Apr 20, 2016 | Intercom, Student News
April 20, 2016
Most college students accumulate credits to earn their degree. NMC alumna Kathryn Bertodatto also accumulated miles — 30,000, in fact.
Photo credit: Michigan Photography, Scott Soderberg
On Saturday, Bertodatto, a 2014 graduate of NMC, spoke to an audience of 50,000 as the University of Michigan’s student commencement speaker. She told the Michigan Stadium spectators, including university president Mark Schlissel and former New York City mayor Michael Bloomberg, that she had commuted from Traverse City so as not to disrupt her young children’s education. That meant racking up some 30,000 miles in pursuit of her bachelor’s degree in English.
“The crowd erupted, and I had to compose myself,” said Bertodatto, who sometimes left Traverse City at 3 or 4 a.m. to make an 8:30 a.m. class in Ann Arbor. She packed her classes into three and a half days so she could return to Traverse City in time to pick up her sons from elementary school Thursday afternoons.
Recalling “crying in the stairwell,” Bertodatto, 31, said the transfer was difficult at first, when she felt intimidated by the intellect of her peers at the prestigious university. But by having courage — the title of her speech — she gradually gained confidence. It was all worth it, she said.
“If I’m going to work this hard to get a degree, I’m going to have it be from one of the best universities in the nation,” she said.
She credited NMC for preparing her well. During her NMC years she traveled to Brazil to teach English for a month, and also worked in what is now the office of International Services and Service Learning.
“I’m so proud of how far I’ve come, and NMC has been such a huge part of that journey,” she said, adding that President Schlissel sent her a personal email after the ceremony. “It’s amazing to have people who have such influence know my name.”
The commencement ceremony itself was a blur, both literally and figuratively, Bertodatto said, noting that it was a very windy day.
“I was trying to get my message across and not eat my hair,” she said.
A writer, Bertodatto has completed a children’s book manuscript that she plans to submit for publication. A novel is next on her to-do list. And with the odometer approaching 200,000 miles, she’s looking forward to keeping her 2004 Honda Pilot parked more.
“I need a new car, but we’re going to see how the writing pans out, first,” she said.
Apr 20, 2016 | Intercom
April 20, 2016
Going green isn’t an Earth Day catchphrase for Nate Griswold — it’s a mission that the 2000 alumnus and boomerang entrepreneur is fervently spreading throughout northern Michigan.
Griswold is the founder and president of Inhabitect, a Traverse City company that designs, builds and grows living architecture, specializing in green roofs. Working at a Chicago firm following his graduation first from NMC and then Michigan State in 2004, Griswold’s early career paralleled the rise of green roof technology. Green roofs he consulted on now grace some of the nation’s premier buildings, including the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts in New York City, the Perot Museum of Science & Nature in Dallas, and the California Academy of Sciences in San Francisco.
“I was able to go from zero to 100 miles per hour,” Griswold said of the eight years he spent working on 1,000 projects around the country.
But by 2013, Traverse City was beckoning him back, and the timing seemed right to start a business.
“I saw development happening here, and I was ready to come home,” said Griswold.
In Inhabitect’s three years, Griswold has overseen green roof installation at Cherry Capital Foods, Munson Medical Center’s Cowell Cancer Center and several mixed-use developments in and around downtown. But he’s not just about growing his own business. Griswold wants to change the local building industry so that the technology he says offers “triple bottom line benefits” — economic, environmental and social — becomes as common as shingles and two-by-fours.
“I’ve been trying to implement green infrastructure into the local codes and building ordinances,” he said. At the proposed Costco store near the airport, he envisions a green roof as a stormwater management tool. At the future addition to the Dennos, it could serve as an outdoor pavilion and sculpture garden, available for private events and maximizing the use of the museum’s footprint.
“I think there’s room for green infrastructure on every single project,” he said.
He’s also giving back to his alma mater. Last fall Griswold worked with NMC construction technology students including Madalyn Popp, right, to install a green roof on the shed built as a demonstration project at the Grand Traverse Conservation District. Students will build a second green roof shed at the Traverse City Community Gardens this fall. And he donated a green roof doghouse to the Sweet Earth Arts & Music silent auction held earlier this month.
“Without NMC, I wouldn’t be where I am, for sure,” said Griswold.
Apr 20, 2016 | Intercom
April 20, 2016
Going green isn’t an Earth Day catchphrase for Nate Griswold — it’s a mission that the 2000 alumnus and boomerang entrepreneur is fervently spreading throughout northern Michigan.
Griswold is the founder and president of Inhabitect, a Traverse City company that designs, builds and grows living architecture, specializing in green roofs. Working at a Chicago firm following his graduation first from NMC and then Michigan State in 2004, Griswold’s early career paralleled the rise of green roof technology. Green roofs he consulted on now grace some of the nation’s premier buildings, including the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts in New York City, the Perot Museum of Science & Nature in Dallas, and the California Academy of Sciences in San Francisco.
