SMC Arts Tour Concludes at Beckwith

Southwestern Michigan College Performing Arts’ spring high school tour played its lucky seventh concert May 17 back in Dowagiac at Beckwith Theatre. Seven is considered special and is associated with luck, completion, perfection and spiritual wisdom in contexts as diverse as seven days in a week, seven colors in a rainbow and the seven continents.

SMC Teaching Early Childhood Apprentices

Southwestern Michigan College is part of a new early childhood education apprenticeship program to combat childcare “deserts.” According to a 2024 National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) survey, more than 50 percent of Michigan childcare centers faced staffing shortages in the last six months, resulting in under-enrollment, increased tuition and classroom closures.

SMC Hosts Inaugural MiCareerQuest Cass County

On May 13 Heritage Southwest Intermediate School District’s Career and Technical Education (CTE) Department in conjunction with Michigan Works! and Southwestern Michigan College held the inaugural MiCareerQuest Cass County. This event exposed 900 Cass and Van Buren Counties ninth graders from 13 schools to the world of work. This event is “not just a career fair,” but “an interactive career exploration event.”

SMC Trustees to Proceed with Presidential Search

At its regular meeting on May 14, Southwestern Michigan College’s Board of Trustees unanimously approved the creation of an ad hoc search committee to hire a permanent president.

SMC Graduates 15-Member Nursing Class

Southwestern Michigan College May 10 welcomed 15 new nurses to America’s largest health care profession with approximately 4.3million registered nurses (RNs) nationwide. The federal government projects that more than 203,000 new positions will be created each year through 2031. The median age is 46, with more than a quarter of RNs reporting that they plan to leaving nursing or retire over the next five years.

SMC’s 58th Commencement Graduates 365

A future teacher who honed perseverance as a volleyball player and an adult business student with his head in the clouds spoke on behalf of Southwestern Michigan College’s Class of 2025 May 10 at 58th Commencement ceremonies outdoors in Alumni Plaza on the Dowagiac campus.

SMC Honors Outstanding Graduates

As a first-generation college student, Mitzy Grana Diaz of Hartford never expected to stand at a podium and “feel genuinely sad about leaving.” “As the first person in my family to graduate high school, every step of this journey has been completely undiscovered territory for me. I had no road map to follow, so I created my own,” Grana Diaz told SMC’s Outstanding Graduate Reception May 8 in the theatre of the Dale A. Lyons Building on the Dowagiac campus.

SMC Trails Upgrade a Tribute to Gunn

When a call went out to pay tribute to Southwestern Michigan College Hall of Fame Coach Ron Gunn, 219 individuals contributed.

17 Singers Perform at SMC Vocal Studio Recital

Seventeen vocalists sang May 7 at Southwestern Michigan College Visual and Performing Arts’ spring vocal studio recital in the theatre of the Dale A. Lyons Building on the Dowagiac campus.

10 Instrumentalists Perform at SMC Spring Recital

Ten instrumental musicians performed May 6 at Southwestern Michigan College Visual and Performing Arts’ spring semester recital in the theatre of the Dale A. Lyons Building on the Dowagiac campus.