Alex Ziemba

Student

Bay College freshman Alex Ziemba only began taking college classes a few weeks ago (as of September 2023), but he has enjoyed these courses so far. He also plans to spend his time at Bay exploring a long-standing passion of his—namely, engineering.

After graduating from Manistique Middle and High School earlier in 2023, Alex started at Bay College during the fall 2023 semester.

“I had one dual enrollment class, but that was it,” he said of his prior involvement with Bay.

According to Alex, the primary reason he chose to begin his post-secondary education at Bay was the value the college brought to the table.

“Basically, one semester at Michigan Tech costs as much as four semesters here,” he said.

He was also motivated by a desire to remain in the local area for at least a few more years.

“I wanted to stay in the area for a bit,” Alex said.

For the fall 2023 semester, Alex is mostly focusing on general education classes. He noted that his teachers seem to know their material well.

Later on, Alex plans to take classes related to his pre-engineering major. He is pursuing this major at Bay because engineering is both an interest and a potential career pathway for him.

“I’ve always wanted to design things, and engineering focuses on that—civil engineering, specifically,” he said.

Alex’s interest in engineering began when he started doodling things like maps, bridges, and buildings. He has also experimented with creating structures like these in the video game Minecraft.

Currently, Alex intends to stay at Bay until he completes the requirements for an associate degree in pre-engineering.

“How long that takes, I have no idea,” he said.

Beyond that point, Alex plans to continue his education by transferring to Michigan Tech. He then hopes to find work in the engineering field.