Feb. 6, 2023, GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. – One of David Lovell’s favorite memories as a GRCC student is of a certain table on the Student Center’s third floor. Fellow students from his home town always met there to hang out. A decade later, Lovell is on that same floor, associate director of a U.S. Department of Education grant project designed to help more GRCC students achieve their goals. Start at GRCC and go anywhere. Every former student has a story to tell about how GRCC gave them the education and opportunity to be successful. Lovell knows first-hand the doors a GRCC education can open. “I started here as a clueless 18-year-old fresh out of high school,” he said. “I left here with a formal education, a degree, applicable skills and personal drive to achieve my goals. This is where I began an educational journey that culminated with a master’s degree and, maybe one day, even more than that. “Something ‘clicked’ while I was here, and I’m very thankful it did.” While his two older brothers graduated from GRCC, Lovell enrolled for mostly financial reasons: His father had lost his job during the recession, and his full Pell Grant entirely covered tuition. That savings allowed him to pay off his student loans three years after his 2014 graduation from Ferris State University.  But attending GRCC also bought Lovell the time he needed to figure out what he wanted to do. “I started taking English and Journalism classes, but I really didn’t have a personal passion – and my grades reflected that,” he said. “During the summer between my first and second year at GRCC, I took an internship that really exposed me to the world of business. The next fall, I changed my degree and began pursuing Business. I found the subject matter to be very interesting and highly applicable in the job market.” After receiving his bachelor’s in business administration from Ferris, he earned a master’s degree from Davenport University while working at GRCC helping to place manufacturing certificate recipients in jobs. He then became the project manager for the U.S. Department of Labor’s America’s Promise health care grant. In 2020, when that project was nearing completion, he became the project manager for the five-year, $2.1 million Department of Education Title III grant. “Altogether, I’ve been working on different grant projects at the college for eight years and managing them for the last six,” Lovell said. As someone who’s viewed GRCC as a student and a staff member, he has advice: “There are incredible opportunities and so much life here. But it’s a college, serving adult students. No one can force you to be successful. You have to make that decision for yourself. And when you do, you’ll be amazed at the opportunities that present themselves.” Start your GRCC story today here.  

Feb. 4, 2023, GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. – The Grand Rapids Community College men's and women's basketball teams had season-best performances against visitors of North Central Michigan College on Saturday. In the first game, the women's team set season-highs in points with 91, scoring margin, winning by 68, field goal percentage (.551), assists with 26, and turned the ball over just a season-best seven times. "Fun to watch our kids really play a full 40 minutes for each other," head coach David Glazier said. "The way we supported our reserves finding success this afternoon was great! They work so hard day in and day out to make us better by competing on every play, in every drill, and then provide support even when they don’t get the time in games." Grace Lodes' was nearly flawless, out-scoring the entire North Central team on her own by six points. Twenty-two of her career-high 29 points came in the first half.  She finished 13-of-17 from the floor while adding a game-high 13 rebounds and five assists. Allison Kellogg was nearly perfect herself, going 8-of-9 from the field, while scoring 17 points, just two points short of tying her career high. Sally Merrill added 13 points and Karissa Ferry had 10 for GRCC, which now won three in a row and improved to 11-6 overall, and 5-2 in the conference. The men's team has won four out of five games after a convincing 112-80 win. Twelve players scored for the Raiders, including freshman Seth Schuitema who was on fire, going 8-for-10 from the field and 7-for-9 from three-point range for a career-high 26 points in just 18 minutes of action. GRCC surpassed the 100-point mark for the seventh time this year, mostly in part to outside shooting, making a season-high 17 three-point shots in just 35 attempts. Danyel Bibbs scored 17 points and had a team-high five assists and Brockton Kohler knocked down four three-pointers while finishing with 16 points and five rebounds. GRCC had just nine turnovers, which was the team's sixth time with 10 or fewer turnovers. Both teams will be back at home on Feb. 8 to take on Mid Michigan College, whom they both lost to in their first meeting.  The women will tip-off first at 5:30 p.m.    This story was written by Ben Brown.

