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Typically I turn off the video, and the audio clarifies. Until I started working on this issue’s cover story, I considered it a relatively minor, infrequent inconvenience: Trade off the video, temporarily, to fix the audio. Forge forward with my workday.
But what if the tradeoff you must make for your workday isn’t so minor or temporary? Say you can’t find daycare for your kids. Or that your commute is an hour, because you can’t afford to live closer to your job. Maybe both.
As our story “Solving the Workforce Puzzle” explains (page 8), northern Michigan residents confront these tradeoffs every day.
Some are familiar, some newer, but now, judged in the harsh light cast by the pandemic, more individuals and families are concluding the tradeoffs aren’t worth the drain on their “system resources” of time, money and energy. They leave the workforce. Many others find their lives like the tower on our cover—precariously balanced, quality subject to collapse. That pop-up warning from Zoom started to seem prescient.
Warnings lead to awareness, which is the first step to problem-solving. Hopefully, our story sheds light and helps bring that awareness. Now, more system resources must be directed toward solutions that will stabilize people’s lives. The quality of life we prize in northern Michigan hangs in the balance. N
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SETTING A COURSE FOR COLLEGE
Fifth graders learn about potential career paths.
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BEYOND THE EXHIBITIONS
Dennos Museum Center shifts focus to collections preservation
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NMC ESPORTS
NMC'S varsity esports program is growing and is adding three new teams for 2022–23.
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CALLING THE HERO IN EACH OF US
Nick Nissley reflects on why being the president of Northwestern Michigan college is akin to being a superhero after participating in the Big Little Hero Race.
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INSIDE MY BAG
NMC and Michigan Reconnect transform adult learner’s college experience
1
SETTING A COURSE FOR COLLEGE
Fifth graders learn about potential career paths.
2
SOLVING THE WORKFORCE PUZZLE
NMC is working with other regional leaders to solve the workforce puzzle, but it’s proving tricky. Complex, interlocking factors including a skills gap, a lack of child care and attainable housing, transportation issues, broadband internet gaps and an aging population, all exacerbated by COVID-19, have created structural instability that threatens economic growth and quality of life.
3
DEEP WATER EXPLORER
Adult student finds success after second plunge into college
4
MOMENTUM OF THE MOMENT
5
DRAKE'S DISCIPLES
Steve Drake has taught at Northwestern Michigan College for over 50 years, instructing multiple fellow NMC faculty members during his tenure.
6
2021 OUTSTANDING ALUMNI SELECTED
The 2021 selection features alumni who have been chosen for their professional achievements and/or leadership in the local or global community.
