Meet Our Faculty

When Padmavathi (Pat) Lathers speaks to students in the English for Academic Purposes (EAPP) classes she teaches at Macomb, her knowledge of the subject matter is backed by a wide world view and fluency in four languages.

Growing up in Singapore with parents who had emigrated from Malaysia, Lathers learned to speak comfortably in English, Chinese, Tamil (a language of India) and Malay. Because she was introduced to all these languages at such an early age, she can now move effortlessly between them without stopping to think.

“While my students need to mentally translate from their mother tongue, I don’t have to stop and do a translation in my head,” offers Lathers. “I can speak to one person in English and another in Tamil both at the same time. But I know what it’s like to learn another language.”

In Singapore, Lathers was surrounded by multiculturalism and that, as much as the languages she learned, led her to where she is today.

“One cannot stop learning about other cultures,” says Lathers.  “That is one of the reasons I love talking to and relating with my students.  I want to hear their background stories and, from them, I’m always learning.”

To offer that experience to others, Lathers launched an International Students Group that she hopes will connect all Macomb students, regardless of homeland, in a joint exploration of the world around them. With its first officers now in place, Lathers serves as advisor.

“There has been a good response this year from native students,” offers Lathers. “They are interested in learning about other cultures.”

Lathers moved to the U.S. on her own 30 years ago.  Her destination was Northwest University near Seattle, Washington.  There, she earned a bachelor’s degree in biblical literature and met Jonathan Lathers, her husband and an EAPP professor at Macomb. Before settling in Jonathan’s home state of Michigan, where they raised their son Christian, the Lathers worked as bible translators to with the Summer Institute of Linguistics.

“I have traveled widely,” acknowledges Lathers, who earned a Master of Arts Degree in Teaching – Reading/Language Arts from Oakland University and also teaches an Extensive Reading course for EAPP students at Macomb. “Before I was married, I traveled overland with friends from Pakistan to the United Kingdom. We drove through Iran, Turkey, Bulgaria, Serbia, Slovenia, Italy and France, mostly camping in areas too remote for hostels or hotels. That is still my favorite trip.”

For Jacqueline Wanner, learning is a lifelong experience. She has earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Advertising Design from Wayne State University, an Associate of Applied Science in Website Programming from Macomb, and a Master of Science in Management from Walsh College. Currently, she is pursuing an online Master of Arts in Educational Technology from Michigan State University. “I’m already trying to plan out what I want to do next,” muses Wanner. “I’ve always been interested in education, even from my younger years in elementary school. I almost didn’t like summer vacations, because it meant I couldn’t be in school.”

Teaching would seem like a natural fit for Wanner, a self-proclaimed “fitness geek” and “full-time vegetarian” who enjoys technology and art, but it wasn’t her first choice. “I was going to be a graphic artist and I was in the industry for a long time. I went into web design.”

When presented with the possibility of teaching, Wanner thought she could never do it. “I can’t get up and talk in front of people. It scares me to death.” Within no time, those fears were allayed. “I slowly migrated to this in some weird way. I can’t imagine doing anything different.”

In 2009, Macomb hired Wanner, a proponent of online education, for a full-time faculty position. Her role blends the best elements of all her interests. “Take the passion of the industry and the creativity of the website design and development piece and bring it to the classroom for the students, and that’s what I love to do. I have the opportunity to hopefully touch someone’s life.”

What can students expect when participating in one of Professor Wanner’s classes? First and foremost, she wants to ensure they are taking advantage of available resources. “I’m not going to give you the answer right away. I’m going to make you think a little bit and develop the skills that allow you to research the answer and experiment.”

This approach recently led Wanner to cofound a makerspace at Macomb with Professor Martin Kohl. “It’s a space where students can dream big, make stuff, play, create, design and have fun,” says Wanner, “without worrying about making mistakes or failing.” She believes that it is through failure that students learn best. The makerspace provides students with access to all sorts of gadgets, including a Raspberry Pi, a 3D printer, virtual reality goggles and littleBits electronic building blocks. She hopes this community environment will instill confidence in students and possibly inspire the next generation of technological innovators.

“Maybe,” offers Wanner, “we’ll discover the next Steve Wozniak or Steve Jobs.”

Laurie Niemer hopes her passion for the respiratory therapy field is contagious so that her students can embark on a career as successful as her .

It started in 2003 when, newly divorced with one of three children still at home, Niemer began looking at employment options. After she began taking classes at Macomb, she attended a Respiratory Therapy program open house and that is all she needed to convince her that she had found her calling.

“I wanted to be in the health care field, but never knew about respiratory therapy,” says Niemer, who worked her way through college as a restaurant manager and a store detective at Meijer. “It is such a pleasure to use your knowledge to help people. And the same goes for teaching. I’m very involved in my students’ education.”

Just before graduating from Macomb in 2005, Niemer was hired by St. John Hospital after completing her clinical experience there. She has provided respiratory therapy to patients in the neonatal, pediatric, ICU and ER departments.

