NWTC honors alumni

GREEN BAY – Alumni of Northeast Wisconsin Technical College (NWTC) gathered last Thursday, Nov. 14, for an evening of recognition and networking, with the main event being the awarding of the college’s three alumni awards.

Three awards were handed out at the event — the Distinguished Alumni Award, Soaring Recent Alumni Award and Soar Higher Partner Award.

Nominations for these awards are accepted year-round and can be submitted at nwtc.edu/about-nwtc/be-an-active-alumni/alumni-awards-nomination-form.

Soaring Recent Alumni Award
This year’s Soaring Recent Alumni Award recipient is Gail Nohr.

After graduating from NWTC with a Substance Abuse Counselor Education technical diploma and a human services associate degree, Nohr found her purpose working at the Jackie Nitschke Center to earn her counseling license and help clients recover from drug and alcohol addiction.

“As a counselor there, I help up to 15 residents every 28 days while in recovery,” Nohr said. “I help them get coping skills and I help them find new ways to deal with their struggles. I see them turn around every day and it’s so rewarding. It’s so touching to my heart. It’s what I want to do.

While working and answering calls at the County Veterans Service Office, Nohr recognized a need for veteran housing and became a cofounder of Veterans 1st Village in Green Bay, a 21-tiny-home village being constructed for veterans in need of supportive, affordable housing.

A Navy veteran herself, Nohr will assist residents who may be struggling with addiction and will serve as case manager to coordinate services for the veterans from 75 partnering agencies.

“It’s part of the 12-step program of Alcoholics Anonymous,” Nohr said. “The 12th step is to help someone else going through struggles. I’ve been through it myself. I’ve been 17 years sober. I decided I wanted to help the next person going through that. Going to school at NWTC gave me that opportunity and I’m living out my dream every day. With the Village, I’m going to continue doing that every day.”

Distinguished Alumni Award
This year’s Distinguished Alumni Award recipient is Christine Walters.

A 2007 graduate of NWTC, Walters has made positive impacts in the lives of countless individuals through her roles as a registered, clinical manager, instructor and nurse practitioner.

“NWTC was the core of what I do,” Walters said. “It was where I started my nursing education. Everything that I’ve learned since then, it’s just built upon that base knowledge. Besides the critical thinking and the clinical skills that [NWTC] hammered into us, there was the professionalism aspect — good communication and timeliness in your job and showing respect for one another.”

Ten years later, Walters returned to NWTC as a nursing instructor after earning her master’s degree in nursing with an emphasis in teaching. In 2022, Walters took her education even further, earning a post-master’s certificate and starting as a wound care nurse practitioner with Aurora Medical Center-Bay Area in Marinette.

“When I got to work at NWTC as a nursing instructor alongside some of the instructors that were there for me, I watched them work every day and saw it from the other side,” Walters said. “They really do everything that they possibly can to ensure the safety of patients and to ensure that their nurses are prepared for the next step.”

Soar Higher Partner Award
This year’s Soar Higher Partner Award was given to the Oneida Nation.

Last year, a former partnership charter was renewed to serve the needs of Oneida Nation communities through educational opportunities for students as early as high school.

“We have about 120, maybe 130 kids in our high school, so we don’t get to offer as many classes as a normal high school,” said Oneida Nation Councilman Jonas Hill. “By partnering with NWTC, it helps us be able to offer classes that we can’t offer, like shop or woodworking and all those kinds of classes. For those students that meet extra academic criteria, it allows the, to come and attend NWTC and get an early start on school.”

Additionally, the Oneida Nation has provided financial assistance to more than 150 Oneida Nation citizens to help cover the cost of their education at NWTC and provided resources to help students prepare for higher education.

“When I was in high school, the Oneida Nation didn’t have a program like this set up yet,” Hill said. “But I was able to take welding at NWTC and the Nation paid for it… I remember how difficult it was for me to get signed up and figure out how I could take a class. Now that we have this set up… that process for the students offers so much more… The Nation takes great pride in making sure our community members are educated… Every year and every budget cycle, the Nation makes sure that there’s money for higher education needs.