Around NMU

Northern Michigan University's Seaborg Center will offer College for Kids Jr., hands-on and minds-on STEM classes for students in kindergarten through sixth grade. The classes are from 9:00 a.m. to noon on Saturday, March 25, and/or Saturday, April 15, at the Seaborg Center. Pre-registration is required with a $10 fee per class.

Northern Michigan University's Center for Economic Education and Entrepreneurship (CEEE) launched the Wildcat Economics Reading Program last semester, and students selected to participate who attended regular meetings received $500 CEEE Scholar Awards when it ended. A second installment of the program started in January. Students from all academic majors and backgrounds read and discuss non-technical selections on contemporary topics ranging from health care, property rights and freedom of speech to the environment, economic systems and discrimination. 

The UP200 sled dog race, established in 1990, is powered by Northern Michigan University, both in terms of sponsorship and volunteer support. Darlene Walch, president of the U.P. Sled Dog Association, estimates as many as 500 students will volunteer for this weekend's UP200 Powered by Northern Michigan University, Jack Pine 30 and Midnight Run. They help with everything from selling merchandise to vet checks for the dogs and crowd control, with several student organizations involved in the process.

Northern Michigan University's Pre-Vet Club continues to play an important role in three sled dog races taking place this weekend: the UP200 Powered by NMU, Jack Pine 30 and Midnight Run. Eight to 12 members from the club are expected to be volunteering at the events, helping the veterinarians to make sure the dogs' hearts and lungs are good for the journey, as well as checking on the condition of their paw pads, muscles and joints.

Writers with Northern Michigan University connections are well-represented on the 2023 listings of Michigan Notable Books and U.P. Notable Books. Phyllis Michael Wong, a campus and community fixture during her husband Les' tenure as NMU president, earned both distinctions for her historical account of the Gossard Girls, who sewed corsets and bras at factories in Ishpeming and Gwinn from the early 20th century to the 1970s. Several NMU alumni and faculty members contributed to a poetry anthology that was also named a U.P. Notable Book.

Northern Michigan University students in a social entrepreneurship special topics course last semester worked with refugees in Greece to improve their businesses. The students collaborated with Global Brigades, a nonprofit based in the United States with satellite offices that help communities reach health and economic goals. Global Brigades picks the businesses run by clients from different countries and connects them with students.

Northern Michigan University's College of Business will host its annual New Business Venture Competition on Thursday, March 16. The event features a trade show and business after hours event, followed by two “Shark Tank”-style competitions: the Mini Pitch, which students of any major can apply for by the Friday, Feb. 24 deadline; and the Big Pitch. The campus and Marquette communities are encouraged to attend.

"Drake and Josh" star Josh Peck, who has appeared in many other TV shows and movies and wrote his newly released memoir, "Happy People are Annoying," will visit Northern Michigan University. A moderated Q&A sesion, titled A Conversation with Josh Peck, will be held at 7 p.m. Monday, Feb. 13, in the Northern Center Grand Ballroom. 

Northern Michigan University's choral ensembles will perform a demanding piece—both musically and emotionally—that pays homage to a Wyoming college student whose violent death in 1998 made national headlines and played a key role in the later expansion of federal hate-crime legislation. Most of the NMU singers were not born when Matthew Shepard was lured from a bar by two men, tied to a split-rail fence and beaten unconscious because of his sexual orientation. But they are fully invested in doing justice to his story and its broader messages.

Northern Michigan University senior Anthony Gonzalez offered his professors a rare excuse for missing the first two weeks of the semester. He was in Nepal, successfully completing the iconic trek to Mount Everest Base Camp. By traveling during the off season—his only option before graduating in May and starting his career—Gonzalez encountered very little traffic on the route and was treated to “blue skies and crystal-clear views every day.” But consistent sub-zero overnight temperatures and the high altitude took a physical toll that required extra recovery time upon his return.