“I can’t see myself doing this too long.”
Marcel Van Buren kept having this thought while working as a custodian for Detroit Public Schools. When she was laid off, she decided it was time to finish the business degree she had started 20 years prior, before starting a family made it too hard for her to continue.
“I knew a lot of people who had gone to Macomb and were saying good things about it,” said Van Buren, a Detroit native. “When I went to sign up here, the atmosphere was friendly and everybody wanted to help me.”
Van Buren said it took some time to “get in a groove” after years away from being a student, but she took advantage of Macomb’s free tutoring and other support systems to keep going. She is scheduled to graduate this spring.
“I hope I don’t cry,” she said of receiving her diploma. “It’ll be tears of joy, though.”
Van Buren says she’s been able to apply some of the problem-solving skills she’s learned in her business classes to her new job working for a metal shop that tests parts for an automaker. She hopes to start her own cosmetics company using the skills and connections she’s gained at Macomb.
“I regret dropping out years ago, but I’m glad I came back to finish what I started,” she said. “It’s a good investment of your time going to Macomb.”