after almost two years of construction. The first-floor Hawk Owl Cafe and the new second-floor library are open to students, faculty and staff, with occupancy limited to about 50 percent of capacity. Public seating areas have also been marked so that visitors maintain a minimum six feet of separation.

“It’s pretty nice to have everything in one place,” Herblet said.

McNitt, settled into one of the booths by the cafeteria, agreed.

“It’s definitely not a normal experience, but so far, it’s been good,” she said.

Success Story: Virtuosos at virtual, millions in aid and scholarships

Nov 27, 2022 | Intercom, Student News

April 21, 2021

Amid abundant challenges, bright spots and silver linings are still plentiful as NMC’s first full academic year under COVID-19 restrictions draws to a close.

Recapping the challenges: For safety, about 85 percent of NMC’s classes were offered remotely in both fall 2020 and spring 2021 semesters, a complete flip of the usual proportions. College and student events both pivoted to virtual, changing the feel of the campus community. Two brand-new state workforce investment programs, Futures for Frontliners and Michigan Reconnect, were built and unveiled, and COVID safety precautions kept Dennos volunteers at home.

Classes and student events

Due to their accreditation requirements, health programs like dental assisting and nursing were among the few holding face to face classes in 2020–21.

“We had a great group of students who realized there might be a few bumps in the road, but were always grateful to be face-to-face,” said Dental Assistant Program Director Deb Kaser.

There were no cases of COVID-19 among her students, thanks to social distancing and triple precautions: masks, face shields, and eye protection. Just two students had to quarantine due to household members’ illness, but they were able to keep up thanks to online instruction and proctored testing.

Director of Advising Lindsey Dickinson said that virtual options have been a silver lining for her office, too, especially for students who are parents or have transportation issues.

“It has leveled the playing field in terms of access. Sometimes, getting people to campus was the biggest barrier,” Dickinson said. “We can still build relationships with our students.”

She is especially proud of the fact that the annual Career Fair — one of the last in-person college events in March 2020— carried on in a virtual format in March 2021.

“We had 12 students who got interviews off the back of that Career Fair,” Dickinson said.

Financial aid

2021 opened with three immediate priorities: Distributing $1 million in federal emergency student aid approved in 2020; awarding aid for the state’s Futures for Frontliners program, and aid for Michigan Reconnect. Both Frontliners and Reconnect cover in-district tuition for students who worked during the initial pandemic shutdown in spring 2020 (Frontliners) or are age 25 and lack a college degree (Reconnect.)

The two programs were the first new aid in decades, said NMC Financial Aid Director Linda Berlin. In addition, Frontliners drew a much larger response than expected— more than 1,800 students, according to admissions director Cathryn Claerhout. For spring, 529 enrolled at NMC.

“We had no system set up to handle it,” Berlin said. But NMC’s Information Technology Services stepped up.

“NMC is better positioned than a lot of schools. Our IT, they rocked,” Berlin said. Using the new systems, NMC has awarded $403,000 in Frontliners scholarships with another $83,000 pending for fall.

Awards for Michigan Reconnect start this summer. Also coming up for Berlin’s team: Awarding another $2 million in emergency student aid through the federal American Rescue Plan.

Dennos Museum

After an initial shutdown, since August 2020 the museum has remained mostly open to the public, albeit with limited hours. Events like concerts and artist workshops are still virtual, however.

“We’ve gotten really good at Zoom programs,” said Executive Director Craig Hadley, noting the Dennos has virtually presented artists from as far away as Iceland.

A silver lining has been new partnerships. The Dennos recently pooled grants funds with Manistee’s Ramsdell Center for the Arts to present Windy City Blues, a virtual concert featuring two Chicago artists neither could have afforded on their own. Offered free online, it led to about 35 new subscribers to the Dennos YouTube channel.

 “We definitely are reaching new audiences,” Hadley said. “It’s been an opportunity to expand our reach, and who we’ve been able to engage.”

Volunteers have begun to return to the museum, and Hadley looks forward to increasing their numbers, which will allow the museum to expand hours beyond the current Sunday–Thursday.

“That’s going to get us weekend coverage,” Hadley said.

Phi Theta Kappa

Despite a mostly virtual year, NMC’s chapter of the international community college honor society had its best showing ever, ranking as one of the top 10 most distinguished chapters for the first time in its history.

“It was amazing. It was a sort of out of body experience,” said chapter president Amber Marsh of the countdown at the PTK conference where the No. 7 rank was revealed.

On the heels of the rank, Marsh also learned that the NMC chapter’s honors in action project, Deconstructing the Binary Complex in Racism, was selected to be published in Civic Scholar, PTK’s journal of undergraduate research, this summer. She’s thrilled that “the work that we became so passionate about” as the nation began to reckon with racial justice last summer will now reach a wider audience.

“You have a great chance to change minds,” she said.

The classes of 2020 and 2021 will both graduate in a modified, COVID-compliant walk-through commencement ceremony on May 1.

Success Story: Fourth generation of Oleson family steps up to the plate

Nov 27, 2022 | Intercom, Student News

May 10, 2017

Samantha Oleson at the NMC Barbecue in 2007For many northern Michigan residents, the annual NMC Barbecue is a spring tradition. For Samantha Oleson, it goes back a lifetime.

The 22-year-old is part of the fourth generation of the Oleson family to carry on the fundraising picnic under the pines started in 1956 by her great-grandparents, Jerry and Frances Oleson.

This year she formally joined the Barbecue Board, the volunteer committee that spends several months planning the Barbecue, set for May 21 on NMC’s main campus. But the Sunday before Memorial weekend has long been a dedicated date on her calendar.

“I’ve been volunteering since I was seven years old,” Oleson said. She’s never missed a single Barbecue, even during her college years at Western Michigan University. “I would bring my friends and volunteer. It wasn’t something that I felt obligated to do, but I wanted to do.”

Mark, Frankie, Don and D.J. Oleson: Four generations enjoy the 2015 BarbecueA former dual-enrolled NMC student, Oleson is among a group of four cousins in the fourth generation of the family who now work in the Oleson’s stores. They continue to donate all the food for the Barbecue, which drew 7,678 people in 2016. On May 21, they’ll fan out for different day-of duties. Even fifth-generation Frankie Oleson, age 2 and a half, gets a job.

“He carried buckets,” said dad Mark Oleson, Samantha’s cousin. “He’s excited.”

They’ll still squeeze in time to enjoy the meal themselves.

“We eat on the steps, right past the serving lines,” Samantha Oleson said. “It’s great to see people come, year and year again, and see how dedicated they are to the college and the Barbecue.”

Besides the meal, the Barbecue includes classroom and program displays, free live music, a veteran’s tent and an alumni tent. Separate ticketed activities include children’s games and a cake walk.

Tickets are $6 in advance ($8 on Barbecue Day) and on sale now online and at Oleson’s Food Stores. Visit nmc.edu/bbq for more information.