Southeast Community College’s Training Solutions program focuses on providing continuing education opportunities especially designed for businesses and organizations. As part of the Continuing Education team, Marguerite Himmelberg is the Director of Client Solutions at SCC.
Tell us a little about your business. – Many people are familiar with the great credit programs at Southeast Community College but are less familiar with our continuing education work. Talent development is critical to today’s companies, especially with our changing employment demographics and low unemployment rates, and many companies are concerned with skills gaps that impact their businesses. I consult with companies to understand their unique training needs so our team can design, develop, and deliver training solutions that align with their business goals.
Through our college’s resources, we’re able to provide a wide variety of training on topics including leadership, software, English as a second language, CPR, safety, transportation, manufacturing and personal and professional development. And, as a lead college with Global Corporate College, we have access to the largest body of workplace-specific training curriculum in the world and are able to provide a one-stop corporate training solution for organizations with multi-state or global locations.
How did you get started in the business? – I learned about SCC’s Training Solutions team when I worked in Human Resources and was looking for a way to provide a blueprint reading class for some of our employees. SCC became a valuable business partner to me.
I’ve always been interested in talent and performance development and have been active with the Association for Talent Development (formerly known as ASTD) over the years. Leadership development and improving learning transfer (where the learner actually applies the knowledge and skills from training to impact job performance) are particular areas of interest to me. My position at SCC has been a very natural match for my talents and interests.
What has been your most important achievement professionally? – The achievements that get me most excited today are seeing the successful results that come from collaboration with talented instructors and highly engaged employers. I’ve been especially honored to have been recognized by talent development peers with the Leadership Hall of Fame award that was presented to me by the local chapter of the Association for Talent Development in 2011.
Tell us a little about your family. – My husband, Larry, is an Animal Nutritionist for the livestock and poultry industry. He works for Central Valley Ag and also has his own consulting practice. My son, Nathan, is an eighth-grader at Lux, and he is passionate about music and all things Minecraft.
What do you see as one of the biggest turning points in your life? – The birth of my son was huge. Parenthood certainly has a way of changing one’s perspective and priorities! We waited a long time for him, and I’ve savored every moment. One other experience that had a major impact was going to Europe with a foreign study educational group right after high school, which gave me wonderful exposure to the wealth of culture and experiences beyond my own backyard.
What is your favorite thing to do on a day off? – Spending time with my immediate and extended family, and I also love photography.
What is the most unique or interesting thing about you that most people probably don’t know? – Larry bought me scuba diving lessons for my birthday when we were dating, and my first ‘real’ dive was in the Cayman Islands on our honeymoon.
If our readers would like to contact you, how should they do so? – Via phone or email; (402) 323-3388 or mhimmelberg@southeast.edu, or visit our website at www.southeast.edu/Continuing.