Muskegon Colleges Prepare Students for Fulfilling Careers

Courtesy of Muskegon Community College

Home to colleges and universities that offer diverse academic programs, the Muskegon Lakeshore region is an attractive choice for students. Muskegon Community College, Grand Valley State University and Baker College offer several degree options, from industry certifications to advanced degrees in such high-demand areas as health care, business and agriculture.

The region’s affordability compared to larger metropolitan areas is another draw, ensuring that students can enjoy a high quality of life without the burden of excessive living costs. Then, there’s the strong sense of community and employment opportunities that make it an ideal place to settle down after graduation.

Making Higher Education Accessible

Muskegon Community College (MCC) offers over 80 program options. The college is ranked among the top 10 community colleges in Michigan by Intelligent.com and is regarded highly for its licensed practical nursing program and programs in green technology.

The college’s flexible schedules and affordability make getting a degree more accessible for residents, such as Kathy Moore, administrative health officer and public health director for Muskegon County and treasurer of the Muskegon Community College Board of Trustees.

“The small class sizes and size of the campus made it easier to navigate and helped me maintain my comfort zone,” Moore says. “Even though I had a car, I was a young person, and I liked the fact that I could take the bus to campus. I also loved the variety of offerings of the classes.”

Courtesy of Baker College

Moore says the support she received at MCC helped jumpstart her higher education journey and put her on the path to career success. MCC had satellite outreach offices for other colleges and universities in the area, where Moore was able to connect with an adviser who helped her navigate the application process and understand what classes would transfer. She eventually received her bachelor’s degree from Grand Valley State University in Allendale, Michigan.

“The professors always made themselves available,” she says of her MCC instructors. “I was that person who would talk to the professors if I didn’t understand something on the syllabus, and with the small class sizes, that was possible.”

Empowering Students for Future Success

Intercollegiate cooperation is another advantage for students in the Muskegon Lakeshore region. The West Michigan Food Processing Association, Community Foundation for Muskegon County, Michigan State University Product Center and MCC collaborated to open the Food, Agriculture, Research, Manufacturing (FARM) Center on the MCC campus. The 8,000-squarefoot facility helps entrepreneurs, such as Kaja Thornton-Hunter, owner of Cajun spice company Kaja’s Flavor Packs, develop and launch new product ideas into the food, agriculture and bioenergy markets.

Being a FARM center tenant, she says, gave her the advantage of having knowledge readily available, an important aspect for someone like her, whose background was in social work. “Going into manufacturing and retail, I had no idea about selling and price points; it was a huge learning curve, so to have those services right there at your beck and call is amazing,” Thornton-Hunter says.

Town and Gown Cooperation

The Muskegon campus of Baker College is also home to the Culinary Institute of Michigan. The facility houses the college’s culinary programs and gives students hands-on experience running the campus restaurant COURSES, and pastry and coffee shop, The Sweet Spot.

Courtesy of Baker College

The school also hosts community events, such as the fall Harvest Fest to benefit the Muskegon Rotary Club. This type of community collaboration is what attracted Rich Houtteman, Lakeshore external affairs manager for Consumers Energy, to Grand Valley State University (GVSU).

“During my years there, GVSU was really starting its journey of expanding not only on the main campus but in downtown Grand Rapids, Muskegon and Holland. Those expansions allowed for connectivity to urban environments and opportunities to explore and apply academic knowledge in real-world settings,” Houtteman says.

Houtteman says GVSU’s strong programs in health, engineering, business, water research, and public and nonprofit administration create a much-needed talent pipeline for the region. “Muskegon is home to a robust economy with a variety of small businesses and large employers that make a major impact locally and abroad,” he says.

If you’re thinking about starting a business here, check out the resources and information available at muskegon.org.

Tuition-Free(dom) Through Muskegon Area Promise Program

Muskegon Area Promise college scholarships are available to high school seniors who live within the boundaries of the Muskegon Area Intermediate School District (MAISD). The scholarships are available to students attending any of the 16 MAISD public schools as well as those being home-schooled.

The program has provided close to 1,700 students two years of free tuition at Muskegon Community College and Baker College.

Any student is eligible for the scholarship by graduating with a qualifying grade point average, and must enroll at either Muskegon Community College or Baker College of Muskegon. Individual scholarships can fund either a certificate program, a two-year associate degree or the first two years of a bachelor’s degree.

The Muskegon Area Promise initiative covers tuition and mandatory fees, and students have a maximum of four years from high school graduation to use their Promise scholarship award. No scholarship application is needed for the Promise award, and all high school seniors are notified about the program with a letter of eligibility.

To learn more about Muskegon Area Promise college scholarships, visit muskegonisd.org/ctc-home/career-development/promise.