Nexus magazine Wins Top National Award

Nexus, the Northwestern Michigan College magazine, won the top award for print magazine from the National Council for Marketing and Public Relations, a professional organization representing marketing and PR professionals at two-year colleges.

The summer 2021 issue received a gold Paragon award at the NCMPR conference in Denver March 25. Judges called the magazine fun and interesting to read. “Great design, great feel, great job.”

An affiliate of the American Association of Community Colleges, NCMPR has more than 1,500 members from nearly 550 colleges across the United States and Canada. Nexus had previously won at the regional level. The magazine, mailed twice a year to more than 45,000 college alumni, donors, volunteers, retirees, community leaders and other supporters, also won the gold Paragon in the 2017 national competition. Its editorial content is created by NMC’s Public Relations, Marketing & Communications department. Design and printing services are provided by MyNorthMedia.

New scholarship record set: $1.35 million awarded

TRAVERSE CITY — NMC has set a new record for institutional scholarships this year, awarding $1.35 million with some funds still available.

“We still have funds to award for summer and may hit $1.4 million,” said Linda Berlin, director of financial aid.

The average 2021–22 scholarship award to date is $1,125. There are 1,204 student recipients. Great Lakes Culinary Institute student Hailey Greimel is one.

Greimel, a dean’s list student and 2020 graduate of Petoskey High School, said scholarships combined with GLCI’s high-caliber programming made NMC an easy choice for pursuing both her baking certificate and associate degree in culinary sales. She will graduate this spring.

“(Scholarships) sweetened the deal,” she said. “Because of the great opportunities offered here, I was able to get a great scholarship to Johnson & Wales.” The Providence, R.I.-based university, considered the Ivy League of culinary programs, offered Greimel a full scholarship beginning this fall.

The previous scholarship record was achieved in the 2019–20 academic year, when NMC awarded $1.28 million in scholarships to 964 recipients. Last year the college awarded $1.17 million to 1,259 recipients.

NMC is also a leader in scholarship applications, with 41 percent of NMC students completing the scholarship application last year and 30 percent of enrolled students receiving at least one scholarship. The most recent National Postsecondary Student Aid Study states that only 6 percent of public 2‐year college students receive institutional aid.

Release date: April 5, 2022

For more information:

Diana Fairbanks
Associate Vice President of Public Relations, Marketing and Communications
dfairbanks@nmc.edu
(231) 995-1019

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

New scholarship record set: $1.35 million awarded

TRAVERSE CITY — NMC has set a new record for institutional scholarships this year, awarding $1.35 million with some funds still available.

“We still have funds to award for summer and may hit $1.4 million,” said Linda Berlin, director of financial aid.

The average 2021–22 scholarship award to date is $1,125. There are 1,204 student recipients. Great Lakes Culinary Institute student Hailey Greimel is one.

Greimel, a dean’s list student and 2020 graduate of Petoskey High School, said scholarships combined with GLCI’s high-caliber programming made NMC an easy choice for pursuing both her baking certificate and associate degree in culinary sales. She will graduate this spring.

“(Scholarships) sweetened the deal,” she said. “Because of the great opportunities offered here, I was able to get a great scholarship to Johnson & Wales.” The Providence, R.I.-based university, considered the Ivy League of culinary programs, offered Greimel a full scholarship beginning this fall.

The previous scholarship record was achieved in the 2019–20 academic year, when NMC awarded $1.28 million in scholarships to 964 recipients. Last year the college awarded $1.17 million to 1,259 recipients.

NMC is also a leader in scholarship applications, with 41 percent of NMC students completing the scholarship application last year and 30 percent of enrolled students receiving at least one scholarship. The most recent National Postsecondary Student Aid Study states that only 6 percent of public 2‐year college students receive institutional aid.

Release date: April 5, 2022

For more information:

Diana Fairbanks
Associate Vice President of Public Relations, Marketing and Communications
dfairbanks@nmc.edu
(231) 995-1019

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

May 7 is Commencement: Save the date!

Celebrate the Class of 2022 at Commencement! Ceremonies will be held at the Dennos Museum in the Milliken Auditorium on Saturday, May 7. Three ceremonies are planned:

  • 11 a.m.: AAS/certificates/BSMT graduates
  • 1 p.m.: ASA/AGS graduates

  • 2:30 p.m. Health Occupations graduates

Each ceremony will honor about 30 graduates. Learn more here »

Media Mentions for April 4, 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.

Relief floods into Ukraine
Traverse City Record-Eagle, April 3

(more…)

NMC Next Learner Experience Statement video

Hawk Owl Helper logoVideo screenshotThank you to everyone involved in creating the new NMC Next Learner Experience Statement video, including NMC President Nick Nissley, students Amber Marsh, Jorge Cruz, Mahli Braak and Zavier Inniss, and staff and faculty members Marcus Bennett, Sarah Montgomery-Richards, Frank Jabour, Lisa Thomas, Brandon Everest and Leanne Baumeler. Educational Media Technologies produced the video.

