May 19, 2023, GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. -- Grand Rapids Community College’s inaugural soccer program will get a boost from a Sport Opportunity Grant provided by the National Junior College Athletic Association Foundation supporting student athletes. GRCC was awarded a $2,000 grant, which will support scholarships for student-athletes. GRCC’s men’s and women’s soccer programs launch in the fall. Lizzy Hornack, a two-time All-American at Davenport University, and Damiekco Smith, who has ties to the University of Michigan-Flint program, will guide the new GRCC teams. “We’re not just fielding teams, we’re building a program and a culture at GRCC,” Athletic Director Lauren Ferullo said. “Athletic programs provide fantastic opportunities for students, providing lessons and experiences that will help students for the rest of their lives. Scholarship assistance, in some cases, helps these students have access to college and athletics. We deeply appreciate the NJCAA Foundation’s support for our students and programs.” Ferullo said the soccer program was needed to meet a growing interest in the sport. Soccer is currently the most asked about sport from prospective student-athletes when they visit campus. “Two-year collegiate sports provide student-athletes with the opportunity to further both their athletic and academic careers,” said Brian Luckett, NJCAA Foundation executive director. “The NJCAA Sport Opportunity Grant affords the NJCAA Foundation a pathway to continue supporting student-athletes and the member colleges who provide them with these incredible opportunities while also promoting continued growth and development throughout the organization.” About the NJCAA Foundation The mission of the NJCAA Foundation is to enhance the NJCAA national organization, student-athletes, member colleges and local communities through financial support, scholarships, program initiatives and community service.    

May 18, 2023, SUMMIT TOWNSHIP, Mich. – The Grand Rapids Community College baseball team's chance at a World Series appearance came to an end after dropping two games in the NJCAA Region XII Tournament on Thursday. GRCC advanced to the final four of regionals after sweeping Ivy Tech Community College on May 11. Despite 15 hits, the team dropped its opener 13-6 to Lansing Community College, ranked No. 4 in the nation. Jake Gumieny and Xander Reisbig led the team with three hits. Trevin Laming, Fernando Rivera-Calderon and Joe Hoeks all had two. Jared Berkenpas (8-2) took the loss giving up six earned runs while striking out six. In the nightcap, GRCC faced Kellogg Community College, ranked No. 6 in the nation, in an elimination game. GRCC fell behind 3-0 after two innings, but scored two each in the third and fourth innings to take their first lead of the game.  But Kellogg scored five unanswered runs to win 8-4 and advance in the tournament. The Raiders out-hit the Bruins 11-9 and were led by Laming, Gumieny and Zacarias Salinas with two hits each. Lucas McKinney (8-2) gave up three earned runs over four innings to take the loss. GRCC's season included an MCCAA Northern Conference Championship with a 23-2 record, an MCCAA championship and a 35-14 overall record.   This story was reported by Ben Brown.

May 18, 2023, GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. – Grand Rapids Community College’s Older Learners Center plans an open house on Wednesday, May 31, 2023 to celebrate National Senior Health and Fitness Day and share how participants can stay active and independent. GRCC Engaging Wellness classes are designed specifically for older adults, are community centered and taught by certified instructors.  The event will take place from 10 to 11 a.m. in the Gerald R Ford Fieldhouse, 111 Lyon St. NE, and will include tours and information about the four health and fitness programs offered through the Older Learners Center.  Free passes to these programs will be available. GRCC’s OLC has been serving community members aged 60 and older for more than 25 years. The four health and fitness programs currently offered are Arthritis Foundation Aquatics, Enhance Fitness, Fitness Foundations, and Stretch and Strength. The classes are all focused on health, making friends and having fun. GRCC partners with the Area Agency on Aging to bring a variety of physical fitness programs to the senior community. “These classes really make me aware of how beneficial and fun exercise can be as I age! The personal trainer is so kind, patient, talented, caring and fun!” said Jane Monroe, who participates in the Stretch and Strength class. Lannie Collard is the lead instructor and program manager for Older Learners Programs. Collard, who studied Gerontology at Western Michigan University, teaches fitness classes designed specifically for older residents. “Helping individuals age successfully became my passion over 25 years ago. Success stories from my participants keep me inspired,” she said. To learn more or RSVP go to grcc.edu/olc .  

