The SC4 Foundation and two Community Foundation donor-advised funds will gift a new Tarbosaurus skeleton cast to St. Clair County Community College’s Experience Center as part of a growing commitment to support the college’s long-term Experience Center vision and expansion.
The 33rd Annual Raymond T. Dunbar Jr. Sanilac County Academic Games will take place this Saturday, Feb. 9, on St. Clair County Community College’s Port Huron Campus.
During the Academic Games, hundreds of students and coaches representing seven school districts in Sanilac County come together to challenge each other in four academic areas: science, mathematics, social studies and language arts.
The day will consist of three rounds of questioning to determine the winning school. Competition kicks off at 9 a.m., and the final round begins at 12:30 p.m. Questions are written by SC4 faculty members, who also will judge the competition.
Participating districts in the 2019 Academic Games include Sandusky Community Schools, Peck Community Schools, Marlette Community Schools, Deckerville Community Schools, Croswell-Lexington Community Schools, Carsonville-Port Sanilac Schools and Brown City Schools.
For more information about the 2019 Academic Games, contact SC4 Achievement Center and International Students Specialist Bonnie Romzek at bromzek@sc4.edu.
Photo: Jeffrey M. Smith
There was no question where Brenda Seppo was going to college after graduating from Port Huron Northern in 1976.
Her parents, W. Helen and the late Harley Smith, both taught classes at St. Clair County Community College.
“Both of my parents taught there, so we had little choice as to where we were going,” said Seppo, 60, of Lakeport. “It was a good choice anyway — a good place to get an education.”
Today, Seppo — who founded the church outreach organization Operation Transformation with her husband, the Rev. Dr. Thomas Seppo — is one of three generations of women in her family to earn an SC4 degree.
Her mother graduated with an associate degree in nursing in the early 1960s and earned her bachelor’s from Michigan State University. She returned to SC4 and taught in the college’s nursing program for 25 years, retiring in 1991.
Seppo received an associate of arts degree in 1977, and her daughter, Rebecca Achatz of Casco, graduated from the nursing program in 2003.
“SC4 gave me a very good liberal arts background that I have used in many instances in my life,” Seppo said.
Her father taught political science and history at the college for more than 30 years, retiring in 2003, and would often drive to satellite campuses in the thumb to teach night classes.
Seppo said SC4 gave her an excellent start.
“I was a cheerleader for SC4 with the basketball team,” she said. “I was working part time and took classes year-round. I was able to graduate in December and saved myself a semester.”
Seppo then attended Eastern Michigan University, graduating with a bachelor’s in education and social science. After returning to Port Huron, she was a stay-at-home mom, caring for Achatz and the couple’s other two children, Andrea Schultz of St. Clair and Dr. Andrew Seppo of Holland.
“When I had Rebecca, Mom was already up at the hospital with her students when she was born,” Seppo laughed. “Rebecca was actually the demonstration model.”
Seppo wasn’t surprised her daughter followed her grandmother’s footsteps into nursing, which she notes as “one of the things SC4 is most famous for.” Achatz made it through the program in two years, becoming a registered nurse at age 20 and now working for Beacon Health Care.
“Rebecca always wanted to be a nurse probably from junior high on,” she said. “There was really no other way to look at it, because the education there with the nursing program was excellent for the value.”
She added SC4 gives students an opportunity to learn how to tackle college classes while still living close to home.
“They were challenging,” Seppo said. “You have to take basic classes anyway, so why pay two or three times the amount? That’s why we had all three of our kids take some classes here. It’s a good transition, too. You have to learn time management and the class sizes are smaller. Again, it made for really easy transition for all of us.”
Students of all ages and their families are invited to attend the Explore Your Future Career event from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 9, in St. Clair County Community College’s Applied Technology Center.
The annual event, hosted in partnership between SC4 and Michigan State University Extension, gives attendees the opportunity to tour facilities, conduct hands-on, career-focused activities and speak directly with highly experienced faculty members from both institutions. Attendees will also have the chance to speak with on-site admission representatives to learn about program offerings and the advantages of going to college.
More than 20 career pathways across multiple industries will be open for exploration, including:
The event is free and open to the public, and advanced registration is not required. For more information, contact Tom Kephart at 810-989-5571 or tkephart@sc4.edu.