“ER was my favorite. The fast pace kept you on your toes, but it was crazy,” says Niemer.  “At least once a shift, someone came in with a gunshot wound.”

One of the most gratifying moments in her career, however, didn’t occur in a hospital or a classroom.  It was when the daughter of a friend reached out to Niemer on Facebook for information on how to deal with her young son’s asthma attack.

“I helped her understand what was happening with her son and what to do,” relates Niemer.  “She let me know that after the cool shower I suggested, he was doing much better.”

So dedicated is Niemer to the respiratory therapy field that she applied to serve on the Michigan Board of Respiratory Care and was appointed to a four-year term by Governor Rick Snyder last month.

“I’m active in our state society,” says Niemer, “and members told me they needed someone to be on the board to work on making our licensure procedure better.”

Niemer holds a Bachelor of Science Degree in Respiratory Therapy from Carrington College and a master’s degree in Education from Northeastern University. She worked as clinical coordinator of the Respiratory Therapy program at Oakland Community College before accepting the full-time teaching and clinical coordinator position at Macomb in 2015.

“This is like home. It’s the place that gave me a new look on life and at the greatest profession,” says Niemer. “Coming here was the best decision I ever made.”

Shaun Sarcona was considering a career in either math or accounting when he enrolled at Macomb after graduating from Fraser High School.  But once he discovered the technicolored possibilities of computer imagery, he dismissed them both as too “black and white.”

“The great thing about the graphic arts is that you have the ability to work on a variety of projects.  One day you are designing a logo, then a T-shirt, then a 3D vehicle or animation,” says Sarcona, Macomb Media and Communication Arts (MACA) professor.  “Design is everywhere.  An artist has had their hand on most everything we experience throughout the day.”

Sarcona earned an associate degree in graphic and commercial art from Macomb in the 1990s and began a successful freelance career.  He returned to the College in 2002 as an employee, working full time as a technician in the Information Technology Department and teaching part time in the MACA program.  He subsequently earned a bachelor’s degree in mass communications from Rochester College and began teaching full time in 2008.

“I enjoy helping people get to the next step in their lives,” says Sarcona. “I enjoy bringing innovation and excitement into the classroom because it was one of the driving forces behind my own education.”

While students in the classes he teaches learn on the most current 3D and Computer–Generated Imagery (CGI) software, Sarcona insists that they have a firm foundation in basic design principles that he believes will, ultimately, be more enduring in their career.

“Everything is constantly changing in this industry,” says Sarcona.  “I want them to leave with techniques, not just know how to use the tools.”

Recently, Sarcona’s students got to use both tools and techniques on the design of the torch that will be used in the Macomb County Bicentennial Torch Relay and will light the celebratory fireworks display in downtown Mount Clemens on June 22.

“Working on something and seeing it go from brainstorming, to paper to something you can hold that will be seen by thousands of people is something many students don’t get to experience,” says Sarcona.  “I’m glad my students had that chance.”

As a human resources (HR) executive, Angela McLean walked a fine line between service and finance. It’s what prompted her to earn an MBA from Wayne State University and what infuses her teaching in Macomb’s Business Management program.

“I have always been a student of how people make businesses successful. When I was developing and running HR departments for smaller companies,” relates McLean, “I always reported to the chief financial officer, who was very analytical. Sometimes it could be a tough task balancing the two. But it showed me that the everyday workers are the business heroes and good managers know this.”

McLean joined Macomb’s business faculty in 2008 after realizing that conducting employee training was the most fulfilling aspect of her HR duties.  In her role as Macomb’s lead faculty on the Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses initiative, McLean teaches leadership courses to CEOs and other decision makers at Wayne State University and at Babson College in Boston, home base for the initiative.

“I meet small business owners from all over the world and then bring what I learn from them back to my students,” says McLean.  “It’s the best of both worlds.”

McLean’s experience also includes five years of running her own small retail shop – designing and printing elegant wedding invitations. It’s characteristic of her mission to stay on top of business’ constantly changing dynamics.  Although she holds the highest professional certifications in human resource management, for example, McLean spent last summer as an HR intern with Quicken Loans in Detroit.

“I worked with awesome people who welcomed me on their team even though they knew I was not part of the internal pipeline for their organization,” says McLean. “I learned how HR functions today.  It is radically different from when I started out.”

Her perseverance in remaining current in her field is one of the reasons McLean was nominated for and received the National Institute for Staff and Organizational Development (part of the University of Texas at Austin’s College of Education) 2018 excellence award for teaching. For a professor whose favorite times of the year are the first day of class and commencement and who is regularly impressed by the “grit and resilience” of her students, it was “super gratifying.”

Also gratifying is teaching at the college where she got her start, before transferring to Michigan State University (MSU) and earning a bachelors degree in business management.

“My mom and dad went here.  It was automatic that if you were going to college, you started at Macomb,” says McLean, whose husband, Tom, earned an accounting degree from Macomb, and son, Brendan, a mechanical engineering at MSU, attended while in high school. “What is so special about teaching at a community college is that I get to be part of that opportunity that changes everything for a student.  It is such a rewarding experience.”

