If Glen Oaks Community College’s 2018 commencement ceremony was a movie, it would be “Sister Act.”
“People thought we were triplets,” said Rebecca Lorenz, who along with older sisters Alison and Sara coordinated walking up as the last three across the stage to receive their diplomas that evening. “It was such a cool night for us.”
Rebecca described it as “truly luck” that she and her sisters, Three Rivers High School alumnae and daughters of Gary Lorenz and Lynn (Kruse) Page, completed their degrees at the same time: Alison had started her associates and only had a few missing credits; Sara had applied for the nursing program, and Rebecca decided to test in and join her.
Though Alison shared no classes with her younger sisters, Sara and Rebecca took all the same ones and sat next to each other.
“She was a great built-in study partner,” said Rebecca, who noted the competitive edge between them kept them motivated and on track.
They carpooled as much as they could, and as Sara put it, Rebecca “was a good support system – she knew exactly what I was going through.”
Academic advisor Leanne (Barnell) Steward shared how much fun she had working with the trio.
“I’d known Sara for quite a while so it was amazing getting to know all three,” she said. “They share so many qualities yet are three very different people! They all share a work ethic and a passion for their profession and took classes very seriously. They all have the biggest, kindest hearts of anyone you’ll meet. The love they have for each other and their family flows from each of them. They are three of the best people you will ever know and I’m blessed to not only have been able to work with them professionally, but call them all my friends!”
A 2007 Three Rivers graduate, Alison (Lorenz) Smeltzer had participated in some dual enrollment classes with Glen Oaks, and appreciated its proximity to home.
“Fifteen minutes from Three Rivers was fantastic,” she said.
Her post-secondary education began at Kalamazoo Valley Community College, but then “life happened” and a degree never materialized – until her sisters persuaded her to go back for her associates at Glen Oaks.
She loved Michelle McNamara’s public speaking classes; those, as well as the accounting classes she took as part of her Associate of General Studies degree, have helped her significantly in working with customers in her job as office manager at Gary’s Custom Meats in Union.
“It’s a good environment,” she said of Glen Oaks. “The smaller class sizes are really nice – you get more one on one time with instructors and you get to know your classmates better.”
Sara (Lorenz) Miller, a 2011 Three Rivers graduate, chose community college while deciding which career path to pursue.
“It was close to home, and I didn’t want to spend the ridiculous amounts universities charge,” she said.
Setting her sights on the field of nursing, she earned her LPN in 2017 and her Associate of Applied Science in Nursing in 2018.
Her classes prepared her for any aspect of nursing she might encounter, and clinicals offered real life experience. She appreciated all of her teachers, but especially nursing faculty Pam Carrel, Susan Louis, and Bill and Janell Lederman. In addition, Michelle McNamara’s public speaking classes “helped me come out of my shell.”
While Sara now works as needed as a nurse with the geriatric population in Cassopolis, most recently her primary role has been caring for and advocating for her son. Born with Down Syndrome and a congenital heart defect, he has spent much of his 10-month life at C.S. Mott Children’s Hospital in Ann Arbor.
Rebecca Lorenz, Three Rivers Class of 2015, started out taking general education classes at Glen Oaks, but upon learning that Sara was applying to the nursing program, got approval from Bill Lederman to test in and join the program that summer.
She especially enjoyed her med surg, pharmacology, and OB/peds classes, as well as instructors Pam Carrel and Susan Louis. The small class sizes allowed more one-on-one connection, and she learned skills she still uses on a daily basis.
Graduating with her LPN in 2017, Associate of Applied Science in Nursing in 2018, and (from Goshen College) Bachelor of Science in Nursing in 2020, Rebecca initially took a job in med surg at Bronson Methodist Hospital. Since January 2022, she has worked as an operating room traveling nurse, and is studying online for her Master’s of Science in Nursing.