Author: Mark Rummel

Victim or Creator: Changing Your Mindset with Caleb S. Boswell — February 26

In Recognition of Black History Month, SC4’s Office of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion is offering the following event for students, faculty, staff and community.

The Office of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion is offering a 60-minute chat session with Caleb S. Boswell on the topic of “Victim or Creator: Changing Your Mindset,” at 2 p.m. Friday, Feb. 26, via Zoom. The session is geared toward students but community, faculty, and staff are welcome to attend.

This presentation looks at the thoughts and language that we use internally (“victim” vs. “creator” and inner critic vs. inner defender vs. inner guide). The goal is to understand these concepts. The hope is that students can apply this information both academically and daily.

Caleb S. Boswell, MA, LLPC has a passion for mental wellness and education. He is currently a Student Advisor in the Office of Counseling & Career Planning at Washtenaw Community College and serves as a part-time instructor. Also, at WCC, he is the facilitator for Brother 2 Brother, a program for underrepresented males on campus. He is the co-facilitator of the college Collegiate Recovery Program, which serves students in recovery from substance abuse.

Mr. Boswell has worked in higher education over the past ten years in various capacities for CMU, EMU, and Wayne State University. He has also served in Detroit, Hamtramck, and Ypsilanti public schools. He has extensive experience working with programming that promotes college access and personal development. He is committed to helping students succeed and strives to assist them with a holistic approach. He has done presentations on mental wellness and often uses his social media outlets to promote mental wellness and therapy benefits with the hashtag #TherapyIsNormal.

Caleb is also the co-facilitator of The Healing Collective. This is an online community where various topics of mental wellness are discussed during COVID-19. He is a proud Central Michigan University alum, where he double majored in psychology and communications, and also earned his master’s degree in college counseling from Eastern Michigan University.

To reserve your spot and receive login information, email dei@sc4.edu.

Earning money vs. making money part 1

Welcome back to the TRIO Financial Literacy Blog! If this is your first time reading the blog, welcome and before moving forward, take a moment to read last week’s as each build upon the previous. Looking back, we learned that there are five components to financial literacy; earn, spend, save and invest, borrow, and protect. This week we will explore what it means to earn.

Before you can set a budget, pay bills, save and invest, or purchase the most amazing dessert you can find, you must know how much money you have accessible to you. Having money typically happens in two ways by earning it or making it. Understand that printing money is illegal and is NOT the same as making money. Earning is “when you trade your time and energy for money” (Donati, 2020). In laymen’s terms, you earn by the hour working during the time allotted. In these cases, you’re dependent on another entity to earn money, and that entity most likely will only pay you once per hour you spend working.

Daryl Singleton
Daryl Singleton

Earning money can be exciting and rewarding when spending hours working on or as something you find joy and passion doing. Both time and energy are limited resources. However, before we can move forward as financially literate people, we must know precisely where our money is coming from and where it is going. As an earner, you should be receiving a paycheck for your time and energy. On that paycheck, it is vital to identify your gross and net income, along with any other deductions. Your gross income is the total amount of money you are paid before income tax is removed. Your net income is the real money you are paid after taxes and deductions, or “take-home pay.” Deductions or withdrawals are items such as employer health insurance or retirement plans deducted after taxes before receiving your “take-home pay.”

You may be wondering why are gross, net, and deductions vital as they relate to earning. Your gross income is what you would use if you ever wanted to negotiate a pay raise or on a loan application, or when applying for a credit card. Additionally, your net income is the actual money you have on hand to make purchases and set a budget to save and invest in making more money. Who doesn’t like more money? Certainly not us! Today, don’t just glance over your pay stub or only accept your direct deposit as final; look closer. Hiding from the numbers will not change or grow them but understanding them will. Awareness is the gateway to clarity and that “clarity” positions you to make money. Let’s Build!

Reference:
Donati, E. (2020b, August 25). How to Earn Money vs How to Make Money. Mint.Com. https://mint.intuit.com/blog/personal-finance/yes-earning-money-and-making-money-are-different

A Continuing Series of Small Indignities discussion — February 25

In Recognition of Black History Month, SC4’s Office of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion is offering the following event for students, faculty, staff and community.

SC4’s Office of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion along with the SC4 Civic Democratic Learning Committee are sponsoring a special event to discuss A Continuing Series of Small Indignities, a film by Michael Pfaendtner. The event will take place at 6:30 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 25, via Zoom.

Rodney Harris retired after nearly four decades in retail management. An African American growing up in mostly white Macomb County in the 1960s, he tells all to former classmate and filmmaker Michael Pfaendtner in a short documentary film about one man’s challenges because of his race over the past half century in Southeastern Michigan. Harris often hears, “Things are a lot better now, don’t you think?” While he’s found success professionally and his children are doing well, it’s his answer that many want to hear.