Feb. 3, 2023, GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. – Grand Rapids Community College will create a state-of-the-art Center for Automation, serving as a training hub for students pursuing high-demand jobs in advanced manufacturing and automation, as well as those already working in the field who need additional training or credentials for promotion. U.S. Senator Gary Peters and U.S. Rep. Hillary Scholten announced the $998,000 project on Friday in GRCC’s Leslie Tassell MTEC, where the center is planned to start operating in time for the winter 2023 semester. Peters secured $998,000 through the government funding bill signed into law in December to create the project, which will enhance GRCC’s extensive career training programs geared towards the future of manufacturing in Michigan, and support the college’s efforts to meet regional workforce demands. “The fields of automation and artificial intelligence are evolving and expanding, creating new and exciting careers to meet the needs of today and drive change for the future,” GRCC President Charles Lepper said. “GRCC is proud to work with our partners in the government, like Senator Peters, and with employers for an Automation and AI Lab that will help build a talented workforce, give people valuable skills and strengthen the economy in West Michigan and beyond.” Lepper led Peters and Scholten on a tour of the workforce training center , joined by Neil Ruster, CEO of Urgent Tool and Machine. The Grand Rapids firm is one GRCC’s industry partners in regional workforce development. “Grand Rapids Community College excels at preparing students for successful careers and obtaining good-paying, in-demand jobs, and with employers based right here in West Michigan,” Peters said. “I was proud to secure new federal resources to create a new, state-of-the-art, and fully automated training facility that will help elevate GRCC’s skills training programs and support their efforts to cement Michigan’s leadership in advanced manufacturing.” The high-impact, local project that will support GRCC’s efforts to meet local, regional, and statewide workforce needs by preparing students for current and future jobs, including as automotive technicians, computer support technicians, construction electricians, machinist/CNC technicians, welding/fabrication technicians, and medical assistants. “Investment in education is critical to the future of our country and state. Grand Rapids Community College has long led the charge of making quality, world-class education affordable and accessible for West Michiganders – I’m happy to see that tradition continuing on,” Scholten said. “Investment in our students and in the next generation is so important – it’s a priority in West Michigan. I’m eager to get to work on projects and initiatives like these in the future in collaboration with Senator Peters and my colleagues from the Michigan delegation.” Peters has worked to expand skills training opportunities, including in STEM education, to strengthen our nation’s economic competitiveness and help place more Michiganders in needed, good-paying jobs. He previously helped enact bipartisan legislation that included provisions he authored to expand access to career and technical education opportunities outside of the traditional four-year degree career pathway. Peters also authored bipartisan legislation into law to allow more veterans to use their GI bill benefits toward securing a registered apprenticeship. Peters additionally helped pass significant funding through the government funding bill signed into law in December for workforce development programs and registered apprenticeships across the country.  

Feb. 2, 2023, GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. -- The passion for soccer runs deep in Lizzy Hornack’s family. “I played it all my life! It’s the only sport I know. It’s the only sport I did." Hornack is the coach of Grand Rapids Community College’s first women’s soccer team , which will take the field in fall 2023, along with a men’s team coached by Damiekco Smith . Hornack appeared on the My GRCC Story podcast to talk about her journey from growing up in Manchester, England to becoming a two-time collegiate All-American to building a program from scratch. She was introduced to the sport, called football in the rest of the world, by her brother and father. “I have an older brother. He’s 18 months older than I was,” she said. “I was pretty much just following his footsteps. He wanted to play football, so I wanted to play football. He joined a boys’ team, so I joined a boys’ team. It’s been a thing since I was four. Whatever he did, I did. My dad played and he coached us.” She came to the United States in 2010 to play with Davenport University, earning All-American honors in 2010 and 2013. She is atop Davenport’s leaderboard in nine categories, including points, with 131; goals, 55; and game-winning goals, 14. She has been coaching at the collegiate and youth level since graduating with has a bachelor's degree in Marketing and a master's degree in Human Resource Management, and was thrilled when she learned GRCC started a program.  “When the athletic director, Lauren Ferullo, said, ‘Hey, I have a women’s soccer program,’ I was, like, ‘Love it! It’s got my name on it!’ and we went from there.” With the addition of both soccer programs, GRCC now offers 10 athletic programs, including men's and women's cross country, golf, volleyball, men's and women's basketball, baseball and softball. The My GRCC Story podcast is available here , Spotify, Apple Podcasts and other hosting sites.

