Aug. 5, 2021, Grand Rapids, Mich. -- Always remember, at GRCC, you are surrounded by people who want you to be successful and are ready to walk with you on your educational pathway. We are here to help!
Meet Marisol Blanco. Marisol is associate director of GRCC’s College Success Center, which hosts success coaches who are passionate about assisting students along their educational paths.
The center connects students with helpful campus resources, and runs programs such as FastTrack, a three-week learning lab to help strengthen academic and study skills and prepare students to take placement tests through a combination of web-based and professional tutor-guided activities.
Marisol earned a Bachelor of Arts in Sociology, Spanish, and Latino Studies from the University of Michigan, and then a Master of Education with an emphasis on Adult and Higher Education from Grand Valley State University.
This month she was recognized by the Michigan Department of Labor and Economic Development as the state’s AmeriCorps Site Supervisor of the Month.
Her department has two AmeriCorps college completion coaches to support first-generation, low-income, and students of color with a focus on college persistence and completion.
“Blanco is dedicated to student success and retention,” read an announcement from LEO. “Drawing on her own experience as a low-income, first-generation college student, a Michigan College Advising Corps alum, and a GRCC Success Coach, Marisol works to bring forward ideas like FastTrack and other coaching initiatives to improve student success at GRCC.”
The state praised Marisol as an exemplary leader who is focused on staff development as well as student success.
“As a servant leader, Marisol focuses on rapport and team building to create a cohesive team and promote a healthy team dynamic, creating a warm and welcoming environment for college completion coaches as much as permanent staff. From her dedication to lifting others up, to maintaining a cohesive team, she embodies the values and goals of AmeriCorps and the College Completion Corps program.”
Marisol was recognized as one of the 2018 Top 50 Latinas of the state by the Hispanic Latino Commission of Michigan, and was one of 13 people saluted by the West Michigan Hispanic Chamber as a Young Professional of the Year.
You can find the College Success Center at 113 Sneden Hall on GRCC’s DeVos Campus, and can connect with the team through email at collegesuccess@grcc.edu and by phone at (616) 234-2312.