Newsletter November 15, 2021

We are so proud of the students in the Early College Program and our Allegan Advantage students. It is a privilege to be a part of their journey and a small part of the story! Enjoy our latest newsletter.

ECAC/ACATEC Water Drive for Benton Harbor

Like a good neighbor, EACA and ACATEC are there! Benton Harbor is experiencing extremely high lead levels in their city. Their citizens are advised not to drink, cook or brush their teeth with any water from a faucet. Allegan Area Education Service Agency Superintendent, William Brown wanted to help, so he initiated a bottled water drive which ran from October, 25th through the 29th. All the water collected was donated to the Benton Harbor Area Schools. Staff, students, and community members could drop off cases of water at the Allegan Tech Center, AESA, Hillside, and YAC buildings.

A total of 6,048 bottles were collected at the Allegan Tech Center between the community, staff, Early College, Allegan Advantage, and Tech Center students, The morning and afternoon classes with the highest donation received cider and donuts for their efforts. You can view the full story at Fox17 News Link or NewsChannel 3.

5th year student Natalie Yowler, 2nd year student Kaleb Baker, and 1st year student Ian Meyer are ready to collect and record bottles donated.

Ryan Brinks works with ACTEC students from the EMS program as they roll their donations in on a gurney!

A days' donation loaded and ready to take to the trailer that made it's way to Benton Harbor.

Getting Into the Spirit of Halloween

Time to have a little fun at ECAC! Students who dressed up for Halloween had their names put in a raffle for a chance to win a gift card. Twenty-nine students participated in our Halloween costume day and 5 participants' names were drawn. Below are some of the contestants and their regalia.

Class of 2022

Career Exploration through the ASVAB:

MSG Kenneth from the USA Army National Guard spoke with students about the career exploration and relevance of The Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery test to help identify areas of strengths. Students do not have to go into the military to have access to these scores and analysis. Benefits of joining the military to pay for further school through such programs as the ROTC, Reserves, or active duty were also presented to students.

Students could sign up to take the ASVAB at the Tech Center on November 5th. For more information, use the link below.

Career Exploration Program

FASFA

Click here to get started: FAFSA

October 1st the FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid) opened up for the 2022-2023 school year. We challenged our 13th year students to complete the FAFSA during this month and get entered into our drawing for FAFSA completion later in December.

To help meet this goal, the ACATEC counselor Jeana Steciow did a presentation for our students to launch them into this process.

Later in October, families could come in the evening to receive assistance in completing the application. Every year millions of state and federal dollars go unclaimed because eligible students have not completed the FAFSA. Most scholarships also require the FAFSA to have been completed.

If you still need assistance please let us know. We are happy to help.

Career Club Begins!

13th year students are actively preparing for their future. They have committed to finishing their Associates of Arts one year out of high school. Most all students have completed their college applications and now tackling the FAFSA. These pieces are vital. Many do not know what they want to study which is also vital when they need to decide on which college would be the best fit.

Through many discussions with committed LMC faculty, to help bridge this gap, the Career Club was born. This is our first Lake Michigan College sponsored club with Dr. Hernandez and Adjunct Instructor, Myrna McNitt as the advisors. This is student lead and gives students an opportunity to be involved in the development of the club. We are excited to see where this takes them!

Career Club-Guest Speaker

Lois Heuchert started her journey in Kansas graduating from Lyons high school then finishing her education at Kansas State University for Animal Science. She then became a Sales representative for TUCO animal Health then continued her sales career for Upjohn. She became one of the international marketers for Upjohn. Finally, she joined Pfizer as a regional sales manager. After retiring she keeps busy by owning and operating the Plainwell Kayak company. She showed the Career Club that there are many different options for a career and that you should be ready to be flexible, and if you are flexible you can do amazing things.

Class of 2023

Youscience

YouScience is the science of YOU – how your mind is wired, what makes you tick, the skills and knowledge that set you apart. You have talent and there’s a path that’s right for you – here’s how we help you discover it.