Feb. 1, 2023, UNIVERSITY CENTER, Mich. – Sally Merrill matched her career-high of 27 points to lead the Grand Rapids Community College women's basketball team to a gritty, 71-61 win at Delta College. The men's team snapped a three-game winning streak, losing in overtime 91-81. GRCC's women's team jumped out to a 23-7 first quarter lead and seemed to be in control.  But the Pioneers fought back from a 22-point deficit to make it just a three-point game with just 30 seconds remaining.  Delta was forced to foul and it nearly worked out to perfection. But after GRCC missed both free throws, Delta called a time out it didn't have, resulting in a technical foul. Merrill knocked down both technical free throws to seal the victory for GRCC, which has won two in a row and improved to 10-6 overall, and 4-2 in the conference. Head coach David Glazier was extremely proud of the way his players executed the game plan and was happy to see their hard work pay off in a big game. "Can't say enough about how this group battles together in the high and low moments throughout a game," Glazier said. Merrill added seven rebounds and a career-high six steals, playing in all 40 minutes. Allison Kellogg and Grace Lodes both nearly had double-doubles with 12 points, nine rebounds for Kellogg and 11 points, eight rebounds for Lodes. The men's game was within three points nearly the entire game and each team had a chance to win in regulation. But GRCC missed a free throw and Delta's three-point attempt was blocked as time expired. In the extra session GRCC was out-scored 16-6, and falls to 14-5 overall and 3-3 in the conference after the loss. "It's really hard to win on the road in this league, and it's even harder when you don't make free throws down the stretch," head coach Joe Fox said. "It's always tough to lose games you have a chance to win, especially on the road. We just have to pick ourselves up and be ready for Saturday." Saginaw native Danyel Bibbs put up some big stats in his return home, scoring a team-high 22 points, grabbing a team-high nine rebounds and led the team in assists and steals with five and four. Bashir Neely totaled 16 points and Brockton Kohler and Herman Brown added 14 and 11. Both teams will be back at home on Feb. 4 to take on North Central College.  The women will tip-off first at 1 p.m.   

Feb. 1, 2023, GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. -- Cory Stout worked in the tool and die Industry for several years, but moved into a construction job when he heard rumors of layoffs. Then, during the COVID shutdown, Stout was able to reflect and decide what comes next. He remembers being interested in the welding activities during his time in tool and die. He heard GRCC has a reputable welding program and checked into it. “Once I looked at the program and the hands-on welding lab, I was excited to get started.” Stout was connected to career coach Michael Wemmer, who turned him on to the Michigan Reconnect program. “If you are willing to fill out the forms, there is support available. Michigan Reconnect has been a godsend.” Michigan Reconnect is a state program that covers the cost of in-district tuition for Michiganders 25 or older without a college degree. This program provides eligible students with access to pursue an associate degree or occupational certificate at their local community college. The Job Training Welding program meets for 18-weeks, Monday through Thursday, for 34 hours per week and offers job placement assistance. “The schedule of the program is great,” Stout said. “It’s set up just like a job.” As a student, you learn: shielded metal arc welding, gas metal arc welding, gas tungsten arc welding oxy-fuel welding, cutting, brazing, blueprint reading, mathematics, metallurgy, problem solving, teamwork and communication skills. The program is led by GRCC Instructor Nate Haney. Haney holds a Bachelor of Science in Welding Engineering Technology from Ferris State University and is an American Welding Society Certified Welding Inspector and Certified Welding Educator. “Nate is far and away the best teacher I’ve ever had,” Stout said. “Truly exceptional. He never says a negative thing. He will tell you the positive aspects of the weld and how to improve it, but he never uses the word ‘bad’. Every time you walk away from Nate, you feel confident that you can improve on what you are doing. That is something you don’t find anywhere. Anyone can pass on learned knowledge but to do it in a way that you want to learn is truly special.” Stout believes the hands-on aspect is