2023 Alumni Achievement Award – No Award Issued

2022 Alumni Achievement Award
Samuel Callen, Class of 2008

Born and raised in Kent City, MI, Samuel Callen attended MCC prior to transferring to Ferris State University, where he earned a Bachelor of Business Administration degree, and was an award-winning member of the school’s Speech and Debate Team. After Ferris State, he moved to Alaska to serve in the AmeriCorps VISTA program, with a specific focus on rural Alaskan economic development as a means of poverty alleviation. He later earned his MBA from the Harvard Business School, where he focused on strategy and private equity projects. He now focuses on leading the global strategy for the Worldpay division of FIS where he manages an international team that spans three continents, with a presence in the U.S., the United Kingdom, and India.

2021 Alumni Achievement Award
Mayra Sanchez Gonzalez, Class of 2010

Born in Mexico, Dr. Sánchez González emigrated with her parents and three siblings to the U.S. After graduating from MCC, Sánchez González earned a bachelor’s degree from Grand Valley State University. She earned both a master’s degree and a Ph.D. in counseling psychology from Texas A&M University. Today, Dr. Mayra Sánchez González is a clinical psychologist and Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation faculty member at the prestigious Johns Hopkins School of Medicine in Baltimore, MD. She works with patients and families to manage physical, cognitive, behavioral and emotional problems related to living with or recovering from an injury or illness.

2020 Alumni Achievement Award – No Award Issued

2019 Alumni Achievement Award
Nicholas Strait, Class of 2003

A native of Shelby, MI, Nicholas Strait graduated from Shelby High School. He attended MCC from 1999 to 2003, when he earned an associate degree in nursing. He went on to earn a Bachelor of Science in Nursing from University of Detroit Mercy, a Master of Science in Nursing and a Master of Business Administration from the University of Phoenix, and is a doctoral candidate in Nursing Administration at the University of Michigan. He is the director, facilitator, problem solver and overall project manager for construction, finance and clinical teams to complete Mercy Health’s $271 million hospital consolidation project.

2018 Alumni Achievement Award
David Takitaki, Class of 2005

A political science faculty member at Ferris State University, David Takitaki earned a bachelor’s degree from Michigan State University and a master’s degree from Western Michigan University. Within the Muskegon community, Takitaki wrote and hosted educational TV shows, founded and fronted the music group Beyond Awaits, was a fundraiser for Harbor Hospice of Muskegon, was a newspaper columnist, moderated debates for Muskegon Mayoral and City Commission races. He taught political science at MCC for more than a decade.

2017 Alumni Achievement Award
Rudy Bartels, Class of 2007

A  successful climatology researcher with the Southern Regional Climate Center, he has conducted grant study work at Western Michigan University, Louisiana State University, and the University of North Florida. He has also completed research for Homeland Security and at NASA’s Stennis Space Center in Mississippi and has presented his research at NASA headquarters in Washington D.C. At Muskegon Community College, he was a founding member, secretary and treasurer of the GEO Club.