Check out the NASA Kiosk during the Holiday Artist Market
Stop by the Holiday Artist Market at the Dennos Museum on November 4–5, 2022 from 10 a.m.–4 p.m. and enjoy the Observing With NASA Kiosk during open hours. Admission is free.
Employee Anniversaries – October
The following employees are celebrating an anniversary soon. Please join us in congratulating them!
Kudos!
Kudos to Katie Sommer-Ford, Duane Dodge: Katie did an outstanding job of organizing our Fall 2022 Transfer Fair. She stepped in and took full leadership of this student-focused event including coordinating the date with MACRAO and our admissions team, to creating promotional materials, organizing day-of logistics, and welcoming the college/university representatives and students — Katie did it all! She had great support and collaboration with Duane Dodge at our front desk as well. Kudos to both of you for pulling off a seamless event that helps our students plan their next steps with transfer.
Kudos to Katie Sommer-Ford, Lindsey Dickinson, and Advising Team: Kudos to Katie Sommer-Ford, Lindsey Dickinson, and the Advising Team for organizing creative events around spring registration!
Experts suggest maintaining an “attitude of gratitude” increases positivity for yourself and for others. Please encourage your colleagues by submitting a KUDOS. Let them know you appreciate their hard work and are thinking of them!
Welcome our newest hires
These employees recently started working at the college. Let’s welcome them to the NMC Community!
- Andrew Johns, Supplemental – Front of House Food Service
- Randi Nelson, Student Employee – Switchboard Operator and Welcome Desk Attendant
- Samuel Benjamin, Supplemental – Front of House Food Service
- Samantha Fewins, Student Employee – Reader/Scribe
- Alexis Lockey, Supplemental – Front of House Food Service
- Austin Grzeszak, Student Employee – Aviation Line Crew
- Kelsey Duflo – Adjunct Flight Instructor
- Jared Seward – Adjunct Flight Instructor
- Grace Fyke, Student Employee – Aviation Line Crew
- Pheonix Knipe, Student Employee – Chemistry Lab Assistant
- Monica Cole – Adjunct White Pine Press Design Advisor
- Michael McCorkendale, Supplemental – Back of House Food Service
Internal Promotions
The following NMC employees were recently promoted. Congratulations!
- Jeremy Heinlein – Director of Annual Giving
- Esther Nance – Food Services Office Manager
- Kim Gourlay – Business Academic Area Office Manager
- Natasha Williams – Health Occupations Instructor
Facilities Director Transition
Mike Chrypinski, NMC’s Director of Facilities, is retiring from NMC at the end of October. Mike managed several key projects during his 2+ years here including the opening of Timothy J. Nelson Innovation Center and The Greenspire School’s relocation to the University Center. Mike oversaw a wide variety of roofing, painting, HVAC, and infrastructure improvements across campus. He also helped keep our students, faculty, and staff safe during the COVID-19 pandemic by ensuring proper signage and ongoing availability of PPE across the College. Please take an opportunity to thank Mike for his service to NMC, and wish him well in his retirement down in Florida!
Mike is replaced by Patrick Quinlan, a US Air Force veteran and Traverse City native who brings strong facilities expertise and leadership to the College. Patrick most recently served as the Director of Engineering at Grand Traverse Resort and Spa. Patrick is also an NMC and University Center alumni, and was a former math tutor during his time here as a student. Welcome, Patrick!
Are you eligible for Student Loan Forgiveness?
Individuals employed by a US federal, state, local or tribal government or not-for-profit organization, you might be eligible for student loan forgiveness and cancellation opportunities. There are an estimated 154,000 public servants in Michigan who may be eligible for student loan debt relief.
The Biden administration is offering a temporary waiver to allow previously ineligible borrowers a second chance at student debt relief through the Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) program. You must apply for this waiver by October 31, 2022. NMC qualifies as an eligible employer for purposes of this program. Every public servant with student loans should check to see if they qualify for PSLF debt relief by visiting the Federal Student Aid website.
