For correspondence and address updates: 1701 E. Front St. Traverse City, MI 49686 (231) 995-1021
NMC BOARD OF TRUSTEES
Laura J. Oblinger, Chair Rachel A. Johnson, Vice Chair Kenneth E. Warner, Treasurer Andrew K. Robitshek, Secretary Douglas S. Bishop Chris M. Bott Kennard R. Weaver
NMC PRESIDENT
Nick Nissley, Ed.D.
EDITORIAL CONTRIBUTORS
Cari Noga EDITOR, WRITER Diana Fairbanks EDITOR Cara McDonald EDITORIAL CONSULTANT
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EDITOR'S NOTE
WE WELCOME ALL
WELDING STUDENT LOGAN PUTNAM
As I write this, I’m fresh off a seven-state road trip to the Gulf Coast. My family often tracks license plates on long trips like this spring break ritual, but this year, I tracked community college signs.
We ate breakfast near Lake Michigan College in South Haven. Before lunch, we passed Ivy Tech in Indianapolis. Crossing into Louisville, Jefferson Community and Technical College greeted us, one of multiple campuses in Kentucky and in Tennessee. Coastal Alabama in, of course, coastal Alabama. On the return north we passed Sinclair (where NMC President Nick Nissley formerly worked) in Dayton, Ohio.
The only four-year school sign I spotted was for the University of Michigan. Our route could explain that. Maybe I just missed those signs while reading or napping. But after working at NMC as long as I have, I also see it as reflecting the welcome factor in community colleges.
Unlike many four-year schools, we’re gate openers, not gatekeepers. We want you as a student. From submitting your application to finding your way to campus, we want you to get here. Once you do, we’re ready to help you chart your own path.
Just read the student stories in this issue. Anastasiia Hrukach is a Ukrainian high school exchange student who found herself stranded in the U.S. due to the war in her home country.
She’s spent her unexpected year here dual enrolled at NMC. And then there’s Logan Putman, who thought high school was hard enough and never planned on college. Now he’s pursuing his welding certificate and a long-held dream of becoming a welder.
NMC welcomed both and now both are looking at brighter futures. We’ll do the same for you. N
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AERIAL VIEW
FLYING ACRES
A business idea takes flight, meaning more jobs for NMC grads.
Bryan Hammis first started “playing with drones” at NMC in 2011 while a student in the traditional aviation program. Once he earned his private pilot’s license and instrument rating, a love of agriculture led him to a job as a crop production manager on a farm in Montcalm County, and he thought he might start a crop-spraying business.
He opted to continue his education at Michigan State University’s Institute of Agriculture Technology. In 2019, an MSU partnership with NMC led Hammis back to Traverse City for a two-week elective course and his UAS license. He then conceived Flying Acres, a business providing aerial application services to farmers. Business took off as soon as he and his wife Kaitlynn created their website last fall. This summer he expects to hire up to three NMC UAS students to meet the demand for Flying Acres’ services.
“We are going to be working closely with NMC through the years,” Hammis said. “It’s great for us and we want it to be great for the college as well.” N
▶ Photos by Kaitlynn Marie Photography
NMC debuts a stand-alone degree in uncrewed aerial systems this fall. nmc.edu/uas