“I was able to go from zero to 100 miles per hour,” Griswold said of the eight years he spent working on 1,000 projects around the country.
But by 2013, Traverse City was beckoning him back, and the timing seemed right to start a business.
“I saw development happening here, and I was ready to come home,” said Griswold.
In Inhabitect’s three years, Griswold has overseen green roof installation at Cherry Capital Foods, Munson Medical Center’s Cowell Cancer Center and several mixed-use developments in and around downtown. But he’s not just about growing his own business. Griswold wants to change the local building industry so that the technology he says offers “triple bottom line benefits” — economic, environmental and social — becomes as common as shingles and two-by-fours.
“I’ve been trying to implement green infrastructure into the local codes and building ordinances,” he said. At the proposed Costco store near the airport, he envisions a green roof as a stormwater management tool. At the future addition to the Dennos, it could serve as an outdoor pavilion and sculpture garden, available for private events and maximizing the use of the museum’s footprint.
“I think there’s room for green infrastructure on every single project,” he said.
He’s also giving back to his alma mater. Last fall Griswold worked with NMC construction technology students including Madalyn Popp, right, to install a green roof on the shed built as a demonstration project at the Grand Traverse Conservation District. Students will build a second green roof shed at the Traverse City Community Gardens this fall. And he donated a green roof doghouse to the Sweet Earth Arts & Music silent auction held earlier this month.
“Without NMC, I wouldn’t be where I am, for sure,” said Griswold.
Apr 20, 2016 | Intercom
April 20, 2016
Going green isn’t an Earth Day catchphrase for Nate Griswold — it’s a mission that the 2000 alumnus and boomerang entrepreneur is fervently spreading throughout northern Michigan.
Griswold is the founder and president of Inhabitect, a Traverse City company that designs, builds and grows living architecture, specializing in green roofs. Working at a Chicago firm following his graduation first from NMC and then Michigan State in 2004, Griswold’s early career paralleled the rise of green roof technology. Green roofs he consulted on now grace some of the nation’s premier buildings, including the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts in New York City, the Perot Museum of Science & Nature in Dallas, and the California Academy of Sciences in San Francisco.
“I was able to go from zero to 100 miles per hour,” Griswold said of the eight years he spent working on 1,000 projects around the country.
But by 2013, Traverse City was beckoning him back, and the timing seemed right to start a business.
“I saw development happening here, and I was ready to come home,” said Griswold.
In Inhabitect’s three years, Griswold has overseen green roof installation at Cherry Capital Foods, Munson Medical Center’s Cowell Cancer Center and several mixed-use developments in and around downtown. But he’s not just about growing his own business. Griswold wants to change the local building industry so that the technology he says offers “triple bottom line benefits” — economic, environmental and social — becomes as common as shingles and two-by-fours.
“I’ve been trying to implement green infrastructure into the local codes and building ordinances,” he said. At the proposed Costco store near the airport, he envisions a green roof as a stormwater management tool. At the future addition to the Dennos, it could serve as an outdoor pavilion and sculpture garden, available for private events and maximizing the use of the museum’s footprint.
“I think there’s room for green infrastructure on every single project,” he said.
He’s also giving back to his alma mater. Last fall Griswold worked with NMC construction technology students including Madalyn Popp, right, to install a green roof on the shed built as a demonstration project at the Grand Traverse Conservation District. Students will build a second green roof shed at the Traverse City Community Gardens this fall. And he donated a green roof doghouse to the Sweet Earth Arts & Music silent auction held earlier this month.
“Without NMC, I wouldn’t be where I am, for sure,” said Griswold.
Apr 19, 2016 | Intercom, Student News
Come join us and learn about the Social Work Program right here in Traverse City. This program will enhance the depth of practice, refine and shape advance practitioners. Students will be prepared to effectively intervene and acquire advanced skills in leadership. The session meets April 28, 5-6 p.m. in the University Center’s Room 13.
Apr 18, 2016 | Intercom, Student News
TRAVERSE CITY — The community is invited to the Great Lakes Maritime Academy’s open “ship” showcasing the training ship State of Michigan from 1 to 3 p.m. April 23. The day will include:
- Guided tours of the T/S State of Michigan
- Interaction with current Maritime cadets
- An opportunity to learn more about the Maritime Academy and the maritime industry
Tours will begin at the pier security gate entrance on the north side of NMC’s Great Lakes campus, 715 E. Front St. Low-heel, closed-toe, soft-soled shoes are highly recommended. The event will occur rain or shine.
