DearFriendsofWashtenawCommunityCollege,
Haveyoueverreadsomethingandthought,“Well,that’samightybigstatement?”
Here’sone: You—ourgenerousdonorsandfriends—arechanginglivesandbringing unmatchedpositiveenergytotheWCCcommunity.
Saying“thankyou”matters,butshowingtheimpactyoumaketellsamorepowerful story.Recently,whilepickingupdinner,ayoungwomanatthecounternoticedmy WCCbadgeandlitup.She’saCybersecuritystudent,gratefulforherFoundation scholarship,whichishelpinghergraduatesoonerthanexpected.Herplan?Transfer toUofM,justlikehersister—alsoaWCCalumandscholarshiprecipient.
Laterthatweek,Imetadentalassistantduringaroutineappointment.She’sa youngmotherwhoearnedhercertificatethroughWCC.Flexibleschedulingand jobplacementsupportmadeitpossible.“Life-changing,”shesaid.
Atphysicaltherapy,ImetaPTAwho’salsoaproudWCCgraduate—hereducation supportedbyFoundation-fundedtuitionassistance.
Overtheweekend,amechanicworkingonmycarsharedthathewasafirstgenerationcollegestudent.Duringatimeoffoodinsecurityandhousinginstability, theFoundation’sStudentEmergencyFundhelpedhimstayenrolled.Hecalled it“agift”heplanstorepayasafuturedonor.
Thesestoriesareeverywhere—wovenintothefabricofourcommunity. Theyinspireme,andIhopetheyinspireyou.
Thankyouforyourcontinuedsupport.Together,we’renotjust shapingfutures—we’reignitingthesparkthatturnsdreamsinto reality,onestudentatatime.
Withheartfeltgratitude, NikkiBorges
ChiefPhilanthropyOfficer WCCFoundation
“ Forstudentsinneed,thesupporttheyreceivethrough theWCC’sFoundationcanbelife-changing.Thanks toourgenerousdonorsandcaringcommunity,itcan meanthedifferencebetweenastudentachieving theireducationalandcareergoalsordroppingout ofcollege.Thatsupportcreatesarippleeffect— liftingupfamiliesandstrengtheningourcommunity forgenerations.”
–RoseB.Bellanca,Ed.D. President,WashtenawCommunityCollege
GRANTS TransformEducation “ Thisstate-of-the-artanatomicaldigitaltablewill enablestudentstovisualizeandlearnanatomical structuresinwaysthatwereneverpossiblein thepast.Thetableshowcasesrealcadaversof differentage,sexandpathologicalcondition tobeviewedinmultipleplanesandviews.This tableisatremendouseducationalpartnerfor theeffectiveteachingofanatomywhichisessential forstudentspursuinghealthsciencecareersaswell asotherstudentsinbiology whoareinterestedin exercisescience,zoologyandpathophysiology. ”
–SusanDentel
LifeScienceDepartmentChairand CoordinatoroftheSTEMScholarsProgram
PhotoCourtesyofAnatomage
SCHOLARSHIPS BoostStudentSuccess –XavierBethea WCCStudent
remendousl e suppor t nabled me thing that the cos t. make the thea ent
“ TheWCCFoundationhashelpedtremendously inmyfinancialsituation,helpingmesupport myselfwhileinschool.Ithasalsoenabledme togetaneducation,whichissomethingthat Ihadwrittenoffinthepastduetothecost. WhileI’matWashtenaw,Iwanttomakethe mostoftheseopportunities.”
Eachyear,theFoundationisproudtoawardscholarshipstodeservingstudentspursuingtheir educationatWCC.Thisyear,wewillproudlyaward$1.4millioninfinancialassistance,furtheringour missiontomakeaWCCeducationaffordable,accesibleandimpactful.Welookforward tothescholarshipdollarsweareabletoaward,andwethankyouforyourpartinthisprogress.
“ IwanttoacknowledgetheimpactthattheFoundation Scholarshiphashad,notjustonmylifebutonthe livesofcountlessstudentsfacingsimilarcircumstances. Thecommitmenttofosteringeducationandproviding opportunitieshascreatedarippleeffect,shaping thetrajectoriesofmanyindividualsstrivingfora betterfuture.
Thankyoutoallthedonorsforbeingacatalystfor positivechangeandformakingthepursuitofknowledge arealityforstudentslikeme.Icanonlyhopetoone dayfollowinyourfootsteps.”
–RuthieTimoficiuc WCCStudent
OVERCOMING Obstacles Overcome (verb)
Succeedindealingwith(aproblemordifficulty).
Obstacle (noun)
Athingthatblocksone’swayorpreventsprogress.