invaluable. “There is no comparison between learning from a book and learning by doing. We started welding the second day of class!” He also enjoyed the staggering of the class start dates. “The class that started before me was really helpful and now I am helping the classes that started after me. We are all learning from each other. It’s been fun and very satisfying,” he said. “There is so much new technology developing in the welding field. It’s not just old school welding- it’s lasers, micro welds, pulse welds, spray welding-avenues I never even knew existed! If I were to get a job and get training from my employer, I would never learn all the other types of welding that are out there.” This program is highly regarded by employers as a top trainer in welding and fabrication. Job Developers are ready to help you with the job search process. Graduates will be ready to begin a career as a welder, cutter or brazer – with the skills to meet the needs of not only local companies but national companies as well. Stout is looking at several different employment opportunities.  “I have been working with Diego Roman, a job developer at the MTEC, but pretty much everyone has helped me somewhere along the way. Everyone seems to have connections in the industry and they are working really hard to help find the best fit. “My family is super supportive and proud of me. I have had to make some sacrifices financially but it is totally worth it. This may be short-term training but there are definitely long-term benefits. The program gets you into the workforce in just over four months and, for me, without any debt.” Stout has already finished the required work for the program and will graduate on Feb. 16.   One Workforce grant has provided the careering coach and job develop support for Cory. The next section of Job Training programs begins, April 17, 2023. For more information: grcc.edu/jobtraining or (616) 234-3800.

Jan. 31, 2023, GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. – Jazz McKinney, the executive director of the Grand Rapids Pride Center, will deliver a keynote address as part of the Grand Rapids Community College Black History Month celebration. GRCC’s Office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion worked with campus partners to create a month of events. “Black History Month is a time for us as a campus and community to come together and remember, reflect and celebrate,” said David Selmon, GRCC’s dean of Strategic Outreach and interim director of the Office of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion. “The team has created a slate of events that are fun and informative, and might challenge people to see things differently.” McKinney is planned to speak at 4 p.m. on Feb. 9 in GRCC’s Wisner-Bottrall Applied Technology Center Auditorium, 151 Fountain Street NE. McKinney is a Black, Indigenous Two-Spirit individual who has been involved in the mental health field for more than 10 years and with racial justice work as well as advocacy/activism in the 2-SLGBTQ+ community for more than 18 years, committing themselves to highlighting the importance of education, awareness, and involvement to create change. McKinney is co-owner and lead trainer of Paradigm Shifts Consulting in addition to being executive director of the Grand Rapids Pride Center. The Detroit native is passionate about working to decolonize gender roles and identities as well as discussing the impact harmful gender binaries can cause within communities.  The keynote is part of ODEI's Diversity Lecture Series, which is co-sponsored by Steelcase. Other events include: Black History Month Trivia, with the Office of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion. The event is planned for 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Feb. 2 in Student Center, 122 Lyon Street, NE room 234. “A Black Woman’s Survival Kit,” a virtual event hosted by the Office of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion set for 4-6 p.m. on Feb. 14. Silent Disco, presented by the Campus Activity Board with the Office of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion. The event is planned for 4-6 p.m. on Feb. 16 in the Raider Grill in the Student Center. “The Black Male Narrative,” a virtual event hosted by the Office of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, planned for 4-5:30 on Feb. 21. “Real Talk Student Round Table,” planned for 4-5:30 p.m. on Feb. 23 in room 234 of the Student Center and offered virtually as well. Registration for all of the events is available here.      