Harris will be participating in a chat discussion for student, staff and community moderated by SC4 professor of criminal justice Jim Jones that shares Rodney’s personal story dealing with a history of racism.

The film will be shown during the event, but you may watch it prior to the event on Vimeo.

Rodney and Michael discuss how the film came about in this clip from Detroit Public Television.

Dofonso Fernando, military veteran, SC4 Alumnus, and current Ferris State University student will also discuss his experiences and moving into the future. Fernando was born in Namibia and he moved to America with his family when he was just an infant. Raised in the southern part of Nevada, he called Las Vegas home and spent majority of his life there. He attended the University of Nevada Las Vegas, but after two years of being a student, he decided that a college education was not for him and went into the work force.

He worked in various casinos and the real estate industry. Once the 2008 recession happened, he knew that real estate and the nightlife industry were not suitable career paths for him. In 2010, he decided to join the United States Air Force as an Aerospace Medical Technician and purse a military career. His military career ended after various military assignments and almost seven years of honorable service.

After serving in the military, Dofonso and his wife Katherine decided to move their family back to Katherine’s hometown in the St. Clair County area. With Dofonso’s VA scholarship, he decided to take another try at a college education and started at SC4. He knew that the only way he could obtain a successful career was through pursuing his educational goals.

He graduated in 2019 with an Associate in General Education with Cum Laude honors. He immediately transferred to the Ferris State University Criminal Justice program that is located at SC4 and is finishing his final semester. He will be graduating this summer from Ferris State University and pursuing a career in corrections or continuing his educational goals.

To reserve your spot and receive login information, email dei@sc4.edu.

Rodney Harris, Dofonso Fernando and Michael Pfaendtner

SC4 checked all the boxes for alumnus Don Caluya’s mission

Don Caluya has already come a long way. But he’s just getting started.

While many people dream of traveling, Caluya’s target destination is in the night sky, about 239,000 miles away. He wants to be one of the next people to fly to the Moon, and one of his earliest steps toward that goal was on the campus of St. Clair County Community College.

“As an immigrant from the Philippines, I didn’t believe I had any chance of attending college,” Caluya explained. “SC4 allowed me to break generational barriers which gave me the confidence to follow my educational and career aspirations. Once I became engulfed in college classes at SC4, I knew that I could do more with my life.”

Caluya graduated from Port Huron Northern High School in 2008, and initially wanted to be an architect.

“When choosing a college, I looked for an option that was cost-effective, but which also had a great history and reputation,” Caluya said. “SC4 checked all the boxes and I was able to accomplish my education goals.”

SC4 offered Caluya the opportunity to get started and prepare for the bigger things he had planned.

“I got the best education at a fraction of the cost,” he said. “SC4 has top-notch educators who love their jobs and are willing to go above and beyond to help their students. The staff made helping people their top priority. They assisted me with all of the steps, including admissions, financial aid, and registration.”

Caluya is also excited about the Challenger Learning Center at St. Clair County Community College that will open on SC4’s campus in early 2022.

“The Challenger project within SC4’s walls will be the pride of the community,” he said. “It’s the first of its kind in Port Huron and the only one in Michigan. SC4 students and the community will have the resources and tools to be prodigious!”

After SC4, Caluya joined the U.S. Air Force, where he had the chance to travel all over the world. He became the proud father of “the most beautiful little girl in the world.” After the Air Force, he attended The Ohio State University, graduating in 2019 with a bachelor’s degree in aviation and air transportation. He’s currently pursuing his master’s in business administration at Lindenwood University while working for The Boeing Company and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA).

“Long term, I’d like to be a test pilot for NASA, SpaceX, or Boeing,” Caluya said. “But my ultimate goal is to become an astronaut.”

Caluya has fond memories of his time at SC4 and believes that community college is a great place to start for students regardless of their long-term plans.

“Community colleges like SC4 provide not just an excellent academic infrastructure, but they also provide students hope, encouragement, support, and pride,” he explained. “SC4 gave me, someone from a small town in the Philippines, a sense of confidence and self-worth. I’m thankful to those who helped me along the way… my dearest and sincerest thanks.”

“Everything worth having has a stable foundation that it’s built on,” Caluya continued. “For me, this foundation came from Port Huron and SC4. Even though my bachelor’s diploma says, ‘The Ohio State University,’ it should also say ‘St. Clair County Community College,’ because a quarter of my credits came from there.”

Caluya also noted that NASA and large aerospace companies have programs that target community college students. The NASA Community College Aerospace Scholars (NCAS) program offers support to students looking to enter the field. “NASA never overlooks top talent,” he said, “and they know the worth of these local institutions.”

Whether your dreams are in the stars or a bit closer to home, SC4 can help you get there. Just ask Don Caluya, who’s already come a long way but is still looking up.