SMC Jazz Ensemble Playing with Count Basie's Trombonist

Dennis Wilson was in the house April 18, polishing three hours nonstop into the evening with Southwestern Michigan College’s Jazz Ensemble for their collaboration April 27 during the 20th annual Thornapple Arts Council Jazz Festival. Wilson will lead SMC’s band on a few tunes and solo in Hastings. His gravitas enveloped the theatre in the Dale A. Lyons Building with authenticity, especially when he grabbed his trombone to rip off a solo for the rapt young musicians.

Pandemic Redirects Preston into Medical Assisting

At 52, Laura Preston of Niles pivoted from careers with retail giants such as Nordstrom and Saks Fifth Avenue and creative director for an Ohio vitamin company’s five-member marketing team to Southwestern Michigan College’s medical assistant certificate program.

SMC Student Art Show Opens

Sashenka Cruz of Dowagiac and Cecilia Matthews of Edwardsburg received recognition April 16 at Southwestern Michigan College’s annual student art show in the Art Gallery of the Dale A. Lyons Building. Cruz won the popular vote for the Peer Award. This is her first full year as a college student after starting at SMC while still attending Union High School.

SMC Students Explore Ohio, Tennessee, West Virginia and South Carolina

This year’s Southwestern Michigan College extended learning experience exposed history students to Ohio, Tennessee, West Virginia and South Carolina — 2,000 miles in four days. Nathan Andrina, Kaylee Brooks, Lyla Elrod, Lanie Gist, Seth Pompey, Gabby Blake, Michael Burks, Shane Edwards, Nathan Hetler, Lil Schinbeckler, Devin Bridges, Koya Cross, Olivia Garrod, Micah Ordway and Paige Waldrop participated.

SMC’s Phi Theta Kappa Chapter Inducts 14 Honor Students

“You may think you have it all figured out. Then life pops in and takes you somewhere else you need to be,” Professor of Social Sciences Dr. Mary D. Young-Marcks told 14 Sigma Psi Chapter of Phi Theta Kappa honor society inductees and their families April 12 in Southwestern Michigan College’s Mathews Conference Center West.

SMC Board Celebrates Athletics Success, Adds Three More Teams

The Southwestern Michigan College Board of Trustees celebrated athletics success at the national level on April 10 with a breakfast for the women’s basketball team and men’s wrestling’s 10 national qualifiers prior to its regular monthly meeting. During the session in Mathews Conference Center West, the board also voted unanimously to expand athletics in Fall 2025 by adding women’s wrestling, women’s track and field and men’s track and field. The Southwestern Michigan College Board of Truste

SMC Board Salutes Dr. Young-Marcks' Record 40 1/2 Years

Southwestern Michigan College Board of Trustees April 10 recognized Dr. Mary D. Young-Marcks for a record 40 ½ years on its faculty and her approaching retirement. “She has been a cornerstone of the SMC faculty since 1984, which by my conservative estimate might mean she has taught and impacted the lives of 10,000 students,” Provost Dr. David Fleming said.

DeYonte Sullivan's Health Care Path Leading Toward Doctor

One of Southwestern Michigan College’s first Honors Program students, DeYonte Sullivan, is still pursuing medicine. “I hope to be a dermatologist, family practice or Emergency Room doctor. I know that’s a range but they all interest me,” Sullivan said.

Weston a Semi-Finalist for National Scholarship

Southwestern Michigan College’s Nick Weston hopes the adage “good things come to those who hustle while they wait” applies to him. Weston, of Paw Paw, recently returned from New Orleans as one of five SMC presenters at the American Chemical Society national meeting.

Five SMC Students Present in New Orleans

Five Southwestern Michigan College students presented at the Spring 2024 American Chemical Society national meeting in New Orleans March 17-21. In a rare opportunity for community-college students, Mitzy Grana Diaz, Hartford; Alex Foster, Baroda; Katie Lull, Marcellus; Delaney Platt, Illinois; and Nick Weston, Paw Paw, presented findings of year-long research projects to academics, industry and government professionals.