On August 24, 2022, separate from the PSLF waiver described above, the Biden Administration announced a one-time cancellation of debt for eligible borrowers in the amount of $10,000 (if borrower did not receive Pell) to $20,000 (if borrower received Pell). The Department of Education is still developing the application process for this program, which is expected to be released in October. Borrowers should visit and monitor the following link for more information on this debt cancellation opportunity: One-Time Student Loan Debt Relief. Borrowers have until Oct 31, 2022 to apply.
Board of Trustees regular and special meetings
The NMC Board of Trustees will hold a special meeting at 4:30 p.m. Monday, Oct. 24 prior to its regular monthly meeting at 5:30 p.m. Both will be held in in Room 106/107 at the Timothy J. Nelson Innovation Center on NMC’s main campus. More information is available here.
For more information, please contact the President’s office at (231) 995-1010.
Reminder: Set up your voicemail!
We rolled out a new voicemail system in March and we have noticed that a lot of people have not set up their personalized messages. Follow these directions to record your personalized greeting from your home or campus office and send a warm greeting to those who are trying to contact you.
If you have any questions, please contact the NMC Technology Help Desk at (231) 995-3020 or start a chat at nmc.edu/help.
NMC students plan to feed 150 families this Thanksgiving
TRAVERSE CITY — Northwestern Michigan College Professional Communications students are assisting local families by putting on the ninth annual Food for Thought Thanks-for-Giving project.
By helping to feed 150 households this holiday season, the students’ objective is to enhance their communication skills through experiential learning. With the help of local organizations, the students are raising funds and food donations in order to provide dinner boxes containing a turkey and all the sides to serve a family of six. The box includes a pan to cook the turkey in and an activity for the family to help make Thanksgiving even more memorable.
Meal boxes will be distributed on Monday, November 21, to 100 households identified by the NMC Food Pantry and to 50 Big Brothers Big Sisters families.
Community members can help by donating $10 or more to win a variety of prizes; including Red Wings tickets, a one-night stay at the Great Wolf Lodge with water park passes, a one-night stay at the Delamar Resort, passes to Bay Meadows family golf course (including cart fees), and other local prizes.
Donations can be made online at nmc.edu/give (Choose the amount, select “designate my gift to others,” and type in “Food For Thought.”) In addition, a private donor has pledged to match monetary contributions up to $5,000. Any additional local companies interested in becoming sponsors of this project are encouraged to contact the students.
Release date: October 18, 2022
For more information:
Michael Wittman
Marketing Team Leader
(231) 866-1386
wittmam@mail.nmc.edu
Kristy McDonald
Business Area Instructor
(231) 995-1059
kmcdonald@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-discriminationMedia Mentions for October 17, 2022
The following college events and stories have appeared in the media recently. 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.
What A New Strategic Plan Could Mean For The NMC Foundation
Ticker, Oct. 16
(more…)
Call for 2023 Fellows Nominations
The NMC Board of Trustees Fellows Selection Committee is seeking nominations for the 2023 Northwestern Michigan College “Fellow” award. The Fellow is NMC’s highest honor and the following criteria are taken into consideration during the selection process.
- Demonstrated influential networking on behalf of the College – Exercising helpful influence among their resource networks in public life, academe or business and industry with those who can positively affect the mission of the College.
- Financial contribution – Demonstration of pattern of outstanding contributions over time to NMC.
- Time devoted in the interest of NMC – Exemplifying dedicated and loyal volunteer service over a period of years.
- Retirees – In addition to service deemed extraordinary during their active careers as members of the faculty and staff, retirees who continue to contribute to their academic or professional fields and provide exemplary service back to NMC as volunteers, mentors or advisors shall be considered.
Exceptional contributions in one or more of these areas may justify nomination. No staff, faculty, or trustee shall be named a Fellow while still employed or in office. A list of previously selected Fellows is here for your reference.
Please use the nomination form here to nominate a worthy candidate. Nominations may be submitted to the President’s Office and via e-mail to nmcpresident@nmc.edu by Thursday, December 1, 2022.
