Laurent Bingwe grew up in a French-speaking household in Cameroon with seven siblings, studied hard in school as was expected by his parents and has been a vegetarian since he was a child. But his most defining moment came as a teenager when he discovered he had a talent for fixing things, including the family car.

“After graduating from a technical high school, my family wanted me to study in the U.S.,” says Bingwe. “I was interested in getting technical automotive skills, but first I applied at Wayne State University since they had an English program where students all over the world can learn English from scratch.”

Bingwe, who also speaks German and three African dialects, knew he wanted to live in Michigan because, he says, it is home to the “Motor City” and the “Big Three.”  After learning English at Wayne, he began searching for the next step in his journey.

“There were many colleges that offered automotive programs throughout the state. However, I heard many great reviews about Macomb Community College,” says Bingwe, shown here at the South Campus Learning Center where he tutors French students. “I must say it was a very great decision.  The instructors here are more than dedicated.  They always want to see their students succeed.”

Bingwe continues to take automotive courses at Macomb after working as a service technician at a Mercedes Benz dealership as Optional Practice Training under his F1 student visa. He is in the process of receiving a Green Card through a “lottery,” which will allow him to remain in the United States as a permanent resident.

“I am very grateful to my parents for providing me the financial support and encouragement to do this.” says Bingwe, “And as my immigration status evolves, I want to stay and work with the research and development team at Mercedes Benz.”

Cameroon, an African nation bordered by the Gulf of Guinea and the Sahara Desert, is home to savannahs and rainforests, wildlife preserves and national parks, marketplaces and museums.  But its abundance of natural and cultural riches is not what Bingwe misses most.

“It wasn’t easy to leave family and friends behind and move into a different life setting,” he says.  “But my experience at Macomb has been very positive.  I have met amazing people, including staff and teachers, and made many new friends.  These people have helped me reach my goals.”

The first member of her family to travel outside the U.S., Alaiziah Caddell boarded the flight to Kenya last summer with a few fears she wanted to overcome and an unwavering belief that the trip would change her life.  That she often uses the word “joy” to describe the experience suggests that she wasn’t disappointed.

“I was surprised what the media doesn’t show about the most beautiful places of Africa,” says Caddell, a Macomb social work major . “And, the joy and welcoming spirit you get from everyone is one of the things I enjoyed most.”

The study abroad trip to Kenya, an African country with dramatic landscapes and great poverty, was organized by Rochelle Zaranek, Macomb social work professor. Students stayed in dormitories and assisted volunteers and staff at three orphanages that shelter and educate children who have lost their parents to violent deaths or disease, or whose parents are without the means to take care of them.

“Just to see how joyful and optimistic about life these children are even though faced with adversities and tragedies was incredibly uplifting,” says Caddell, shown here with children at one of the orphanages. “It shifted my thinking about most things that I have worried about in my life.”

The students from Macomb engaged their young charges in play and helped document their stories, the latter sometimes bringing tears to the volunteers’ eyes. But the mood was quickly lightened when the children took to a makeshift stage to entertain their guests with songs and skits.

“The children in each (orphanage) were very talented,” relates Caddell. “Their voices were angelic. I never felt so much joy in my life as I did when seeing their faces light up and their beautiful smiles.”

In addition to three credits in directed study, Caddell also gained the confidence to climb up an untrailed mountain despite a fear of heights and to continue on her chosen career path.

“My interest was first sparked as a child volunteering with my mom at women’s shelters, but once getting to Macomb my desire to be a social worker strengthened. Professor Zaranek was my first professor at Macomb and she has been a joy during my journey,” says Caddell, who intends to transfer to Wayne State and earn bachelor and master degrees in social work. “I hope to become a social justice advocate in Michigan, but I also have the desire to work in the international social work field, especially after my experience in Kenya.”

Tim Masters couldn’t even read yet when he started daydreaming about the astronaut life and he still remembers when his elementary school hosted Jerry Linenger, Eastpointe native and veteran of two space shuttle missions.  But the Macomb electric vehicle development student never thought he’d get as close to NASA as he did last month.

