Category: Alumni

SC4 names Randy Fernandez 2018 Alumnus of the Year

Marysville City Manager Randy Fernandez has been named the 2018 St. Clair County Community College Alumnus of the Year.

“SC4 played a big part in my life and helped prepare me for my career serving this community,” Fernandez said. “I’m very humbled and honored to receive this special recognition.”

Not only did he attend the college but so did his five siblings, two sons and even four nephews. The oldest of six, Fernandez, 62, shares his alumni status with his three brothers, Marty, Jeff and Ralph, Jr.; two sisters, Paula McVety and Laura Ann Nesbitt, a middle school counselor in Fort Gratiot; two sons, Mitchell and Matthew, and their mother, Shelly; and nephews, Garrett, Grant, Nelson and Bailey.

The State of Michigan’s first Hispanic city manager, Fernandez has spent the last seven years with the City of Marysville — nearly five as city manager — and was previously employed for more than 28 years with the City of Port Huron. While in Port Huron he served as the city treasurer, water supervisor and city assessor. For a time, he was also director of Port Huron’s Downtown Development Authority and general manager of McMorran Auditorium.

The Port Huron native graduated from Port Huron Central as class vice president in 1974 before attending SC4 on a partial tennis scholarship and earning his associate degree. He then went on to earn his bachelor’s from the University of Michigan and master’s from Central Michigan University.

“I truly enjoyed my experience at SC4,” he said. “I recommend it to every student or parent who asks. I think it’s the way to go.”

Fernandez said he formed good study habits and life skills at the college that have stayed with him long beyond his years there.

“St. Clair County Community College helped me develop my time management skills better,” he said. “I’m very proud to have Michigan and Central Michigan degrees, but I’m equally proud to tell people I have a degree from St. Clair County Community College.”

Fernandez said he reinforced the importance of a getting a good educational start at the local community college with his sons Mitchell and Matthew throughout their childhood.

“SC4 plays a critically important role in our community; it’s helped me, my family and countless others reach their goals,” Fernandez said. “I’m proud to support the college as it builds toward an even brighter future.”

Free College Day: Call for instructors and speakers

St. Clair County Community College will host its 17th annual Free College Day Saturday, March 16, 2019, and is seeking instructors and speakers for the event.

This college-wide community outreach program offers a day of free, hour-long classes between 9 a.m. and 2:30 p.m. for learners of all ages. Last year, community members filled close to 2,000 seats in 107 classes.

Faculty and staff members, as well as community members interested in teaching classes that highlight their area of expertise, are welcome to sign up to teach. Please contact Debbie Sta Cruz at (810) 989-5760 or dstacruz@sc4.edu with questions or to sign up today.

For the Wiltons, Success at Blue Water Middle College Academy Runs in the Family

The Blue Water Middle College Academy gave Sharon Wilton’s two daughters a jump on the game with free associate degrees thanks to the partnership between the St. Clair County Regional Educational Service Agency, area school districts and St. Clair County Community College.

Wilton, March of Dimes development manager, said she is amazed at the paths her daughters, Emily and Meghan, have taken since earning degrees from the Middle College, which gives students an opportunity to earn a free associate degree by attending school an extra year.

“All the professors were very welcoming to the Middle College students,” she said. “They helped prepare students for college at a young age, gave them confidence to complete college-level work and provided support along the way.”

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Emily, 22, enrolled in the Middle College as a junior in 2012 while attending Port Huron Northern High School. She was president of SC4’s Phi Theta Kappa Honor Society her senior year and graduated with honors in 2015 with a liberal arts degree in addition to earning her high school diploma – all at no cost to her and her family.

She went on to Northwood University in Midland, Michigan, taking accelerated courses to earn bachelor’s and master’s degrees in business administration. She was Northwood’s student government president, awarded the school’s prestigious Arthur E. Turner Award and inducted into its Gallery of Distinction.

Emily now works at the Midland Brewing Co. on a consulting project. She and Northwood classmate Sydnie Michael have started a homemade pasta business, Pastamico, and sell at the Midland Farmers Market and in the Bay City-Saginaw area.

Wilton said both Emily and Meghan were captains of Northern’s color guard, held jobs and taught dance classes while attending the Middle College.

“Middle College requires that students work hard because they have classes at the high school and college until their 13th year,” she said. “But they definitely can still work or participate in sports at the same time.”

IMG_1426 (1)Meghan, 19, also a Northern BWMCA high school student, finished Middle College in May. After transferring 64 credits, Meghan is attending Grand Valley State University for hospitality and tourism management, working part time and still helping with color guard.

Wilton herself earned an associate degree from SC4 in 1996 and received her bachelor’s from Baker College and master’s from its Center for Graduate Studies.

“I do have parents ask me if I would recommend Middle College, and I definitely do,” she said. “I think it’s a wonderful program. I am very proud of both of them and grateful they had this opportunity in St. Clair County.”

SC4 president puts the emphasis on ‘community’ with new Experience Center

St. Clair County Community College President Dr. Deborah Snyder began in her role in 2016 focused on enhancing the student experience and re-establishing the college as an integral community partner.

That’s why just four months into her term the visionary alumna, who had already launched numerous other initiatives, boarded a bus with SC4 faculty and staff members to visit the Ann Arbor Hands-On Museum.

“I had the idea then to connect Ann Arbor specialists and resources with college experts to bring hands-on STEAM learning opportunities to our current and future students in the Blue Water Area,” Dr. Snyder says. “That kind of broader partnership, to my knowledge, has not existed in a community college setting in Michigan, so I’m sure it was a little ‘outside of the box’ initially for some people.”

Only two years later, Dr. Snyder’s vision has become a reality.

Read more from The Keel’s feature story on the Experience Center.