Author: Mark Rummel

SC4 to host Martin Luther King Jr. Day Celebration Jan. 20

St. Clair County Community College and its Global Diversity Advisory Council will host the 18th annual Martin Luther King Jr. Day Celebration at 6 p.m. Monday, Jan. 20, in its Fine Arts Theatre.

The event will feature a celebration of King’s legacy with a diverse variety of speakers, musicians and other performances.

The theme of this year’s event is “Extremists for the cause of justice.”

Scheduled speakers and performers include:

  • President of the Port Huron branch of the NAACP Kevin Watkins
  • SC4 Vice President of Student Services Pete Lacey
  • Port Huron Mayor Pauline Repp
  • Master of Ceremonies Kevin Totty, Community Foundation of St. Clair County
  • Keynote Speaker Yolanda Jack, Charles Wright Museum of African American History
  • Singer Lurlene Nichols, community member
  • Pianist Tim Ries, SC4 student
  • Actress Marilyn Moncrief, pastor, licensed practical nurse and member of the SC4 Global Diversity Advisory Council
  • SONS Talented Tenth

Admission is free. For details or more information, call Debbie Sta Cruz at 810-989-5760.

TRIO student finds a new path forward at SC4

Employed for more than 10 years installing commercial fences, Thomas Short learned he was without a job when his company went under.

“I had to start over,” Short said. “I tried to find another steady job but a lot of the outdoor jobs I was qualified for are not steady and can end at any time.”

Due to the loss of his financial stability, Short says he began heading down a rough path, abusing substances and making bad decisions.

“After I lost my house, I was staying at my mother’s house and, with every day getting worse than the previous day, I knew something had to change,” he said. “I thought about what kind of example I was setting for my children and decided that I would show them the example that I want them to follow.”

Short set out to earn his G.E.D, which took about three or four months. He then was asked if he was going to pursue college.

“That was something I had never thought about,” Short said. “Again thinking about my children, I decided to show them that ‘Dad can do it and so can you.’”

Short enrolled at St. Clair County Community College in 2018 and applied for the TRIO program.

“The last time I attended any kind of school was in the eighth grade,” he said. “When I came to college, I was super nervous about the process and had no clue how a system like this was supposed to work. I heard that TRIO was known for its academic planning.”

Since then, TRIO has helped Short plan and register for classes and generally stay on track. TRIO also provided support services that Short never anticipated.

“TRIO made me feel like part of something bigger than myself,” Short said. “They gave me confidence, and I feel the self-confidence I gained reflected directly into my grades. Trio took the butterflies and self-doubt out of being a brand-new college student, and I am sincerely grateful for the program.”

In addition to the TRIO program, Short says he’s very thankful for the support he’s found in his SC4 professors.

“I have been honored to learn from the most caring and helpful professors that a student could ask for,” he said. “The one-on-one attention has really shown the advantage of a community college. I am grateful for all of my professors, but a few that really stand out for me: Professor Lubbers, who taught me to be more outgoing as a student; Instructor Gentry, who taught me that if I do something great don’t be afraid to let people know that I’ve done something great; and Professor Forsgren and Professor Collard, who challenged my way of thinking and pushed me to challenge myself harder than I ever thought I was capable of.”

Thanks to support from his professors and TRIO, Short continues his forward momentum toward a new career.

“My goal is to get into a steady career in technology so I won’t have to worry about where my children’s next meal will come from,” he said. “Also, part of the reason I started college was to provide a good example for my children to follow and learn from. The ultimate goal is to ready my children for a better future than I was on the way to providing them before. Now here I am, full speed ahead and will never look back.”

SC4 to host 42 basketball teams from 14 counties at upcoming Fieldhouse events

St. Clair County Community College is pleased to host two upcoming basketball tournaments in its Fieldhouse.

The Ed Peltz Holiday Basketball Tournament features 12 games played by boys freshmen, JV and varsity teams on Thursday, Dec. 19, through Saturday, Dec. 21. The tournament is named after Ed Peltz, a longtime special education teacher, administrator, coach and athletic director who passed away in 2009. Peltz coached at Port Huron High School, Port Huron Northern High School and at SC4. Tickets are available at the door for $5, which is good for an entire day of games.

