Thank you all for everything you do in pursuit of “Keeping Learning at the Center.”
Notable Accomplishments provided by Faculty and Staff
This section recognizes the good work being done and linkages to the Strategic Directions (SD) and Institutional Effectiveness Criteria (IE) are provided where possible. (more…)
NMC math instructor Mary Burget and student Lauren HayesDriven to catch the Soviets in the space race of the 1950 and ’60s, black female NASA mathematicians solved the problem of putting astronauts into orbit, a story told in Hidden Figures, nominated for Best Picture* at this weekend’s Academy Awards.
Driven to offer NMC students more pathways to meet math graduation requirements, the math department solved the problem with Math 120, a class that, a la NASA, turns students into problem-solvers. Not just for the course, but for life.
“Our whole goal is that it’s more than math — they become good problem-solvers,” department chair Deb Pharo said of Math 120, added to the curriculum just two years ago as a way for liberal arts students whose programs don’t require additional math to fulfill graduation requirements.
But now and then a funny thing happens on the way to simply checking off the requirement: A student discovers a hidden passion for figures, and their whole career trajectory changes. Lauren Hayes (above, right) is Exhibit A.
Becoming a problem solver starts with students having confidence in their abilities. When she enrolled at NMC in 2015, Hayes, 27, didn’t. She failed her last math class before she graduated from Traverse City West High School in 2008 and wound up in a developmental math course. Her instructor, Mark Nelson, started building her confidence. In 120, officially titled Math Explorations, it took off.
“Math 120 made me feel proficient, like I could figure things out,” Hayes said. The course teaches students the “beauty and utility of mathematics” by presenting practical problems like personal finance and budgeting.
She enrolled in another math course, Probability and Statistics, which she’d been dreading. Instead, she “breezed” through it. Encouraged by Mary Burget, her 120 instructor, who turned to math herself after a first career in social work, Hayes switched her major from psychology to engineering.
“Once I had in my head that I was good at it, it was almost like I was,” said Hayes, who’s now enrolled in college algebra.
In fact, she’s craving more math than her engineering classes currently offer.
“I don’t really want to build things so much as understand how things work. I feel like math does that for me,” Hayes said.
That’s music to Burget and Pharo’s ears. While Math 120 exists so students can meet requirements, it’s also a practical, real-world course that can help students with lifelong decision making.
“It’s good for everybody. It’s a real class with real benefits,” said Pharo. “We want them to see it not as a math class, but something that’s more useful.”
Probability of Hidden Figures winning Best Picture - 1:25, per OddsChecker.
NMC math instructor Mary Burget and student Lauren HayesDriven to catch the Soviets in the space race of the 1950 and ’60s, black female NASA mathematicians solved the problem of putting astronauts into orbit, a story told in Hidden Figures, nominated for Best Picture* at this weekend’s Academy Awards.
Driven to offer NMC students more pathways to meet math graduation requirements, the math department solved the problem with Math 120, a class that, a la NASA, turns students into problem-solvers. Not just for the course, but for life.
“Our whole goal is that it’s more than math — they become good problem-solvers,” department chair Deb Pharo said of Math 120, added to the curriculum just two years ago as a way for liberal arts students whose programs don’t require additional math to fulfill graduation requirements.
But now and then a funny thing happens on the way to simply checking off the requirement: A student discovers a hidden passion for figures, and their whole career trajectory changes. Lauren Hayes (above, right) is Exhibit A.
Becoming a problem solver starts with students having confidence in their abilities. When she enrolled at NMC in 2015, Hayes, 27, didn’t. She failed her last math class before she graduated from Traverse City West High School in 2008 and wound up in a developmental math course. Her instructor, Mark Nelson, started building her confidence. In 120, officially titled Math Explorations, it took off.
“Math 120 made me feel proficient, like I could figure things out,” Hayes said. The course teaches students the “beauty and utility of mathematics” by presenting practical problems like personal finance and budgeting.
She enrolled in another math course, Probability and Statistics, which she’d been dreading. Instead, she “breezed” through it. Encouraged by Mary Burget, her 120 instructor, who turned to math herself after a first career in social work, Hayes switched her major from psychology to engineering.
“Once I had in my head that I was good at it, it was almost like I was,” said Hayes, who’s now enrolled in college algebra.
In fact, she’s craving more math than her engineering classes currently offer.
“I don’t really want to build things so much as understand how things work. I feel like math does that for me,” Hayes said.
That’s music to Burget and Pharo’s ears. While Math 120 exists so students can meet requirements, it’s also a practical, real-world course that can help students with lifelong decision making.
“It’s good for everybody. It’s a real class with real benefits,” said Pharo. “We want them to see it not as a math class, but something that’s more useful.”
