Feb. 10, 2023, GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. – Grand Rapids Community College baseball and softball teams are preparing to start their seasons heading south to Florida to face tough competition. The softball team is rebuilding after taking a year off. Coaches Chuck White and Steve Roersma have assembled what they believe is a strong team and are excited about the season ahead.    "I have a great group of student-athletes," White said. "The team chemistry is top shelf and we're expecting to be very competitive after having no season last year."  Just two of the team’s 14 players are sophomores. Jaye Guichelaar transferred from Grand Valley State University and Annika Roersma transferred from Muskegon Community College and is the daughter of Roersma, the assistant coach. Both players are graduates of West Catholic High School. Guichelaar made 22 appearances in 2022 for Grand Valley, primarily as a pinch runner. She scored eight runs and had one RBI and a stolen base.  The speedy outfielder should see a lot of time as GRCC’s leadoff hitter. Roersma played two years at Muskegon, where she batted .455 with eight home runs, 39 RBI and 32 stolen bases in her first year, and batted .389 in 43 games with three home runs, 34 RBI and 22 stolen bases last season. She is also an outfielder. Starting on the mound this year will be Izzy Regner, a 2020 graduate of Elkhorn Area High School in Wisconsin. Regner had a great fall season. She struck out 17 batters in the team’s scrimmage against Schoolcraft College this month, helping the team to a 16-3 victory.   The rest of the Raiders’ battery includes Macy Huver, a pitcher from Lowell High School; Samara Kolehouse, a catcher from Kent City High School; and Carly Sluiter, a catcher from Wyoming High School. Joining Guichelaar and Roersma in the outfield are Alyssa Wierenga, who also plays on the volleyball team,  Vanessa Hewitt of Byron Center and Makayla Noon of Ionia. The infield includes Britney Cisler, a first baseman from Jenison High School; middle infielder Madison Lemke of Williamston; Lauren James, a first baseman/third baseman of Byron Center; Autumn Scott, a middle infielder from North Pointe Christian High School; Brynn McArthur, a middle infielder from Lake Isabella; and Huver who also plays the corners when not pitching. The softball team will participate in the NTC Spring Games in Orlando, Fla. It has 12 games scheduled, with the first two games on March 5 against Hocking College and West Virginia Wesleyan College. The baseball team looks to build on a successful 2022 season, where it 31-22-1 and was 20-8 in conference play. Mike Eddington, now in his fifth season as head baseball coach, will try to guide the team back to regionals after a strong third place finish last season. “I can tell you all of our players and coaches are very excited to be playing some of the top D1 community colleges in the country on our spring trip,” Eddington said. “We hope our players come together as a team on our trip. It's not easy playing five consecutive doubleheaders and I hope our players embrace the challenge. Our goal is to get better every day and help our players to reach their potential .” Eddington’s team has 33 players on the roster, with 19 players returning including an All-American and three other All-Conference performers. GRCC's ace, Jared Berkenpas was named a Third Team All-American by the National Junior College Athletic Association after a superb season that included a 9-2 record, 1.41 ERA, 1.02 WHIP, 71 strikeouts, .223 opponents' batting average and had four complete games, including one shutout. Starting catcher Dylan Chargo was named Second Team All-Conference after batting .337 in the cleanup spot, totaling 56 hits, four home runs and 43 RBI.  He was third on the team in slugging percentage, .482, and on base percentage, .429.  He was also named to the six-player Western Conference All-Freshman team. Jacob Gumieny and Xander Reisbig also return after being named All-Conference honorable mentions. Gumieny, the Raiders’ everyday leadoff hitter, was fourth on the team, batting .316, totaling 56 hits and 20 RBI.  He led the team in triples with six and stolen bases with 11. Reisbig was second, batting .347, totaling 51 hits, 18 for extra bases, and 29 RBI.  He also had 11 stolen bases on the season and was second on the team with a .524 slugging percentage. He was the steadiest defender, with just one error. Key departures from last year's team include four All-Conference performers. Ryan Dykstra will play for Oakland University after being named All-Region and leading the team with a .422 batting average, 73 hits, seven home runs, 45 RBI, and .671 slugging performance. He spent the summer playing with the Kalamazoo Growlers, winning the Northwoods League championship. Gold glove shortstop Caleb Engelsman batted .309 and had 15 extra base hits while picking up five wins on the mound.  Pitchers Eliott Traver and Drew Murphy also will be missed.  Traver was the teams closer finishing with 11 saves and Murphy was the teams number two pitcher in the rotation finishing with a solid 2.65 ERA. GRCC is scheduled to play 10 games down south during their spring training, beginning with Chipola College in Marianna, Fla. on March 4.  For live scoring of all the games this season for both teams, download the Gamechanger ap and search GRCC Raiders and become a fan of the team to be able to get updates.   This story was reported by Ben Brown. Photo by Morgan Brown.

