These employees recently started working at the college. Let’s welcome them to the NMC community!
NMC will host two Mobile Food Pantries during the month of February on February 3 and February 24. The distributions will occur from 3-5 p.m. in the Maple Lot at the Front Street campus.
We anticipate 8-10 different items; recipients can expect to receive approximately 60 pounds worth of goods—a value up to $200. We average 4,000-6,000 lbs of goods per distribution—come get some fresh fruits, veggies, and other foods for FREE. The program is free to participate with no financial means tests. This program is specifically designed to support NMC students (and their households) by supplementing their diets with fresh, healthy produce while helping to free up financial resources to cover other household expenses. Everyone is welcome.
Walk-up and drive-thru options are both available. Come over and drive-thru OR bring a backpack or reusable bag and take what you and your household can use in the next 7-10 days.
Additional pantries will be on March 3, March 17, April 7 and April 21. These pantries are made possible in partnership with Feeding America.
On Monday, February 3, the State Theatre will screen ANANGONG MIIGAADING, the brand new Anishinaabemowin (Ojibwe)-dubbed version of the original Star Wars film.
Doors open at 6 p.m. and the film starts at 7 p.m. Singers from the Grand Traverse Band of Ottawa & Chippewa Indians will perform before the screening begins to honor the film. Cosplay is welcome!
This event is free for NMC students and tribal members—reserving tickets is highly recommended. Tickets for the general public are $10. Get tickets
Please join us at the NMC Library on Thursday, February 6 from 4:30 to 6 p.m. as we celebrate Black History Month, diverse characters and the power of reading to break down barriers at our fourth annual Embrace the Dream Read-Aloud & Craft Night! This is a completely FREE event with no registration necessary and children ages 3-12 are invited to READ, CRAFT and get a FREE BOOK! Adults can join in on the fun or find a space in the building to relax while the kiddos hang out with us, reading and getting crafty!
For more information, please contact the NMC Library by phone at (231) 995-1060 or by email at library@nmc.edu.
JANUARY 29, 2025
Business Instructor Kristy McDonald and her students shop for thanksgiving meal items as part of an experiential learning project.NMC now has an answer for student job seekers who confront an enduring conundrum: Employers want experience. But how do you show experience if you haven’t had a job yet?
The NMC Experience Transcript, or nEXt, will give students a way to demonstrate that they’ve gained experience during their education, particularly in sought-after soft skills like communication, teamwork and problem solving.
“It presents evidence around that,” said Jennifer Ewing of Human Resource Partners in Traverse City. She likened the nEXt endorsement to a portfolio, a standard for fields like graphic design or architecture.
“It’s really giving the student a way to go into the employer and demonstrate what they’re learning in a more tangible way,” said Ewing, who’s worked in HR for more than 30 years.
Debuting as a pilot this semester, nEXt will roll out collegewide this fall. It’s a project of NMC’s Experiential Learning Institute, created in 2019. Led by faculty members Kristy McDonald and Brandon Everest, the Institute formalized NMC’s commitment to experiential learning, which actively engages learners through relevant, hands-on experience, critical problem solving and reflective practices.
Emma Herrington is a member of the pilot cohort. The 2024 Traverse City West High School graduate has taken three EL classes with McDonald so far, starting as a dual-enrolled high school student, and said they affirmed her desire to open her own business after she graduates this fall.
“I’ve never heard of a school doing this much hands-on learning before,” Herrington said. “A lot of universities will just make you do the textbook information. You can’t apply that to the workforce until you’ve graduated or had an internship.”
In addition to taking EL-designated classes, students must earn points for the nEXt endorsement from four different domains which make up the EL cycle: discovery, exploration, mastery and reflection. Options include presenting at a conference, being a member or leader of a campus student group, conducting community research, mentoring, honors projects, independent study, registered apprenticeships, internships, community service and campus or community events.
Kenzie Kazim, another member of the pilot cohort, looks forward to the variety. Thanks to a contact she made with a commercial real estate first through her EL class, Kazim plans to get her real estate license this summer and hopes to get an internship there.
”It felt like a more meaningful learning experience to me, instead of feeling I had crammed all this information from a textbook and forgotten it as soon as I had a test,” Kazim said.
“I fully support it. I wish more schools would do that,” said Jennifer Anderson, HR Generalist at Traverse City manufacturer TentCraft. “I really think it gives students an edge, having that extra learning piece and have it for their interviews later on.”
NMC is currently reviewing what the Trump Administration’s freeze on federal aid and grants could mean for the college and our students. While the impact of this order is expected to be broad and remains uncertain, NMC has determined that student financial aid is exempt.
Rest assured, NMC will disburse federal financial awards for spring as planned beginning Monday, Feb. 3. NMC will continue to advocate for our students to minimize learning disruption, and we will continue to communicate with the NMC community as we learn more.
If you have any questions, please contact NMC’s Student Financial Services team at (231) 995-1035 or sfs@nmc.edu.
Join representatives from NMC’s Financial Aid and Admissions teams Wednesday, Feb. 12 from 4–7 p.m. to learn about the various types of financial aid and how to receive this aid by completing the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). The event will be at the Timothy J. Nelson Innovation Center on NMC’s Front Street Campus.
