Kevin Miller, an area native, long-time local educator and current superintendent of St. Clair County RESA, has been named the 2017 St. Clair County Community College Alumnus of the Year.
Miller said he is honored by the award. “SC4 was a big part of preparing me for my career. My communications degree from SC4 certainly paved the way for my role today.”
“I wasn’t ready to go away to college at age 18. Also, I was paying my own tuition and was very conscious of money. SC4 allowed me to get a true college experience without all the cost, travel and while being able to live at home,” Miller said.
In May, 1980 at age 20, Miller took off to look for a job in the Tampa Bay area, a place his family had visited when he was young. He was armed with a pile of resumes, a clean suit of clothes, four years of real-world experience and his associate degree from SC4.
After seven years in Tampa he knew he wanted to raise his fledgling family in the Blue Water Area. In 1992, he completed his education degree from Wayne State University, and worked as a teacher in Marysville, a building administrator in East China, and superintendent at Croswell-Lexington before joining RESA as director of Administrative Services in 2015. He became superintendent at RESA upon Dan DeGrow’s retirement earlier this year.
At RESA, he is working to strengthen a growing partnership between SC4 and the county’s seven public K-12 districts.
“SC4 has always been a gem, but I think now they really get that they’re a true presence in the community,” Miller said.
Miller fondly names some of his instructors from his two years at SC4, including Robert Tansky, Wes Fritz, Harley Smith, Tom Mooney, Ed VanderHeuvel and Dick Groch.
“To this day, those are some of the best memories of the many, many days I spent in college at several institutions. That I look back on them as some of the best connections I made in college life is a reflection of the great experience I had at SC4,” he said.
He said he looks ahead to working more closely with SC4 and President Dr. Deborah Snyder in expanding opportunities for county students.
“SC4 is and remains an integral part of our community,” Miller said. “I’m proud to be a graduate, and proud to continue to work hand in hand with SC4 for our area’s future.”
