Macon State College MVPs is a web feature that profiles notable students, alumni, faculty and staff.

Residence: Warner Robins.

High School: Rochelle Township High School.

Family: Parents, Haskell & Pat Nutgrass (Flora, Ill.); “my wonderful wife,” Jennifer Nutgrass; children, Gage, 14, Tanner, 11, and Cason, 6.

Current Employment: President – Universal Funding Consultants, Inc., a small consulting firm based out of Warner Robins. “We assist public and private schools in the acquisition of federal funding support for telecommunications services and technology infrastructure projects.”

Degree: Bachelor of science in business, accounting major, class of 2008.

Macon State Activities: Accounting Club.

Career: “I decided in early 2005 that going to school full-time and being a husband and a father to three boys were not challenging enough. I had been assisting a few service providers and school districts with their participation in a federal funding program and decided to formalize the venture. The firm has grown from two clients in 2005 to twenty-one school districts currently. It really has been like having two jobs at once over the past five years. Providing the product and service to clients, as well as running the day to day business decisions from an administrative standpoint, is challenging and time-consuming. I see the firm continuing to grow and hopefully achieving a level of sustainability that I can step back a little bit and watch it run without my intervention. I'd like to go back to school and obtain an MBA in business.”

He chose Macon State College because … “After falling short on my first attempt at a bachelor’s degree twenty years ago, I wanted to finish what I had started so that my children could see the importance of an education, and that it was never too late for an education. I needed an institution that was close to home, offered the degree fields I was interested in, and was economically effective for our family budget. Macon State has done an excellent job of partnering with industry groups in the community and, in turn, making sure the benefits are relayed in the media. I was aware of the opportunities available from watching these partnerships grow and wanted to take advantage of the education right here at my doorstep. The opening of the Warner Robins Campus provided the perfect chance to complete my bachelor’s and get the classroom interaction with both classmates and instructors.”

The one thing that surprised him about Macon State was … “The quality of the instruction was a surprise for me. The majority of the professors had both academic and industry experience in the subject matter.”

His favorite professor was … “There were several professors in multiple departments that made my experience at Macon State memorable. However, one comes to mind that exemplifies the qualities that capture my attention as a student. I had the pleasure of having Dr. Trip Shinn for two courses in the business department. His grasp of the subject matter and enthusiasm for transferring that knowledge to the students were contagious.”

One thing people don’t know about him is … “In my day-to-day life, I wear business clothes and attend board meetings. When nobody is looking, I change into camouflage or appropriate fishing attire and hit the woods or water. I trade the office for the outdoors every chance I can.”

The one person he’d most like to meet is … “Warren Buffett. There are some shared interests and background I believe would make for an interesting conversation. Two mid-western guys pulled from the corn fields having a sandwich and discussing business. Sounds like a good time to me.”

Five years from now he sees himself … “Watching my boys grow into men. It’s the hardest job I’ve had, but the one that delivers the most satisfaction. When they are well on their way, I’ll take a well-deserved, long vacation with my beautiful wife, just the two of us. I might even sneak in a fishing trip or two.”