For 1974 alumna Patricia Seeba, attending Glen Oaks Community College is a family affair.
“We were Vikings,” she said of herself and two siblings, all of whom graduated from Glen Oaks: brother Robert Gest in 1971 and sister Deb Poley in 1977.
Coming from Burr Oak, where the Class of 1972 had 25 members, “a major university was too big of a step,” she said.
Glen Oaks was the perfect solution. She already had friends there, and after an accident claimed the life of her fiancé, staying in St. Joseph County for the next level of her education proved the right move.
She joined the cheerleading squad, the newspaper staff, and the choir. And earned an associate’s degree in education, all while maintaining a 4.0 grade point average.
How did she do it?
“Up above the library there were little, tiny rooms,” she said. She scheduled a non-existent “class” and during that time each day went to one of the rooms to complete her reading and her assignments.
Her great grades in science led to a particularly fond memory – participation in a trip to the Smoky Mountains with Dr. David Gosling. The students camped out while studying sinkholes and rock formations.
The opportunity to take classes in a variety of subjects such as art, photography, and ceramics was a whole new world for the former Bobcat. In psychology class, when some classmates would say “we already had this” about the lesson material, Seeba would think, “we didn’t.”
“It was like magic for me, opening up the door of all these psychological principles,” she said. “For me, it was like getting an education at a big, huge school.”
Seeba went on to earn her bachelor’s degree in education at Bethel College in Mishawaka, Ind., and a master’s degree at Western Michigan University. Her career comprised teaching kindergarten and second grade at Bronson, fourth grade and first grade in Athens, being a middle school counselor in Athens, and being the Director of Guidance at Lakeland School Corporation in Indiana. She later started a reading program at Sturgis Middle School and worked as its librarian.
Over the years, she planted the seed of a Glen Oaks education not only in the minds of her students at Lakeland – some of whom she brought by the busload to tour the college – but also of her family, whose legacy at Glen Oaks now continues for two more generations.
Daughter Jeni (Downing) Taylor-Davis, a 2001 Glen Oaks graduate, played on the Vikings’ national champion women’s basketball team. She now teaches first grade at Wall School.
Daughter Sara (Downing) Freeman played softball at Glen Oaks; after teaching for several years, she began working at agricultural chemical and seed company Corteva. A catcher on Burr Oak’s back-to-back state champion softball team, she now coaches varsity softball at Bronson.
Niece Melissa (Poley) Brunt, a 1981 alumna who played softball as a pitcher with one hand, now teaches fourth grade at Eastwood Elementary.
Granddaughter Alayna Taylor, a junior at Sturgis High School, takes two or three classes at Glen Oaks through the Early Middle College program. She wants to become a psychologist.
Seeba’s current community involvement is significant: president of the Burr Oak Heritage Festival for 13 years and counting, past president of the Burr Oak Garden Club which plants flowers downtown, board chair for the Burr Oak United Methodist Church, and past member of the Burr Oak school board.
Her latest projects include helping with a mural in downtown Burr Oak, and participating in the downtown development association’s meetings to come up with a master plan for renovation of old buildings so everything fits together. Part of their vision is a mile of sidewalk with exercise stations.
Seeba is married to Shawn, who serves the community in his own right as vice president of the village council.