There is a lot of excitement in the community surrounding the new Delta College Downtown
Saginaw Center. But it might be tough to find someone more thrilled than Saginaw City
Councilman Michael Balls.
“From the moment I heard about it a few years ago, I thought it was a wonderful idea,” said Balls, a lifelong Saginaw resident and graduate of the Delta College apprenticeship program. “It’s very exciting to have this facility in Saginaw in an urban environment with classes within walking distance or a short bus ride away. It’s going to bring a lot of people downtown – new students, new jobs. It’s fantastic.”
Skilled Trades Pride
Balls began his working career at the old Saginaw Steering Gear before returning to school to earn his high school diploma and attend Delta. He is now a skilled trades machine repair worker at Nexteer. That experience has Balls viewing the new building with a professional pipefitter’s eye as well. He definitely likes what he sees.
“It’s a beautiful building, inside and outside,” he said. “It’s really top of the line, first class. They did an excellent job with both the look and the mechanical components in it.”
Taking that kind of pride in one’s work is part of what Balls learned at Delta and has applied to everything he does. It’s also something he is confident others will learn by taking classes at the state-of-the-art Saginaw facility. “Skilled trades provides an extremely rewarding career with very good pay,” he said. “It’s something the governor is encouraging, and something I encourage. But first, you have to go to school, and second, you have to work hard. This center can help get people started with both.”
Bright Future Downtown
As a father, grandfather and great-grandfather, Balls also has a keen personal sense of what the Delta College Downtown Saginaw Center means as he looks to the future for his family and his community.
“Delta was very important to me in my life and career, and I’m excited that maybe I will have a third-generation pipefitter in the family,” he said. “For the city, for the whole county, Delta is really going to provide people here with an opportunity to get a two-year degree without the debt, or get started on a four-year degree. This is going to be big for generations to come.”