The whole community is invited — current and prospective students and their parents and anyone no matter what college they are planning on attending. Get one-on-one planning for financing your college journey — at NMC and beyond. Learn more and register here.
Thanks to Ed Bailey, Jason Slade and Lisa Cooper for organizing the Great Lakes Blue Tech Challenge, which kicked off today with team formation. The technology-based innovation challenge and pitch competition, focused on the issues facing the Great Lakes, is the sequel to last year’s AquaHacking event. Both are aimed at cultivating entrepreneurship in the new blue economy and fostering the formation of companies that will eventually occupy the Freshwater Research and Innovation Center in Greilickville.
Who’s been a Hawk Owl Helper or Hero for you? Let us know at publicrelations@nmc.edu!
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.
Blue Tech Challenge aims at gathering business solutions to Great Lakes problems
Interlochen Public Radio, Jan. 26
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Did you know that your tuition waiver benefits extend beyond credit classes? Take a fitness class, learn a new hobby, or even enjoy a date night with your partner. Check out these upcoming classes! Place the class in your shopping cart in order to see the discount. Need help setting up your profile? Look for “EES” in the Help Desk drop down menu.
Cookie Decorating With Kids (2 spots left!)
Celebrate this holiday season with a sweet treat! Decorated cookies make a colorful addition to an ordinary cookie tray. Learn how to decorate beautiful, professional-looking cookies using royal icing. You and your child will have fun creating these holiday-themed edible delights.
Saturday, Feb. 8; 1 – 3 p.m.
Employee price: $62 for two people (Public price: $125)
Painting with Acrylics: Winter Landscapes
The colder months in northern Michigan are a winter wonderland! Learn how to create different shades and shapes that are specific to winter. Color mixing, color theory, and different brushes will also be discussed. Students will be able to paint their favorite winter landscape using acrylics.
Saturday, Feb. 15; 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Employee price: $22 per person (Public price: $99)
Fossils & the Story of Life: A Beginner’s Guide to Paleontology
This introductory class in paleontology explores the science that studies the history of life on Earth through the examination of fossils. Take a look at Earth’s ancient environments, fossilization processes, stratigraphy, and the geologic time scale.
Wednesday, Feb. 19; 6–9 p.m.
Employee price: $22 per person (Public price: $49)
Brr! It’s cold out there! Take $10 off all regularly priced adult hoodies from Jan. 27–Feb. 6.
Kudos to Colleen Burry: Colleen goes above and beyond for students! I was working with a student in a tough situation regarding housing. Due to some intricacies of the situation, the student would lose his housing unless someone was available to check into his account and remove a hold over the weekend. The student doesn’t have a lot of support and disclosed the they would have nowhere to live if they lost their housing. When calling to troubleshoot, Colleen offered to help right away. Her willingness to give of her own personal weekend time to help a student in a tough situation is just one example of the empathy and kindness she shows every day. Thank you Colleen! You are making a difference for our students!
Kudos to Lisa Nadlicki: Lisa has taken on the extra responsibility of getting our Clothing Closet back in order and organized since December. She has not only cleaned up the space, she has organized the clothes and even washed things needing a refresh. Thank you so much for your efforts Lisa! This is something unique and extra we offer our students and is completely led by staff volunteers like you.
Kudos to Marysue Lessner: Marysue saw a need, suggested and implemented doc-u-sign to our department. Saving us paper and time and making us more efficient. Marysue has been an awesome addition to our team.
Kudos to Dan Gentry and Information Technology Services: There is a team we rarely meet face-to-face but whose work keeps the wheels turning at NMC. It may be hard for them to see how their daily contributions impact our students, but those of us on the front lines of student services see it and want to acknowledge some of the myriad ways Information Technology Services undergird the services we provide students daily.
Thanks to ITS (Dan Gentry & his team)…
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!
These employees recently started working at the college. Let’s welcome them to the NMC community!
Happy 2025! Beginning immediately you will be able to make changes to your personal HSA contribution amounts (if you choose to contribute) directly in ADP.
ADP > Myself > Benefits > Enrollments > Change to HSA Paycheck Deduction (Start Enrollment)
When you get to the page that says Select Benefits at the top, click on View All Plans next to Health Savings Account
Update your contribution amount (effective date will default to the date of your transaction) – Confirm Details > Confirm > Next > Submit Enrollment
A lot of the changes are related to process and we will be working on updating policies to reflect the accurate process. One thing for you to be aware of is that you are no longer required to share information with pregnant students about the Title IX Coordinator. You will recall at the beginning of 2024 we told you to be sure you were letting pregnant students know who NMC’s Title IX Coordinator was (Troy Kierczynski). Since the 2024 regulations have been vacated, you no longer have to provide this information. If a pregnant student needs resources please refer them to Student Life for assistance.
Please continue reporting all Title IX concerns just like you have always done, and if you have questions reach out to Lisa Thomas for student matters and Hollie DeWalt for employee matters. Troy Kierczynski remains NMC’s Title IX Coordinator.