Probability of Hidden Figures winning Best Picture - 1:25, per OddsChecker.
Over 25 university representatives will be on NMC’s main campus on Tuesday, March 14 from 9:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. to talk with students, staff and faculty about their programs and the transfer process. The university representatives will be located in the Health & Science Building lobby on the main level.
This is your opportunity to discuss transfer requirements and get information on degrees available at a variety of schools without having to travel to each university. Bring your questions and explore your options! A list of colleges attending and a list of questions to ask at a transfer fair is available at nmc.edu/student-services/advising-center/college-visits.html
See you there!
Advising Staff
Grand Valley State University will have an open Advising Day for all students. Please join us on Wednesday, March 15 between 10 a.m. and 6 p.m. at the NMC University Center in room 06. Representatives from advising, admissions, financial aid, study abroad and the library will be available to answer any questions.
On Saturday, March 18, between 10 a.m. and noon, learn more about the career-building degree programs available from Grand Valley State University in Traverse City. (Note that this date has changed.) Our Health Care Showcase in University Center room 217 will feature representatives from undergraduate programs such as: Liberal Studies, Allied Health Science (which both CAN BE designed for PreOT, PrePT, PrePA, & PreMed), and Nursing, as well as graduate programs such as: Public Health, Physician Assistant Studies, Social Work, and Occupational Therapy.
RSVP for either or both events at gvsu.edu/traverse.
The Advising Center is available to help students who are undecided about their career or major! Career counseling involves helping a student explore their interests, values, abilities, personality to find a best fit career or major area. Refer students to us for assistance with the career decision-making process! 5-1040 or advising@nmc.edu
The Advising Center has professional advisors on staff to help you explore and decide on majors and possible careers! Visit us in the Osterlin Building to make an appointment or learn more about how we can help you decide on a major or career. Deciding on a major or career means less time spent taking courses you may not need in the future! Visit or call us at 995-1040 to get started!
Students and the public are invited to NMC’s eleventh annual Career Fair, set for 4-5:30 p.m. March 2 at the Hagerty Center on NMC’s Great Lakes Campus.
Employers from professional and occupational fields will be recruiting for career-track positions, seasonal and entry-level opportunities, as well as internships, service learning and networking opportunities.
Job seekers are encouraged to dress professionally, bring resumes and be prepared to talk to local employers about open positions/opportunities. On-site interviews are possible, at the discretion of the employer on a first-come, first-serve basis.
Click here for information to help you prepare for the Career Fair.
NMC Career Success Coach Andrea Hentschel is available to help get ready for the event. To schedule an appointment email or call (231) 995-3024 for assistance with resumes, interview pitches and general preparation for the career fair.
More than 70 employers (such as Munson Health Care, Hagerty, TCAPS, Britten and Oryana) are scheduled to participate. For the most updated list as well as more information, visit nmc.edu/careerfair.
Please encourage your students to participate in NMC’s 11th annual Career Fair, to be held from 4- 5:30 p.m. on March 2 at the Hagerty Center on NMC’s Great Lakes Campus. Employers from professional and occupational fields will be recruiting for career-track positions, seasonal and entry-level opportunities, as well as internships, service learning and networking opportunities. More than 70 employers (such as Munson Health Care, Hagerty, TCAPS, Britten and Oryana) are registered to participate in the Career Fair, the only event of its size in northwest Michigan. For the most updated list as well as more information, visit nmc.edu/careerfair.
NMC Career Success Coach Andrea Hentschel is available to help get ready for the event. To schedule an appointment email or call (231) 995-3024 for assistance with resumes, interview pitches and general preparation for the career fair.
Participants should bring multiple copies of their resume and dress in business attire. For more tips on job fair preparation, review the job-seeking tools at www.nmc.edu/careers.
If you elected to receive your 1095-C electronically, it is now available through NMC Self-Service.
If you are receiving the 1095-C through US mail, they went out on Thursday, February 9.
NMC Wellness Newsletter for February
February Lunch and Learn and Challenge
Monday, February 27, Osterlin 205
Are you looking for career opportunities? Find them here! jobs.nmc.edu. Current openings include:
The following employees are celebrating an anniversary soon. Please join us in congratulating them!
Which classes are you taking next semester? What do you have left to finish your degree? When will you graduate? All of these questions can be answered when students create an academic plan through MAP with an advisor. As you’re talking with students, ask them about their Plan and encourage them to meet with an advisor to create a Plan in MAP. Questions? Want some additional tips and training for your area? Contact the Advising Center at 5-1040 or advising@nmc.edu
What classes are you taking next semester? What do you have left to finish your degree? When will you graduate? Did you know ALL of these questions can be answered with an academic PLAN? NMC has an online tool, available through MAP that helps you PLAN your classes for all future semesters. Check it out by logging into MyNMC and clicking on the MAP icon, then selecting the Plans tab. You can create possible plans or meet with an advisor to help you. This tool is great for all students – regardless of program of study or transfer plans! Check it out and make sure YOU have a PLAN!
