Friends of NWTC Magazine Friends Fall 2019 | Page 12

A LOVE FOR LEARNING FOUND
IN THE LOVE FOR FAMILY
A photography scholarship in hand, Bridget Novak attended a
community college in a Chicago suburb near where she grew up.
But the timing was not right. “In my eight years operating the pub with my sister,
probably the last five I had talked about going back to
school,” Bridget said. “It was always on my mind, but it took
me so long to commit.”
“I wasn’t ready to continue my education at that point,”
Bridget said. “Looking back, I really wish I was, but I just didn’t
have the right mindset. So, I made mistakes and failed out, in
turn losing my scholarship.” It was after giving birth to her daughter, Sylvia, that Bridget
got serious about making a change. She wanted a more
regular “9 to 5” schedule that would allow her to spend time
with her growing family.
So, she began bartending. She moved to Wisconsin at the
age of 22 to open a bar with her sister in Kewaunee. In 2007,
the pair opened Blue Door Sports Pub, which is still up and
running today. “It was hard not being the one to put my baby to bed every
night,” Bridget said. “That’s when I chose Northeast Wisconsin
Technical College.”
As great as running a successful small business was, Bridget
admits she never really stopped thinking about College.
Graduates Bridget and
Michael Novak and their
daughter at the NWTC 2018
graduation ceremony.
In the fall of 2015 — while raising her young daughter
— Bridget enrolled part-time in the Design and Graphic
Technology program at NWTC. She stopped working at the
bar and began nannying. The change gave her time to focus
on college and bond with her daughter.
A few semesters into her time at NWTC, Bridget said she
was asked to think on this question: What would she be if she
never had to worry about money?
“My response then, and still now, is a lifelong student,” she
said. “I didn’t understand just how empowering learning was
until I had taken classes at NWTC.”
Her love for learning had an impression on her
husband, Michael. Just two years after Bridget
went back to school, Michael decided it was
time he too completed his college education.
He had previously taken classes at NWTC and at
a four-year institution, but did not earn a degree.
Longing for a career that would not entail being away
from his family for long periods of time, he re-enrolled
in the Marketing program at NWTC and has never
looked back.
“[I] chose NWTC for the convenience and flexibility
they allow for working parents, and the many
accommodations they fulfill for returning adult
students,” Michael said.
The duo attended NWTC together for
about a year.
Bridget is candid about the ongoing
challenges her family faces. Working
and raising a toddler is tough
enough. Both parents going back
to school at the same time adds
another obstacle. But, she said, “if
you want something, you can always
make it work.”
Make it work they did. Bridget’s
passion for design led her to
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