Tammy Alvaro is a self-proclaimed “event junkie,” who got her start at Montcalm Community College.
Alvaro earned an Associate of Arts and Sciences degree from MCC in 1995, graduating with high honors. She then transferred to Central Michigan University where she earned her bachelor’s degree in commercial recreation.
She has spent the last 15 years working in special events coordination, serving as executive director of the Ionia and Cedar Springs Chambers of Commerce, with the Petoskey Regional Chamber of Commerce, as a member of the Michigan Chamber of Commerce Executive Board of Directors and as a trade show coordinator and meeting planner with Design Design, Inc. of Grand Rapids.
Currently, Alvaro is the coordinator of student advancement at Mid Michigan Community College in Harrison. During her year at MMCC, Alvaro has helped establish more than a dozen new student clubs and groups. She says there is a sense of satisfaction in helping students be successful in college.
“I tell students every chance I have, that when they become involved in student activities, clubs and events, they become passionate about what they are doing and what they have learned from the experience,” she says. “When they go out into the workforce and they are interviewing for a job, I tell them that passion will set them apart from others.
“When they tell a potential employer that they helped with an activity on campus and how they grew from that, the friendships they made and how the community as a whole benefitted, they will feel more confident and the employer will take notice,” she says.
That is advice that Alvaro says she experienced firsthand at MCC.
“As a student at MCC, my experiences helped me realize my potential and, most certainly, to really embrace a sense of community,” Alvaro says. “I learned so much from my adviser, Kathie Lofts, and built lifelong friendships with people such as Debbi Alexander. To this day, I turn to them both for advice.
“One of the things that have always impressed me is how interested Dr. Burns (MCC’s former president) and the Board of Trustees were with what we were doing as students. I remember sitting with Bea Doser and Dr. Burns and sharing what Alpha Tau Alpha was doing. They really took a personal interest in us, and I have never forgotten that example,” she says.
This article is reprinted from MCC’s Fall 2009 edition of Career Focus magazine. Visit http://www.montcalm.edu/cf/fall2009/index.asp to view the magazine.