President’s Office
1701 E. Front Street
Traverse City, MI
Phone: (231) 995-1010
Use the promo request form for faster service!
This is a friendly reminder to NMC employees to use the promotion request form at nmc.edu/promo for promotional coverage of your NMC announcement, program or event, or to order NMC-related promotional materials. Filling out the form will help assure that it gets prompt attention, since it goes to the entire Public Relations, Marketing & Communications team and provides us with the information we need to fulfill your request.
If you have any questions about the form or the process, please contact the PR team at publicrelations@nmc.edu.
Spring and summer registration starts Wednesday
Thank you to all those in Advising, Student Services and IT who are working to ensure that registration for the spring and summer semesters gets off to a smooth start. Registration is a critical step in enrollment. Thank you!
Who’s been a Hawk Owl Helper or Hero for you? Let us know at publicrelations@nmc.edu!
KUDOS for a great NMC October Conference!
Thank you to all the staff and faculty who helped make the October Conference a success! We could not have done it without you!
Thanks to the Dennos team of Craig Hadley, Megan Holtrey, Maria Ulrich, and Audio Tech. student Jacob Benker for seamlessly handling all of the live logistics of sound, slides facility coordination and assistance with the opening presentation at the Milliken Auditorium.
Kudos to Ed. Tech. and IT team members Eric Carlson, Chris Hannah, Kyle Morrison and Dan Wasson who made sure everything was working properly and helped with logistics for the day! Thank you!
Kudos to Kristi Hallett from Central Scheduling, the Facilities team, Linda Glaesmer and the custodial team. They were a huge help in making sure we had the right spaces reserved and set up with tables and seating.
Kudos to Chad Schenkelberger and the entire staff at the Hawk Owl Cafe! They were flexible going above and beyond to be helpful with the logistics of the lunch buffet in the Innovation Center. Thank you for a tasty lunch and lots of hot coffee!
Shout out to Jim White for helping to coordinate the Safety Tools session in collaboration with the Traverse City Fire Department and Chief Jim Tuller and his crew! Thanks to Security for helping in the Innovation Center and to Sarah Frankham at the Welcome desk for helping guide people to the right place.
Kudos to our CIE and PDI board volunteers who were a huge help in managing the logistics of the October Conference on Tuesday! Thanks to Nicole Speelman, Kerrey Woughter, Mark DeLonge, Scott Powell, Rick Mathis, Alice Sluss, Linda Berlin, and Laura Matchett who helped plan and execute the day’s events. We couldn’t have done it without you!
Kudos to the faculty and staff who facilitated sessions and participated on panels, including several folks who presented more than once. Thank you for stepping up to lead our colleagues in professional development and learning. The Conference couldn’t happen without you! The people we’d like to recognize are:
Leanne Baumeler, Marcus Bennett, Nate Butler, Bob Chaphalkar, Judy Chu, Emily Crull, Mark DeLonge, Nicole Fewins, Joy Goodchild, Tom Gordon, Andrea Gerring, Shelly Grant, Terri Gustafson, Mark Howell, Tony Jenkins, Lindsey Lipke, Christine Mac, Carly McCall, Brie Mills, Sarah Montgomery-Richards, Denny Ngyuen, Nicco Pandolfi, Steve Rice, Nick Roster, Stephen Siciliano, Jason Slade, Elizabeth Sonnabend, Lisa Thomas, Ali Thornton (who led three sessions that day — the most out of all employees at the college), Sherry Trier, Sarah Wangler, Kirk Waterstripe, Jim White and Ryan Wilson
Kudos to Marcus Bennett for organizing and refereeing the first NMC Kickball event. This fun, team-building event created the perfect end to the day and provided an opportunity to build inclusion across campus!
We apologize if we missed anyone. Quite a few folks stepped up as last-minute substitutes for people who were sick. We hope our sick friends are quickly on the mend. And we are impressed and grateful as always for our collaborative and supportive colleagues.
Thank you to all who attended the October Conference. You made it a great day!