Masters was one of 300 community college students across the country accepted into the NASA Community College Aerospace Scholars Program. After a five-week, interactive online course of study that covered NASA and the international space station, he and his fellow scholars spent four days in October at the George C. Marshall Space Flight Center in Alabama. Although Masters didn’t get a chance to meet another astronaut, he did interact with NASA engineers, toured the facilities and worked on a team building a robotic land rover.

“We discovered a new appreciation for just how important testing is to design,” says Masters.  “Nothing ever works right the first time.”

Before Michigan Works! brought him to Macomb, Masters installed restaurant equipment and worked sixty-hour weeks.  After earning a certificate in electric vehicle development technology from Macomb, he’s now a high-voltage battery pack test technician with Aerotek, on assignment at Ford’s Fuel Cell Center in Dearborn.

“I can’t hold the program in any higher regard.  It was life-changing,” says Masters, who is pursuing his associate degree.  “I almost certainly would be still working miserable jobs and I wouldn’t have gotten such enthusiastic instruction, which really stoked my interest in electronics.”

Masters’ interest in space travel was stoked by the Space Shuttle Operator’s Manual. He started looking at the photographs when he was 5, progressing on to the instructions after his parents replaced his dog-eared copy with a new one.  At Marshall, Masters was at the site where all of the shuttles’ propulsion systems were designed, developed and tested, before making their way to Cape Canaveral.

“The experience was amazing, awesome,” says Masters, backrow, second from the left in the photo. “And what I’ve learned about electric vehicle design and operation really came in handy.”

Tyler Gargalino came to Macomb directly from Dakota High School this fall to take culinary and business classes in preparation for opening up a sports bar with his father.  That the College has a Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship has only sweetened the deal.

“I see myself with a degree in entrepreneurship,” says Gargalino, who has already made plans to transfer to Northwood University, which offers classes in its entrepreneurship program at the University Center on Center Campus. “A College education is really important. But why not start at Macomb where the tuition is a little cheaper?”

Discovering that the College has a center dedicated to encouraging young entrepreneurs was “fantastic,” says Gargalino. But even more impressive has been the respect and support he has received from Macomb faculty and staff.

“I feel like I’m being treated like an adult; the faculty are not condescending. And I think that’s why I’m learning a lot better than I did in high school.” says Gargalino.  “When I walked into buildings on my first day on campus, everyone pitched in to help me find where I was going. A faculty member even went and got a map.”

While the Dairy Queen he works at is closing for the season, Gargalino isn’t waiting for the next opportunity to come his way.  He’s already applied at a Tim Horton’s and a Buscemi’s.  Either way, he will be picking up more restaurant experience that will serve him well when he and his dad can finally invest in their dream.

“It’s going to be called Gargie’s,” says Gargalino. “And if all goes good, we’re hoping for a franchise.”

Maureen Paul was so nervous before her first class at Macomb, she felt physically sick.

“In my head, everyone else knew what they were doing except me,” the former St. Clair Shores homeschooler said. “I felt more alone than I really was.”

Quickly, she realized that she belonged.

“All of my professors and everyone have been so welcoming at Macomb,” said Paul, who now carries a 3.9 GPA and is the recruitment and retention coordinator for Phi Theta Kappa, Macomb’s honor society. While working three jobs, she’s also found an outlet for her lifelong love of volunteering by joining Macomb’s alternative spring break trip to clean beaches in North Carolina, and an alternative weekend building wheelchair ramps in Indiana.

“I’m busy all the time now,” she said. “I just don’t sleep a lot, but that’s OK.”

Paul is taking advantage of a transfer agreement between Macomb and Madonna University, which allows her to take three years of classes at Macomb, then transfer to Madonna for her final year at Macomb’s University Center in Clinton Township. That’s saving her time and money on her way to a degree in hospitality management and a career in event planning.

“I really like how easily Macomb has set it up,” she said. “It’s so much cheaper going to Macomb. I’m probably the only one of my friends who’s going to graduate with no debt.”

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.”