Real Students of Macomb

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.”

Eva Cobau is taking a well-deserved semester off from her studies at Macomb after completing the College’s Laboratory Assistant program and landing a full-time job at St. John Hospital in Detroit as a phlebotomist.

“I like it a lot,” says Cobau, who performs blood draws on the midnight shift. “I like that I am actually working with patients.”

After graduating high school, Cobau’s path didn’t take her anywhere near a hospital. She enrolled in cosmetology school and held a series of restaurant jobs, which she termed “awful.”  A year of that convinced her to reconsider a former notion.

“It’s been my lifelong dream to be a mortician and own my own funeral home,” offers Cobau. “But in high school, I had this notion I wasn’t fit for college. Then I realized, I was not enjoying my time, I wasn’t learning anything new and I wasn’t bettering myself.”

Placement tests at Macomb confirmed Cobau had an aptitude, as well as an interest, in anatomy and biology. She began taking the classes she will need to enter Wayne State University’s Mortuary Science program.  But she didn’t want to wait until after she earned her bachelor’s degree to leave restaurant work behind her.

“I wanted a job that would get me through college,” says Cobau, 20, “and I had all this knowledge from my biology classes that I wanted to put to use.”

She spoke with her Macomb counselor about what options there were for working in a field more closely aligned to her career interests and college studies.  He suggested the Laboratory Assistant program offered by the College’s Workforce and Continuing Education Department. Cobau completed the program in six months and was hired by St. John during an internship there at the end of her classes.

“I now appreciate why my instructor kept going over precision and patient identification because when you are in the field that is everything,” says Cobau, who is looking forward to returning to Macomb in a semester or two.  “The campus is beautiful, the labs are well equipped. I love Macomb. Going there was one of the best decisions of my life.”

Claudia Nowicki’s work involves using a laser to build magnetic beads that bind to the body’s RNA, discovering information that could improve our ability to fight disease. Not bad for a Macomb student one year out of high school.

“Honestly, I never thought this could happen at a community college level,” Nowicki said. “I was thrilled and shocked that an opportunity like this could happen to Regular Joe me.”

Nowicki was admitted to the Early College of Macomb, which allowed her to take college classes at Macomb during her last two years at Romeo High School. She connected with one of her Macomb biology professors, Dr. Joseph Michalewicz, who recommended her for an internship at Detroit-based Life Magnetics. The company had recently received $25,000 in start-up funding from the Innovation Fund Macomb Community College, Powered by JPMorgan Chase & Co., which also created an opportunity for a Macomb student to work there.

“I wouldn’t have it without my professor – he was kind enough to think of it,” said Nowicki. “This has hit it right on the dot for me. The medical field has a huge range of different things to choose from. This has helped me narrow down the specifics.”

Nowicki has balanced her internship and schoolwork while also managing a retail store. Part of her solution has been to fit in online classes around the rest of her schedule.

“I really love the online courses that Macomb offers,” she said. “I’ve taken three up to this point and they’ve been great. I always feel like the professors of my online courses seem to be very understanding and helpful despite being virtual.”

Nowicki is making plans to transfer to Wayne State for a pharmacology degree, which should be a little easier thanks to both the work experience and connections she’s made from interning downtown.

“This has been the #1 best thing to prepare me to move on to a university,” she said. “It was definitely a stepping stone for that high-school-to-university transition that I would recommend to anybody.”

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.”