CALLING THE HERO IN EACH OF US

LETTER FROM THE PRESIDENT

NICK NISSLEY, PRESIDENT

I ALWAYS wondered what it would be like to be a superhero.

This spring I had a little taste when I dressed up as “Captain Hawk Owl” for our college’s Big Little Hero Race. It’s a fabulous experiential learning event hosted by our business communications students to benefit Big Brothers Big Sisters.

In some ways, being the president of Northwestern Michigan College is like being a superhero. I get to help students achieve their goals and see their dreams come true! But more often than not, the real work happens a lot slower than my 5k pace and involves meetings, planning, collaboration and compromise.

We’d like to think solving complex and systemic problems can be done at superhuman speed by some masked marvel, but the reality would make for a pretty dull summer blockbuster on the big screen.

The bright side is that we all have an opportunity to be part of the solution and to be a hero in the story. In fact, it will take all of us working together to solve our community’s challenges.

My job isn’t to carry the weight of the world, but to make sure NMC is at the table and part of the conversation. Especially in a community like ours, we simply cannot wait for a hero to save us. We all have to show up, do the hard work, have patience and persistence and know we are making progress, even if it isn’t done at the speed of sound.

In this issue of Nexus you will read incredible stories of how NMC faculty and staff—our real superheroes—are working to make our college and community a better place, for our students and citizens. I am so proud of our Hawk Owl heroes and am proud to be part of a community that works together to do hard things.

SETTING A COURSE FOR COLLEGE

Fifth graders learn about potential career paths.

BEYOND THE EXHIBITIONS

Dennos Museum Center shifts focus to collections preservation

NMC ESPORTS

NMC'S varsity esports program is growing and is adding three new teams for 2022–23.

INSIDE MY BAG

NMC and Michigan Reconnect transform adult learner’s college experience

BALANCING TRADE-OFFS

What if the tradeoff you must make for your workday isn’t 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, northern Michigan residents confront these tradeoffs every day.