Release date: April 18, 2016
For more information:
Scott Fairbank
Great Lakes Maritime Academy
sfairbank@nmc.edu
(231) 995-1200
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
Apr 14, 2016 | Intercom, Student News
Please join us for NMC 2016 Honors Convocation recognizing our outstanding students and recipients of the academic area and honors scholarships and awards. (more…)
Apr 11, 2016 | Intercom
Nursing students going to South Africa May 2 are trying to raise money for the William Oates Memorial School located in Somerset East. This school is in need of all types of school supplies. Our goal is to raise money to bring with us to help purchase some of the needed supplies for these children.
Please mail your donations by April 20.
Apr 11, 2016 | Intercom
If you are enrolled in MPSERS Pension Plus plan and have contributions going to VOYA Financial for your defined contribution, and/or personal health care fund, this informational meeting is for you! (more…)
Apr 11, 2016 | Intercom
Equal Pay Day is a symbolic day when women’s earnings finally catch up to men’s earnings from the previous year. Equal pay is not a myth, it’s math! (more…)
Apr 8, 2016 | Intercom, Student News
Re-Evolution: Courage, Citizenship, Contribution, Community is the theme of the 6th TEDxTraverseCity event taking place on Wednesday, May 11th. Tickets will go on sale on Wednesday, April 13th at 10 a.m. through the event website. (more…)
Apr 8, 2016 | Intercom
Are you looking for career opportunities? Find it here! jobs.nmc.edu. Current openings include:
Manufacturing Process/Fluid Power Technology Instructor
Hagerty Center – Server, Bartender, Cook and Dishwasher
Apr 8, 2016 | Intercom
The following employees are celebrating an anniversary soon. Please join us in congratulating them!
(more…)
Apr 8, 2016 | Intercom
We’re working on some glitches with SilkRoad Learning (access issues, due dates, etc.) The training should be working now. Below are directions and tips to help you. Thanks for your patience with our new system. Below are login instructions and tips. Remember to use Chrome or FireFox as Internet Explorer is not supported.
Please login to SilkRoad Learning through Chrome or FireFox using the link below:
Go to: MyNMC > Human Resources (click to expand) > SilkRoad Learning
- You should see Title IX training (required for all employees.) You can complete a few sections at a time. This training will take approximately 1-1.5 hours to complete. Log out using the “EXIT” button to bookmark your training progress.
- Training is due May 8, 2016. (Supervisors, please allow time for employees to complete training during work hours.)
- If you have any problems accessing the training, please contact NMC HelpDesk. You may enter a ticket under Human Resources>SilkRoad>Learning.
- Note: Alcohol & Drug Awareness training is required of all except those who were hired in 2016.
We apologize for the short timeline. We appreciate your help keeping our campus safe and keeping NMC legally compliant.
Please contact me if you do not see Title IX training on your “My Training tile.”
Thank you!
Apr 7, 2016 | Intercom, Student News
The #MyVoice Photo Campaign was created with the intention of raising awareness during sexual assault awareness month (April), as well as showing support for survivors and starting conversations both on and off campus. The campaign was developed by the NMC student group Voices. Voices is a peer support and activist/advocacy group working to raise awareness and change the way our community views and discusses sexual assault.
Apr 6, 2016 | Intercom, Student News
April 6, 2016
By the calendar, spring arrived two weeks ago, but for Great Lakes Maritime Academy alumna Margo Marks, it sailed in today.
This morning the Emerald Isle picked up passengers at Charlevoix for the Beaver Island Boat Co.’s first voyage of the season. For company president Marks, the vessel’s return from its winter on the Lake Michigan island truly signifies spring.
“It’s always exciting to see the bridge open,” she said of the drawbridge over the channel that links Lake Michigan and Round Lake. “It’s a beautiful sight to see the Emerald Isle pull in.”
Marks, 54, and her husband Todd both graduated in 1983, she as a deck officer and he as an engine officer. Their timing couldn’t have been worse, coinciding with a slump in the U.S. steel industry that dominated Great Lakes shipping. In order to find work, Todd Marks joined the Army and the couple left the state for nearly a decade. But the Great Lakes are a powerful lure.
“We were always trying to find a way to get back to Traverse City,” Marks said.
It came after her husband’s military discharge. He found work on a West Coast tanker, hauling petroleum from Alaska to Long Beach, Calif. The job allowed their family of five to live anywhere, and in 1992 the Markses returned to northern Michigan. (Todd Marks still works as a chief engineer.)
In 1994 Marks got her own second shot at a maritime career when she became harbormaster for the village of Elk Rapids. She stayed in that role until 2001 when she joined the Beaver Island Boat Co. as general manager.
Ferry as a lifeline
The ferry is considered a lifeline for the island’s 550 resident and a boon for tourism in Charlevoix. During the course of 375 annual round trips between April and December the Emerald Isle transports 6,500 vehicles, 40,000 passengers, and all manner of freight, from appliances to manufactured homes to heavy equipment.
