Gage Ruehlen has served in the National Guard for four years, but while attending a university for the first three, he never accessed any of the financial aid benefits that come with being a servicemember.

“The nice thing about Macomb is they’ll do it all for you,” Ruehlen said of the College’s Office of Veteran & Military Services. “They take care of everything.”

Ruehlen, a Chesterfield native, said he serves because of a sense of civic duty, which is why he’s studying accounting at Macomb with hopes of earning a bachelor’s at Walsh and joining the FBI.

“I’ve always been someone to ask ‘why,’ and accounting explains the ‘why,’” he said.

There are unique challenges to being a student in the National Guard, he said. The military training which has pushed his physical and mental limits can occasionally interfere with his academic responsibilities.

“I’ve talked to every one of my professors about the military and that I might have to miss something for training, and they’ve all been really understanding and wished me well,” he said.

Ruehlen has earned straight As in his accounting classes and hopes to be a tutor at Macomb this fall.

“The classroom atmosphere (at Macomb) has made it really easy,” he said. “It’s smaller, so you’re more in tune to the other people in class. I’ve already made way more friends at Macomb.”

And much like the National Guard has taught him that he can do whatever he sets his mind to, so has following a course of study that excites him.

“I wake up and I want to learn,” he said. “That makes it easy.”

As an aspiring photographer in high school, Alix Rivard found that her favorite subjects tended to have four tires and a hood, preferably with a custom engine under it.  That was when the Macomb automotive service technology student had a glimpse of where her future might lead.

“I didn’t know much about cars when I started the program,” offers Rivard, 24, who works at Alta Equipment Company. “Now, at work, they come to me with questions about engines.  I learned everything I know at Macomb. It’s an awesome program, and I’ve grown so much as a technician.”

After reading her application essay, the North American Council of Automotive Teachers (NACAT) Foundation agreed, awarding Rivard a $1,000 scholarship at its national convention held at Macomb in July.

“I was surprised that I won because I know how competitive these scholarships are,” says Rivard, shown here accepting the scholarship from her professor, Dave Roland. “This will help me pay for my last four classes.”

As a single homeowner, paying for a mortgage and tuition has required Rivard to hold a full-time job throughout college.  She started out in the office at Alta but happily moved to the shop floor, assisting in the repair and customization of construction equipment.

“No desk job for me,” says Rivard, who was raised by a single mom in a “NASCAR” family. Still, she has no intention of becoming the next Danica Patrick.  “I would love to drive a race car just once, but I prefer to be behind the scenes building the motors.”

Rivard, who is also earning a welding certificate at Macomb, currently drives a 1984 Chevy K10 and plans to overhaul the truck’s transmission soon.  But, she would gladly trade it in for a 1970ish Chevy Blazer with a removable top and an engine for her to rebuild.

“I like breaking them down and rebuilding them,” says Rivard, who has taken all of the engine classes at Macomb, with an eye toward becoming a performance engine builder for Team Penske.  “I fell in love with engines at Macomb.”

Bridget McKenzie was home schooled, so her first time in a Macomb classroom was also her first time in any classroom, ever.

“It was terrifying. I knew nothing and no one,” she said.

McKenzie, a dancer, found her footing one step at a time. She attended Student Success Seminars to learn about time management and how to handle college social situations. She raised her hand to be a group leader in one of her first classes. She made frequent trips to tutoring sessions because she liked the community feeling.

“It’s kind of like picking a lock,” she said. “You keep finding things that click until you get what you need.”

McKenzie came in without a clear picture of what path to study, until a business fundamentals class “blew my mind,” she said. She’s made accounting her focus, with an internship this summer (thanks to one of her professors) and plans to transfer for a bachelor’s degree. She’s also made good friends who are going through the program with her.

“To me, it’s felt like a family,” she said. “Like we’re all in it together.”

McKenzie, who’s now come “full circle” as a tutor herself, offered this advice to new students.

“Take Macomb for all it’s got,” she said. “Talk to everyone and experience as much as you can. Don’t be afraid to reach out and take advantage of the services that are there for you. You’ll have a lot of doors opened up to you just by showing up.”

After his team won the Michigan Sputum Bowl in April and he graduated from Macomb’s Respiratory Therapy Program in May, Spencer Hanson treated himself to a grand tour of Europe and Canada before starting his new job with the University of Michigan Health System.

“I went through a tour company and visited England, Belgium, Germany, Switzerland, Austria, Italy and France,” says Hanson, shown here in Venice, Italy, of his ten-day trip in June. “I spent a week before the trip exploring Toronto, Montreal and Quebec, and a few days after in Paris by myself. It’s all been amazing.”

Also “amazing” was winning the state sputum bowl, a Jeopardy-like quiz competition in which teams of respiratory therapy students from community colleges across the state vie for the top spot and silver trophy, with the winning team adding an accomplishment to their resumes while advancing to the nationals.

“This was an especially big win because it marked 10 years of Macomb’s respiratory therapy team winning on the state level,” says Hanson.  “No pressure, right? Thankfully, we pulled it off.”

Respiratory therapy wasn’t Hanson’s first choice when he enrolled at Macomb. He knew he wanted to work in health care, but was leaning toward two other areas.  An anatomy and physiology class changed his mind. “I found the cardiovascular system to be super interesting,” says Hanson, “and with that, I decided to go for respiratory.”

