Muskegon Lakeshore Offers Abundant Job Opportunities

Courtesy of Muskegon Area Intermediate School District

Strong winds are blowing into the Muskegon Lakeshore – and that’s not just good news for the sailboats dotting the coast. With so many employers in the region, opportunities for career development abound. Some of the hottest industries in the area include life sciences, aerospace and defense, education, and health care. Two women in business share their stories of answering the call of a career.

Careers Are Calling

Sandra Raehtz, a Michigan native, sailed into Muskegon when she matched with the Fruitport Family Medicine program for residency training. Raehtz is a core faculty member at Trinity Health Academic Family Medicine in Fruitport. She trains postgraduate students for family medicine, and she also welcomes the smallest new residents of Muskegon.

“I serve as a faculty mentor and oversee residents while they are seeing patients,” she says. “I have my own panel of patients that I see in the office, and I also help with our inpatient service in the hospital on our clinic’s admitted patients. Additionally, I was trained to deliver low-risk births, and I help our obstetrician patients with delivery.”

Fellow Michigander Megan Byard-Karaba also was reeled into the Muskegon Lakeshore, lured by the region’s plentiful job opportunities. Byard-Karaba says that the Muskegon Area Intermediate School District (MAISD) facilitates the work of superintendents, principals, educators, business directors and all staff across the county.

“As the hub for 21 Muskegon County education employment sites, we have – and host – an abundance of opportunities,” she says. Byard-Karaba is the first-ever college access specialist for MAISD. She coordinates the efforts of the local college access network, where she helps create a clear postsecondary path for high school graduates and those who finish their GEDs.

“Rather than simply providing direct services to students and families, I have the opportunity to work as a trainer, convener and liaison,” she says. “My role as coordinator can’t shy away from constantly pushing our community to action. The best part of my daily grind, passion and dedication is the positive momentum of this action.”

Raehtz concurs that having a diverse role at work keeps her engaged. “I get to work with new physicians as they learn about the world of medicine (outside of medical school) and how they want to develop their future practice. I get to see my own patients, who range from newborn to geriatric, and develop meaningful relationships with them. I round in the hospital where I get to use my brain in a different way to figure out puzzles more urgently and provide care for patients in a different setting. Probably my favorite thing about my job, though, is delivering babies and providing prenatal and postnatal care, as well as caring for their newborn,” Raehtz says.

A Case for Place

Certainly, the abundance of options for each woman’s career trajectory is a promising reason, in and of itself, to love their Muskegon home. The icing on the cake, however, is the tapestry of amenities one can enjoy outside of working hours.

“I am an avid outdoor enthusiast,” Byard-Karaba says. “If it involves a beach, trail, road, bike or the sun – I am there! I also love to spend time with my children, friends and family as well as go antiquing. Finding life’s little treasures both in people and objects speaks to me.”

Raehtz says frequent vacations in the region attracted her to apply for the residency that launched her career in the area. “While dating and early in our marriage, we would rent a house right across from Pere Marquette with our entire family and spend a week enjoying the beach,” she says. “The thought of getting to live where we vacationed was always enticing.”

Another aspect of life in Muskegon on which both women can agree – it’s the people (and their sense of community and collaboration) that really sell the region. “It has been said that if you want to go fast, go alone, and if you want to go far, go together,” Byard-Karaba says. “Our ability to thrive truly lies in the words and actions of our leadership.”

“My colleagues in different specialties are all willing to help and are approachable (not always common in some hospital settings),” Raehtz says. “As a family medicine physician, I do not always have answers, but I have a community of practitioners who I feel comfortable asking for help.”