Dec 23, 2017 | Intercom
May 6, 2015
First comes love, then comes marriage. Then comes a baby carriage, satisfying careers, buffalo burgers, saving money through dual enrollment, and supervising the beanbag toss.
That’s Barb Mort’s story, anyway. The alumna and Traverse City resident has a bird’s eye view of NMC, having seen the college as a student, parent, volunteer and colleague. Whatever lens she’s looking through, Mort says the view is always the same: Impressive.
“I’m just so proud that such a small community has a world-class college in it,” said Mort, whose story began with a fairy-tale start when she moved into the NMC apartments in 1979. Across the hall lived another student named Greg, from Charlevoix.
“It was truly love at first sight,” she said. “The very first time I met him, I knew I was going to marry him.”
They tied the knot in 1982, and then bride and groom enrolled in what was called Ferris State University’s “off campus program,” a predecessor to the University Center located in the old Maritime building (now site of the Great Lakes campus.)
“Neither one of us would have the careers we have without NMC and the off-campus program,” said Mort, who is now donor relations specialist at the Grand Traverse Regional Land Conservancy. Husband Greg is the business manager of a tool and die company. “It literally saved us tens of thousands of dollars in tuition.”
Fast-forward a few decades. The couple’s youngest son, Jackson, a senior at Traverse City West, is now dual-enrolled at NMC. He’s even had one of the same professors his parents did: Math instructor Ernie East.
“It’s been the best thing for him,” said Mort. “He loves the independence, how the professors teach. The one-on-one help he’s been getting is amazing.”
Mort also sees evidence of NMC’s value when she goes to work. The Conservancy hired an intern through NMC’s business department. He went on to earn a staff position, due to his strong performance which NMC supported, she said.
Mort’s latest role at NMC came about thanks to another quirk of proximity. The Conservancy’s office adjoins Oleson’s, the grocery store chain whose founders started the NMC Barbecue in 1956. The third generation of the family now continues that tradition, led by Brad Oleson, who recruited Mort for the Barbecue Board.
“I saw serving on the BBQ board as an avenue to give back to the college that has made such a difference to my family and community. I am also inspired by the Oleson family, who quietly contribute to so many worthwhile organizations in our region,” Mort said.
Set for May 17 this year, Barbecue Day is the culmination of nine months of work by the Board, and Mort will be busy co-supervising kids’ games. She’ll make sure to find time to squeeze in her own buffalo burger, though.
“I’m a really picky eater but I love the buffalo burgers,” she said.
Dec 23, 2017 | Intercom
October 14, 2015
If it seems like there’s a lot of new faces in classrooms this semester, you’re right.
Eight new full-time faculty members began teaching at NMC this fall, more than double the number of new faculty who started in 2014 and 2013.
Among those eight, Mac Beeker stands out for another reason: He’s the first full-time male nursing instructor in department history. And with NMC’s male nursing enrollment well ahead of national averages, he’s a fitting addition to the faculty.
“It’s a female-dominated profession, and I don’t think that’s going to change,” said Beeker, a 2010 alumnus himself. “(But) it’s not necessarily a female field they’re entering. It’s the nursing field.”
NMC’s associate degree nursing program enrollment is 21 percent male and male enrollment has climbed for the last two years, both in terms of actual students and percentages. National averages for male student nurse enrollment stand at around 15 percent. Among practicing nurses, only about 10 percent are men.
Director of Nursing Laura Schmidt said NMC has had male adjuncts, but Beeker, a medical-surgical instructor, is a pioneer in terms of full-time status.
“I think it’s very positive that there’s a male instructor,” said Brandon Thompson, a Traverse City nursing student. Graduating next spring, Beeker is the first male instructor he’s had.
Beeker, 50, entered nursing after careers in radio and non-profit management. He came to the field at 40, “half-accidentally, half intentionally” after his parents got sick. In terms of their hands-on care, Beeker discovered that nurses were the providers who truly made a difference.
“My own involvement with my parents’ health, it was pretty clear to me,” he said.
As Beeker did, many men find their way into nursing at older ages and after caregiving experiences, often as a parent or for a parent.
“Those barriers really get broken down for men as they get a bit older,” Beeker said. “There’s no way I could have done this at 18.”
Beeker said he’s particularly interested in infusing a human connection to the practice of nursing. When teaching a procedure, for instance, he seeks for students to learn not only how and when to perform it, but to conduct it with care and compassion for the patient. Skill grounded in academic knowledge delivered in a compassionate bedside manner equates to “phenomenal” nursing, he said.
“I felt that was very present in the NMC program, and I want to continue to try and develop that,” he said.
Since graduating, Beeker has earned a master’s in nursing and worked as a medical-surgical nurse providing primarily post-trauma care at Munson Medical Center. He plans to maintain that connection, working a few on-call shifts a month, to keep up his skills. He said Munson’s status as a magnet hospital for nursing, a designation of excellence by the American Nurse Credentialing Center, reflects positively on the quality of NMC’s program.
