'Paulie's Words of Wisdom' Machine shop expert helps students navigate life
Mar. 10—TRAVERSE CITY — Paulie Safina and his wife, Carolyn, were on a vacation in Traverse City. The year was 2000, and he had been living the retirement life for almost 10 years then.
"I told my wife, 'This looks like a good place to retire.' And she said, 'Yeah, it does.' But we had to determine if we could last a winter. So we came back and stayed at the Fox Haus," he said.
After a week of rain and snow, they bought a house and stayed in Michigan.
Since then, Safina, 86, has been an important part of the Traverse City community. More importantly, for 17 years he has been a key figure for students at Northwestern Education Services' Career Tech Center.
Each week, Safina devotes his time to working with students in the machine shops, offering expertise not only with using the tools and devices, but words of wisdom for navigating life.
"Paulie's Words of Wisdom" are chosen by Career Tech staff and displayed it on TV screens throughout the campus for all to ponder and enjoy.
"Life is 10% what happens and 90% how you react to it."Things changed for Safina at the end of 2023, when his beloved wife Carolyn died just days after Thanksgiving. Shortly after, Safina went in for a check-up on a hernia, and it was discovered he had pancreatic cancer.
He opted not to receive treatment for the Stage 4 diagnosis, and his four children — Michael, Carmela, Angela and Christopher — are currently running a GoFundMe campaign under Safina's name to create a scholarship to continue his work.
The Paul Safina Character and Achievement Scholarship will help deserving Northwestern Education Services' Career Tech Center graduates who face financial barriers, according to the fundraiser description. The campaign is nearly halfway to its $20,000 goal.
Meanwhile, despite his diagnosis, Safina refuses to sit still. He continues to come to the Career Tech Center, sharing his life experiences and knowledge with students.
"I don't know if I'd call it a 'wealth' of knowledge" he said. "I know a little about a lot, but I've been happy to share what I know with these kids."
"Education is an ornament in prosperity, and a refuge in adversity."Safina said he started going to the Career Tech Center in the mid 2000's, when he was looking to educate himself after inheriting his father-in-law's machine shop.
His time serving in the Navy from 1955 to 1959 is what started his love of learning.
"I didn't know how anything worked, but I knew that I admired the guys that worked on machines when I was on the aircraft carriers, and learned a little bit from them. So I bought books and started teaching myself when he left me the machine shop," he said.
He took a couple of courses himself, at age 70.
Former Assistant Superintendent for General and Career and Technical Education Jason Jeffrey was instrumental in not only covering his courses to learn the machines, but bringing him in to the small engine shop because "that was [his] forte," especially after he had worked on steam engines for 31 years in Brooklyn, New York.
"I operated school buildings and, in New York, you have to be an engineer to operate the building," Safina said. "I got my license and worked for the board of education as a stationary engineer."
He eventually sold his shop in 2019, but didn't sever his connection to the students.
"I was home quite a bit, and my wife told me I needed to get out of the house and do something, and so I started coming here," he said.
Safina also made a point to share other life lessons with students. He said it's important for them to understand that education continues after graduation — no matter where they go.
"The elderly; they inspire you, they entertain you, and you end up learning a ton — even when you don't know it."
