Alumni

NMU alumna Caitlin Sternberg, who earned her environmental science degree in 2021, is the new director of outreach and communication for Citizens for a Safe & Clean Lake Superior, a Marquette County nonprofit. She previously worked as a Great Lakes Climate Corp crew leader with the Superior Watershed Partnership, partnering with diverse groups like the National Forest Service or the Keweenaw Bay Indian Community on environmental projects.

NMU alumnus Mike Garland ('78 BS), who has served as an assistant coach for his former Wildcat basketball teammate and longtime friend Tom Izzo, is retiring after 22 seasons with the Michigan State Spartans.

A poverty-stricken childhood in Washington, D.C. did not stop NMU alumnus and boxer DaVarryl “Touch of Sleep” Williamson from compiling a long list of impressive achievements and accolades—not only for his powerful punch in the ring, but for his dedication to community service and education. The two-time national Golden Gloves champion, 10-time national amateur champ and former professional heavyweight was recently among six 2022 inductees into the Colorado Sports Hall of Fame. 

The long-awaited sequel to "Top Gun" has hit movie theaters, treating viewers to another round of visually engaging and intense flying sequences. NMU alumnus and U.S. Navy Lt. Zach Fini put his media production degree to use creating videos that project a similar feel, but in an authentic context depicting actual Navy Growler pilots, not actors. Assembling live footage from jet cockpits and the flight deck, along with musical backdrops, he produced some of YouTube's most popular Navy cruise videos. 

Northern Michigan University alumna Nanette Hanson has been named the 2022-23 Michigan Teacher of the Year. She is a first-grade teacher at Lemmer Elementary School in Escanaba. Hanson earned a bachelor's degree in elementary education and creative arts from NMU in 1994, and a master's in educational administration and supervision in 2009.

Northern Michigan University alumna Amber Kinonen, a full-time English instructor at Bay College, is one of the recipients of Bay's Outstanding Educator Award. She is being honored not only for her "tremendous knowledge, but her commitment to the Arts and Letters Division and her passion to help students succeed." 

Claudia Chavez-Rhoades of Marquette was selected as the Outstanding Global Campus Student award recipient by the Northern Michigan University Board of Trustees. She will graduate magna cum laude April 30 from the applied workplace leadership program, offered completely online and designed for nontraditional students and returning adult learners who have either completed associate degrees in any field or earned previous college credit.

Northern Michigan University alumna Shayla Manitowabi-Huebner, who ran her first Boston Marathon on Monday as a member of the Native Women Running group, was featured in media coverage around the event of efforts to increase representation of Indigenous women in the running community by encouraging and featuring their involvement. The 2019 NMU sports science graduate “crushed” the race, as one article stated, with a finish time of 3:25:25 after only two months of serious training.

John W. Berry Jr., a 1971 Northern Michigan University accounting and finance graduate who has supported his alma mater through student scholarships and athletic capital projects, will receive an honorary Doctor of Business degree at NMU's April 30 commencement. He will be recognized for his roles as a highly regarded business leader and philanthropist. Berry is a past recipient of Northern's highest alumni honor, the Distinguished Alumni Award.

Northern Michigan University alumnus Nick VanCourt is one of six inaugural winners of the Traverse Magazine Tastemakers of the Year Awards, which celebrate “six innovators who are changing the food and beverage conversation in northern Michigan.” The 2004 media production and new technology graduate is brewer and superior saisonnier at Barrel + Beam Brewery in Marquette, which he co-owns with his wife and 2003 NMU speech communication alumna, Marina Dupler.