When Rick Gordon stands in front of a homeland security class at Macomb’s Public Service Institute, he strives to inspire each student to follow in his footsteps.

Gordon has patrolled the Mexican border, went undercover for a year with the federal Drug Trafficking Task Force, headed up regional U.S. Border Patrol recruitment efforts in Washington after 911, was deployed as a reservist to Southeast Asia and served in the Office of the Chief Master Sergeant for the Air Force at the Pentagon.  He’s also earned two associate degrees from the Community College of the Air Force and bachelor and master degrees from Central Michigan University, and is a distinguished graduate of the Non-Commissioned Officer Academy at McGhee Tyson Air National Guard Base in Tennessee.

“Every day I just do the best that I can do in any given situation,” says Gordon, special operations supervisor for the U.S. Border Patrol’s Detroit Office, and chief master sergeant with the Air National Guard and command chief of its 110^th Attack Wing.  “That has worked best for me throughout my career.”

Like his students, Gordon started out at Macomb, enrolling in its Fire Science program in 1987 after graduating from Bishop Gallagher High School.

“It was an integral part of my education. I never dreamed I would be back as faculty,” says Gordon. “I derive as much satisfaction from teaching as I do from my service in the Guard and Border Patrol.  I have many veterans in my classes and to help them and other students aspire to a career in law enforcement is very fulfilling.”

Gordon joined the U.S. Air Force Reserves in 1991. He spent three years assigned to Selfridge Air National Guard Base as a firefighter to the 927^th Civil Engineering Squadron, before being hired by the U.S. Border Patrol and deployed to New Mexico for six years. Reassignment to the northern U.S. border brought him back home, where he signed up with the 127^th Wing of the Michigan Air National Guard.

“I am the son of a military veteran and I’ve always had a desire to serve,” says Gordon. “I tell my students that the reserve is a fantastic way to serve your country.”

The 110^th Attack Wing, of which he was appointed command chief last October, is headquartered at the Battle Creek Air National Guard Base. Gordon commutes between Battle Creek and his home in Macomb County, which he shares with wife, Laura, and their three children. The mission of the 110^th includes remote piloting of the MQ-9 drones, agile combat support, and cyber defense. Gordon is responsible for advising the base commander on all matters related to the health, morale and welfare of the base’s enlisted personnel, which number about 700, and their families.

“Although we are smaller than Selfridge, we have a unique mission to the Air Force,” says Gordon. “To have the opportunity to serve at this level is an honor and a privilege.”

If you are juggling work, classes and home life, Linda Bajdo knows your pain.  If you want a campus experience that’s welcoming and inclusive, she’s got your back.  And if you are conflicted about the meaning of “success,” she has some insight she will gladly share.

“Just because you are successful in what you are doing,” says the Macomb psychology professor, “doesn’t mean you are doing what you should be doing.”

Shortly after earning a bachelor’s degree in marketing from Michigan State University, Bajdo was hired by Manpower Detroit, a staffing corporation, and began working her way through increasing levels of responsibility and stress.  To ensure her career’s continued momentum following a divorce, she took night classes at Northwood University, earning an MBA while working full time and caring for her young son.  She was vice president/area manager, responsible for operations at 10 offices when she decided to call it quits.

“I always knew I wanted to be a teacher, but there weren’t many teaching jobs when I started college. I was encouraged to pursue something more practical,” says Bajdo. “After 10 years at Manpower, I knew I wasn’t doing what I wanted to do.  My professors at Northwood told me I should get my Ph.D. and teach. And, at first, I thought, ‘me, a Ph.D?’”

Remarried by then, and with the support of her husband, Michael, Bajdo made the leap from business executive to graduate student at Wayne State University.  She chose a field that appealed to her, industrial and organizational psychology, which allowed her to put all that business experience to further use. Even before completing her Ph.D., Bajdo started working part time in Macomb’s Institutional Research Department and learning her away around campus.

“I fell in love with the College and with its students,” says Bajdo. “I had finally found someplace that matched my own personal values: Anyone can come here. Anyone can succeed.”

Her research work progressed to a full-time position, which was followed by an appointment to associate dean.  Again, Bajdo found herself on a successful fast track, but it still wasn’t leading to where she wanted to go. When a full-time faculty position opened up in psychology in 2006, she didn’t need GPS to tell her she had arrived at her destination.  Since then, Bajdo has been a champion of inclusion on the College’s campuses. She is a founding member of the Macomb Multicultural International Initiatives, the faculty advisor for the student LGBT Alliance and the coordinator of the SAFE @ Macomb program.

“There is nothing better than that feeling that you are doing what you are meant to be doing,” says Bajdo. “And when a former student calls me up to share some good news, it’s like receiving a huge bouquet of flowers. And when they ask if I remember them, I say: ‘Of course I do, you were unique and unforgettable.’”