The Office of Possibilities (OOPs) had a very successful fall! Three pitches were presented at the third OOPs pitch event on Friday, December 1, 2023. All three received funding from the NMC Foundation to advance their innovative projects:
Jaron Larson, NMC Motorsports student group, is establishing a multi-disciplinary leadership team to guide the integration of design, engineering, and trade technology, to better position the group as competitors on the national level. The Motorsport students build vehicles and enter local and regional competitions against dozens of four-year universities. They are seeking mentorship and leadership development skills to facilitate collaboration and create a sense of belonging within the group. Members will enroll in NMC’s Innovation Mindset credential, a program designed to create entrepreneurial thinkers, during spring semester to gain valuable skills that can move the team forward in the national–and possibly international–arenas. They hope to hone their skills in welding/structure, design/engineering, automotive technologies, business administration, digital and event marketing, leadership/mentorship while growing this student group. This project was awarded $7,500.
Nicholas Roster, Ph.D., Science and Math Instructor, is leading his students on an assessment of microplastics in the Boardman/Ottaway watershed. To date no extensive analysis of microplastics in the Boardman/Ottaway watershed has been conducted. His biology classes are now engaged in a process to gather baseline data to begin to tell the story of this forever pollutant. Microplastics are an emerging pollutant and thought by many to be second only to climate change in terms of its environmental impact. Students are currently learning how best to collect and analyze the data so that they can paint a robust picture of what is happening in our watershed. The tools needed to increase validity and reliability of this research include using SampleServe software which is being provided at no charge by Russ Schindler. The hardware to run the software was lent to NMC for one sampling period, NMC needs to have its own hardware in place for our students to use. Nick is also participating with his students in the AquaHacking Challenge, a program supporting nextGen innovators as they solve freshwater issues. This is the type of work that would directly connect with the freshwater innovation center partnerships. This project was awarded $7,500.
Steve Rice, M.S., Accounting Instructor, is developing a human flourishing curriculum: a series of master courses designed to help people live in the fullness of their potential. He is collaborating with colleagues at Stanford, Harvard, and the National Association for Community College Entrepreneurship (NACCE). Steve previously pitched this project and received $5,000. He was awarded another $5,000 in OOPs funding to support Faculty Release Time using the OOPs/CIE-developed procedure for one course, and also received $5,000 from NACCE in support of this project .
If you have an idea or project that you would like to pitch on March 15th, fill out this short questionnaire and a member of the OOPs team will be in touch. OOPs regular office hours are:
- Tuesdays 9:00 – 11:00 a.m. at Commonplace
414 E. Eighth Street, Second Floor, Traverse City - Thursdays 8:00 – 11:00 a.m. at the Timothy J. Nelson Innovation Center at NMC
1720 College Drive, (#9 on this map), Traverse City
Learn about the design thinking process and frame “how might we” questions to help NMC faculty, staff, students, alumni, and community members learn how to innovate and meet their goals. Workshop sessions will be held in the evening on Feb. 5, 19 and 26. Sign up here
Mark your calendar for Friday, May 10 for the Great Lakes AquaHacking Challenge finale at the Hagerty Center. Additional details to come.