Antonio Capaldi uses the word “blessed” a lot to describe his first year as a Macomb student. The Eastpointe native has found success and opportunity both as a member of the men’s basketball team, averaging nearly 10 points a game including 20 in the regional championship, and as a campus leader.

“Macomb helped me center my life,” Capaldi said. “It helped show me what I want to do, how I want to do it, where I want to do it. Without Macomb, I don’t know where I’d be.”

Capaldi, who is thinking of studying education to become an administrator and coach, made the dean’s list after earning a 4.0 in the summer semester, and he credits Heather Mayernik, his College Study Success Skills professor, with helping him make the academic transition to college. He’s been asked to speak to incoming students and younger teammates about being a successful student. He was also invited to attend the Shining Light Awards, where he met NBA Hall of Famer and former Detroit Mayor Dave Bing. As he walked into that event full of CEOs, civic leaders and other successful community members, Mayernik told him, “This could be you one day.”

Although he could not have imagined that a year ago, Capaldi replied: “Yes, it could.”

The Monarchs basketball season starts in November. Check out their schedule and follow them on Twitter.

Haley Boccomino started running because of her mom, Shannon.

“I grew up in a stroller watching her compete,” said Boccomino, who was recently named Macomb’s female athlete of the year after qualifying for the cross country, indoor track and outdoor track national championships six times in two years.

As Haley got older, she started to enter small races, and her mom would run alongside her. Boccomino continued running with the Girls on the Run club and then Center Line High School, where she was the only female on the team and would train with the boys. An assistant coach told her about the Macomb program, where she would go on to earn back-to-back All-American honors in the 4 x 800 meter relay.

“I could not appreciate my teammates any more,” she told The Macomb Daily. “It is so great to have a support system.”

Boccomino, who was salutatorian at Center Line, carried a 3.805 GPA at Macomb and now has an athletic scholarship to continue her education at Wayne State, where she hopes to join the pre-med program and become a physician assistant.

“I knew Macomb was going to be best option of the opportunities I would have,” she said. “It was a smart thing to do because I saved so much money going to Macomb that now I can put it toward my education going elsewhere, and I got all the classes I needed. I’m really excited for the challenge.”

“I went to another college for a year but had to take film theory and journalism before I could take the (Media and Communication Arts) classes that I wanted.  I liked that I could just jump into it at Macomb. And it’s been awesome.  We have access to real cool equipment and Yosy (Marquez, his instructor) allows creativity to grow.  Macomb seems to take pride in their art students and that is super refreshing.”

Robert, 20, whose father is a Hollywood stuntman, and his friend Jeremy Howell, (both shown here on their first red carpet moment – Rob is on the right) took first place in the 89-Hour Film Festival sponsored by radio station 89X. The contest asked amateur filmmakers to create a six- to eight-minute “mockumentary” in 89 hours. The pair received $2,500 for their first place entry, but the bigger thrill was seeing Mystic Hunt, a parody of Ghost Adventures, on screen at the MJR Theatre in Troy. Rob intends to continue his studies at the Motion Picture Institute in Troy and the American Film Institute in San Diego. “I’m minoring in advertising as a fall back,” he says, “but, ideally, I want to be a film director.”  See his award-winning work at:   http://www.frequency.com/video/89x-89-hour-film-festival-lbtmovies/253956427?cid=5-18734.

“I found Macomb to be the school that fits me best.  There is the performing arts center, the cultural center and the University Center where I can earn my bachelor’s degree. And with my work study job, it’s been well worth it for me to attend Macomb. It’s a great environment, a great education and a great experience. There’s just more opportunities at Macomb.”

Trayvon Alexander graduated from Detroit’s Southeastern High School and is pursuing an Associate Degree in Business Administration/Entrepreneurship and a Certificate in Music Performance – Percussion. In addition to the drums, he also plays piano and guitar and hopes to open his own music school one day.  You can catch Trayvon on the drums every Sunday at Silver Star Missionary Baptist Church in Detroit

“One of the things I really enjoy about Macomb is the proximity I have to Center campus. I live right here at 19 Mile Road and Schoenherr, so I’m able to commute to school as well as maintain a full-time job where I’ve been able to advance. It really provides me that dual experience of the work environment.”

After graduating from Utica Henry Ford II High School, Doug Marlow’s counselors at Macomb have helped him pursue a general business major and make plans to transfer to a four-year university. He enjoys working on cars and motorcycles and said that he feels like he’s “planting the seedlings for the rest of my career here.”

“When I graduated high school, I was a super quiet person. I didn’t want to go to a university – living in a dorm with someone would have been a nightmare for me. Even when I first started here, I was super reserved, but over the last two years I’ve really opened up. It’s pretty awesome.”

Detroit native Robert Berry attended Cass Tech High School, where he often found himself in a classroom with 40 other students. Now Macomb offers the business major classes which are usually half that size and where professors call him by name. That’s helped him come out of his shell and become the Student Life and Leadership Event Coordinator, the Fundraising Coordinator of the Phi Theta Kappa honor society and President of the Study Abroad student organization. He also just helped start a classic card game club and is part of a group planning the inaugural Macomb-A-Con event on April 1.

“The more time I spent on campus, the more I wanted to do. At first I thought I would just show up, go to class and be done, but my first semester changed that. I’m so glad I did so much more. I was given an opportunity to go back to school, and I wasn’t going to waste it.”

After 26 years working in the banking industry, Katie Williams-Campbell found herself laid off in 2013. With two children at home, she knew that if she went back to school for a new career, it had to be close and affordable, but she didn’t know Macomb would deliver those benefits plus so many opportunities to connect socially. Katie became a member of the Student Organization of Medical Assistants, an active participant in the Macomb Mulitcultural International Initiatives, and a tour guide for incoming students. She graduated Summa Cum Laude in December and now works as a clinical service representative at Henry Ford Hospital and as a certified medical assistant in Shelby Township. Her daughter, Lauren, works at Macomb’s Reading & Writing Studios.