Alumni

by

A recent graduate who attended college with the help of Michigan Reconnect, Kaleb Aethyr wants others to know there are plenty of ways for people like him to go to college.

It took Kaleb Aethyr a few years to figure out what he wanted his life to look like.

The 23-year-old Canton resident knew he needed to figure out what he could do to support himself, especially after dropping out of high school after dealing with some family issues. After spending some time working, he began looking at earning his GED and going to college.

“For me, no one is going to change my situation,” Aethyr said. “No one is going to do that for me. I had to whip myself into gear.”

Fast forward a few years and Aethyr has done just that: not only has he completed his associate degree right here at Schoolcraft College, but he’s off to study at the University of Michigan to study aerospace engineering, with goals of eventually becoming an astronaut.

His first experience at Schoolcraft College was before he was a student: he signed up to take his GED test through the Testing Center in the McDowell Student Center. After spending time on campus and learning more about what the College had to offer, he applied and began taking classes, albeit it somewhat reluctantly.

“I was scared,” he said. “I didn’t see myself as someone going into higher education.”

Aethyr took a year of coursework to get himself acclimated to college but really found himself blossoming his second year: after originally deciding on cybersecurity as a major, he took some courses and found it wasn’t for him. Thinking he could go the engineering route, Aethyr realized he needed a better foundation in math. So, he spent a whole summer teaching himself the math he didn’t learn in high school.

The hard work paid off: he earned a 4.0 GPA in his Precalculus class and – more importantly – discovered a passion for mathematics and science. After seeing success, Aethyr found his groove: he got more involved on campus, joined the Schoolcraft Scholars Honors Program and participated in events such as the STEAM @ Schoolcraft conference.

Errin Stegich-Moloney, the director of the Honors Program, said she saw plenty of potential in him once she met him. Like she would with all her students, she found herself motivating Aethyr in order to achieve his goals of attending U-M.

“As I got to know him, I recognized that his drive and determination and commitment were very strong,” she said. “He’s motivated, he’s bright. He’s a great young man.”

His role in the Honors Program – which is part of the part of The Center for Experiential Learning – gave him some additional resources as well: The LSA Transfer Bridges (TB2H) Program is also a part of The Center for Experiential Learning, which provides numerous resources to help students transfer to U-M.

Not only did his hard work help him succeed, but some assistance from the State of Michigan made it possible to pay for his education. Aethyr was one of the students that took advantage of a temporary change through the Michigan Reconnect program, which allowed residents 21 and older without a degree or credential to go back to their local community college and earn a degree tuition-free. While the typical criteria for the program requires participants be 25 or older, the state temporarily reduced it to 21 around the time Aethyr attended Schoolcraft College.

Without that, he said, he would never have been able to afford the tuition.

Aethyr felt so passionately about it, he joined several other students and administrators from the College to attend the Michigan Community College Association Capitol Day to meet with legislators to urge them to reduce the Reconnect age permanently to 21.

“That’s why I want so badly this program get pushed down to 21,” he said. “It’s important to catch people when they’re 21, because if you lose them, they’re probably never going to come.”

The fact that Aethyr wants to help others succeed isn’t a surprise to Stegich-Moloney, who has seen him constantly find ways to assist others.

“He always finds way to give back to his community. He wants to create those opportunities for others,” she said. “That’s just who he is.”

by

After a career in accounting, Eric Sokoloski found himself wanting more. So he enrolled at Schoolcraft College to learn how to brew the perfect craft beer. 

Real-life experience from his instructors was a critical part of Eric Sokoloski’s education at Schoolcraft College. 

A Dearborn High School graduate, Sokoloski had spent several years working in accounting. But he found himself wanting more. A radio spot he heard advertising Schoolcraft College’s Brewing and Distillation Technology program piqued his interest.  

A passionate homebrewer, he thought combining his business sense with his creative sense would lead to a successful new venture. 

“I have an artistic side, but I also have my numbers side. Brewing’s both,” Sokoloski said. “That worked out for me.” 

Those looking to join the exciting field of brewing are invited to an event this weekend. Schoolcraft College will hold an open house for its Brewing and Distillation Technology program from 3-6 p.m. Saturday, June 22 in the Vistatech Center, 18600 Haggerty in Livonia. There, prospective students can see the brewing facilities, learn more about the certificate program and enjoy a pint of student-brewed beer.  

He’s since found his new passion: Sokoloski is the owner/brewer of Great White Buffalo Brewing Company, which opened in 2023 in the heart of downtown Northville. The brewery boasts onsite brewed beers, seltzers, house made root beer and offers Michigan made wine and ciders from New Hudson-based Whole Hearted Winery located in New Hudson. They also have a full menu, including a kids menu as well as gluten free and vegetarian options. They have a full patio with events going on every week at the brewery.  

 It’s a venture he would not have been able to be a part of without the education he received at Schoolcraft College. 

wall of framed photos
Photos surround the Great White Buffalo Brewery logo on the wall inside the downtown Northville business. 