“One time we had a young lady take a goat in her car,” Marks recalled.
Charlevoix Convention and Visitors Bureau Executive Director Amanda Wilkin noted that 40,000 ferry passengers also means 40,000 potential diners and shoppers are discharged into the streets of Charlevoix. The drawbridge itself is an attraction.
“It’s a huge attraction for people to watch the bridge go up and the ferry go through,” she said. “It’s a unique thing to our community.”
Marks also serves her industry as the president of the Passenger Vessel Association, a national association representing owners and operators of dinner cruise vessels, sightseeing and excursion vessels, car and passenger ferries and other vessels that carry more than 200 million passengers per year.
Marks traces her maritime career to her downstate childhood, when she helped her father restore a 1927 wooden-hulled boat at a marina in Monroe (right).
“It fell over in winter storage. My dad bought it with a hole and we repaired it,” she said. They subsequently spent every summer weekend on the Queen Ann — named for her mother — on Lake Erie.
“Dad and I would go out and do a lot of perch fishing. We’d go out and fish and swim and it was a great time,” Marks said.
A photo of the Queen Ann now graces her office as Marks prepares for another season helping other families make memories on another Great Lake.
Apr 6, 2016 | Intercom, Student News
April 6, 2016
By the calendar, spring arrived two weeks ago, but for Great Lakes Maritime Academy alumna Margo Marks, it sailed in today.
This morning the Emerald Isle picked up passengers at Charlevoix for the Beaver Island Boat Co.’s first voyage of the season. For company president Marks, the vessel’s return from its winter on the Lake Michigan island truly signifies spring.
“It’s always exciting to see the bridge open,” she said of the drawbridge over the channel that links Lake Michigan and Round Lake. “It’s a beautiful sight to see the Emerald Isle pull in.”
Marks, 54, and her husband Todd both graduated in 1983, she as a deck officer and he as an engine officer. Their timing couldn’t have been worse, coinciding with a slump in the U.S. steel industry that dominated Great Lakes shipping. In order to find work, Todd Marks joined the Army and the couple left the state for nearly a decade. But the Great Lakes are a powerful lure.
“We were always trying to find a way to get back to Traverse City,” Marks said.
It came after her husband’s military discharge. He found work on a West Coast tanker, hauling petroleum from Alaska to Long Beach, Calif. The job allowed their family of five to live anywhere, and in 1992 the Markses returned to northern Michigan. (Todd Marks still works as a chief engineer.)
In 1994 Marks got her own second shot at a maritime career when she became harbormaster for the village of Elk Rapids. She stayed in that role until 2001 when she joined the Beaver Island Boat Co. as general manager.
Ferry as a lifeline
The ferry is considered a lifeline for the island’s 550 resident and a boon for tourism in Charlevoix. During the course of 375 annual round trips between April and December the Emerald Isle transports 6,500 vehicles, 40,000 passengers, and all manner of freight, from appliances to manufactured homes to heavy equipment.
“One time we had a young lady take a goat in her car,” Marks recalled.
Charlevoix Convention and Visitors Bureau Executive Director Amanda Wilkin noted that 40,000 ferry passengers also means 40,000 potential diners and shoppers are discharged into the streets of Charlevoix. The drawbridge itself is an attraction.
“It’s a huge attraction for people to watch the bridge go up and the ferry go through,” she said. “It’s a unique thing to our community.”
Marks also serves her industry as the president of the Passenger Vessel Association, a national association representing owners and operators of dinner cruise vessels, sightseeing and excursion vessels, car and passenger ferries and other vessels that carry more than 200 million passengers per year.
Marks traces her maritime career to her downstate childhood, when she helped her father restore a 1927 wooden-hulled boat at a marina in Monroe (right).
“It fell over in winter storage. My dad bought it with a hole and we repaired it,” she said. They subsequently spent every summer weekend on the Queen Ann — named for her mother — on Lake Erie.
“Dad and I would go out and do a lot of perch fishing. We’d go out and fish and swim and it was a great time,” Marks said.
A photo of the Queen Ann now graces her office as Marks prepares for another season helping other families make memories on another Great Lake.
Apr 5, 2016 | Intercom, Student News
A group of Master’s level Social Workers from Ferris State University is raising money on behalf of 36 families and individuals moving into Carson Square Apartments, a new supportive housing development in Traverse City specifically for individuals experiencing homelessness, survivors of domestic violence and people with disabilities.
To reach their goal of $10,000, the group is hosting an event at Right Brain Brewery on Sunday, April 17 from 1 to 4 p.m. and asking for sponsors and cash donations. Sponsors who donate $250 or more will be featured by name at the event. The money earned at this event will go a long way in covering the move-in needs of a new apartment and your gift will make a difference in the life of many individuals and families from your community!