The class of 2022, 2023, and 2024 have been busy this Fall completing the assessments using the Youscience platform. It combines student interests and aptitudes to generate the best fit careers for them to explore. They were tasked with completing a report on 3 careers they were interested in learning more about. We will continue to utilize this information as they move through the program and look for opportunities to job shadow and identify colleges that offer degrees in chosen careers.

Check out more information on Youscience

Class of 2024

Creative Writer Winners

All first-year students upon entering the Early College program must register for the English Composition class. One assignment for Dr. Patricia Young's class is creative writing. Her students were placed in groups of 4 to 6 and challenged with the task to fabricate a thrilling-themed story.

The morning class story that won was titled "Cursed of the Stop Sign." Their narrative While the afternoon winning class story was titled "Gold Serena." This story was about the murder of a millionaire's daughter and a twist on who did it and why.

Recruiting class of 2025

Recruitment has begun for the Class of 2025. Current Soph0mores are encourage to check out our website for application information and also attend one of our information nights. There are virtual and in-person options:

November 16th , 6:00pm-7:00pm-Virtual (email evy.houser@alleganaesa.org for link)

November 18th, 6:00pm-7:00pm-At the ACATEC building

December 14th, 6:00pm-7:00pm-At the ACATEC building

December 15th, 6:00pm-7:00pm-Virtual

(email evy.houser@alleganaesa.org for link)

Early College Allegan County Website

Free COVID-19 Testing Throughout November

Free COVID-19 Testing Events throughout November

Allegan County Health Department is partnering with HONU Management Group and local venues to provide additional free drive-thru COVID-19 testing events in Allegan County each week. Both Rapid and PCR COVID-19 tests are available to individuals of any age, regardless of symptoms. Individuals under the age of 18 will need parent/guardian consent. Registration is not required, but encouraged to help the testing process go faster. Please wear a face mask. You do not have to bring a lab order to be tested. Interpreter services are available.

· Saturday, November 13th from 10am – 3pm

· Wayland High School (870 E. Superior St., Wayland, 49348)

· Sunday, November 14th from 3pm – 7pm

· Hamilton High School (4911 136th Ave., Hamilton, 49419)

· Tuesday, November 16th from 3pm – 7pm

· Casco United Methodist Church (880 66th St., South Haven, 49090)

· Thursday, November 18th from 3pm – 7pm

· Plainwell Middle School (720 Brigham St., Plainwell, 49080)

· Monday, November 22nd from 3pm – 7pm

· Allegan High School (1560 M-40, Allegan, 49010)

· Tuesday, November 23rd from 3pm – 7pm

· Casco United Methodist Church (880 66th St., South Haven, 49090)

· Monday, November 29nd from 3pm – 7pm

· Allegan High School (1560 M-40, Allegan, 49010)

Future planned testing events will be posted on at www.allegancounty.org/covid as well as the Facebook page @AlleganCountyHD. In the event of severe weather, ACHD will cancel testing events for the protection of staff and residents. Please check the ACHD Facebook page for any cancellation notices the day of the event.

Individuals in need of transportation can call Allegan County Transportation (ACT) at (260) 673-4229 before 12:00pm the day before the event for no charge.

Resource Corner

There is a newly launched website that is a great tool for students as they explore careers and work to identify a post-secondary plan. It is a collaboration of educators, the business community, and statewide resources to serve West Michigan Area families. It is a great resource to better understand career pathways and high demand jobs.

Check it out!

Spark Success

Important Dates

**Thanksgiving Break is November 24th - November 26th. Students return on November 29th.

**Last day of class is December 17th. The end of the Semester is December 19th.

**Book Returns are December 16th for the Class of 2022 and December 17th for the Class of 2023, 2024.

**Book Pick up for Spring Semester:

January 5th for the Class of 2024 along with Cohort Meeting.

January 6th for the Class of 2023 along with Cohort Meeting.

January 7th for the Class of 2022 along with Graduation Application Completion during Cohort Meeting.

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