Articles

NMU alumnus Matthew Barbercheck ('11 AAS, '14 BA), who teaches welding and woodworking at Republic-Michigamme Schools, has won $50,000 for his school. He was one of 15 second-place winners of the 2018 Harbor Freight Tools for Schools Prize for Teaching Excellence. A representative of Harbor Freight Tools for Schools made a surprise presentation of a large rolling tool box and big check. Barbercheck can spend $15,000 of it at his discretion and the rest will go to the school's skilled trades program.

Dan Truckey, director of the Beaumier U.P. Heritage Center at NMU, was awarded the Peninsulas Prize by the Michigan Museums Association at its annual meeting Oct. 29 in Dearborn. The statewide prize honors an individual or organization that has demonstrated the significance and impact of community engagement over the last year.

Students who present behavioral difficulties in western Marquette County schools will gain greater access to applied behavior analysis services through a new collaboration with the Behavioral Education Assessment and Research (BEAR) Center at Northern Michigan University. NMU students will also gain practical experience before they graduate and become practitioners. The Western Marquette County Health Foundation (WMCHF) spearheaded the project.

At the Northern Michigan University Veterans Day Concert on Nov. 11, distinguished student veteran Traci Dietz received a commemorative coin from President Fritz Erickson for her dedicated time and service.

“I am honored to have been recognized by [Rep.] Sara Cambensy and President Erickson,” she said. “I have worked hard to make the lives of my fellow veterans easier through my work-study position in the Veteran Services Office with Mike Rutledge and his service dog, Welles, who has helped countless students through rough times.”

NMU recently unveiled Something Curious, a new podcast series targeting current and prospective NMU students. The podcast aims to connect community through conversation, highlighting aspects of the university and the Marquette area. This series will address subjects that relate to NMU’s core values: community, opportunity, inclusion, rigor, environment, connections and innovation.

Josh Cahatol, from the Province of Bohol in the Philippines, is one of three students attending NMU this fall as a participant in the Global Undergraduate Exchange Program (UGRAD). The program is designed to increase students’ understanding of the United States and give them opportunities to take academic coursework and participate in other community activities.

The International Education Services Office at NMU is collaborating with World Learning to bring students from other nations to campus for cultural exchange and opportunities to learn at American institutions. Ahmad is one student attending NMU this fall through the Global UGRAD Pakistan Program (IREX), which enables youth leaders from underserved populations across Pakistan to have opportunities to study abroad. He was selected for the program by his alma mater back home.

Veterans Day on Nov. 11 coincides with the 100th anniversary of the end of World War I. Under the leadership of President James Kaye, Northern State Normal School (now Northern Michigan University) participated in WWI regionally, nationally and abroad. War-time concerns were exacerbated by another significant threat a century ago: a Spanish flu pandemic that ultimately shut down Northern for three months in the fall 1918 semester.

NMU alumnus and podiatrist Dr. Brad Benson ('10) has returned to his hometown to join UP Health System-Marquette. He said his training has provided him with a diverse background in all foot and ankle problems, but one of his passions is limb salvage, especially in the diabetic cohort. Benson went to medical school at Kent State University and served as a podiatric medicine and surgery resident at St. Vincent Charity Medical Center. After completing his residency, Benson decided to move back to Marquette.

Northern Michigan University’s Native American Student Association will screen the documentary Trudell at 7 p.m. Friday, Nov. 15, in the Whitman Hall commons. The event is free and open to the public.

The documentary traces American Indian activist and poet John Trudell's life, from his childhood in Omaha, Neb., through his role as a leader of the American Indian Movement and his rebirth as a musician and spoken word poet.

November is Native American Heritage Month. For more information, visit www.nmu.edu/nativeamericanstudies.