In his first two and a half weeks as Lake Michigan College’s newest president, Trevor Kubatzke has been working towards his goal of getting to know students, the community and their needs in the education and labor force sectors.

Kubatzke comes to the Benton Harbor-based community college from Saginaw, where he most recently served as the vice president for student education resources at Delta College. He officially succeeded LMC’s longtime president Robert Harrison on April 10. Harrison will be retiring, but is currently helping to aid the transition.

Throughout last week, Kubatzke traveled to several of the college’s multiple campuses, including Benton Harbor’s Mendel Center, the South Haven Campus and Bertrand Crossing to talk with residents and students during a welcome reception.

Thursday at LMC’s Bertrand Crossing Campus, Kubatzke said he felt grateful to be in a community like Berrien County.

“Everywhere I have gone so far, there are energized people in every community that want to see our cities growing,” Kubatzke said. “They want our young people to do well and have jobs. If you have that going for your region, you cannot be stopped.”

Since his earliest interviews for the job, school officials who chose Kubatzke out of 92 total candidates said his drive to build the community that LMC helps to serve was a winning trait.

During the reception, Jeff Curry, a member of the LMC board said it was also Kubatzke’s well-rounded experience that made him stand out during the application process.  Throughout his career, Trevor has served multiple community colleges in leadership roles, including Upper Iowa University, Lincoln Land Community College and Eastern Region Education Center.  Kubatzke also has a doctorate of philosophy in education administration in community college leadership.

“We are lucky to have him,” Curry said. “He is really clued in on student success. However he also knows that we are here as a college to be a key resource to our employers.”

Buchanan City Manager Bill Marx said for many southwest Michigan manufacturers, skilled workers can be hard to find. Marx also sits on the board of the Southwestern Michigan Economic Growth Alliance, where he said he often hears many manufacturers expressing a need for more skilled labor. In the coming months, Marx said he hopes Kubatzke will help to address these needs.

“Skilled trades are so important,” Marx said. “ We have a state-of-the-art skilled trade center [Hansen Center] right here at LMC. Our area needs it [skilled manufacturers] because right now there is a lack of employees.”

Without these employees, companies like Modineer Company and CNS that help to provide Niles manufacturing jobs cannot grow and expand as the industry demands, Marx said.

In addition to serving colleges, Kubatzke also served as a police officer in Iowa. As a fellow former police officer, Marx said this career experience is invaluable in teaching someone how to listen — a trait he sees in Kubatzke, Marx said.

Looking to the future, Kubatzke said he is definitely keeping an ear out for the local industry’s job needs. To further his knowledge in this area, as part of his tour last week, Kubatzke also met with members of the Southwest Michigan Economic Growth Alliance board during an annual meeting.

In an age where many college students graduate with thousands of dollars of debt, crippling their finances for years, LMC may offer a less costly alternative, which could also serve as a stepping-stone to a four-year degree.

Kubatzke said he hopes to help encourage high school students that LMC could be a good fit for them.

As he continues to meet with members of Berrien County, Kubatzke said he hopes to share that he will be around to lend an ear.

“I am someone who wants to hear from our community,” Kubatzke said. “We are the community’s college, so they need to have access to us. If there is something they need or want, look to us first.”