Nancy Przewrocki

Alumni

In her role as county clerk for Delta County, Nancy Przewrocki is a supporter of Bay and its work in the community. But her connection to Bay goes deeper than that – she has received two associate degrees from the college.

After graduating from Escanaba Senior High School in 1979, Nancy signed up to take classes at Bay that fall. She said starting her college education at Bay was an easy choice for several reasons.

“I could live at home, I could continue my part-time job locally and make some money, and I could get my basic classes out of the way before I transferred to Michigan Tech,” she said.

Nancy began taking classes at Bay during the fall 1979 semester. At that time, she worked towards an associate degree in science – a subject she said she had a natural inclination for.

“I had some excellent instructors – I had Mr. Hauesler, Mr. Ziemba, Mr. Erickson, Mr. Leinberger, Mr. Leffel, and Mr. Howard,” she said.

As a Bay College student, Nancy received a great deal of support from her teachers and peers.

“I had a close-knit group of students and instructors that I worked with, and it was very supportive,” she said.

In addition to her regular classes, Nancy was involved with student government during her first stint at Bay.

“We did a lot of fundraisers, and we brought in a lot of speakers. We brought in Mel Blanc – the cartoon actor – and Sen. William Proxmire,” she said.

When the winter 1981 semester ended, Nancy graduated with a degree in science. From there, she transferred to Michigan Tech – a process she said went as smoothly as possible.

“All my credits transferred to Michigan Tech, and it was a good base for continuing my education,” she said.

Though she attended classes at Michigan Tech through her junior year, she was unable to graduate there. Instead, she returned to Bay in the fall 1982 semester to pursue a degree in water technology.

“I was more interested in environmental science at that point, and I felt that I could use that degree to get a job locally,” Nancy said.

During her second time at Bay, Nancy said the college’s staff members and students continued to be helpful. She graduated with her water technology degree at the end of the winter 1983 semester; after that, she looked for work in the area.

“I actually worked for Shopko in their electronics department for a couple years while my kids were little. Then, I worked for Dr. Beckes in Escanaba – he was a plastic surgeon with a private practice,” she said.

After that, Nancy found a job with OSF Medical Group. However, her career soon went in a different direction entirely.

“My brother-in-law approached me – he knew [former Delta County clerk] Wally Thorsen was going to be retiring and I had the qualifications to do the job. So, I ran in 2000 and was elected,” she said.

Nancy has been Delta County’s county clerk ever since - recently, she started her sixth four-year term in this position. Even today, she still relies on the lessons she learned as a Bay student.

“I try to be helpful and supportive (whether it be to the public or to my employees and coworkers) and to go above and beyond. That goes back to the way I was treated by the instructors and staff at Bay, who were always helpful and supportive,” she said.

In fact, Nancy has actively sought out Bay alumni to work for the county government.

“I’ve always hired people with degrees from Bay, because I know they’re going to be good employees. They have the education they need to do a good job,” she said.

Additionally, she said Bay’s presence in Delta County has been a significant advantage for the region.

“It absolutely has a positive impact on the community, especially for businesses. Having access to a well-trained workforce is an excellent resource for local employers,” Nancy said.