There was no question where Brenda Seppo was going to college after graduating from Port Huron Northern in 1976.
Her parents, W. Helen and the late Harley Smith, both taught classes at St. Clair County Community College.
“Both of my parents taught there, so we had little choice as to where we were going,” said Seppo, 60, of Lakeport. “It was a good choice anyway — a good place to get an education.”
Today, Seppo — who founded the church outreach organization Operation Transformation with her husband, the Rev. Dr. Thomas Seppo — is one of three generations of women in her family to earn an SC4 degree.
Her mother graduated with an associate degree in nursing in the early 1960s and earned her bachelor’s from Michigan State University. She returned to SC4 and taught in the college’s nursing program for 25 years, retiring in 1991.
Seppo received an associate of arts degree in 1977, and her daughter, Rebecca Achatz of Casco, graduated from the nursing program in 2003.
“SC4 gave me a very good liberal arts background that I have used in many instances in my life,” Seppo said.
Her father taught political science and history at the college for more than 30 years, retiring in 2003, and would often drive to satellite campuses in the thumb to teach night classes.
Seppo said SC4 gave her an excellent start.
“I was a cheerleader for SC4 with the basketball team,” she said. “I was working part time and took classes year-round. I was able to graduate in December and saved myself a semester.”
Seppo then attended Eastern Michigan University, graduating with a bachelor’s in education and social science. After returning to Port Huron, she was a stay-at-home mom, caring for Achatz and the couple’s other two children, Andrea Schultz of St. Clair and Dr. Andrew Seppo of Holland.
“When I had Rebecca, Mom was already up at the hospital with her students when she was born,” Seppo laughed. “Rebecca was actually the demonstration model.”
Seppo wasn’t surprised her daughter followed her grandmother’s footsteps into nursing, which she notes as “one of the things SC4 is most famous for.” Achatz made it through the program in two years, becoming a registered nurse at age 20 and now working for Beacon Health Care.
“Rebecca always wanted to be a nurse probably from junior high on,” she said. “There was really no other way to look at it, because the education there with the nursing program was excellent for the value.”
She added SC4 gives students an opportunity to learn how to tackle college classes while still living close to home.
“They were challenging,” Seppo said. “You have to take basic classes anyway, so why pay two or three times the amount? That’s why we had all three of our kids take some classes here. It’s a good transition, too. You have to learn time management and the class sizes are smaller. Again, it made for really easy transition for all of us.”
