Christian Nelson
2019 Gemmy Speaker
When did you graduate? 1987
Where did you go the years after graduation (dates)? College/work/other? I spent two years at NMU for Music Education (87-89) but wound up majoring more in social life. Dropped out and went to Bay for one semester in 1990 and then did the band thing for a while. Met my son’s mother and after the band broke up pursued management position through Hardee’s where I had continued to work since 1986. Moved to Munising in November 1994 when we opened the Hardee’s up there and ran that until 2000 when I left to find employment in Green Bay with my then girlfriend. After a falling out, was rehired for the Marquette Hardee’s by NMU (where I had worked as a student during my college time…weird). After a conversation with my mother on Christmas Day 2004, I explained my unhappiness with my position and decided to return to college to get my Accounting degree. I graduated in May 2007 from Bay College and applied and was hired for a position in the library (thanks to my previous boss at Hardee’s who gave me a glowing recommendation). While working there, I discovered a passion for teaching which then became my next goal. I returned to school and graduated from LSSU in 2012 with my B.S. in Accounting and then enrolled in Ball State’s online MBA program (graduated Dec 2015). I began teaching Personal Finance shortly after but saw an opportunity to teach Economics, but I needed a degree in Economics, so I went back to school at West Texas A&M online and will graduate in Summer 2019.
What do you like to do for fun? Spending time with friends & family, playing in the band, taking advantage of the beautiful outdoors in the U.P. during Summer & Fall.
What’s a happy Manistique memory? Being in The Naturals and touring across the U.P. and Lower MI.
What activities/jobs did you do when in Manistique? Worked at Hardee’s beginning in 1986.
Why is anything possible (coming from Manistique)? Coming from a small town and an area where there may be little for kids to do, it can be easy to get caught up in the thoughts of “is this all there is”. But once you are able to grow and expand your boundaries, you begin to realize that the limits placed on your success is only the ones you put on yourself. At a young age, I was thrust into a rural life. I had originally lived north of Chicago where there were tons of activities for kids to do after school and on the weekends. We had arcades, shopping malls, mega-playgrounds, Six Flags Great America; we were never bored. I found it difficult to adjust to small town living, but looking back I see that my opportunities arose due to my connections I had made at school and in my after-school job. People knew me and having that personal connection with teachers and supervisors allowed me to grow in ways I never may have had in a urban school with thousands of students.