Watch the video here.

Media Mentions for March 28, 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.

Taking It Higher: NMC Plots Aviation Program Expansion
The Ticker, March 26 (more…)

Kudos!

Kudos to Alex Tank for successfully completing the third season of Extended Education’s Coffee Chats Series last Friday, March 18th. This pandemic inspired (virtual) series has temporarily replaced Extended Education community engagement events such as Campus Days and LIFE Lunches. Coffee Chats have been planned, researched, recorded, and conducted live via Zoom solely by Alex Tank, Communications & Events Program Officer for the International Affairs Forum, and also a Contributor for Extended Education. From the making of pencils with Faber-Castell, to sharing NMC’s Music and Audio Tech musical/sound pieces, to the brewing of coffee and beer, Alex has introduced our community to 34 unique topics and presenters by conducting comprehensive and compelling interviews with EES Coffee Chat guests. Thank you, Alex!

Kudos to Kristy Jackson: Since this January, Kristy Jackson, Extended Education Program Manager, has cultivated 137 adult and youth learning opportunities for Extended Education’s Summer 2022 term. Kristy has harnessed the new registration system, taught instructors how to utilize their instructor portals, programmed new classes with new instructors, maintained current class offerings, and has led the team in developing programming best practices within the new system. Kristy, thank you for your leadership, enthusiasm, patience, and creativity.


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!

Celebrating Neurodiversity at the NMC Library

FICTION

Book coverThe Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by Mark Haddon
A bestselling modern classic—both poignant and funny—about a boy with autism who sets out to solve the murder of a neighbor’s dog and discovers unexpected truths about himself and the world.

Book coverExtremely Loud & Incredibly Close by Jonathan Safran Foer
Nine-year-old Oskar Schell has embarked on an urgent, secret mission that will take him through the five boroughs of New York. His goal is to find the lock that matches a mysterious key that belonged to his father, who died in the World Trade Center on the morning of September 11. This seemingly impossible task will bring Oskar into contact with survivors of all sorts on an exhilarating, affecting, often hilarious, and ultimately healing journey.

Book coverConvenience Store Woman by Ginny Tapley Takemori
A brilliant depiction of an unusual psyche and a world hidden from view, Convenience Store Woman is an ironic and sharp-eyed look at contemporary work culture and the pressures to conform, as well as a charming and completely fresh portrait of an unforgettable heroine.

Book coverForrest Gump by Winston Groom
Six foot six, 242 pounds, and possessed of an IQ of 70, Forrest Gump is the lovable, surprisingly savvy hero of this classic comic tale. His early life may seem inauspicious, but when the University of Alabama’s football team drafts Forrest and makes him a star, it sets him on an unbelievable path that will transform him from Vietnam hero to world-class Ping-Pong player, from wrestler to entrepreneur. With a voice all his own, Forrest is telling all in a madcap romp through three decades of American history.

Book coverGoing Bovine by Libba Bray
In an attempt to find a cure after being diagnosed with Creutzfeldt-Jakob’s (aka mad cow) disease, Cameron Smith, a disaffected sixteen-year-old boy, sets off on a road trip with a death-obsessed video gaming dwarf he meets in the hospital.

Book coverAl Capone Does My Shirts by Gennifer Choldenko
A twelve-year-old boy named Moose moves to Alcatraz Island in 1935 when guards’ families were housed there, and has to contend with his extraordinary new environment in addition to life with his autistic sister. Newbery Honor Book – 2005

NONFICTION

Book coverNeuroTribes: the legacy of autism and the future of neurodiversity by Steve Silberman
“A groundbreaking book that upends conventional thinking about autism and suggests a broader model for acceptance, understanding, and full participation in society for people who think differently”

Book coverThe Neurodiverse Classroom: a teacher’s guide to specific learning difficulties and meeting individual student needs by Victoria Honeybourne
An essential guide for teachers wishing to create inclusive and successful learning environments in diverse classrooms. Focusing on promoting acceptance and self-esteem of each child rather than on labeling their difficulties, it shows how to make good use of simple resources and meet a wide range of needs, including children with ADHD, autism, OCD, dyslexia and special speech and language needs.

Book coverThe Spectrum Girl’s Survival Guide: how to grow up awesome and autistic by Siena Castellon
All the advice and tools you’ll need to help you flourish and achieve what you want in life. From the answers to everyday questions such as ‘Am I using appropriate body language?’ and ‘Did I say the wrong thing?’, through understanding the importance of your emotions, looking after your physical and mental health and coping with anxiety and sensory overloads, award-winning neurodiversity campaigner, Castellon uses her own experiences to provide you with the skills to overcome any challenge.

Book coverNobody’s Normal: how culture created the stigma of mental illness by Roy Richard Grinker
An examination of evolving attitudes toward mental illness throughout history and the fight to end the stigma. For centuries, scientists and society cast moral judgments on anyone deemed mentally ill, confining many to asylums. Grinker chronicles the progress and setbacks in the struggle against mental-illness stigma-from the eighteenth century, through America’s major wars, and into today’s high-tech economy and offers a path to end the shadow of stigma.

