Nov. 7, 2022, GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. – Grand Rapids Community College is saluting students, employees and community members who served in the Armed Forces during an annual Veterans Day commemoration on Friday, Nov. 11, including remarks from veteran and entrepreneur Michael Hyacinthe.
The commemoration is planned for 10 a.m. on the Dr. Juan R. Olivarez Student Plaza near the college’s veteran’s memorial and iconic lion fountain.
Hyacinthe, a Navy veteran, was recognized as one of Inc Magazine’s Top 30 Under 30 Entrepreneurs in 2010. He founded Has Heart, a project aimed at connecting with wounded veterans and helping them experience restoration through art.
The Grand Rapids Business Journal named Hyacinthe a Top 40 Under Forty Entrepreneur in 2020 because of his work with wounded veterans and his children’s media and Wimage, a tech company he founded. This work led to the creation of an iPhone app and the start of the popular children's show called “Wimee’s Words” on PBS.
He earned a Top Veteran Owned Business award by Grand Rapids Chamber of Commerce in 2021.
Hyacinthe also will be part of a panel discussion for GRCC students and employees starting at 11:30 a.m. in the Veterans Center, located on Level G2 of Raleigh J. Finkelstein Hall on the Main Campus.
Topics include the transition from the military to higher education, challenges faced by veterans, and how to connect with GRCC resources supporting veterans.