Feb. 19, 2025
Chance Colter grew up at Grand Rapids Community College. Well, sort of.
Now a 28-year-old math instructor at GRCC, Colter began his association with the community college 13 years ago as a Wyoming High School sophomore enrolled in the community college’s all-new Middle College Program. The program allows students to dual enroll and simultaneously earn a high school diploma and up to 60 GRCC credits and/or an associate degree or technical certificate while in high school.
The Wyoming Public Schools Middle College launched in 2012 and was the first of its kind in West Michigan. The first cohort consisted of 50 students, including Colter.
“I really liked the GRCC professors who came to my high school to teach us,” Colter said. “The Middle College Program allowed me to graduate high school and earn an associate degree in liberal arts in a total of just five years.”
Because the cost of GRCC classes is covered by the school district’s per-pupil allowance from the state, middle college students don’t have to pay tuition to earn their associate degree.
“It was a big money-saver for me and part of the reason my student loans aren’t as big as some of my siblings, for example,” Colter said.
He went on to Grand Valley State University and completed his bachelor’s degree in mathematics in 2020 during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic.
He returned to GRCC to work in the Mathematics Tutorial Lab and teach FastTrack and Bridges to College. FastTrack is a three-week summer learning lab where students can strengthen their math and English skills in hopes of testing out of those classes when they start at GRCC. Bridges to College is a seven-week summer program to help graduating high school seniors prepare for college.
Teaching is a great fit for Colter.
“I had some experience tutoring at Grand Valley, so I worked as many hours as I could as a math tutor at GRCC until I eventually became an adjunct instructor at GRCC in 2023,” he said.
Colter teaches a range of math courses and continues tutoring as his schedule allows. He enjoys teaching – especially for the college that’s been part of his life for so many years.
“I think it’s probably given me a unique perspective on how a GRCC student or a community college student thinks, which is different than how some of the other professors who maybe went straight from high school to a four-year college or a private college probably think,” he said.
Colter said he plans to continue teaching and hopes to one day earn a master’s or doctorate degree, perhaps in applied mathematics, statistics or data science.
“I’ve always enjoyed learning and envision myself learning and teaching for years to come,” he said.
This story was reported by Beth McKenna.