Feb. 9, 2023, GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. – Grand Rapids Community College President Emeritus Juan. R. Olivarez was named Newsmaker of the Year in the education category by the Grand Rapids Business Journal in recognition of new community partnerships forged was serving as interim president. “Grand Rapids Community College consistently made GRBJ headlines this past year as it added new programs to boost local talent and improve student outcomes,” the news organization wrote in a profile prior to the event, held Thursday at Frederik Meijer Gardens and Sculpture Park. Olivarez, who previously served as the college’s eighth president from 1999 to 2008, served as interim president from June 2022 through January 2023 during a presidential search. “I’m proud to accept this award because it reflects the good work we do at Grand Rapids Community College, and especially the partnerships we have throughout West Michigan,” Olivarez said after being presented with the award. “We also work closely with my fellow finalists, President Richard Pappas from Davenport University and President Philomena Mantella from Grand Valley State University. We work together toward a common goal of providing a quality education for the people of West Michigan.” GRCC this year helped bolster West Michigan’s health care talent pool through local partnerships. One such significant partnership was with University of Michigan Health-West and will see GRCC students placed at UMH-West upon completion of GRCC’s nursing program. The college also earned a $2.9 million grant toward its health care program, partnered with the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services to help students struggling with food or housing insecurities and partnered with Dell and Intel to expand its AI computing programs.

Feb. 9, 2023, GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. – Dr. Jacqueline Walters – better known as “Dr. Jackie” – a philanthropist, health expert, women’s advocate, television personality and award-winning doctor of obstetrics and gynecology will be the keynote speaker for this month’s GIANT Awards 40th Anniversary celebration. The 40th anniversary celebration, hosted by Grand Rapids Community College, will highlight the past GIANT honorees and present a special anniversary award, with recipients revealed at the event. Since 1983, GRCC has hosted the annual awards recognizing African American leaders and organizations for their exceptional contributions in shaping the history and quality of life in Grand Rapids and West Michigan. The gala is planned for 6 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 25, at DeVos Place’s Exhibit Hall, 303 Monroe Ave. NW. Individual tickets are $100, with eight-seat tables available for $1,000. Both can be purchased online at grcc.edu/GIANT40 . Walters is a two-time breast cancer survivor and founded the 50 Shades of Pink Foundation, an organization focused on treating the inner and outer beauty of survivors. The Atlanta resident is featured on the Bravo hit reality series “Married to Medicine” and is a frequent speaker on the topics of women’s health, wellness and self-esteem. Walters has been featured on HLN, the “STEVE” talk show, ESSENCE, Glamour, People.com, BlackEnterprise.com, Atlanta Journal-Constitution, and Rolling Out. She speaks frequently around the country on women’s health, wellness and self-esteem. Local media personalities Jamal Spencer, Eddie Rucker and Jennifer Moss will serve as emcees. The event is being planned by a community committee that includes Vanessa Greene, Larry Johnson, Tempy Mann, Darius Quinn, Faye Richardson-Green, Misti Stanton and Shannon Wilson, and facilitated by GRCC President Emeritus Juan Olivarez and GRCC leaders. The annual GIANT Awards, last presented in October 2022, salute 11 leaders. Each award is named after a local person who has demonstrated excellence and serves as a perpetual memorial to those notable contributions. Honorees have made meaningful contributions to Grand Rapids in a variety of areas, including justice, education, religion, medicine, humanities, business and labor. The Junior GIANT Award, named in honor of GIANT founders Dr. Patricia Pulliam and Cedric Ward, are presented each year to students of African American heritage who have demonstrated leadership, community involvement and impact. The Milo M. Brown Scholarship is presented to at least one male and one female African American GRCC students returning as full-time sophomores for the following fall semester.

Feb. 8, 2023, GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. – After season-best performances in their last game, the Grand Rapids Community College men's and women's basketball teams struggled against Mid Michigan College, both falling by 18 or more points on Wednesday. In the women’s game, Mid Michigan led wire-to-wire, and stayed unbeaten in the conference with a 97-65 victory. Eight visitors connected on at least one three-point shot, totaling 12 in all. GRCC’s Grace Lodes earned her 10th double-double of the season with 12 points and 11 rebounds while Marlene Bussler finished with her second career double-double, with 14 points and 10 rebounds. Sally Merrill led all scorers with 20 points while grabbing eight rebounds. It was her 15th career game with 20 or more points and third in her last four games. The men's team shot a season-low 31 percent from the field and was just one rebound shy of its season low of 36 in an 83-65 to the Lakers. GRCC trailed 33-10 nearly 12 minutes in the ballgame, but cut the deficit to 44-34 at the half. In the second half, the Raiders got to within eight points on three occasions, but Grand Rapids native, Delon McCloud and the rest of the Lakers took over and led their team to victory. The GRCC men’s team dropped to 15-6 overall and 4-4 in the MCCAA Northern Conference. On a bright spot, GRCC totaled a season-low seven turnovers, making it now four of its past five games with 10 or fewer turnovers. Brockton Kohler led GRCC with 13 points and nine rebounds. Danyel Bibbs and Bashir Neely both scored 12 points and Jordan Houser had a game-high four steals. On Feb. 11, both teams will look to get back on the winning track as they travel to Escanaba as they battle Bay College for the second time this season.  The women will tip-off first at 1 p.m.    This story was reported by Ben Brown. Photo by Andrew Schmidt.

