Marcus Chidester - NMU Blog

During my freshman year of college I attended Lawrence Technological University in Southfield, MI, where I studied architecture. My whole life I thought I was going to be an architect until I got my first summer internship with a large contractor out to Southfield. Early on during the 12-week internship, I realized I wanted to focus more on the field side of construction. I began researching schools with Construction Management programs and NMU came up immediately. My sister graduated from NMU in 2022, so I had been up to Marquette/NMU many times before and knew that the campus/community felt like a home away from home. As the process became more serious, the CM faculty was very helpful in making sure the process was as smooth as possible and that I would be able to transfer as many credits as possible. It was the small things like a phone call during the day or timely email responses that helped me know that NMU was the right place to be.

Pretty much the same answer as the question above...My internship after my freshman year made me realize I wanted to deal with the field side of construction rather than the design aspect.

During my junior year, I served as the Vice President of Northern Michigan Constructors which is the CM student organization on campus. As VP I was able to incorporate all of the skills and knowledge acquired in the classroom and apply them to the real world by handling the coordination of multiple volunteer events throughout the school year. During the 2023-24 school year we completed about a dozen different community service projects for various partners in the community and here on campus. Some of those events included a fundraiser for the NMU Volleyball program, building new tables for the Indoor Agriculture program, and repairing the fencing at the Marquette Community Gardens. This experience was not only great for our community but also allowed me and the other members to work on our physical and interpersonal skills with our community partners.
 

As I mentioned in the question above, I was the Vice-President of Northern Michigan Constructors during the 2023-24 school year, and continue to serve as a "Senior Advisor" this year. Aside from that, I am also a member of the Student Leader Fellowship Program(SLFP) where I serve as a Leadership Programs Coordinator. My time in the SLFP has truly allowed me to become a well rounded leader in both an academic and professional setting. Through the program you complete a 2 credit leadership theory class, get paired up with a community mentor, and complete a 100 hour community service internship. During my community service internship, I coached a 9u baseball team where I was able to not only help develop the players skills, but also help organize a fundraiser to lower the cost-per-player for the upcoming year. Overall, both my experiences in the SLFP and with NMC have allowed me to gain a lot of perspective for the challenges that are faced everyday in our communities, while actively searching for ways to improve those situations.

 

Being a Wildcat is about seizing the opportunities that come your way. While you're at NMU and in your career, there will undoubtedly be opportunities that present themselves to you; whether they are something you're familiar with, or something totally new, you should attack them with the same level of effort. Even if you mess up once in a while, it's okay; what really matters is how you respond when things go south and create a positive result in the end.

NMU will undoubtedly provide opportunities for you to grow in a multitude of ways, should you make yourself available to them. Using these opportunities will not only improve your time here at NMU, but your professional career as well. Do not be afraid to step outside of your comfort zone and take up a new hobby, join a club, try IM sports, etc. It is through these experiences that you will see the most growth.