May 17, 2023, GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. -- Nora LeClaire and her younger brother, Charlie, browsed a small selection of children’s books housed in a wooden box outside Zinser Elementary School’s front entrance.    Second-grader Charlie pulled out a lengthier book for his fourth-grade sister who was looking for something more challenging than picture books. Their dad, Brian, said both kids are avid readers; Nora is reading Harry Potter books and Charlie reads to their 4-year-old sister before bedtime. “Going to a library can sometimes be overwhelming, like having too many choices on a menu,” he said. “It’s easier to choose a book with fewer choices.” The LeClaire family is one of many enjoying new little lending libraries at Zinser, Alpine and Central elementaries in the Kenowa Hills School District. The boxes, handcrafted and painted by Grand Rapids Community College students, operate under a “take what you need, leave want you can” system, and are monitored by each school’s librarian. Compact, freestanding libraries — modeled after but not always affiliated with a national movement — allow for book-sharing within neighborhoods and communities. Individuals or organizations can place tiny libraries in their yards or on their properties for others to enjoy. By Students, For Students A group of GRCC students completing an honors program capstone project came up with the idea to provide books for young readers. One member of the group was Zoe Paskewicz, a former Zinser student and 2022 Kenowa Hills High School graduate. Paskewicz and three other GRCC students explained the origins of the little lending library project. “We were asked to identify an issue that we cared about and, for me, that has always been reading and literacy,” John Chappelow said. For the project, the students identified problems related to reading and access to books. “National reading scores are declining, books are expensive, often making them inaccessible to families, and even libraries can have barriers,” Paskewicz said. “Districts like Kenowa Hills have low-income families and migrant workers with limited access to transportation or a permanent address to apply for a library card.” Their proposed solution: collect book donations, then build and fill little libraries at Kenowa Hills’ three elementary schools. The group hosted a book drive on GRCC’s campus on April 3, in addition to collecting books via a donation box in the college’s library and an Amazon wish list. Paskewicz worked from her current home in Florida, managing the majority of the project’s communications and online work. “I made lots of calls and wrote lots of emails to collaborate our efforts with the schools,” she said. Superintendent Jerry Hopkins also met with the group to help bring their plans to fruition. Paskewicz added: “(Maintenance Director) Sam Wiltheiss is our favorite person. He poured the concrete and installed the boxes.” Ester Carpenter, the artistic and creative one, according to her group, painted a sunflower on each library and managed the budget request forms for GRCC. “Alycia (Pietrzak) and I did a lot of work with the interactive components,” Ester said. “She painted the reading buddy bookmarks, and we created reading challenges and vocabulary sheets to put inside the libraries.” Added Pietrzak: “We wanted to encourage students to engage with the books they read. When you engage with it, it becomes something bigger and more interesting.” Little Library, Long-lasting Legacy Paskewicz said community support was a contributing factor for choosing Kenowa Hills for the libraries. Zinser Principal Ross Willick said he was excited to have the newly installed library at the school, and families are already making use of it. “We have such active reading programs during the school year, so this really serves as a resource for after school or during summer,” he said. Another benefit of the libraries, said Carpenter: “They are more independent than school libraries. We have several kid-friendly books on race and social issues, which is another thing students’ education can lack.” The little lending library creators say they hope they continue to be used and maintained by future librarians and honors students from the college, Zoe said. “Five to 10 years from now, future students may expand on our idea.” This story was reported by Alexis Stark of the School News Network .

May 16 2023, BATTLE CREEK, Mich. – Ty Marchlewski led the Grand Rapids Community golf team to the NJCAA Division II Region XII Championship on Tuesday at the Bedford Valley Country Club. The regional championship win was the team's ninth in program history - third in the past five years - and qualifies it for the NJCAA National Tournament. "I’m extremely satisfied with this team's willingness to do whatever it takes to be successful," head coach John Forton said.  "Our team's motto has always been that we must outwork our competition, and it came to fruition." GRCC led the two-day tournament by three strokes after one round with a score of 308, but fell behind by three strokes after day one, shooting a 318 in round two. The Raiders rebounded on Tuesday by shooting another 308 in round three to take home the championship with a final score of 934, which was seven strokes better than the runners-up from Muskegon Community College. Marchlewski's score of 227 included a team-best 74 in the final round.  He finished tied for fourth overall with a total of 227 strokes while having five birdies. Drew Harrington (76-78-77) also finished in the top-10 with a score of 231. He also had a team-high six birdies and a team-best zero double bogeys. Conner Oman and Sam Foss finished tied for 13th with a score of 238 and Brad VandenHout finished tied for 23rd with a score of 249. GRCC will compete in the NJCAA Division II National Tournament from May 23-26 at the Swan Lake Resort in Plymouth, Ind. This story was reported by Ben Brown.