TheWCCFoundationiscommittedtoassistingstudentsinovercomingobstaclesthatwoulddeter themfromcontinuingtheireducation.ThroughWCCF’sstudentemergencyfund,eligiblestudents canrecievefinancialassistancetoovercomeobstacles.Sincetheinceptionofthefund,92%ofstudents whohavereceivedassistancehavebeenabletocontinuetheireducationaljourneyatWCC.
“ TheWCCFoundationhasimpactedmylifein somanywayswithoutevenexpectingit.Being abletoaskforsupportandreceiveithasreally broughtmecouragetocomeoutofmycomfort zone,tonotbeafraidtoaskforhelpandto beabletokeepmygradeshighandstresslevels low.TheFoundationalsogavemethepush Ineedtosurviveinthishardworld.”
“ TheStudentResourceCenter(SRC)isimmensely gratefulforthepartnershipandsupportprovided bytheFoundation.Thisassistanceallowsusto effectivelyaddressvariouschallengesthatprevent ourstudentsfromachievingtheirfullpotential atWCC.”
–CherylFinley MALLPC,CaseManager StudentResourceCenter
Student
–EmeryFlorentino
– Emer y Florentino CC
MEET OurDonors “ Webelievethatweareblessedsothatwecanblessothers. AsaresultofthewonderfuleducationavailableatWCC, studentsarewellequippedtotakeadvantageoflife’soptions andopportunities,andtofindgatewaysthroughthebarriers thattheymayface.Weareblessedtobeabletohelpinour smallway.”
–StefaniCarter
Ourdonorsallhavetheiruniquelifeexperiencesandreasonstosupportstudents,butthe onecommonstorylineisthattheycare!Whethergivingtoscholarships,helpingstudentsovercome obstaclesorhelpingmakeeducationimpactfulthroughgrantfunding,WCCFdonors arecommittedtomakingapositivedifferenceinthelivesofourstudentsandourcommunity.
he bles si for ard” famil res to achie e to an one for self-au
Theblessingof“givingback”and“paying forward”hasalwaysbeenatreasured familyresponsibility.WCCisthebestway toachievethisgoalandlendahandup toanyoneeagerforaneducationandstriving forself-autonomy.”
–NadraJohnson
“ WCCisawonderfulresourceforour community.Helpingstudentstake advantageofthisresource,particularly inthefaceofunexpectedchallenges, isaprivilegeandwearegratefulfor theopportunitytohelp.”
–MikeBoehnke&BetsyFoxman
Eachyear,hundredsofdedicateddonorshelpWCCFachieveourgoalofsupporting students.SinceJanuaryof2025,over1,400donorshavecontributedtoourefforts. Wecouldnotaccomplishourgoalofhelpingstudentsaccomplishtheirswithoutyou.
“ AsafamilywithdeeptiestoWashtenaw CommunityCollege,Iamhonoredto establishtheBrazilSaslowScholarshipFund inhonorofmygrandson.Thisfundwill supportstudentswhoarepursuingtheir educationaldreamsatWCC,justasmyson didmanyyearsago.Itismyhopethatthis giftwillhelpstudentswhoneeditmost, andI’mproudtocontributetoacollege thathasgivensomuchtomyfamily.”
–BarbaraDuncan
MEET OurDonors “ I’vebeendonatingtoandsupporting theWCCFoundationfor35years. IwitnesseverydayhowtheFoundation supportsourstudentsinpursuingtheir academicgoals.”
–LindaBlakey ProvostandChiefOperating OfficerforWCC
I hav my c
“ Ihavealwaysvaluedtherelationshipswith mystudentsthemostthroughoutmyteaching career.Mystudentshavemadesuchapositive impactinmyownlife,soIgivetotheWCC Foundationasjustasmallwaytothankand encouragethem.Ialsothinkhighlyofthe incredibleteamatWCC,andIwishthatmore peopleinourcommunitycouldbeafforded accesstoouroutstandingresourcesforgrowth.”
–BobbyKlemmer ProfessionalMathematicsFaculty
25 YEARS OF GIVING A Chat with Ron Schulz For the past 25 years, Ron Schulz, a seasoned employee of WCC has been donating to the WCC Foundation directly from his paycheck. After the passing of his father, Ronald V. Schulz, he established the Ronald V. Schulz Club Sports fund. As a long time supporter of WCC and the WCC Foundation, we sat down with Ron to find out more about what’s important to him and why he chooses to give.
WCCF: How long have you been working at WCC?
RON: 38 years. Ten in custodial and 28 in grounds maintenance.
WCCF: Wow! That’s a long time. What has your favorite part about working at WCC been?
RON: Making the college pretty. WCC is located in a very visual spot… I hear from my friends and other people when they know I work here: “Oh, this place looks so beautiful. I just drove past.”
Our main goal in grounds is that you don’t see trash. Not many campuses can say that. There’s no trash. We pick it up in the morning before anyone gets in.
WCCF: Tell me about the fund you started.
