Feb. 17, 2025
Andrew Balcer loved to learn. But school…? No way.
“I have dyslexia, so school wasn’t easy for me,” said Balcer, 28. “I was undiagnosed in my early years, so I couldn’t read until fourth grade when my parents got me some specialized tutoring.”
After graduating from West Ottawa High School in his hometown of Holland, his dislike of formalized schooling persisted. Rather than college, Balcer worked and later traveled to Africa on a years-long mission trip. He returned home in 2020 right before the COVID-19 pandemic began and held a few odd jobs over the years.
But he felt lost.
“One day, I just realized I wanted to do something more,” he said. “I walked into (Grand Rapids Community College’s) Lakeshore Campus to get some information and enrolled the very same day.”
Now in his final term at GRCC, Balcer embraces his college coursework. Always passionate about history, anthropology, philosophy and the humanities, he’ll graduate in May with a Humanities, English, Language, and Communication Studies Concentration Pathway degree.
“Originally, I was going to study business because I needed to make money; a mindset very prevalent in the West and all over the world today,” he said. “But the more I thought about business, I realized I just couldn’t do it. So, I’ve settled on the humanities and I’m glad I did.”
After graduating from GRCC, Balcer plans to continue studying history or philosophy at a four-year university.
“There's a real need for people to pass down knowledge about the past and that's why I lean toward history, which can teach us so much,” he said. “I’m not sure yet whether that means being a professor myself or perhaps working in a museum as a curator or something along those lines.”
Thanks to lower tuition rates at GRCC and Pell grants, Balcer is happy to be graduating debt-free this spring. He’s appreciated the convenience of attending most of his classes at GRCC’s Lakeshore Campus in Holland, rather than the Main Campus in downtown Grand Rapids.
Most importantly, Balcer said he’s grateful to the GRCC professors who changed his outlook on formal schooling.
“I looked at school as something that I couldn’t do until my professors helped me walk on my journey and showed me I can do this,” he said. “The vast majority of my professors went beyond my desires and needs, especially at the Lakeshore campus.”
Balcer encourages other older students to give GRCC a try.
“It’s never too late to go back,” he said. “GRCC is the right place for many people - including me.”
This story was reported by Beth McKenna.