“That trickles back and is fueled by the NMC program,” he said.
Dec 21, 2017 | Intercom
Congratulations to the NMC Foundation, which won the 2017 Ugly Holiday Sweater Contest and the coveted contest trophy with a two-minute video to the tune of “The Twelve Days of Christmas” (see the winning video here).
The winner was announced at the NMC Holiday Party December 15. Thanks to all the other groups that also submitted entries — Dennos Museum Center, Educational Media Technologies, Enrollment Services, Extended Education, and Student Life. Start shopping for your ugly sweaters now; we’re looking forward to next year’s contest!
Dec 21, 2017 | Intercom, Student News
December 20, 2017
Kathy and Stella Young personify the “like mother, like daughter” axiom — both petite, dark-haired, glasses-wearers who appreciate a good cup of coffee — and attend NMC together.
Kathy, 47, is returning to complete a degree she started almost 30 years ago. Stella, 17, is getting a head start on hers as a dual-enrolled high school student.
“My friends are saying, ‘You’re going to college with your mom?’ I’m like, ‘that’s fine, I like my mom!’” said Stella, a senior at Glen Lake High School.
“It’s mother-daughter bonding time,” Kathy said of their shared Thursday commute from their home in Empire, which includes a stop at their favorite coffee shop, Black Market in Traverse City.
She’s a “lifelong learner” who started at NMC after graduating from St. Francis High School in 1988, returned again in the 1990s and again for another class in 2005. But the demands of family — Stella has a younger brother — and the family business, Food For Thought, which she started with husband Timothy, a 1982 NMC alumnus, always kept her from finishing.
Fast forward to 2016. Kathy had phased out of her role with the business. A three-month recovery from back surgery gave her time to consider what she wanted to do next. Her dream, she decided, was a master of library science degree. She started this semester with classes to complete the step in between, her bachelor’s in English. The downside is that her classes are required courses in subjects like science, which have faded over the years.
“Going back to this stuff after 30 years, my brain doesn’t work that way,” she said. However, “being so much older, I’m not afraid to ask questions anymore.”
She’s on campus three days a week and takes the other class online, flexibility she appreciates. Stella, meanwhile is on campus two days a week, taking classes in English, math and history.
“I really like it,” she said. “If I could take history classes for the rest of my academic career, I would.”
Between NMC and credit she earned at a semester-long boarding school in Wisconsin during her junior year, Stella will graduate high school with 28 college credits.
“It is so awesome to get that stuff done in a small classroom setting, where you have ample opportunity to be with instructors,” Kathy said. “I’m a huge fan of community colleges.”
Thinking about going back to school? There’s still time to register for spring semester classes. Visit nmc.edu/spring to find out more. Classes start Jan. 15.
Dec 20, 2017 | Intercom, Student News
December 20, 2017
Kathy and Stella Young personify the “like mother, like daughter” axiom — both petite, dark-haired, glasses-wearers who appreciate a good cup of coffee — and attend NMC together.
Kathy, 47, is returning to complete a degree she started almost 30 years ago. Stella, 17, is getting a head start on hers as a dual-enrolled high school student.
“My friends are saying, ‘You’re going to college with your mom?’ I’m like, ‘that’s fine, I like my mom!’” said Stella, a senior at Glen Lake High School.
“It’s mother-daughter bonding time,” Kathy said of their shared Thursday commute from their home in Empire, which includes a stop at their favorite coffee shop, Black Market in Traverse City.
She’s a “lifelong learner” who started at NMC after graduating from St. Francis High School in 1988, returned again in the 1990s and again for another class in 2005. But the demands of family — Stella has a younger brother — and the family business, Food For Thought, which she started with husband Timothy, a 1982 NMC alumnus, always kept her from finishing.
Fast forward to 2016. Kathy had phased out of her role with the business. A three-month recovery from back surgery gave her time to consider what she wanted to do next. Her dream, she decided, was a master of library science degree. She started this semester with classes to complete the step in between, her bachelor’s in English. The downside is that her classes are required courses in subjects like science, which have faded over the years.
“Going back to this stuff after 30 years, my brain doesn’t work that way,” she said. However, “being so much older, I’m not afraid to ask questions anymore.”
She’s on campus three days a week and takes the other class online, flexibility she appreciates. Stella, meanwhile is on campus two days a week, taking classes in English, math and history.
“I really like it,” she said. “If I could take history classes for the rest of my academic career, I would.”
Between NMC and credit she earned at a semester-long boarding school in Wisconsin during her junior year, Stella will graduate high school with 28 college credits.
“It is so awesome to get that stuff done in a small classroom setting, where you have ample opportunity to be with instructors,” Kathy said. “I’m a huge fan of community colleges.”