RON: Back in ’89, the fitness center hadn’t been built yet. They had a baseball field over there. They had a good baseball team here! The Washtenaw Warriors.
When I was little, my dad always surrounded me with sports. He was coaching. When I came to work at WCC. I even participated in club sports. Back then, he was playing too.
Sports are important. They’ve helped me meet new people and learn about different ways and people.
Later, when my dad passed way, I told the athletic director: “I’m going to donate from every paycheck in my dad’s name and I’m going to put it into club sports.”
I started donating and hadn’t thought about it. Almost 25 years and it’s still going strong.
WCCF: 25 years is a long time!
RON: Time passed by so quickly. You don’t even know. That’s why I think it’s important to donate to the Foundation – taking it out of your paycheck or however you choose to donate. You don’t even realize it’s missing because it’s not.
It’s going to a good cause.
Washtenaw has always done a very good job. They have supported me and my family very well and I just couldn’t imagine being anywhere else. It’s a good place.
I have given back to the college what they’ve given me.
WCCF: We were touched when we saw how long you had been giving to the Foundation and very excited when you agreed to be featured.
RON: If something happens where not many people are playing sports anymore, I’ll always give. No matter what. When I leave here the Foundation keeps going. I can keep giving.
The late Ronald V. Schulz
Ron Schulz
SavetheDate Gala Saturday,November8,2025 6–11p.m.
JoinusincelebrationasWashtenawCommunityCollegeFoundation beginsthe40thyearofmakingimpactandremovingbarrierstoeducation. Thisticketeventprovidesnotonlyaneveningoffun,food,friendsand entertainmentbutalsosupportsWashtenawCommunityCollege.
Visitwww.wccnet.edu/foundation/annual-events/gala/
. Forinformation
. Becomeasponsor
. Makeanauctionitemdonation
. Purchaseaticket
. Seepicturesfrompreviousevents
ALUMNIASSOCIATION TheWashtenawCommunityCollegeAlumniAssociation isexcitedtohaveyoujoinourcommunity ofproudalumniwhoshareapassionforlifelonglearning,careeradvancementandgivingbacktothe collegethathelpedshapeourfutures.
AsamemberoftheWCCAlumniAssociation,you’llenjoyexclusivebenefits,including:
. Networkingopportunitieswithfellowalumni
. Invitationstoalumnieventsandreunions
. Accesstocareerservicesandprofessionaldevelopmentresources
. Discountsonvariousservicesandproducts
. Ongoingupdatesaboutthecollegeandalumniinitiatives
YourjourneywithWCCdoesn’tendatgraduation.Weareproudtosupportyou throughoutyourprofessionalendeavorsandpersonalgrowth.Ouralumnicommunity isagreatplacetoconnect,collaborateandcontinuemakinganimpactintheworld.
Wolfpack,wewanttohearfromyou,pleasedon’thesitatetoreachouttousat foundation@wccnet.edu.
JDScottPhotography JD Scott Photography
WCCFOUNDATION BoardofDirectors ExecutiveCommittee
BhushanKulkarni,Chair
HollyHeaviland,Ed.D., Secretary&Vice-Chair
PattiJudson,Treasurer
RoseB.Bellanca,Ed.D.
BillMilliken, WCCBoardofTrustees
Liason
Directors
HankBarry
DanteBoutell
CindyByrne
MichelleCrumm
RebeccaDeVooght
DonnaDolemanDickerson
MichaelKipley
MarieKlopf
KirkProfit
BilalSaeed
KevinVanKannel
WendyWoods
Walter“Mac”Whitehouse,M.D.
“ ChairingWCCFoundationBoardandcontributingasa donorhasbeenaneye-openingexperience,revealingthe trulytransformationalroleWCCplaysinourcommunity. Asanentrepreneur,Iamdrawntoorganizationsand individualswhoembodyacan-dospiritandinnovative mindset.WCCexemplifiesthatenergyeveryday,creating opportunitiesthatchangelives.Itisaprivilegetosupport studentsandhelpensuretheyreceiveaneducationthat empowersthemtothriveandsucceed.
” –BhushanKulkarni Chair
TheWomen’sCouncilatWCC Mission: Toendowscholarshipsforstudentsbasedonleadershipandacademic excellence,buildamentoringprogramandprovideservicesandresourcesthat supportthestudentsofWashtenawCommunityCollege.
Everyyear,theWomen’sCouncil…
. ProvidesessentialsforWCCstudentsincludingscrubs fornursingstudentsandPPEforweldingstudents.
. Helpsstudentsinvocationalstudieswithscholarships.
. Providesfundsforstudentsinemergencysituations.
. HonorslocalSheroesinWashtenawCountywhogoabove andbeyondtheireverydayroletomakeapositiveimpact, breakbarriersandinspireothersinthecommunity.
FindoutmoreaboutWomen’sCouncilInitiativesat: https://www.wccnet.edu/foundation/#council
