Author: Mark Rummel

$1 Million fund created to help SC4 Students

PORT HURON – SC4 is providing $1,000,000 in emergency aid funding to support SC4 students impacted by the coronavirus pandemic. The money is available to currently enrolled SC4 students who are experiencing additional financial need caused by the public health emergency. Awards are available to help students who are working toward the completion of a certificate or degree.

This one million dollars in funding to support SC4 students includes $954,739 received as part of the Federal Coronavirus Aid Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act recently approved by Congress, as well as additional college emergency scholarship funds dedicated to supporting students. Awards are in addition to any other financial aid support the student may have received.

Students experiencing challenges are asked to complete a brief form online at sc4.edu/CARES. Additional details about the program are also available on that webpage.

Emergency aid is intended to help students with expenses that may affect their ability to attend SC4, including things such as housing, transportation, basic living needs and other college-related costs. Students experiencing hardships due to unemployment or reduced financial support from their families are encouraged to apply.

Registration for SC4 fall classes is open — Start Here. Go Anywhere.

Registration for fall classes at St. Clair County Community College is open, meaning it’s time for you to schedule the classes you need to get your degree, transfer to a four-year college or start on your path to a new career.

Fall semester begins on Monday, Aug. 24. There is no deposit required to register for fall classes through May 15.

So how do I register?

If you’re a current student at SC4, or you have already gone through the steps for enrollment, you can register online through your student Portal or on the SC4 mobile app.

Not sure which classes you need to take?  Have questions about degree and certificate programs, class selection or other concerns? New college students and those transferring from other schools can set up a phone or virtual advising appointment by visiting sc4.edu/advising.

If you’re not quite ready to register and want to get an idea of what’s out there, you can also browse available classes for the fall semester by visiting sc4.edu/schedule.

Not a student yet? Or maybe you haven’t even applied. Don’t worry, there’s still time. Visit sc4.edu/starthere and fill out your free application today.

Due to the ongoing COVID-19 situation, the college is waiving initial advising appointments and placement testing requirements in order to make it easier for you to enroll for classes. Our staff continues to work remotely to assist you with questions. If you have other questions related to registration, email enrollment@sc4.edu.

Attending SC4 is a smart decision, one that will help you go anywhere. SC4 students benefit from affordable tuition, flexibility, a high-quality education, a vibrant campus community, and faculty and staff dedicated to maximizing student success.

Former television news director prefers ‘paying it forward’

Simple beginnings don’t always make headline news, but one former television news director thinks it’s newsworthy that he got his start at St. Clair County Community College.

A 1966 graduate of SC4, Jim Collins interviewed people like former vice president Hubert Humphrey, reported on the great gasoline shortage of the 1970s and investigated deadly PCB’s in cattle feed.

“I was fulfilling a dream, exploring new areas, cultures and certainly opportunities,” he said. “It all started with a couple of years at SC4.”

Collins grew up in Emmett, the oldest of three children. He graduated from St. Stephen High School in 1964 and then decided to attend Port Huron Junior College, which a few years later became St. Clair County Community College.

“When it came time to attend college, (SC4) was the readily available and affordable option,” he said. “I was working to pay the bills on the night shift at a shop in Capac. My parents helped with some tuition, housing and meals and plenty of encouragement. Starting at a four-year school would have been wasted on me, not to mention totally out of reach financially. I wasn’t ready for it.”

Collins received his associate degree in spring of 1966 with plans to attend Michigan State University. He graduated from MSU with a Bachelor of Arts in television and radio in 1968. He was in East Lansing during “the height of the Vietnam War and a career path seemed difficult at best, but I was not drafted.”

He got his first job at a radio station in western Michigan and continued on to Wisconsin and Minnesota to pursue his career in radio news. Collins was working in Duluth, Minn., when he made the switch to television, which expanded the type of people he was able to interview.

“I considered myself fortunate to meet and talk one-on-one with people like Hubert Humphrey, Walter Mondale and others of note,” he said. “But it was often more interesting telling the stories of ordinary folks who were doing extraordinary things.”

They moved back to Michigan, with Collins working at WOOD-TV in Grand Rapids, first as a reporter and then as the station’s assignment manager. He became a news director in Chattanooga, Tenn., and later Greensboro, N.C., for their CBS affiliate before finishing his career as the city of Greensboro’s communications manager.

“I feel very strongly that our society needs reporters asking hard questions, shining light into the dark spaces of lies, deceit and deception,” he said. “Finding people to ask those questions should not be limited to only those wealthy enough to attend a four-year institution. There are other means to achieve organized thought, writing and presentation skills.”

Collins supports giving today’s young people the opportunity to attend college.

“I recognize that people offering scholarships are often characterized as ‘paying it back’” he said. “I prefer ‘paying it forward’; leaving something for the future, and SC4 can certainly be a great place to start. I chose to support student scholarships at SC4, because I know it can mean something for a student to be able to open the door to an education.”

 

Seeking certainty and support during uncertain times

Tips and Resources from the Behavioral Education Success Team at St. Clair County Community College

As we all deal with the strangeness of the COVID-19 pandemic, all SC4 students, faculty and staff find themselves in uncharted waters. It is a time of uncertainty. However, there is one thing that is very certain: Our commitment to students. Together, we continue to work to maximize student success.

Download the resource.