Alumni Spotlight: Eric Wimbley

Pretty Lake Camp Executive Director Eric Wimbley credits Kalamazoo Valley Community College with helping him to develop a passion for learning. The Kalamazoo Central High School graduate came to Kalamazoo Valley right after high school, but it took him many years to find success in college.

Pretty Lake Camp is a non-profit community organization that has provided a cost-free summer camp experience to more than 50,000 at-risk youth from Kalamazoo County. Camp experiences have enriched the lives of thousands of youth by offering a safe, structured and encouraging environment in a natural setting. “After graduating from high school I soon discovered the hard way that I was not prepared to be a full-time college student, ” Wimbley recalled. “I spent a number of up and down semesters and years trying to determine how to successfully complete college. Even though some of those semesters were flat out failures, what I remember most about the personal failures is that neither the instructors nor the college ever gave up on me. I learned perseverance and how to overcome the hurdles outside of the classroom, such as food, shelter, and transportation. One of the most beneficial gestures by the college was the year they gave forgiveness for failed classes. To me that was another message that they weren’t giving up on their students.”

During his continued attempts at college, Wimbley was fortunate enough to get into a career without having a degree. “I continued on with my education because I knew that advancing in my career might still require a degree.” After a number of semesters taking one or two classes at a time, he earned an associate degree and then went on to earn a bachelor’s degree in criminal justice from Siena Heights University.

Wimbley had a 25-year career with the Michigan State Police where he went on to become a post commander, attend graduate classes at Eastern Michigan University in the School of Police Staff and Command, and complete the National FBI Academy for Leadership in Quantico, Virginia. “All of my academic and career achievements were possible because of the perseverance and academic fundamentals I developed at Kalamazoo Valley Community College,” he said. “I also learned from the staff at Kalamazoo Valley that one of the keys to true success is building relationships.”

Wimbley said he first developed a passion for learning and teaching at Kalamazoo Valley. “The first time an opportunity presented itself, I became an instructor at the police academy at Kalamazoo Valley,” he said. After retiring from the Michigan State Police, he became a high school teacher at the Allegan Area Educational Service Agency and later went on to work at Kalamazoo College as Director of Security before moving on to Pretty Lake Camp, where he is now the executive director.

“While I have had many opportunities to develop myself and my career, my true passion has always been providing opportunities for others to develop to their potential, ” Wimbley said. “Over the past 18 months I have been the executive director at Pretty Lake Camp. For more than 100 years Pretty Lake has been providing free summer camp to kids who can’t afford to go to camp. I was one of those kids who took advantage of that free summer camp experience. For the next 40 years, camp was never far from my life. Camp provided me with my first job, I spent summers working as a counselor, lifeguard, and kitchen help. Camp provided me with my first opportunity to serve on a board, I spent parts of the last two decades serving on the board and volunteering. Most importantly camp provided me a platform to be the best role model I can and to be a road map for others.”