The Three Peninsulas
Bette Nebel
As a student in Professor
Jim Monroe’s American
history class, I loved the
classroom exchanges. It
was the summer of 1960
and this was my first
encounter with Macomb
County Community
College (MCCC). After
graduation, I was employed
as a medical technologist
at St. Joseph Hospital
Laboratory in Mount Clemens. Since my duty was to
instruct students in clinical laboratory skills, Professor
Bill Allor of Macomb’s Chemistry Department suggested
I apply for a teaching position in the Macomb Medical
Assistant Program, which at that time was seeking clinicalbased teachers.
My first day at MCCC, I was on the teacher-strike picket
line. There, I met Professor Jay Ice, history, who remarked,
“You live in a real city (Mount Clemens) with historical
roots.” I treasured Jay and Jean Ice’s friendship for many
years. We shared a love of history that led me to take his
Latin American history class. I learned many teaching tricks
from Jay like, “one does not need to show the whole video
to make a statement.”
Joining the South Campus science faculty expanded my
horizons. I had never envisioned being a teacher in my
undergraduate program. Professor June Robinson, a
veteran educator, team-taught with me my first semester.
She mentored me with friendship and professional
partnership. My Dean, Dr. Jean Trubey, supported my
completion of a master’s degree in microbiology.
Later, I joined the faculty of the Medical Laboratory
Technician Program at Center Campus. For several years,
I worked very hard with Professor Christine Zacwacki of
the allied health faculty, to obtain national accreditation
for our programs. I also learned competency-based
curriculum methods.
This was helpful in teaching laboratory-based skills in
Macomb’s science programs.
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An invitation to serve on the AVMA Accreditation National
Board for Veterinary Technician Programs opened a new
phase for me in clinical pathology. Macomb Community
College (MCC) students practiced large animal handling
at my Dunham Road Farm. Dr. O. Krause, DVM, used his
arias to catch horses, sheep and cattle.
My final full-time assignments were in the South Campus
Science Department to teach microbiology, environmental
science and nutrition. Expanding students’ opportunities,
I worked with Michigan State University Extension
nutritionists to develop a new class, Nutrition, to serve
allied health and liberal arts students. Partnering with
physical science professors, I worked on developing an
Environmental Science class. My passion was awakened
with this new science discipline. MCC students took field
trips to Lake St. Clair, the Clinton River and the Detroit
River aboard a school ship on which I crewed as a
naturalist for Michigan State and the University of Michigan.
Professor Susan Calkins and I hosted two-day
Environmental Issue Concerns workshops at both Center
and South campuses. At this time in the 1980s, Michigan
was ranked #2 in pollution behind only New Jersey.
During the course of my years at Macomb, my family
hosted many international students in our home. MCC ties
to Mexico were developed through the Mayan Project.
Several of these students visited MCC for exposure to
community college classes and events. Some Mexican
students took classes at MCC. Today, one is a successful
executive secretary at an international firm and one was
elected this year as Mayor of Valladolid, Yucatan.
When the interdisciplinary travel course to the Yucatan
Peninsula, Mexico, was offered, I signed up as a student.
Later I was able to teach ethno-botany and a directed
study in sea turtle nesting and water quality testing on
the Yucatan coastline. The students I selected for this
class were non-science majors who could sleep in a
hammock and tolerate insects and reptiles. I chose nonscience majors because they would influence many more
people than lab-based scientists. These students did go
on to positions in Detroit Metro Parks, Macomb County
government and schools in Southeastern Michigan.
The 1990s began with a technology boom. The College,
through Dr. Carol Zajak, sponsored me to earn a certificate
in online teaching from Stanford University in California.
As a founding faculty member for MCC in online teaching,
I developed and taught environmental science online for
several years. What a challenge! I saw students obtaining
knowledge without visual distractions.
All of these experiences with the learning community
of MCC enriched my life on the farm in Michigan and
Paradise in SW Florida. I have found lifelong pleasure
in my volunteer work with 4H, Master Naturalist, Master
Gardener and SeaGrant. The three peninsulas echo the
messages:
If you seek a beautiful peninsula, look around you(MI)
Seek the fountain of youth(FL)
Freedom(YU,MX)
Bette Nebel, Professor Emeritus, Biology