Category: Alumni

Globetrotting professional women’s basketball player grateful for SC4 experience

When she joined the St. Clair County Community College Skippers women’s basketball team in 2012, Rachel Kehoe never imagined her basketball career would lead her to play with professional teams in France, Spain, Malta, Germany, Serbia, Finland, Ireland and now Denmark.

“I chose SC4 because I liked how I fit with athletics and academics,” said the St. Clair High School graduate. “I also liked that there was one central campus.”

While Kehoe was with the Skippers, the team won the league, regional and state championships twice and competed in the national tournament.

But it wasn’t just on the court where Kehoe found support and success.

“I had some great SC4 teachers who were passionate about their work and subject,” she said. “They were always available to us for questions, feedback or guidance. Kraig Archer, Charles Meeker and Mary Kennedy were a few of my favorites. Plus, the staff of the Student Center—especially Brenda Rinke—was always helpful and my work as a student ambassador allowed me to be more involved in the community as well.”

Kehoe earned her Associate of Science degree in 2015 and transferred to Eastern Michigan University where she played on the Eagles women’s basketball team and studied psychology and communication. She graduated with her bachelor’s degree from EMU in 2016.

Since graduation, Kehoe has experienced great success overseas. Some of her most notable accomplishments include winning the league and the Louis Borge Cup with her team in Malta. She was also recognized on the All-Tournament team (2017) and Second All-Tournament Team (2018) in the Mediterranean Cup.

Kehoe signed with the Lemvig VP out of Denmark in January 2020 and looks forward to continued growth as a professional player.

Though a few years have gone by, she still credits SC4 for playing a large role in her success.

“SC4 helped prepare me for the next step in both my education and in basketball,” she said. “I benefitted from smaller class sizes and a warm and welcoming community. I left a lot more confident in myself and my future.”

Qatar native finds friendship, encouragement and passion at SC4

Qatar native Nasser Al-Attiyah found friendship, influential professors and a new passion nearly halfway around the world at St. Clair County Community College in Port Huron, Mich.

Nasser Al-Attiyah graduated in 2007 from Qatar Academy, an international I.B. school in Doha, Qatar. Connected to the Port Huron area through family members who had previously attended SC4, Al-Attiyah enrolled at the college in fall 2010.

“My cousin, a Port Huron local at the time, called SC4 an excellent starting spot for pursuing higher education,” Al-Attiyah said.

While at SC4, he joined the music club and participated in various campus activities, served as a student speaker for multiple events, and started his Tang Soo Do study at PKSA Karate Port Huron.

“Clubs and campus activities allowed me to bond with people at the college,” he said. “I met a few other students whom I am still in contact with today. Being able to break the initial barrier of meeting new people in a completely new environment at that stage was crucial to my acclimation. They were some great people too.”

According to Al-Attiyah, other great people he met included college faculty and staff members.

“Patricia and Jim Frank still remain as two of the most influential professors I’ve ever had at any level. They constantly pushed boundaries and prioritize learning and engaging discussions over grades and homework quotas,” he said. “And the administration as a whole was incredibly supportive when anything got confusing or needed straightening out. Pete Lacey, Carrie Bearss, and Angel Niederkohr, in particular, went above and beyond to make sure I was settled in and had everything in order. I am forever grateful for all they did.”

Al-Attiyah transferred from SC4 to Arizona State University in 2012 to study international agribusiness (food security issues) and earned his Bachelor of Science degree in 2016.

Since graduation, he enlisted in Qatar’s Military Officer Cadet Program and currently holds the rank of Lieutenant. Following that, he joined Qatar’s government-run agricultural company Hassad Qatar where he is a member of the team that oversees operations.

Al-Attiyah also continued his training in Tang Soo Do. He earned a second degree black belt in 2018 and participated in the 16th World Tang Soo Do Championship, representing Qatar for the first time in the tournament as the sole member of the team, and winning the gold medal in heavyweight sparring on his first try.

“I have since been recognized as the highest-ranking Tang Soo Do black belt in Qatar (and the Gulf region as a whole), all thanks to the Tang Soo Do school which was initially across the street from SC4 in downtown Port Huron,” he said. “I still attend and visit twice a year to train with the same instructors that have been training me for more than nine years.”

While he aspires to further his martial arts training and open up his own school, Al-Attiyah really wants to lead the charge in advancing agriculture in his region.

“As one of the few people truly specialized in this field, it has become my responsibility to educate and inform as much as possible to help develop this sector,” Al-Attiyah said. “With my background and experiences at SC4 and ASU, I feel well equipped to have a great impact.”