Janet Lively, Lori Hodek, and the Center for Instructional Excellence and Professional Development Institute Advisory Boards
Kudos!
Kudos to Ed Bailey, Lisa Cooper, and Hans VanSumeren: I want to recognize a fantastic job by Ed, Hans and Lisa on the successful completion and execution of LakeBed 2030! This event returned to in-person for the first time since 2019 and resulted in a 2.5 days of seminars, keynotes, demonstrations, employer roundtables and vendor booths. The result was 141 in-person attendees and 46 virtual! Senator Peters provided a recorded opening welcome and a keynote by Captain Benjamin K. Evans, NOAA Director, NOAA Office of Coast Survey kicked off day one. Just as importantly, Marine Tech students had ample opportunities to see the latest technologies and discuss potential career opportunities. NMC is viewed as the convener of state, national and international agencies, industry leaders, and economic development organizations due to this conference. The planning and implementation of this conference takes well over a year and this team goes above and beyond to make this event happen. This aligns with our strategic plan, strategy #5 focused on growing the GLWSI and role in the “new” blue economy. Well done and I am looking forward to next year!
Kudos to Ben Post and the entire Ed tech group: Ben goes above and beyond to kindly and patiently address my tech issues. He responds quickly (even on the weekend). As someone teaching remotely, this quick help is what is keeping me going. However, it is the professionalism, patience and kindness for which I am most grateful. Ryan, Mark and Jason also “fix” my tech issues. All of these great people are very skilled and patient.
Kudos to Kim Groulay: Kim spent multiple hours in support of the Lakebed 2030 Conference and it was her work that helped ensure all the invoices were paid and the sponsorship fees were collected. What made Kim’s support so valuable was her outstanding communication skills, her willingness to go out of her way to support the event, and her constant positive attitude regardless of the complexity of the task. The conference was lucky to have someone of her caliber supporting the effort. Thanks, Kim
Kudos to NMC Faculty & Adjunct Faculty– The Fall 2022 Early Alert Progress Survey just closed, and 91% of you completed the survey! You raised almost 3,000 Kudos for students and they LOVE it! Thank you for all that you do to help our students succeed. We know it’s often difficult to integrate new technologies, but you all are seeing how My Success can help break down silos on our campus and better help our students. Great job! Let’s keep at it and get event better next semester!
Kudos to Katy Knight: Huge thanks to Katy Knight and all of her work on My Success! As the new Student Success Specialist, Katy is creating systems and workflows to help connect students to resources through their instructors. She is helping create a more collaborative, unified campus. We are so grateful for what Katy is doing for Student Success!
Kudos to Chris Hanna, Eric Carlson and Dennis Shultz: Chris, Eric & Dennis assisted in several EES classes all at once this morning. At the Innovation Center they set up our ever popular Global & Language instructor, Jack Segal, with over 35 participants in the class “Ukraine – What Does Putin Want”. At least half of these students had never been to the IC before and were very impressed! Chris ran over to the Dennos and set-up our EES instructor, Mary Gillett, for her class “Work of Art Workshop (how to run your art business)”. A HUGE kudos goes to Eric Carlson for filming our first episode of the Coffee Chats series from the Quiet Reading Room in the NMC Library. This series was originally curated by Alex Tank who is now full-time with IAF. As good fortune would have it, our very own Marguerite Cotto has graciously stepped into the role of hosting these community-centered Coffee Chats, which are now managed by EES Program Manager Christa Abdul-Karim. The very brave and knowledgeable Eric Carlson conducted the first in-person filming of the series (with a fireplace in the background and everything). Thank you, Educational Technology super heroes!
Kudos to Alex Bloye for his advocacy work related to the Aviation Hangar expansion. Alex has hosted many visitors at the hangar, providing a vision for the future of the Aviation hangar and program and demonstrating to lawmakers how we can grow it to help address the national pilot shortage.