The 2019 SC4 Holiday Basketball Showcase will take place Friday, Dec. 27, through Monday, Dec. 30. The showcase features 42 high school varsity girls and boys teams representing 14 counties. Tickets for the showcase are available at the door for $10, which is good for an entire day of games.

“These events provide great opportunities for K-12 students from in and outside our region to play at a collegiate facility and explore downtown Port Huron,” said SC4 Director of Athletics Dale Vos. “I encourage anyone to come down to the Fieldhouse to see some great basketball.”

Schedules for both tournaments are listed below.

Ed Peltz Holiday Basketball Tournament Schedule

Thursday, Dec. 19
4:30 p.m. – Grosse Pointe South vs. Croswell-Lexington (freshmen boys)
6 p.m. – Port Huron vs. Port Huron Northern (freshmen boys)
7:30 p.m. – Port Huron High vs. Port Huron Northern (JV boys)

Friday, Dec. 20
4:30 p.m. – Grosse Pointe South vs. Cros-Lex (JV boys)
6 p.m. – Grosse Pointe South vs. Cros-Lex (varsity boys)
7:30 p.m. – Port Huron vs. Port Huron Northern (varsity boys)

Saturday, Dec. 21
10 a.m. – Freshmen Consolation Game
11:30 a.m. – Freshmen Championship
1 p.m. – JV Consolation Game
2:30 p.m. – JV Championship
4:30 p.m. – Varsity Consolation Game
6 p.m. – Varsity Championship

2019 SC4 Holiday Basketball Showcase Schedule

Friday, Dec. 27
11:30 a.m. – Capac vs. Cass City (girls)
1 p.m. – Corunna vs. Port Huron High (girls)
2:30 p.m. – St. Clair vs. Imlay City (girls)
4 p.m. – St. Clair vs. Imlay City (boys)
5:30 p.m. – Lowell vs. Marine City (girls)
7 p.m. – Chelsea vs. Grosse Pointe South (girls)
8:30 p.m. – Cros-Lex vs. Flint Southwestern Academy (boys)

Saturday, Dec. 28
11 a.m. – Armada vs. Anchor Bay (boys)
12:30 p.m. – New Haven Merritt Academy vs. Capac (boys)
2 p.m. – Lake Shore vs. Flint Southwestern Academy (girls)
3:30 p.m. – Lake Shore vs. Yale (boys)
5:30 p.m. – Marysville vs. Lake Fenton (girls)
7 p.m. – Marysville vs. Madison Heights Bishop Foley (boys)
8:30 p.m. – Port Huron High vs. Detroit Loyola (boys)

Monday, Dec. 30
11 a.m. – Clintondale vs. New Standard Academy Flint (boys)
12:30 p.m. – Marlette vs. Yale (girls)
2 p.m. – Marlette vs. Roscommon (boys)
3:30 p.m. – Detroit East English Village vs. Detroit Collegiate Prep at Northwestern (boys)
5:30 p.m. – Dearborn Henry Ford Academy vs. Anchor Bay (girls)
7 p.m. – Temperance Bedford vs. Port Huron Northern (girls)
8:30 p.m. – Port Huron Northern vs. Detroit Douglass Academy (boys)

Call 810-989-5513 for more information.

SC4 announces Skippers Dance Team

St. Clair County Community College is pleased to announce a collegiate level Skippers Dance Team beginning in the winter 2020 semester.

Through a SC4 Athletics partnership with the Huron Physical Arts Center (HPAC) in downtown Port Huron, the team will be coached by Laurie Charron, owner and head coach of the State, Regional and National Champion Starlites Competitive Dance Team organization.

“We’re pleased to offer this new opportunity for students,” said SC4 Director of Athletics Dale Vos. “Many high schools and colleges offer dance teams, and this partnership with Laurie and the Huron Physical Arts Center provides another great way for more students to become actively involved on campus and continue their passion for dance at a collegiate level right here in our region.”

The Skippers Dance team is open to any SC4 student who wishes to audition. The team will start training in January and is expected to perform at SC4 basketball games this season, as well as possibly during the NJCAA National Women’s Basketball Championship at SC4 in March.

Future plans include the opportunity to compete against other college and university teams in the open division at competitive dance events next year.

“We have many dancers in our community who are always looking for more opportunities to do what they love,” Charron said. “We’re thrilled to partner with SC4 on this new collegiate-level dance team.”

Interested students can call Charron at 810-984-5861 for further information about this new opportunity.