News

SMC Wrestling Makes NJCAA Top 10 for Academics

Southwestern Michigan College’s wrestling team has found success in the classroom as well as on the mat. Head Coach Todd Hesson’s Roadrunners received ninth in the National Wrestling Coaches Association 2023-24 NJCAA Scholar All-American Team. SMC notched a 3.3 team GPA. Pacing the Top 10 was Pratt, Kan., Community College.

SMC ETS Theatre Camp Stages Ghoulish Comedy at Beckwith June 28-29

Southwestern Michigan College’s Educational Talent Search (ETS) and Dowagiac’s Beckwith Theatre teamed up to present a free two-week Summer Youth Theatre that attracted 38 participants from across the area. Camp culminates with free public performances June 28 at 7 p.m. and June 29 at 2 p.m. of the ghoulish seven-skit comedy, “Gravestone Manor.”

Thelda Mathews Honored as an SMC Founder

Thelda Mathews wasn’t on Southwestern Michigan College’s founding board or any subsequent board, either. But she was instrumental in getting a Cass County community college on the ballot 60 years ago in November 1964.

SMC’s STEM Camp a Popular Way to Beat the Heat

Whether you’re measuring load-bearing Leaning Towers of Pasta built of raw spaghetti and marshmallows, coding with artificial intelligence (AI), running Abigail Craft’s math-based pizzeria to learn fractions or making multi-colored slime, hands-on activities stress problem-solving, critical thinking, communication, creativity and collaborative teamwork.

SMC Board of Trustees Adopts Budgets

Following a public hearing, the Southwestern Michigan College Board of Trustees June 12 adopted balanced 2024-25 fiscal-year budgets. The $27,384,000 general fund budget for July 1, 2024-June 30, 2025, anticipates $10.976 million from tuition and fees, $7.782 million from property taxes on 2.3864 mills, $8.167 million in state appropriation and $459,000 from other revenue.

Staying Close to Home is Sometimes the Perfect Choice

At 45, Jayna (Peterson) Sobecki has been teaching Cassopolis children half her life. After her 23rd year at Sam Adams Elementary School, it’s been 26 years since her selection to speak at Southwestern Michigan College’s 1998 commencement. She had been Brandywine High School valedictorian, so the full-ride scholarship she received made it any easy decision to follow her parents to SMC, just as two younger brothers followed her.

SMC Wins 2023-2024 MCCAA All-Sports Trophy

For the first time in school history, Southwestern Michigan College Athletics has earned the Michigan Community College Athletic Association's most prestigious honor. The Charlie Chanter All-Sports Trophy, named after a former coach and professor at Grand Rapids Community College, is presented annually to the college with the most overall success in its programs.

‘I’m in Music for the Long Haul’

Wyatt Marshall Noack, Elkhart’s Texan, planned to move to Buchanan in March when the versatile musician got his first look at 1st Source Bank Fieldhouse Feb. 5. Noack, 24, graduated from Southwestern Michigan College in 2021 with honors and an associate degree in music, transferring to Indiana University South Bend (IUSB) to complete a year toward a bachelor’s degree in music technology. “Wyatt Marshall,” as he’s known professionally, is set to release his first rock album this summer as Y@.

SMC Goes for the Gold in Veterans Service

Melanie McGee traces her affinity for serving veterans to her grandfather, Louis Richmond. McGee’s diligence as Southwestern Michigan College student records specialist and SCO, or veteran school certifying officer, last summer clinched SMC gold-level status as a VFS, or Veteran-Friendly School, by the Michigan Veterans Affairs Agency.

SMC’s First Professor Visits Campus

Robert Guntle was not only a charter member of Southwestern Michigan College’s faculty, he was SMC’s first instructional hire. Guntle, 90, joined the college in 1965 from Brandywine, the year before classes began, and stayed nine years as a biology professor, so it’s not surprising that whenever he’s in the area visiting family and friends, he stops by campus to see how things are growing.