Book coverSincerely, Your Autistic Child: what people on the autism spectrum wish their parents knew about growing up, acceptance, and identity by Virginia Johnson
From childhood and education to culture, gender identity, and sexuality, this anthology tackles the everyday joys and challenges of growing up while addressing the emotional needs, sensitivity, and vibrancy of autistic kids, youth, and young adults. Contributors reflect on what they have learned while growing up on the autism spectrum and how parents can avoid common mistakes and overcome challenges while raising their child.

Book coverTeaching University Students with Autism Spectrum Disorder : A Guide to Developing Academic Capacity and Proficiency by Kim Draisma and Kimberely McMahon-Coleman
Based on the findings of a five year longitudinal study into the experiences of students with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), this book provides tertiary educators and support staff with practical support for addressing the challenges associated with ASD
as they manifest in college and university environments.

Book coverNeurodiversity in the Classroom: strength-based strategies to help students with special needs succeed in school and life by Thomas Armstrong
A new concept on human diversity has emerged over the past 10 years that promises to revolutionize the way educators provide services to students with special needs: neurodiversity. Just as we celebrate diversity in nature and cultures, so too do we need to honor the diversity of brains among our students who learn, think, and behave differently.

FILMS IN KANOPY

Explore movies in Kanopy for free. Go to nmc.kanopy.com and login using your NMC ID and password.

Movie screenshotNeurotypical – A Film About Individuals on the Autism Spectrum
Four-year-old Violet, teenaged Nicholas and adult Paula occupy different positions on the autism spectrum, but they are all at pivotal moments in their lives. How they and the people around them work out their perceptual and behavioral differences becomes a remarkable reflection of the “neurotypical” world — the world of the non-autistic — revealing inventive adaptations on each side and an emerging critique of both what it means to be normal and what it means to be human.

Movie screenshotThe Reason I Jump
Based on the best-selling book by Naoki Higashida, The Reason I Jump is an immersive cinematic exploration of neurodiversity through the experiences of non-speaking autistic people from around the world. The film blends Higashida’s revelatory insights into autism, written when he was just 13, with intimate portraits of five remarkable young people. It opens a window for audiences into an intense and overwhelming, but often joyful, sensory universe.

Movie screenshotAutism Goes to College
Five students on the autism spectrum — Guillermo, Jasmine, Caroline, Jonathan, and Aniella — invite viewers into their dorms and classrooms to show the world how they make college work for them. They share their dreams, fears, failures, and successes with candid insights and humor.

Movie screenshotMr. Hublot
Mr. Hublot is a withdrawn, idiosyncratic character with OCD, scared of change and the outside world. But when a very invasive companion, Robot Pet, arrives in his home, Mr.Hublot’s world is turned upside down. Winner of Best Short Film, Animated at the Academy Awards.

BEYOND THE LIBRARY: PODCASTS

Podcast screenshot
The Neurodiversity Podcast talks with leaders in the fields of psychology, education, and beyond, about positively impacting neurodivergent people. Our goal is to reframe differences that were once considered disabilities or disorders, promote awareness of this unique population, and improve the lives of neurodivergent and high-ability people.

Podcast screenshotIn Neurodiversity: Eliminating Kryptonite Enabling Heroes, you will hear from: The Rainmakers: Those people and organizations making the difference! The Advocates: Those people who are supporting Neurodiversity at Work. The Superheroes: Those leaders are Neurodifferent and proud. This podcast will be the game changer we are all after.

Podcast screenshotExploring Different Brains is a weekly interview show hosted by neurodiversity advocate Harold Hackie Reitman, MD., and presented by DifferentBrains.com. Join us as we speak with some of the most interesting people involved in autism, Asperger’s, dyslexia, ADHD, OCD, down syndrome, and any condition that can be considered neurodiverse.

Housing and Health in Northern Michigan – Health Care Forum

Join us for a free community discussion about the impact of housing on health in northern Michigan presented by Grand Valley State University and Northwestern Michigan College. Panelists from across the community will share information on local resources, how housing is important for our overall community health, and how we can support one another.

  • Date: Tuesday, April 5, 7:30–9:30 a.m.
  • Location: The Hagerty Center at NMC, 715 East Front Street, Traverse City, MI 49686

During the event, we will also announce the recipients of the 2022 Rural Health Awards.

Register here: gvsu.edu/traverse/housinghealth

Thank you to NMC Facilities and Maintenance

Hawk Owl Helper logoWith the snow melting and spring break on the horizon, thanks to the NMC facilities and maintenance crews who have cleared campus sidewalks and kept parking lots plowed this winter. Often performed during the dark and cold and after hours, it’s thanks to their efforts that we can get around safely.

Media Mentions for March 21, 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.

Drones, Land Surveying, And Micro-Credentials: How NMC Is Looking Beyond Traditional Community College Programs To Broaden Its Reach
The Ticker, March 18 (more…)