The NMC Board of Trustees will hold its regular monthly meeting Monday, Jan. 27 at 5:30 p.m. in Timothy J. Nelson Innovation Center, Room 106/107. More information is available here.
For more information, please contact the President’s office at (231) 995-1010.
To find these selections and more, browse our full collection of Library of Things in the online catalog.
Game – MausritterTake up the sword and don the whiskers of a brave mouse adventurer in Mausritter, a rules-light fantasy adventure roleplaying game. Character creation is speedy and simple, designed to get you playing as soon as possible. Your mouse is defined by their randomly assigned background, ability scores, and the gear they carry. A tactile card-based inventory system makes managing your gear a fun challenge. Mausritter is built on the chasis of Into the Odd, with new rules for setting, character generation, magical artefacts, and mouse-scale adventures. GMs are provided with procedures for running a mouse-scale sandbox, along with a bestiary and numerous tables for quickly creating adventures in the mouse kingdoms.
Game – WavelengthWavelength is a social guessing game in which two teams compete to read each other’s minds. Teams take turns rotating a dial to where they think a hidden bullseye is located on a spectrum. One of the players on your team — the Psychic — knows exactly where the bullseye is, and draws a card with a pair of binaries on it (such as: Job – Career, Rough – Smooth, Fantasy – Sci-Fi, Sad Song – Happy Song, etc). The Psychic must then provide a clue that is *conceptually* where the bullseye is located between those two binaries. For example, if the card this round is HOT-COLD and the bullseye is slightly to the “cold” side of the centre, the Psychic needs to give a clue somewhere in that region. Perhaps “salad”?
Game – Monopoly: Hello Kitty and friendsBuy, sell, and trade locations where all your favorite characters work and play in this all-new, custom version of the classic game featuring My Melody, Keroppi, Badtz-Maru, Chococat, Cinnamoroll, and many others. Seven collectible tokens feature Hello Kitty and Friends as the cutest vehicles, and Celebrations and Adventures are in store as you collect Kuromi’s Candy Shop, Doki-Doki’s Burger Shack, and more to be the last player standing to win!
Game – CatchphraseThis is a fully electronic re-implementation of the classic team word-guessing hot-potato game Catch Phrase! Players divide into two teams. One team selects the category and presses the start button. An audible timer beeps a count-down while the person holding the device tries to get their team to say the word or phrase on the screen. If they are successful, they hand the device to the next person on the opposite team. The goal of the round is to not be holding the device when the timer goes off — though those last furtive seconds can get dicey! When the timer goes off, the opposing team gets a point and (based on what version of the game you are playing) may also have a chance to steal the phrase for an extra point. The first team to reach seven points wins!
Puzzle – Sleeping Bear Dunes National LakeshoreThis jigsaw puzzle captures the breathtaking beauty of the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore in Michigan. The towering, sandy dunes stand against the clear blue sky and the tranquil waters of Lake Michigan in Vintage poster Style, creating a stunning and serene landscape.
Bongo drumsThe soft and warm tone of the buffalo head, combined with the Birch wood body and metallic rim, enhances sound projection, resulting in a clearer and brighter sound. Its neutral sound is suitable for a variety of music styles, including Cuban, Latin, world music, and jazz, making it an ideal choice for exploring different genres and rhythms.
Boombox with CD, cassette, and radioThe Sony CFD-S01 offers an all-in-one, portable way to go old school with your tunes! Highlights include AM/FM radio tuning as well as CD and cassette playback. In addition, the unit features Sony’s Mega Bass Sound System for deep bass tones. All controls are located on the top of the boombox, as is an LCD for track and station info. The convenient carry handle folds down when not in use.
The tracer projector enlarges any design or pattern onto a wall or easel from 2 to 14 times the original size. The projected image can be traced and colored as desired. Use it for artwork sketches, outlining, posters, signs, small murals, home wall decor and decoration, quilt patterns, and more.
Calligraphy pen setThis set will enable you to develop your calligraphy skills to express your creativity through a wide range of lettering styles. The handy instruction and exercise booklets included with this set can be photocopied and offer a letter-by-letter introduction to the art of calligraphic writing as well as a lot of handy tips.
Art print – Feathering the nest by Qavavau ManumieQavavau Manumie was born in Brandon, Manitoba in 1958 where his mother, Paunichea, was hospitalized for treatment of tuberculosis. He returned to Cape Dorset as a very young child and has lived there since. Qavavau has demonstrated a range of stylistic abilities over the years – from the very literal to the more expressive. His work is idiosyncratic and often amusing in his depictions of Inuit legends and mythology, Arctic wildlife and contemporary aspects of Inuit life.
Summaries and images adapted from publishers.
Thanks to everyone involved with the college-wide Embrace the Dream programming in celebration of Martin Luther King Day and Black History month. The event series kicks off today at The Dennos Museum Center with a free admission day and a presentation by Dr. Khalid el-Hakim on black history, DEI, implicit bias, culturally relevant pedagogy, and hip hop pedagogy. Check out the full event schedule.
Who’s been a Hawk Owl Helper or Hero for you? Let us know at publicrelations@nmc.edu!