Category: Learning

Mission Accomplished: Marine City woman completes nursing degree with boost from scholarship

Dec. 13 marked a major achievement for Nikki Leonard, 24, of Marine City. She graduated from the Licensed Practical Nurse program at St. Clair County Community College.

From her earliest years, Nikki says she knew someday she would be a nurse. So, she started taking pre-requisite courses for nursing and then decided to take a break from school before entering the program at SC4. During her break, she decided to test the waters of the medical field and become a certified nurse aide. Following the month-long class, she got a job as a CNA at Medilodge of St. Clair. It was then that life threw her a curveball. Her mother got very sick.

Read more of Nikki’s story from The Keel.

SC4 president joins Michigan Virtual Board of Directors

St. Clair County Community College President Deborah Snyder, Ph.D., recently was appointed to the Michigan Virtual Board of Directors for a three-year term.

Michigan Virtual, formally known as Michigan Virtual University, partners with more than 500 districts in the state of Michigan to provide online courses and supplemental programs for Michigan students and professional development for educators. It is the parent organization of the Michigan Virtual Learning Research Institute.

Dr. Snyder has extensive experience and expertise in higher education and online learning. Among other positions, she served as president and chief academic officer of Cogswell College in California, senior vice provost of academic programs at Strayer University in Washington, D.C., professor and chairwoman for the management and marketing department at Capella University, director of extended learning at University of Michigan-Flint, and dean of online learning and professor of marketing at Walsh College, where she was instrumental in creating the school’s online courses.

Additionally, Dr. Snyder has authored three books and two entries in encyclopedias of educational technology. Her latest book, “Old School, New School, No-School,” examines the recalibration of higher education and guides college administrators, faculty, counselors and parents who seek to prepare students for the accelerating changes taking place in the world around them.

“Dr. Snyder is known as a pioneer in online education,” said Michigan Virtual President and CEO Jamey Fitzpatrick. “We are grateful to have her support, knowledge and expertise, and are thrilled to welcome her to our Board.”

Dr. Snyder was awarded the 2018 Blue Water Woman’s Educator of the Year Award. She has a Ph.D. in organizational communication, a master’s degree in business administration and a bachelor’s degree in psychology from Wayne State University. She also attended SC4.

Students, local businesses benefit from a graphic design program that goes far beyond the classroom

For the last three years, local businesses from Port Huron to Lexington, Michigan, have been building their brands with the help of students from St. Clair County Community College’s Graphic Design program. The students are enrolled in Graphic Design I and II courses led by Adjunct Instructor Chris Krolczyk, who has helped make practical application and work with real clients a staple of the curriculum.

The projects began in earnest when the City of Port Huron reached out to Krolczyk’s classes for help designing an “Explore Port Huron” map of retailers, restaurants, coffee shops and other hot spots around the city. Then when Cedar Sub and Salad — a Middle Eastern restaurant in downtown Port Huron — was getting ready to open, they came to Krolczyk for help. This presented a perfect opportunity for students to think bigger.

“The owner was in the process of gutting an old Subway restaurant and told me ‘I have a name, but I don’t have a logo, brand or anything.’ So we started executing that, with each student creating their own design and ultimately settling on one,” Krolczyk said. “Not only did the class get to develop the business’ brand identity, but we were asked to help design the interior of the restaurant, too. It was a great experience.”

Graphic Design Class Presents to Client02Last year, his classes worked with Water Tower Sports Pub in Lexington to create a new logo, social media ads and two menus. This year, they started working with Chef Shell’s, a well-known restaurant and catering company that has been serving Port Huron for the last 20 years.

“Everyone we’ve worked with has been very supportive and excited about partnering with the college,” Krolczyk said. “They realize it’s a benefit to their business and our students.”

With Chef Shell’s, the classes are working on different projects throughout the year, designing a new house menu, catering menu and labels for the company’s spices and sauces. The first step was all about establishing the art direction. Once that is set, everything else can fall into place.

Graphic Design Presentation 02“These projects are all about practical application, working with real-world clients, going through the procedures and attacking every aspect from concept through production,” Krolczyk said. “It gives our students, whether they are moving on to a four-year institution or elsewhere, the ability to enter the workplace with real-world experience and real work to put in their portfolios, which is more important than anything else when you’re trying to build your career.”

The classes were given the current menu, logo and color scheme, and each student was asked to develop their unique interpretation. In late October, students presented their concepts to the business owners, who narrowed it to two designs. The classes brought those concepts together to finalize the art direction and design full layouts for the six- to eight-page menu.

Photography Chef Shells01While the focus was on graphic design work, the project also allowed for collaboration with other classes. Students in Adjunct Instructor Mark Rummel’s Digital Imaging and Photography class spent an evening snapping shots of carefully crafted meals to be featured in the menu. And students from Professor Gary Schmitz’s English course were brought in later to proofread and copy edit the nearly finished product.