Kudos to Tami Livengood and Craig Hadley and everyone involved in bringing the movie The Color of Care to the Milliken auditorium for viewing and the panel discussion afterwards. Kudos to Craig for making NMC an affiliate of the Smithsonian Institute giving us access to resources like this film and for facilitating the panel discussion. Kudos to Tami Livengood for bringing her expertise to the discussion as one of our four panelists.
Kudos to Marcus Bennet: Marcus organized a fun and friendly staff v. faculty kickball game. Thanks, Marcus, for arranging this!
Kudos to Skylar Berry and Sarah Frankham: Skylar and Sarah jumped on a Zoom call at the last minute to help verify the SGA Elections. They offered unbiased support to review the SGA elections and we were able to quickly verify the new officers for 2022-23. Thanks, Skylar and Sarah!
Kudos Janet Lively and Lori Hodek: Kudos to everyone involved in the planning and execution of Professional Development Day on Oct. 11. The event was well attended and the morning presentations in addition to the keynote speaker set the tone for the day. The positive energy from all attendees was very evident. We were all glad to be learning and enjoying community again. Thank you for orchestrating this event. Well done!
Experts suggest maintaining an “attitude of gratitude” increases positivity for yourself and for others. Please encourage your colleagues by submitting a KUDOS. Let them know you appreciate their hard work and are thinking of them!
Tech Bytes: Email-to-Print available for laptops, tablets and phones
Email-to-Print is available on any printer if the orange label on the front of the printer says “Email-to-Print Enabled”. Follow these directions to easily print documents from your laptops, tablet or phone to an NMC printer. If you are printing in the Timothy J. Nelson Innovation Center (TNIC) at the Technology Help Desk, the printer name is whb100-km@nmc.edu. If you have any questions on using Email-to-Print, please call (231) 995-3020, start a chat at nmc.edu/help, or stop by the Technology Help Desk.
Elevate Northern Michigan: A Youth Mental Health Summit for Young Leaders – and Those Who Love Them
On Tuesday, November 1, community network We Fight will host its second “Elevate Northern Michigan: A Youth Mental Health Summit for Young Leaders – and Those Who Love Them.”
Elevate Northern Michigan is a quarterly summit series focusing on boosting knowledge regarding psychology, neuroscience, practical well-being tools, and leadership skills related to mental health. The 90-minute event will consist of three workshops with local experts:
- Dr. Michael Kern, Ph.D: School Psychologist at Interlochen Center for the Arts
- Meg Mertaugh-Graber, M.Ed., MSW, LMSW Clinical, LICSW: Founder of Care-O-Van, PLLC & AVEC Care Farm
- Jessie Perez: Family Navigator at National Alliance for Mental Illness Grand Traverse
Registration is free but required as space is limited.
All are welcome at the summit — particularly young people aged 16-24 and those who love them. No previous training or engagement with We Fight is required. The event begins at 1 p.m., and will take place at Northwestern Michigan College’s Innovation Center in Room 106/107.
We Fight is grateful to Northern Lakes Community Mental Health and NMC for their support and sponsorship of Elevate Northern Michigan.
We Fight recently underwent a strategic visioning process to better accomplish its vision: a northern Michigan where everyone plays a role in protecting our kids’ mental health.
“I hope that aspiring youth leaders leave this summit with a better understanding of the skills required to project their voice and tackle systemic change with the youthful determination that makes their advocacy so unique, to begin with,” said We Fight leadership team member, Central High School student Will Unger.
“I’m proud of the We Fight community for stepping up. And I’m grateful for our local experts for their generosity to help boost knowledge, shift attitudes, decrease stigma, build support and elevate youth voice. The Elevate Summits are a science-based, urgent and optimistic step toward a northern Michigan where everyone plays a role in protecting our kids’ mental health,” said Good Works Lab founder, Ty Schmidt.
We Fight for Northern Michigan’s Youth Mental Health, or “We Fight,” was founded in December 2021 as an initiative of Traverse City-based social change agency Good Works Lab. Since its founding, over 630+ people who care have committed to protecting youth mental health in Northern Michigan by leveraging the Surgeon General’s Youth Mental Health advisory. To get involved, visit Good Works Lab’s website.