“The program taught me a lot, honestly. The program’s amazing,” Sokoloski said. “It has amazing teachers that have real-life experiences. Not only can they teach from the book, but they can tell you how it really is.” 

Sokoloski began looking for spaces to open a brewery in 2019 looking across the region before finding the brewery’s current home at Main and Center in Northville. He and his team transformed the space, a former frozen yogurt spot. Understanding all the needs for launching a business – from the utility costs to filing the regulatory paperwork – were skills he learned while earning a Brewing and Distillation Technology Certificate. 

Even after graduating several years ago, Sokoloski still keeps up with the happenings on campus. That includes regularly speaking to Tom Block, the head of the Brewing and Distillation Technology program at Schoolcraft College. That comradery extends not just to his alma mater, but with brewers from across the region. 

That’s just how the industry looks after its members, Block said. It’s not uncommon for either Block or Sokoloski to call each other, looking for advice or some additional product.  

“That’s one of our advantages of our craft beer industry,” he said. “We can reach out to other breweries owners.” 

Opening his own place has been an eye-opening experience for Sokoloski, who said it was always his goal to do just that. Gone are the days of his friends simply trying the beers he brews; now, the beer he creates is examined closely by paying customers. 

“I think it’s getting a better, bigger picture of what you’re doing. When you’re homebrewing and you have a crappy batch, your friends are going to drink it. They’ll support you through whatever,” he said. “Now I have a brand that I hold to very high standards and if we make a bad batch, we choose to dump it rather than serve a inferior product.” 

The drive to open his own shop was something Block saw in Sokoloski right away when he enrolled.  

“Eric was an awesome student. Not everybody comes in and says, ‘I’m going to open a brewery,’” Block said. “There’s a few of them that come in bound and determined.” 

With a year under his belt, Sokoloski said he’s looking forward to the next year as members of the community get to know his product better.  

His advice to those looking to change career paths and join the brewing field? Get ready to learn. 

“Take the class, get to know the instructors. And get ready to work because it’s tough,” Sokoloski said. “I knew it was going to be tough, but I didn’t know it was going to be this tough.” 

Main image caption: Eric Sokoloski pours a beer from the tap at Great White Buffalo Brewing Company in downtown Northville.  

by

It took a conversation with an acquaintance to lead Colin Rhys Camper to his career path.

Camper, who graduated from Schoolcraft College with an Associate of Applied Science Degree in Health Information Technology in 2021, said he did not know that field existed when a client of his hairdressing mother mentioned it to him. Being he was interested in coding using SQL and Java, he decided to check out the program.

Several years later, he’s now working in the field as a billing adjudicator for Allstate, a job he’s passionate about.

“Everyone on my team is Registered Health Information Technician (RHIT) certified and we all use our broad knowledge of medical practices to parse through medical records to ensure they line up with the correct billing. It doesn’t sound exciting on paper, but in practice it’s a lot of investigative work,” he said. “I myself have been working on the special investigations side and I honestly feel like Sherlock Holmes from time to time.”

After transferring many of his general education credits to Schoolcraft College, Camper began taking classes specifically focused on health information technology, which prepares students to enter the world of electronic health care recordkeeping. He got involved in different groups on campus, including tutoring fellow HIT students and getting involved with the HIT Club, a decision that he called a “no-brainer.” He worked closely with Peggy Chapo, the HIT Program Coordinator, to keep students together when in-person activities were not taking place.

“I did not have any previous medical history or skills and felt if I was going to get anywhere, I needed to network heavily. The HIT club introduced me to several peers who are still in the field today,” he said. “It also gave me the opportunity to lead during the pandemic when I became the de facto president. Peggy Chapo and I put a lot of effort into keeping students tightly knit together during that time.”

After graduating and obtaining his RHIT certification, Camper worked at Trinity Health indexing medical records for the Livonia-based health care system. A year later, he went to Allstate.

He said the job security has been a welcome addition to his career, something the numbers for the field back up: the job outlook for workers in HIT show an increase in 7% between 2021 and 2031, according to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics.

“The job security is important to myself as a parent and husband,” Camper said. “Knowing what I do has an immediate impact on the financial and administrative sector of my career means I can generally rest assured I’ll always be employed.”

Such work is great for those looking to get into health care but don’t necessarily want to be face-to-face with patients, Camper said.

“It’s a broad field that really offers flexibility to your needs. It’ll take some time to get there but I started with zero relevant experience and ended up at my career goals within 1.5 years of graduation,” he said. “If you’re interested in logistical problem solving, extrapolating large sums of data, or dealing with varieties of information in a multitasking sense, this is for you.”

Schoolcraft College offers a Health Coding Specialist Certificate and a Health Information Technology Associate of Applied Science that can help prepare students to enter the field. More information on the program can be found at schoolcraft.edu.