Megan Bialkowski

Student

While Megan Bialkowski lives and works in Marquette, she has chosen to pursue a nursing certificate at Bay College’s Escanaba campus. Roughly a month into her first semester as a part-time Bay student, she said things have been going well for her.

Megan graduated from Marquette Senior High School in 2013 and worked in several jobs after finishing high school. Eventually, her friend Luci Matthews referred her to Norlite Nursing Center in Marquette, where she has been employed for about a year.

“I started at Bay through my work—lots of people there end up going to Bay. I also wanted to go through an LPN program, but Northern Michigan University doesn’t have that,” she said.

Nursing is not a new interest for Megan, but her current job has reignited her passion for the field.

“I’ve wanted to go into nursing since I was in high school, but I’ve wanted to do it even more than before after working at Norlite,” she said.

As a result of these factors, Megan started studying at Bay during the fall 2023 semester. She is currently taking 11 credits as a Bay student.

“It’s been going good, I think. I’m only attending classes part-time right now—I didn’t want to put too much on my plate by trying to work and go to school at the same time,” she said.

She has especially appreciated how much the people employed at Bay care about student success.

“The instructors are pretty cool and laid-back. If you need help, you can always get a tutor or ask your teacher,” Megan said.

According to Megan, she hopes to earn her practical nursing certificate from Bay in about three years.

“I have to get through my prerequisites first, and that’s going to take me a year or so. Then, I’ll spend about a year and a half on my nursing courses,” she said.

Though Megan is still thinking about what she wants to do after graduating from Bay, she has already started to enjoy her time at the college.

“I would say it’s a good learning environment,” she said.