Category: Community

Alumni Spotlight: Joe Burgett Rachwal

Current or most recent title and employer?
District Community Leader/WomenHeart Champion at WomenHeart the National Coalition for Women with Heart Disease

How did SC4 help prepare you?
The Communications program helped me hone my writing skills in print media, confidence in public speaking, and a strong skill set in fund development and events planning.

What do you like most about what you do professionally?
Sharing my personal story nationally and participating as a peer support educator annually at the WomenHeart Science and Leadership Symposium at Mayo Clinic.

Did you transfer on and earn other degrees? If so, what degrees and from where?
I transferred to UM-Flint to continue my pursuit of a degree in communications, journalism and women’s studies.

Alumni Spotlight: Abigail Davis

Current or most recent title and employer?
Human Resources Intern at BorgWarner

How did SC4 help prepare you?
SC4 helped prepare me for University by offering affordable classes. I was able to get an associate degree before becoming a transfer student.

What do you like most about what you do professionally?
I love helping other employees.

Did you transfer on and earn other degrees? If so, what degrees and from where?
I graduate from Oakland University in April 2023 with a Bachelor of Science in Human Resources and Development.

Challenger Learning Center at SC4 announces April 8 public mission date

>>> Register here

Challenger Learning Center at St. Clair County Community College (SC4) will launch visitors to the moon with Mission: Lunar Quest at 10 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. on Saturday, April 8. The mission date is open to the public and limited to the first 34 registrants. Seats on the mission are $25 per person and those ages 10-99+ are welcome!

Challenger Learning Center at SC4 is the only Center of its kind in Michigan and one of 40 Challenger Learning Centers nationwide and around the world. It is a fully immersive, space-themed experience aimed at deepening understanding and appreciation of STEM careers and topics and building critical 21st-century skills. It offers unique learning and team-building opportunities for students, educators, corporations and community residents.

Mission participants will launch to the moon in search of a long-term human habitat, command and assist in Mission Control, or board the Spacecraft as an astronaut, serving on teams like biology, geology, weather, robotics, life support and more. They will help deploy a Lunar Exploration Rover to investigate areas of the lunar surface and make critical decisions to turn a potential catastrophe into NASA’s finest hour.

Challenger Center was founded in 1986 in the aftermath of the Challenger shuttle tragedy. The families of the crew came together and created Challenger Center to carry on the spirit of their loved ones and continue the Challenger crew’s educational mission. Challenger Center, with its network of Challenger Learning Centers and digital programs, has reached more than 5.5 million students and learners worldwide.

Register for the April 8 mission at stclair.nbsstore.net/community-missions. Mission: Lunar Quest is open to learners in 5th grade and beyond. Support may be available. Contact us with inquiries and questions at experiencecenter@sc4.edu or (810) 989-5789.

To schedule a full group mission at another time, visit challenger.sc4.edu/schedule-a-visit/.

Please note the mission date set for May 20 has been postponed. Please check challenger.sc4.edu often for other future open mission dates.

SC4 hosts SkillsUSA Regional Welding Competition

St. Clair County Community College (SC4) was pleased to host the SkillsUSA Regional Welding Competition on Friday, Feb. 10, in the Acheson Technology Center. Longtime SC4 welding professor Joseph McFalda served as the competition facilitator.

The approximately 30 junior and senior students competing at SC4 came from St. Clair County TEC, Oakland Schools Technical Campuses (OSTC), Warren Consolidated Schools and Centerline Public Schools (CPC).

Students receive a blueprint and precut metal at the competition. They are then judged on skill as well as how clean and safely each piece is welded in four categories: gas metal arc welding, gas tungsten arc welding, shielded metal arc welding, and overall.

Winners, who will now go on to compete in the state competition, included:

Gas metal arc welding
1st place – Lucas Jones – CPC
2nd Place – Derek Buckles – CPC
3rd Place – Carter Belian – CPC

Shielded metal arc welding
1st place – Scott Pauly – St. Clair County TEC
2nd Place – Gregory Jones – St. Clair County TEC
3rd Place – Remington Koveck – St. Clair County TEC

Gas tungsten arc welding
1st Place – Zachary Vanbuskirk – St. Clair County TEC
2nd Place – Colin Turzak – OSTC
3rd Place – Dylan Emmert – St. Clair County TEC

Overall
1st Place – Lukas Morris – St. Clair County TEC
2nd Place – Logan Fiedler – St. Clair County TEC
3rd Place – Derek Gurne – St. Clair County TEC

“Welders are needed more now than ever,” said McFalda, who’s been judging competitions for more than 15 years. “This type of competition takes students out of their comfort zone and simulates going in for a job interview or a job test, where everything is new. They don’t know what to do sometimes or what to expect. It’s a little more real-world for them.”

He added, “Students can make a very good living being a welder. They can spend an entire career getting better as they go. I’ve been doing it for 45 years. I’ve never tired of it and am still learning and getting better.”