TRAVERSE CITY — Northern Michigan will get a preview of a new documentary, Is America in Retreat? at a benefit premiere screening set for 6 p.m. March 6 at the State Theatre. Admission to the film and filmmaker Q & A to follow is free but donations will accepted to help send Petoskey high school students to the national Academic WorldQuest competition in Washington DC in April.
The International Affairs Forum, sponsor of AWQ, is presenting the film, based on the book, America in Retreat by Bret Stephens, a Pulitzer Prize winning columnist for the Wall Street Journal, as an opportunity to discuss the U.S. role in the world from a non-partisan perspective. It will air on PBS stations March 24.
“This film goes beyond politics to look at U.S. foreign policy strategy in the world. American action or inaction abroad – it all has huge ramifications,” notes IAF Co-Chair Karen Segal.
Since WWII, the United States has been at the forefront of a Pax Americana – a period of relative peace guaranteed by U.S. military might. According to the film producers, including Leland-based Executive Producer Tom Skinner, today that peace is threatened from multiple directions: Ambitious and aggressive foreign policy by China in Asia, Russian territorial claims and occupations in Eastern Europe, and deteriorating conditions in the Middle East. More than half of Americans polled today believe we should “mind our own business.”
“Our documentary explores those questions with Bret, other foreign policy scholars and political and military leaders,” Skinner said.
“Whether or not you agree with every aspect of the film, it does an outstanding job of laying out the issues which the audience can then discuss after the film,” Segal said.
Petoskey won the regional AWQ competition Feb. 3. Made up of four Juniors, the team has been competing in AWQ since they were freshmen. They won this year with the highest point score ever awarded in the competition organized by the IAF and NMC.
Karen Segal
International Affairs Forum co-chair
(231) 715-6064
jsegal_kpuschel@yahoo.com
Consider the ideal working conditions for a chef, and Randy Weed has it all: Recipe development responsibility, gigantic pantry full of top-quality ingredients, and satisfied, often repeat customers.
The twist is that Weed wields his talents in the kitchen of an upscale grocery store, rather than a restaurant. The 1996 NMC culinary graduate is the vice president of culinary at Plum Market, an upscale retail grocer with six locations in metro Detroit and Chicago.
Weed’s career path illustrates the options available to current Great Lakes Culinary Institute students, who on Feb. 24 will host A Taste of Success, a strolling dinner of international cuisines and the program’s biggest scholarship fundraiser.
“When I started out in this career, the last place I ever wanted to work was a grocery store,” said Weed. But he’s found his passion for food, kindled at NMC by instructors like the late Lucy House and Pete Peterson, is stoked daily at Plum.
“My goal has always been to have the highest quality food we can get. There is no better pantry than what I could access here,” said Weed, who supervises eight other chefs and creates the recipes served up at six different stations in the store, from an all-organic salad bar to a hot bar to a carving station whose all-natural meat entrees change themes daily, from Asian to chophouse to Latin. Plum also offers in-store cafes and catering.
“It’s the next step in the evolution of what’s going on with food,” Weed said. “We don’t look at other retail markets as being our competition. We look at other fine restaurants.”
He would know. As a student, Weed did an internship at Tapawingo, Peterson’s legendary restaurant in Ellsworth, which closed in 2009. He later worked at other high-end northern Michigan restaurants including Latitude in Bay Harbor and the Garland Resort & Country Club east of Gaylord. After moving downstate, he cooked in top-tier restaurants including the now-closed Golden Mushroom and Roast in Detroit.
The interior of a Plum Market storeHe’s thrilled to have landed at Plum, which has doubled its locations since he joined the company seven years ago. Besides his daily kitchen duties, Weed enjoys tasks like last year’s trip to Spain, to develop a partnership with the world’s largest purveyor of Spanish olive oil.
“Everything I learned at NMC and all the different experiences prepared me for it,” he said.
Weed’s advice to current culinary students?
“Work for the job that you want, not the job that you have. You can always do a little more, learn a little more, try to be a little better.”
And remember that even with a VP in your title, certain tasks in the kitchen always need to be done.
“That’s an example of Lucy House. She was never afraid to sweep and mop the floor.”
Tickets to A Taste of Success are $100 each. Sponsor tables are also available. Buy online and support culinary student success.
Consider the ideal working conditions for a chef, and Randy Weed has it all: Recipe development responsibility, gigantic pantry full of top-quality ingredients, and satisfied, often repeat customers.