May 16, 2023, GRAND RAPIDS, Mich . — Sometimes you need to be your own hero. When Safinaz Karaein enrolled at Grand Rapids Community College in 2019, she already had her hands full. Not only was the then-23-year-old Kentwood woman a wife, a mother to three young children, and a part-time medical assistant, she was also the first member of her family to attend college. “I had no idea how to sign up for classes or how to even apply to GRCC,” said Kareain, now 27. “Heck, I didn't even know how to find GRCC on the map as I spun in circles around the one-way streets of downtown Grand Rapids.” But nothing would stop Karaein from earning a college degree. On April 28 — four years after finding her way to GRCC’s campus — she graduated with honors. “My journey was long, exhausting and magical all at the same time,” said Karaein, who shared her experiences as the featured speaker at GRCC’s Academic Honors Recognition Reception. The reception recognizes students in the top 5% of their graduating class through Delta Pi Alpha, students completing the Honors Program, and students inducted into Phi Theta Kappa, the honor society of two-year colleges. The first of three daughters born to immigrants Sana and Mustafa Karaein, she met her future husband, Ammar Hasan, while vacationing with family in their homeland of Jordan. They married when Karaein was 15 years old, but Hasan was forced to remain in Jordan for several more years before emigrating to the U.S. in 2014. While marriage at 15 is somewhat acceptable in her culture, the young bride faced ridicule and bullying from her peers in Grand Rapids. “While some kids were working on passing their driver’s test, I was building a marriage and a family. It wasn’t easy, but it was totally worth it,” she said. “It gave me more reasons to be successful and pushed me to find alternative ways to make it.” With her father working full time to support their family, her mother unfamiliar with the English language or schooling, her husband continents away, and no older siblings or family to help, Karaein relied on herself to make it through homeschool and earned her high school diploma in 2013. “I needed to be successful for me, my kids and my family,” she said. After later earning a medical assistant certification, she began working full time at a Grand Rapids-area health center and fell in love with the medical field. For the first time, she felt compelled to pursue her childhood dream of becoming a doctor. “But at that time, I was a mom of three kiddos and had a full-time job,” she said. “I wasn't a conventional student and really needed somewhere that could accommodate my crazy life schedule.” That’s when Karaein found GRCC. It was close to home, offered flexible courses and small class sizes at minimal cost. “I knew it was perfect, so I decided to apply to GRCC that same moment before any doubt could get hold of me,” she said. Despite the challenges, Karaein excelled in college and carried a 4.0 GPA throughout her academic career. Then COVID-19 struck in early 2020. “This was by far the worst barrier I had to overcome,” she said. “It felt like an apocalypse. My mother was trapped outside the country, and I was trying to keep my family safe. I had to try and be the teacher and support my kids and my sisters while I fought to teach myself and be my own resource.” She persevered, though, earning top grades despite changing majors from pre-medicine to chemistry to nursing. Through it all, her husband, children, extended family and GRCC professors were by her side. “These professors understand that everyone is fighting their own battles, and they care and worry about their students as if they were their kids,” she said. “Their experiences and knowledge rub off on you and you find yourself wanting more and pursuing more.” Now with an associate degree and her children ages 11, 10 and 5, Karaein is still deciding what’s next. She’s been accepted to Grand Valley State University but can’t apply to nursing school until January. She hasn’t given up on her dream of becoming a doctor. “I wouldn’t graduate until my kids were going to college themselves and I’m just not sure I want to miss all that time with them,” she said. “For now, all I can really wish for is an adventure that can match the one I experienced at GRCC.” This story was reported by Beth McKenna.