Feb. 8. 2023, GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. – Jamillya Hardley was a first-generation college student who was determined to succeed as a student, but also as an athlete, playing for the University of Michigan women’s basketball team. Hardley said she draws on her experiences in her role as assistant director of the Grand Rapids Community College Office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion. Hardley shared her journey to GRCC and how her new role finds her supporting students and planning important campus events including Black History Month activities and next month’s Salute to Women on the My GRCC Story podcast. Hardley said she faced adversity as a student and an athlete, and was supported by strong mentors who challenged and motivated her. She thinks about the support she received as she builds relationships with GRCC students. “I’ve sat across the table from many different folks, a wide variety of races, cultures, backgrounds,” she said. “I’ve been able to identify some sort of aspect or trait or characteristic that I’ve seen in myself in the students that I’m working with. I am able to naturally learn and listen and then identify some of those characteristics that we have in common, even though we may not look the same. A lot of the stories and the incidents and the situations college students are going through, I’ve done it. I’m a walking testimony.” Hardley graduated from Grand Rapids Christian High school. She played sports, focused on academics, and earned a full-ride scholarship to University of Michigan, where she played four years on the basketball team. “Playing in the Big 10 conference, you are learning every single day,” she said. “You are learning on the court and off the court. You have to be all in. It taught me time management, it taught me to be on a routine, and it taught me family. I’ll never forget those conversations around ‘It’s bigger than us.’ ‘It’s bigger than you as an individual player.’” Living away from home and going to college was challenging. “I had to figure it out on my own,” she said. “I had to bump my head. A few times I had to learn from my mistakes. I had to hear rejection, a few nos to learn and shape myself as a student. And even personally, being first generation meant that I had to have it together while learning while I didn’t have it together.” She is excited about the events planned for Black History Month, with a keynote address from Grand Rapids Pride Center Director Jazz McKinney at 4 p.m. on Feb. 9 in GRCC’s Wisner-Bottrall Applied Technology Center Auditorium, 151 Fountain Street NE. Details and registration for the month’s events are here . “What we learn in a text book, it can be beyond that,” she said about the month. “Conversations around different cultures, and identifying African American contributions to the world. And we get to expand upon that, whether it is music, food, clothing, fashion, modern arts. There are so many things we don’t talk about in school or especially when growing up, and we need to have those conversations and learn. The key component is that continuation of learning and being able to find beauty in diversity.” The My GRCC Story podcast is available here , Spotify, Apple Podcasts and other hosting sites.

Feb. 8, 2022, GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. – Grace Lodes of the Grand Rapids Community College women's basketball team was named Michigan Community College Athletic Association Northern Conference Player of the Week after setting career bests in points. “Grace had an outstanding week with two solid performances,” head coach David Glazier said. “Each day in practice she comes ready to build on what she’s already done with a focus on helping her team in whatever way we need her on any given night.” Lodes, a Comstock Park native who attended West Catholic High School, is coming off a career-high 29 points on 76.5 percent from the field in Saturday's game against North Central Michigan College, helping her team to a convincing 91-23 victory. The two-year starter also added 13 rebounds and six assists in the team’s biggest win of the season, giving her a two-game total of 40 points, 21 rebounds, eight assists, four steals and three blocks. Lodes currently leads the team in rebounding, averaging 10.6 per game and blocks, averaging 1.5 per contest, and steals, averaging 2.2 per game. She is also second on the team in scoring, assists and field goal percentage. Earlier in the season, teammate Marlene Bussler was named Player of the Week for week ending Dec. 11. The women's basketball team is 11-6 overall, 5-2 in the conference and will attempt for its fourth straight win when it takes on Mid Michigan College in a 5:30 p.m. tip-off.   This story was reported by Ben Brown.