The twist is that Weed wields his talents in the kitchen of an upscale grocery store, rather than a restaurant. The 1996 NMC culinary graduate is the vice president of culinary at Plum Market, an upscale retail grocer with six locations in metro Detroit and Chicago.
Weed’s career path illustrates the options available to current Great Lakes Culinary Institute students, who on Feb. 24 will host A Taste of Success, a strolling dinner of international cuisines and the program’s biggest scholarship fundraiser.
“When I started out in this career, the last place I ever wanted to work was a grocery store,” said Weed. But he’s found his passion for food, kindled at NMC by instructors like the late Lucy House and Pete Peterson, is stoked daily at Plum.
“My goal has always been to have the highest quality food we can get. There is no better pantry than what I could access here,” said Weed, who supervises eight other chefs and creates the recipes served up at six different stations in the store, from an all-organic salad bar to a hot bar to a carving station whose all-natural meat entrees change themes daily, from Asian to chophouse to Latin. Plum also offers in-store cafes and catering.
“It’s the next step in the evolution of what’s going on with food,” Weed said. “We don’t look at other retail markets as being our competition. We look at other fine restaurants.”
He would know. As a student, Weed did an internship at Tapawingo, Peterson’s legendary restaurant in Ellsworth, which closed in 2009. He later worked at other high-end northern Michigan restaurants including Latitude in Bay Harbor and the Garland Resort & Country Club east of Gaylord. After moving downstate, he cooked in top-tier restaurants including the now-closed Golden Mushroom and Roast in Detroit.
The interior of a Plum Market storeHe’s thrilled to have landed at Plum, which has doubled its locations since he joined the company seven years ago. Besides his daily kitchen duties, Weed enjoys tasks like last year’s trip to Spain, to develop a partnership with the world’s largest purveyor of Spanish olive oil.
“Everything I learned at NMC and all the different experiences prepared me for it,” he said.
Weed’s advice to current culinary students?
“Work for the job that you want, not the job that you have. You can always do a little more, learn a little more, try to be a little better.”
And remember that even with a VP in your title, certain tasks in the kitchen always need to be done.
“That’s an example of Lucy House. She was never afraid to sweep and mop the floor.”
Tickets to A Taste of Success are $100 each. Sponsor tables are also available. Buy online and support culinary student success.
The University Center Campus Goes Red for Go RED for Women Day to break the barriers against heart disease and stroke Feb 3:
The following employees are celebrating an anniversary soon. Please join us in congratulating them!
NMC Student Life and Students United for Gender Rights (SUGR) present a FREE Human Trafficking Conference on Friday, March 10.
Human trafficking is a local issue that requires our attention. This all-day conference will prepare attendees to recognize the signs, and learn ways to get involved to stop trafficking.
Join us for presentations from noted guest speakers including Grand Rapids based advocate Theresa Flores, founder of the SOAP Project. The conference is open to the community and will run from 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. at the Hagerty Center; check in will begin at 8 a.m. Food will be provided.
Mark your calendars for the opportunity to attend a two-part event on Thursday, February 23.
Check your email for details and to sign up!
TRAVERSE CITY — Tickets are now on sale for the Feb. 24 Taste of Success, the largest annual fundraiser for students at NMC’s Great Lakes Culinary Institute.
Patrons will enjoy a strolling dinner of international cuisine with local wine and craft beers, all prepared and served by culinary students. An online auction with unique options such as private parties and restaurant dinners will be offered in conjunction with the event.
The 2016 Taste raised $87,000. GLCI Director Fred Laughlin said the funds raised by the event, first held at the Park Place Hotel in 1994, are vital to many students.
“The event goes a long way to showcase the talent of our students and providing them with needed funds to continue their education,” he said.
The Great Lakes Culinary Institute at Northwestern Michigan College is designed to provide rigorous and concentrated study for students planning careers in the rapidly growing food service industry. The program’s main emphasis is to prepare students for entry-level chefs and kitchen management positions. It is accredited by the American Culinary Federation, one of fewer than 200 U.S. colleges to receive that distinction. Students are eligible to become ACF Certified Culinarians upon graduation.
Tickets are $100 each. Table sponsorships are also available. Buy online at nmc.edu/taste-of-success.
Paris Morse
NMC Foundation
pmorse@nmc.edu
(231) 995-2822
The NMC Student Green Team is selling reusable water bottles to reduce one-time plastic bottle usage on campus. They are $5 each and can be purchased in the Student Life Office in the lower level of West Hall.
Proceeds will benefit future environmental or social justice pursuits at NMC.
Congratulations 2017 Graduates!Order Your Cap/Gown/Tassel package between February 13 and March 10 at the NMC Bookstore. The items are also sold separately.
Questions? Call the bookstore at 995-1285.
While you’re there, check out our selection of diploma frames and nursing pins!