“It gives our students the chance to experience the whole creative process, working with photographers and editors, and really understanding what it’s like to work collaboratively and be part of a team,” Krolczyk said. “It also helps them realize the constant revision involved in the process and how to take constructive criticism.”

With menu designs from each student in hand, Chef Shell’s faced a tough decision. They ultimately decided on work from two students: a full menu and a layout for a breakfast and beverage insert.

“It’s really been an exciting experience. The students were so engaged and they all presented wonderful ideas,” said co-owner Michelle “Chef Shell” Wrubel. “It was a huge blessing for us. We had been talking about menu design, so the timing was perfect, and the product that we’ve seen has been above and beyond our expectations.”

As the fall semester comes to a close, students are making final adjustments and preparing the menus for print in an important stage that complements the Graphic Design program’s Production Processes course. Next semester, students will work with Chef Shell’s on labels for seasonings and sauces, along with a variety of smaller projects.

Business owners across the community are recognizing the benefits of working with the aspiring graphic designers at SC4. In a small program at a small college, the advantages for students are immeasurable.

“Client-driven opportunities, internships, national competitions and award scholarships are all integral parts of the Associate of Arts in Graphic Design program at SC4,” said Professor of Fine Arts Sarah Flatter. “Collaboration with the community, along with college and classroom collaboration, give students confidence and exposure. The contributions made by instructors Chris Krolczyk, Mark Rummel and Professor Gary Schmitz exemplify what makes our classrooms — and our college — such a fantastic place for students.”

As Krolczyk explains, many of his former students have received full-time job offers right out of the program, while others have gone on to four-year institutions with a leg up on their peers because of the real-world experience these projects provide.

IMG_7935“Being a full-time designer, when I’m working on a project I’m constantly thinking ‘My students should be learning this,’” Krolczyk said. “I want to bring things into the classroom that you’re going to encounter in the workplace, from tasks to critiques to hard deadlines. Fictitious projects can be fun, but when you can base a class on real work with real clients — especially when you’re doing it in your own community — I think it benefits everyone involved.”

Learn more about graphic design at SC4 and find out how to apply in time for the winter 2019 semester. If you are a local business or government agency in need of design work, please contact Professor Sarah Flatter at seflatter@sc4.edu or 810-989-5617.

Alumni spotlight: Callie Oppertshauser

Callie Oppertshauser credits much of her success to the time she spent at St. Clair County Community College.

A Port Huron High School graduate, Oppertshauser, 29, participated in dual enrollment through the Blue Water Middle College Academy for an intermediate algebra class her senior year and graduated in 2008 with a 3.2 grade point average.

“It wasn’t good enough to get into any of the colleges I applied for,” she said. “I didn’t think I was ready to go away. I needed that transition period to learn how to study.”

She attended SC4 for just over two years, including summers, before deciding to transfer her 84 credits to Michigan State University to pursue elementary education.

“SC4 really helped me grow,” Oppertshauser said. “The professors were very supportive and cared. That’s why I didn’t transfer sooner, because I was comfortable and was doing well.

“I really learned how to be a student at SC4,” she continued. “If I would have gone away after the first year, I would have come back home. I learned how to manage my time and get all my work done.”

Oppertshauser graduated from MSU in 2014 with a bachelor’s in dietetics but ultimately accepted a full-time marketing position she had applied for a month earlier with Gannett at Port Huron’s Times Herald newspaper.

In January of this year, she accepted a position at the Port Huron Housing Commission as the administrative assistant to Executive Director Jim Dewey.

“I love the people I work with,” she said. “A lot of them have worked there over 10 years. It’s a great culture, and everyone is committed to serving people who need a helping hand. I’m happy to say that we’re able provide those in need with clean and safe housing.”

Outside of her work for the housing commission, Oppertshauser volunteers as a lunch buddy at Port Huron Schools’ Literacy Academy at Cleveland. The program — which is searching for more volunteers to pair with a long waiting list of students — focuses on mentoring children in grades K-5, helping them form a positive attitude toward school.

“I have been a lunch buddy since the beginning of this school year, and I look forward to it every week,” she says. “Being a mentor for a young student is one of the greatest experiences I’ve ever had. Not only am I making a difference in a child’s life, but my lunch buddy is making a difference in mine as well.”

Oppertshauser explained she wanted to return to Port Huron after school to be close to loved ones. “I love Port Huron,” she said. “I love the water, and I really missed that when I was gone in the middle of the state. I have a very supportive family, and I didn’t want to get too far away.”

Oppertshauser isn’t the first in her family to attend SC4. Her mother, Lura, graduated from Port Huron Northern, while her father, Eric, attended Port Huron High School and earned his associate degree at SC4 on his way to becoming a police officer in Kansas City, Missouri. Her sister, Hillary, a 2010 PHHS graduate, went to SC4 before transferring to Macomb Community College for its early childhood daycare program.

“I’m really proud to have attended SC4,” she added. “It’s helped my whole future, leading me to success at Michigan State and ultimately in my career.”