SC4 alumnus making mark on communities and youth in Arizona, Washington

St. Clair County Community College alumnus Sean Barton is committed to providing stability and growth for communities and youth through sports and education.

Barton currently serves as director of curriculum and strategic initiatives at STEM Sports in Phoenix where he leads strategic planning efforts and manages and develops a curriculum that fuses STEM and sports for students in grades K through 8. Prior to that in Phoenix, he worked as chief operating officer at the NABI Foundation, which provides educational programs for Native youth.

“I feel fortunate and blessed to be compensated financially for my work – helping others through servant leadership in the education and athletic sphere. Yet the greatest compensation comes from doing something every day that is intrinsically valuable/that I love.”

Barton also left a sizeable footprint in the state of Washington via his roles at the Archdiocese of Seattle and the French American School of Puget Sound. He worked as the assistant director of athletics at the Archdiocese of Seattle and served as athletics director, extended day director, middle school physical education teacher and summer camp program director at the French American School of Puget Sound.

“The opportunity to work in settings that provide stability and growth for communities and youth brings me immense joy,” Barton said. “I aspire to continuously embrace and capitalize on opportunities that support educators, students, and parents and families throughout my career. This includes both professional and personal/volunteer work.”

A Port Huron Northern High School graduate, Barton attended SC4 on a basketball scholarship from 1996 to 1998. He attended SC4 again in 2005.

“SC4 provides a valuable, financially responsible academic experience for an array of ambitious minds, young and mature,” he said. “I had several quality courses and instructors during my tenure at SC4, which provided a solid foundation to succeed in both my academic and professional endeavors.”

Barton transferred his earned credits in 2006 to the University of Phoenix in Bellevue, Wash., graduating in 2008 with a bachelor’s degree in business administration. He then went on to earn a master’s degree in business administration with a focus on entrepreneurship from Northcentral University in 2014.

SC4 a great place to start according to alumnus Dan Damman

Attorney Daniel A. Damman says there’s no debate about it: St. Clair County Community College is the best place for area students to start their higher education.

A 1994 St. Clair High School graduate, Damman (pictured above with wife Therese) attended SC4 for two years, earned a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology from Michigan State University in 1999 and earned his Juris Doctorate from Wayne State University Law School in 2002.

After law school, Damman took over a New Baltimore law firm, changed the name to Damman Law Firm, PLC, and eventually moved it to Marysville and then St. Clair. He helped form Lord, Damman and VanDrew, PLC, in 2006 with partner Ken Lord and Dana VanDrew and later Damman VanDrew, PLC.

In June 2015 Damman and Nicole Winston founded the litigation firm Winston and Damman, PLLC, where they continue to practice law, including criminal defense, divorce and family law, personal injury, wrongful death and social security disability.

Damman, 44, formerly of Marysville and now St. Clair Township, was elected to the Marysville City Council in 2011 and mayor in 2013. He served three terms before stepping down to enter the candidacy for judge of the 31st Circuit Court. He and his wife, Therese, have two children, Emily, 20, and Mason, 18.

He said he decided his senior year of high school to attend SC4 after graduation and began in the fall of 1994.

“Being the youngest of four children – and the youngest by nearly nine years, I was not ready to leave my parents’ home,” Damman said. “I also wasn’t exactly sure where I wanted to go to obtain my bachelor’s degree.

“SC4 gave me some time to transition from high school into adulthood, obtain a great education at a fraction of the cost of a four-year university, get some college credits under my belt, and time to figure out where I wanted to go next.”

Damman said SC4 allowed him to obtain an excellent education from some extraordinary instructors close to home.

“I went to SC4 for two years; my wife attended SC4; my daughter attended SC4, first through dual enrollment and then for a year after high school; and my son attends SC4 right now through dual enrollment. SC4 was crucial in starting me on the path to where I am today, and I am proud to be a SC4 alumnus.”

In addition to proximity and quality instruction, Damman said SC4 is a smart financial decision for anyone considering higher education.

“What is crystal clear at this point in my life is that SC4 is one of the crown jewels of our area and people are wise to take advantage of what it has to offer. With the soaring cost of higher education, the ability for a high school student to earn college credits at no cost to the student, or his/her family, through dual enrollment or the Blue Water Middle College should be a no-brainer.

“Attending SC4 after graduation to earn credits at a fraction of the cost of a four-year university should also be given careful consideration for those students who want to start his or her education without back-breaking student debt. I believe that viewed through just about any lens, SC4 presents opportunity for everyone.”