Adam Yuhas found his passion the second time he enrolled as a student at Montcalm Community College. 

After working for more than 20 years with the state, Yuhas enrolled in classes at MCC in summer 2022, where he had previously completed coursework in the mid-1990s. 

“As my family grew up, I knew it was time for a change in my profession,” Yuhas said. “I enrolled in a class and I really enjoyed it. I ended up completing my first degree in one year. The faculty and staff were very accommodating.”

Yuhas graduated in May 2023 with a Welding Technology Certificate with high honors. Around that time, MCC’s Industrial Technology Lab Coordinator position came open on the college’s Greenville campus. Yuhas applied and was hired.

“I loved my classes and found my passion,” Yuhas said of being a student. “MCC became my home. I went from being miserable in my previous work environment to finding my happy place here. Then I had the opportunity to make my happy place my job.”

As the lab coordinator, Yuhas is responsible for making sure all of the equipment in the labs is operational, including managing maintenance and supplies. He also hires and schedules lab supervisors, making sure there is staffing for lab hours and often working directly with students during lab time.

Through his journey, Yuhas learned more than coursework. He learned how to help other students through the ups and downs of college life.

“I’m a visual, hands-on learner. I have trouble grasping things until I understand them,” he said. “I can work with my students to help them find what works for them. I can walk them step-by-step through a process until it makes sense to them.”

One of his favorite aspects of the job is getting out to local schools and talking about the college’s skilled trade programs with potential students.

“I enjoy sharing my story and helping students see all the possibilities they have,” he said. “Who would have thought I could have such an impact?”

“I really appreciated the one-on-one attention I got with smaller class sizes,” he said. “There’s a personal level here at MCC that students wouldn’t get in a larger school setting. I found that all the staff I worked with were very willing to work with me – to see how much mind works and put it in language I could understand.”

When he returned to college, Yuhas was in a situation much like other mid-career students seeking higher education – he didn’t qualify for a Pell grant, so he felt the financial strain of paying for his classes on his own.

“Until I learned about One Workforce, I was paying my college expenses out of pocket. One Workforce really opened the door for me,” Yuhas said. “At that time, I was able to leave my previous employer and come back to school full time.”

The One Workforce program provides qualifying students with funding and support to succeed in their advanced manufacturing skills education.

Shortly thereafter, he also qualified for Michigan Reconnect, which offer students age 21 an older without a college degree a tuition-free pathway to attend community college, and funding through Workforce Innovation Opportunity Act (WOIA), which is for job seekers looking for education to fill a particular need based on hot jobs.

Yuhas isn’t done yet.

“I have also been taking other industrial classes along with general education classes to make myself more useful to the school," he said. 

“In my role, I feel like I’m making a difference and I’m really impacting students. When you’re here, you’re not a number, you’re a person,” he added.

Media inquiries, please contact:

Shelly Springborn
Director of Communications and Public Relations
shellys@montcalm.edu
989-560-0833