With La La Land an early favorite for Golden Globe and Oscar honors, members of the Macombers are no doubt cheering the revival of the Hollywood musical. And for one of these singing ambassadors, the film may remind of another palm-treed haven of which many dreams have been made.

“When I was 15, my mom was transferred to Maui,” relates Veronica Russell, who grew up in Ortonville in Oakland County. “We drove to California, flew to Hawaii and lived in a hotel for a few months before we found an apartment. I’m so glad to have had that experience.  Back then, though, it was a little hard. I missed my friends.”

While Maui offered many sunny distractions, Veronica spent a fair share of her time in high school productions.  When she was invited to join the Macombers in 2016, her repertoire included My Fair Lady, Phantom of the Opera and Cinderella. She had moved back to Michigan by then, after the pull of other family, friends and snow proved too great to resist.

“My dad had just moved from Georgia to Clinton Township and offered me a place to stay. I had never been to Macomb County before, all I knew was that it had a great community college,” relates Veronica, a history major. “My aunt was a Macomber in the 1980s, and she encouraged me to audition. I was too scared the first year, but last spring decided to try.  I absolutely love it.”

The Macombers rehearse five hours a week, average 40 performances a year and receive scholarships to compensate for the time they dedicate to the troupe. For Veronica, shown here before a Macombers’ performance with a very special guest, there is also something else that keeps her singing.

“It’s the friendships,” she says. “I miss my mom, who lives on the Big Island now, but I’ve had so much fun here. Macomb is the first school where I have ever really thrived.”

The last presidential election, which Emanuel Dushaj likened to a “civil war” of words, has convinced him that he is on the right track, which he hopes will lead to George Washington University and a law degree.  But not for the reason one might think.

“I can’t be a politician, I take things to heart,” says Dushaj, a Macomb history and political science major. “I do want to go to law school. Not to work for a corporation, but to serve the human condition.  A job with the United Nations is my ultimate dream.”

A law degree, believe Dushaj, will “open doors” for him that other fields cannot.  And through those doors he wants to take on such issues as the environment, terrorism and human trafficking. Participating in a recent conversation on the last election via interactive video with students from the University of California, Berkeley, coordinated by his political science professor, Dushaj came dressed in a suit because, he says, “your appearance says a lot.”  And so, too, the manner in which you present your opinions to others.

“No one takes time for persuasion anymore,” reflects Dushaj.  “People are too quick to label others who don’t agree with them.  You will never persuade anyone if you label them.”

Enrolling at Macomb after graduating from L’Anse Creuse North High School, Dushaj intends to transfer to Wayne State before moving to Washington, D.C., to pursue his law degree. “Coming to Macomb was one of the best things I could have done in my life,” says the 18-year-old, who balances full-time studies with a customer service job at AT&T. “I really appreciate the opportunities that I have been given here.”

“I love music,” says Katie Braschayko, a Macomb sophomore and sax player with an affinity for the New Orleans’ stylings of the late, great Sidney Bechet.  “My dad’s a classical jazz kind of guy, so I grew up listening to it. I played clarinet in high school before switching to sax. I like being in the bass line and I like to be heard!”

Katie is a member of Macomb’s Jazz Band and is also taking classes in piano. While uncertain about a major, maybe sports management, she is on the path toward a minor in music. A member of jazz band in high school, Katie wanted to attend a college that offered the same opportunity. In addition to jazz band, Macomb also sponsors a concert choir, concert band, symphony orchestra and the Macombers, a singing and dancing troupe for which auditions are held each spring. And does Katie mind those 7 p.m. practices after a day of classes and working at a local restaurant? “You get to end your day playing jazz,” she says. “It doesn’t get much better than that!”