Hanson begins working as a respiratory therapist with U of M at the end of July and intends to start classes toward his bachelor’s degree in the fall.  He will also be meeting up with teammates Renee Sassin, Steve Morrow and Crystal Tralka, and faculty advisor Richard Zahodnic, Ph.D., (also a Macomb’s Respiratory Therapy Program alum) this summer to cram with Egan’s Fundamentals of Respiratory Care in preparation for the national competition in October. It’s a homecoming he’s looking forward to almost as much as he did that trip to Europe.

“One thing I loved about the program is that you really get close to both your classmates and your professors. Because it is a smaller program, you have the same ones every semester” says Hanson.  “And the professors aren’t just your professors, they become lifelong friends and mentors.”

When Anna Krolewski addressed her audience at Macomb’s commencement on May 12, the Most Distinguished Graduate invited everyone to visit her in a few years, at Disney’s Imagineers Studio.

“As Master Yoda says, ‘Do or do not, there is no try,’” the Macomb Media and Communications Arts (MACA) major and unabashed Disney fan told her fellow classmates and their guests. “Life is not a fairy tale. You can’t sit on the sidelines and expect success to come to you.  You have to work for it.”

And, work, Krolewski has: scoring a 4.0 in nearly every one of her classes and a nomination for the Most Distinguished Graduate honor, which she won after impressing judges with her determination and enthusiasm. She also works at Hobby Lobby in Sterling Heights and, once upon a time, volunteered with Enchanted Princess Ball, which brings the princess experience to little girls whose families may not be able to take them to Cinderella Castle.

“I painted little girls nails, did glitter tattoos and played the fur characters,” says Krolewski, “and I assisted the princesses back stage.”

But it is in art and design that Krolewski’s own dreams have come true, and she credits Macomb for the happy ending.

“I visited over ten different colleges throughout my senior year, but all told me the same thing – I had to choose one field,” says Krolewski.  “It wasn’t till the day before the deadline that I made my final decision.”

It came after meeting with Brian Sauriol, MACA faculty, who assured Krolewski that she could explore her artistic potential in a variety of related areas. She is now on her way to Rochester College, where she intends to earn a bachelor’s degree in Media and Communications Arts before applying for her dream job at Disney. She also intends to continue taking classes at Macomb, opting to earn two more associate degrees in Web Design and the just introduced Motion Design.

“I’m excited to add these to my multimedia arsenal, which will help me become more marketable as a multimedia artist,” says Krolewski, who is also in training for her second Disney Princess Half Marathon at Walt Disney World.  “As long as I’m doing what I love, I will never work a day in my life.”

As a single mom to four-year-old Kaiden, Akia Huff  was looking for a college that would allow her to slowly reenter the college environment after a few-year hiatus while keeping her on track toward becoming a nurse.  Fortunately, Macomb was love at first sight.

“After taking a tour, I immediately fell in love with the school,” says Huff, 27 and a graduate of Crockett High School in Detroit. “I noticed that there were a lot of places on campus for students to study as well as hangout between classes. After speaking to an advisor about my career goals, I knew I made the right decision about Macomb.”

Huff also decided to pursue a paid work-study position and begins her second assignment in Student Life and Leadership (SLL) this spring. As a student assistant, she helps plan and coordinate student activities on South Campus, with a flexible schedule that accommodates her classes.

“I love the fact that the school has so many events and activities going on to help get students involved,” says Huff.  “And working in SLL is such a blast.”

Huff became interested in nursing after working for three years as a caregiver to developmentally disabled adults and finding that her compassion made her well-suited to the job.

“I loved assisting in the care of each one of my patients,” says Huff.  “And because of my love for helping people, I decided I wanted to make a career out of it.”

Huff intends to transfer to Oakland University to earn a Bachelor of Science Degree in Nursing after she graduates from Macomb. Not wholly unlike one of her role models.

“My mom attended here before transferring to Siena Heights to get her master’s degree,” says Huff, “now I’m following in her footsteps.”

Brendon Doran understood engineering, but acoustical engineering?

“I had about as much knowledge as someone who threw together a subwoofer in the back of their car,” he said.

So when Doran, an electrical engineering student at Macomb, obtained an internship offer with a local noise control and soundproofing company through the College’s Career Services department, he was initially skeptical that his skills would translate. Instead, the Sterling Heights native has found that “the physics are virtually identical” and is taking advantage of an opportunity to do hands-on work in high-profile settings. Working with Rochester Hills-based Memtech, he recently had a lead role in building a custom acoustic baffle system for one of the units at the M-1 Concourse, a soon-to-be-opened luxury garage and test track in Pontiac.

“It’s pretty neat, especially in an intern position, to be able to handle something like that,” said Doran, who has also worked on sound projects at the Ford River Rouge Complex.

Doran tried on three different majors at a four-year university before “I realized I was wasting all my money,” he said. So he switched to Macomb and not only is paying “a quarter” the cost, “I can definitely confirm that there’s a lot more 1-on-1 interaction,” he said. “It’s a classroom setting, not a room with 80 people.”

Doran will transfer to Oakland University to complete a bachelor’s degree, something he said he’s “much more prepared” to do now after finding his footing at Macomb. And his internship at Memtech has opened up other work possibilities that “I wouldn’t even be able to come close to getting” without the experience he’s able to show from his job.

“If you’d have told me a year and a half ago that I’d have my hands on something like that, I would have laughed,” he said. “I was literally a doorman in Detroit. Now, this project was my first big step. I can look back and say, ‘I did this.’”