Don MacMaster

The week before finals was fairly normal at ACC with positive productive activity bookended by learning, legacy, and floating concrete canoes. Below is a short list from a week in the life at ACC.

Monday: Utility Tech students practiced backing up a Class A combination vehicle with air brakes in the Besser Tech parking lot in preparation for their upcoming Commercial Driving License (CDL) drive test.

HVAC and electrical tradesmen moved rapidly in and out of the new apartments working toward getting them ready for August occupancy.

Adjunct instructor Bruce Frost reached out letting me know he was thinking about retirement. A highly regarded fulltime construction management instructor at CMU, Frost also developed and taught a 60-hour online residential builders prelicensure course for ACC. Over the 20 years we worked together, probably 1000 trainees took and passed this course, a requirement to obtain a residential builders license. I shared with him my recent experience hearing testimonials from two incarcerated men in the Alpena County Jail who took his online course through the support of Alpena County Sheriff Erik Smith and Adult Education coordinator Nicole Hatch. The online builders course changed their lives, these men said, providing not only a pathway to post-incarceration employment but also the rigor and motivation to succeed they badly needed while incarcerated. Ten of Frost’s 17 current students are incarcerated people. His efforts illustrate the value of workforce development at ACC.

Tuesday: Students, staff, and community attended the 7 p.m. presentation at Granum Theatre by Dr. Lindsey Cormack, author of “How to Raise a Citizen,” a nationally recognized book on commonsense ways to teach young people how to overcome our partisan political divide. An assistant professor at Stevens Point University in New Jersey, Dr. Cormack came to ACC at the invitation of ACC Political Science instructor Tim Kuehnlein. Her presentation was funded by the Granum Grants opportunity housed within the ACC Foundation. Dr. Cormack delivered informed observations that resonated with the packed house, many of them ACC students. Modeling an approach to political conversation that prioritizes curiosity, recognizes biases, and extends genuine respect, Dr. Cormack’s presentation inspired a series of thoughtful questions from the audience that expressed yearning for more productive discourse in our civic life. Robert and Jacquelyn Granum, who gave generously to create just this sort of community learning opportunity, would have been proud. Kudos to Tim Kuehnlein for putting the pieces together.

At noon approximately 20 young people and their mentors were recognized at National Career Technical Education (CTE) signing day at Alpena Public Schools, a neat event celebrating local CTE students making a smart choice to continue their occupational education at ACC.

Wednesday: Mid-morning, two teams of Concrete Tech students and a crowd of onlookers watched as the annual concrete canoe race launched in the pond in front of Northern Lights arena. Seeming to defy the laws of physics, the concrete coated canoes floated as two two-person teams paddled from one end of the pond and back again. Heat of Hydration appeared to be most seaworthy of the two concrete canoes, speeding down and back with flair and buoyancy. An earlier competition documenting the distance a concrete frisbee could travel (122 feet) also provided proof of concrete’s many surprising capacities. Visitors to the concrete tech offices in the World Center for Concrete Technology (WCCT) would note more than 45 current job postings from employers across North America seeking ACC’s Concrete Tech graduates.

Finish Strong: Smart Choices Start Here hosted a panel discussion in Granum Theatre focused on creating an informative but approachable conversation around alcohol awareness, sexual assault awareness, personal responsibility, campus safety, and making smart choices as the semester ends.

An evening celebration of athletics with awards and reflections and memories from a full year at ACC brought together more than 100 students across 10 sports who participated in athletics this year. Kudos to ACC Athletic Director Allen Telgenhof, his assistant Aaron Guitar, the coaches, and ACC student-athletes for helping athletics at ACC grow in the right direction.

In front of a legion of fans in the Fitzpatrick Family Commons, the ACC Esports team won its national semi-final match vs. Mercyhurst University from Erie, Pennsylvania, 4 games to 2, on Wednesday night. A throng of student and community supporters erupted at every goal as the fast-paced Rocket League event unfolded on the big screen. National championship match is next Wednesday. Congratulations to Coach Aaron Guitar and his Esports team, who are on the cusp of bringing ACC its first national athletics championship.

Thursday: Utility employers from across Michigan came to campus to recruit ACC’s Utility Tech (UTT) graduates. Fresh off an outstanding finish at the National College Lineman’s Rodeo in Mitchell, South Dakota last week, the 60 2026 UTT graduates had the full attention of utility employers seeking ACC graduates. In fact, many of the employers were ACC UTT graduates themselves. The legacy of ACC’s UTT program, now in its fourth decade, increasingly extends across states and generations.

Wisdom and humor were in abundance at ACC’s Last Lecture Series, where retiring instructors Roy Smith (UTT) and Jim Berles (Math and Pre-Engineering) shared their thoughts about their careers at ACC. Widely admired by staff and students, Smith and Berles combined for more than 55 years of inspired classroom excellence. Smith delivered a beautiful short lecture on “Why I Teach.” Berles reflected on the family-type atmosphere at ACC and the generosity of colleagues when it mattered most. Both reflected on what’s special about ACC and urged faculty and staff to continue doing the work to keep it going.

Friday: At the Olin Joynton Fine Arts Center, art students proudly hosted the popular Evening With the Arts open house on Friday. Hours of creative endeavor animated this work, bringing an energy to campus that was palpable and positive. Kudos to the students and ACC art instructors Brian Schorn and Joe Donna for their efforts.

Finally, across the parking lot from the Joynton Fine Arts Center, nestled low in a planter behind a rose bush, a nesting mother Mallard gestated seven eggs, focused on soon leading her brood of ducklings in a line across Johnson Street to their new lives beyond Van Lare Hall. As Board Chair John Briggs once noted watching this annual heart-warming campus spectacle: “At Alpena Community College, they can’t accuse us of not having our ducks in a row.”

Last week we hosted Governor Whitmer and Senator Hoitenga on campus visits. This week we have Nurses Pinning and Commencement. It’s a busy time at ACC. We wouldn’t want it any other way.