Feb. 7, 2023, GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. -- GRCC Reference and Collection Development Librarian Sophia Brewer is sharing her expertise and passion for learning and history in a new statewide leadership role Brewer was elected to be one of the Michigan Library Association ’s three new directors-at-large, a move she said is a logical progression in a career that has been marked by a love for libraries. “I want to serve the profession that has given me so much,” she said. The Michigan Library Association is the state’s oldest and largest library association, serving the library profession for more than 130 years. The organization supports more than 2,000 libraries throughout Michigan from public, academic, school and special libraries, as well as organizations that are supportive of libraries. The group advances the profession through sharing of best practices, innovative ideas and new programs and services that benefit library personnel, library patrons and the communities it serves. Brewer added that she was intrigued by one of the MLA's top strategic priorities: efforts around equity, diversity, accessibility and belonging. “I want to learn more about and have an impact on these efforts,” she said. “Banning books and the efforts to suppress the history of Black, Indigenous and people of color concerns me. I am my ancestors, so that history follows me when I walk into the room and sit at the table. I am the walking story and legacy of my ancestors. I will not be banned.” That passion is also evident in her work at and love for GRCC. She started part-time at GRCC as an adjunct in 2007 and as a full-time librarian in 2014. She oversees a wide variety of resources, but she loves that her work puts her in regular contact with students. “I love to help students with research, including finding scholarly material and citing sources,” she said. “The best part about my job is the ability to work with students and staff via campus-wide efforts. I teach information literacy classes and serve as a liaison for several departments, including business, communications and culinary arts. I represent the library in everything I do, but I also am able to share and learn about the people who make GRCC great.” A native of McComb, Miss., Brewer went on to attend Jackson State University, one of the largest HBCUs in the United States, and there she majored in elementary education before going on to earn her master's degree in Library Science from Wayne State University in Detroit. Prior to earning her MLA seat, Brewer spent seven years as a Grand Rapids Public Library commissioner, and her decision to run for the state seat compelled GRCC professor Lauren Woolsey to run for Brewer’s vacated position. She said it was gratifying to be a GRPL commissioner and serve and have a positive impact in the community where she lives and works. She also has served as a board member and presenter for the Greater Grand Rapids Women's History Council and is a member of the Grand Rapids Civilians Appeals Board, which she joined in 2020 after the killing of George Floyd. And she writes a regular column for the Grand Rapids Times, founded in 1957 and the oldest existing weekly publication targeted to Black communities in Grand Rapids. “I represent the voice of an everyday person,” she said. “I use my words to draw lines and images that connect our present to our past and future. It's important for me to keep doing this because, in my mind, the reader of my column and I are growing together. As we grow, we learn, and when we know better, we do better.” This story was reported by Phil de Haan.

Feb. 6, 2023, GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. –   Just after Albert P. Smith arrived at what was then Grand Rapids Junior College in 1947, he created an event intended to serve as both a celebration of student hard work and talent.   Now in its 75th year, Musical Moods remains one of the highlights of the Music Department calendar, an opportunity to showcase the college’s performing arts opportunities with the campus and greater community. Musical Moods 75 will be presented by the Grand Rapids Community College Music Department on Saturday, Feb. 11 at 7 p.m. at the East Grand Rapids High School Performing Arts Center. Admission is $15 for adults, while high school and GRCC students are free with a current and valid student ID at the door and children 12 and under are also free. Contact music@grcc.edu for more information. Featuring GRCC ensembles and soloists, the approximately 80-minute concert will feature not only the college’s 100 music majors but also many other GRCC students who are not majoring in music but are talented instrumentalists and singers, nonetheless. Kevin Dobreff , Music Department head and program director, has been with GRCC since 1991 and said each year’s edition of Musical Moods is still a thrill. “It’s a great event,” he said. “It showcases so many fine ensembles and vocal groups. It’s been a great thing for me to be part of over these last 30 years, and I can’t wait for this one.” Dobreff noted that the concert tradition was started by Smith, who founded the Music Department during his 35 years at the college, and is the man for whom the current GRCC music center is named. “We know him as Smitty,” Dobreff said. “He was a graduate of the University of Michigan where he had been part of a similar concert, and when he came to what was then Grand Rapids Junior College, he brought this idea with him, and we have been presenting it ever since.” That included, Dobreff said, during the pandemic when Musical Moods went virtual. But last year, and now this year, the concert is back to an in-person event. The event is intended to both present outstanding music and also be a recruiting tool for the GRCC Music Department. As such the location is always a local high school. Over the years, Dobreff said, it has taken place in almost every high school in the Kent Intermediate School District. This year’s concert, Dobreff said, will feature a variety of musical styles, everything from the classical and Renaissance periods to jazz and contemporary. “We're covering pretty much all the bases there with all the different styles,” Dobreff said. “There will be something for everybody.” And, he added, it won’t all be soft, soothing and sedate fare, pointing to the percussion ensemble and a percussion solo on the djembe, a West African drum. “People aren’t going to be falling asleep,” he said laughing. This story was reported by Phil de Haan.  '