May 15, 2023, GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. – Former Grand Rapids Community College golfer Arie Jackman this weekend won the Michigan Medal Play Championship, one of the state’s most prestigious amateur tournaments. Start at Grand Rapids Community College and go anywhere. Every former student has a story to tell about how GRCC gave them the education and opportunity to be successful. According to Jim Young of Amateurgolf.com , Jackman started the event at the Detroit Golf Club slowly, then “blistered” the course in the later rounds to catch, then pass leader Drew Miller with two rounds of 63 strokes.   GRCC golf coach John Forton said the Michigan Medal Play tournament is a “very prestigious amateur event in the state of Michigan.” The 72-hole event was founded in 1964 Jackman, a Caledonia native, didn’t start playing in tournaments until he was 16. He joined the GRCC team for the 2020-2021 season and thrived. Jackman was named the team’s captain and shot a 224 to capture medalist honors and win by eight strokes at the Michigan Community College Athletic Association championship in 2022. His time at GRCC included earning All-MCCAA and All-Region honors and maintaining a 3.75 grade point average. He finished the 2021-2022 season ranked No. 82 in the NJCAA Division I and II. Jackman was recruited by Central Michigan University to play on the university’s first golf team in 37 years. CMU, in Mt. Pleasant competes in the Mid-American Conference in the NCAA's Division I. Start your GRCC story at grcc.edu/apply today. 

May 13, 2023, STEVENSVILLE, Mich. – The Grand Rapids Community College softball team's chance at a national tournament berth came to an end after losing to Jackson College in the NJCAA Division II Regional Championship on Saturday. GRCC needed to win three games on Saturday to win the championship, and got off to a good start by defeating Hocking College 4-1. But the team lost another tough game to Jackson College, 4-2, ending a season that included a Northern Conference championship, and the team’s most wins since 2013. GRCC's Izzy Regner and Macy Huver combined to give up no earned runs, four hits and struck out 12 batters against Hocking. Jaye Guichelaar was a perfect three-for-three with two RBI while Vanessa Hewitt hit her second home run of the year and Annika Roersma hit a double and scored two runs. In the championship game, GRCC struck first with a leadoff home run by Lauren James in the second inning. But Jackson responded with four runs over the next three innings for a 4-2 victory. GRCC out-hit Jackson nine to six, including two each from Regner and James. Regner (20-5), who leads all NJCAA Division II pitchers with 292 strikeouts, earned the save in game one before picking up the loss in the later game. Because of their strong play in the tournament, Regner, Guichelaar and James were all named to the All-Tournament team. Regner had an ERA of 1.85 and struck out 35 batters including a season-high 16 against Mott Community College.  Guichelaar batted .538 with seven hits and was the only player to not strike out.  James batted .417 and led the team with three RBI. GRCC finished the season with a 25-18 record. This story was reported by Ben Brown.

May 12, 2023, STEVENSVILLE, Mich. – The Grand Rapids Community College softball team lost a tough 4-1 decision to Jackson College in the winner's bracket final at the NJCAA Division II regional tournament on Friday. Izzy Regner (20-4), who now leads all NJCAA Division II pitchers with 278 strikeouts, took the loss giving up three earned runs while striking out five.  GRCC struggled offensively in Friday’s game, collecting just five base hits - two each from Lauren James and Jaye Guichelaar and one from Alyssa Wierenga.  Jackson scattered nine hits and scored one run in the first, second, third and seventh innings. The Raiders scored their lone run on a single by Wierenga in the third inning. The defeat doesn't eliminate the Northern Conference champions from a chance at going to the NJCAA national tournament. The Raiders move on to face Hocking College in an elimination game on Saturday at 10 a.m.  Should the team win that game, it will have to defeat Jackson College twice to advance to the national tournament. This story was reported by Ben Brown.

May 12, 2023, GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. - Jeff Byrd first came to GRCC as a guest student while earning his bachelor’s degree at Ferris State University. Now he helps students navigate their own educational paths at the Leslie E. Tassel MTEC.  Byrd is an educational training specialist and career coach for Job Training students. He is passionate about helping students identify what careers are suitable for their interests and skills. Then he helps them enroll in a Job Training program.  “Job training is special because we offer so many opportunities for students to succeed,” Byrd said, “Our staff stand out because they are sincerely invested in the success of our students”.  Byrd encourages all students to take their time discovering what career they want to pursue, emphasizing that there is no “right” timeline. Career coaches, and all GRCC faculty and staff, are always happy to help.  Byrd is particularly passionate about working with nontraditional students. In previous jobs he has worked with returning citizens, helping them integrate back into society. He is a strong advocate of students returning to school to change careers and follow their passions.  “I enjoy working with students from all walks of life. I take the time to understand their backgrounds and help them select a path or career,” Byrd said.  The students realize the care that Byrd puts into his work. Multiple alumni have reached out to thank him for the part he played in helping them succeed.  More information about job training can be found here.