Jan. 30, 2023, GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. – Shawn Cheshire rode across the country on her bicycle, depending on Grand Rapids Community College professor Jesse Crandall to guide her every bit of the two-month, 3,700-mile trek. Cheshire is a Paralympian who is blind and competes in a variety of sports at the international level. Through a friendship with the GRCC chemistry professor, she has added bicycling to her activities, traversing the country, meeting and inspiring people all along the way. Crandall said both teaching and guiding are about helping others through obstacles. “For many students, introductory chemistry is something they have no experience with,” said Crandall, a GRCC associate professor of chemistry. “So, when I’m teaching, it helps to think about my experiences coaching my friend Shawn, who is totally blind. Then I try talking about the lesson in a language that, hopefully, everybody can understand.” That gift for guiding students was born of a longtime friendship — and many record-breaking escapades — with best friend Cheshire, an Army veteran, Paralympian and renowned adventure-seeker who is blind. Following her years in the military, Cheshire became an EMT/paramedic. During a 2009 snowstorm, she slipped while treating a patient in an ambulance and sustained a traumatic brain injury that resulted in total vision loss. Sports and physical challenges ignited her competitive spirit and helped her confront her blindness, she said. “You have to want to live,” Cheshire said. “For me, I wanted to be someone I could be proud of.” Crandall and Cheshire have been skiing, climbing, running and bicycling together for the past decade. They met in New York when Cheshire, in search of greater independence, decided to learn cross-country skiing. “Here was this woman who was blind and had never seen someone cross-country ski because she grew up in Texas, where you don’t find much snow,” said Crandall, a top skier and former ski coach who was in Syracuse earning his doctorate in chemistry. “She had no way to visualize cross-country skiing or recall seeing someone else do it.” But that never stopped Cheshire — or Crandall. Cheshire not only learned to ski, she earned a spot on Team USA and was the first blind woman to compete in biathlon (skiing and rifle shooting) for the U.S. Paralympic Nordic ski team. She has since competed for Team USA in both summer and winter sports. Since the Rio Olympics in 2016, Cheshire has focused on competing in awe-inspiring athletic feats to challenge social norms for the blind. Instead of her eyes, she relies on her ears -- and on Crandall to show her the way. In 2018, the pair and two friends faced the steep terrain of the Grand Canyon, completing a rim-to-rim-to-rim double crossing in just over 24 hours. As they walked 42 miles through the night, Cheshire listened for warnings of obstacles from Crandall and the other guides, as well as the noise of the bell the lead hiker wore, which sounded as they walked. “There was lots and lots of climbing and lots and lots of descending,” Crandall said. “She did it in just over 24 hours, which is the world record for any blind person doing it.” In 2021, Cheshire set another world record by riding her own bicycle — not a tandem — from the Pacific Ocean to the Atlantic Ocean. The cross-country trek took 60 days and covered 3,700 miles. It wasn’t easy. “We had two-way radios in our helmets, and I had a speaker on the back of my bike; I would give her directions and describe road conditions -- if we were moving right or left and any hazards -- and she would follow my sound,” Crandall said. They are accompanied for a portion of the trip by Steve Martin, a U.S. Army veteran who lost his legs below the knees in an explosion in Afghanistan. Last year, Cheshire biked the Tour Divide, a 2,700-mile mountain bike race along the mountain passes and windswept valleys of the Continental Divide from Banff, Canada, to the Mexico border with Crandall and another friend. It was the worst weather in the history of the race and more than half of the riders who started the race dropped out, according to Cheshire’s website here .  They finished the race in 50 days, cycling through snow, mud, hail, rain, freezing temperatures and triple-digit temperatures. With this feat, another world record was set. And now? Cheshire is training to summit both Mount Everest and Mount Lhotse, the highest and fourth-highest mountains in the world. If she completes the back-to-back expeditions this spring, she would be the first blind woman in history to summit Everest and one of the first blind people to attempt this double summit. But this time, Crandall won’t be joining her in the Himalayas. He’ll be at GRCC, guiding his students as they navigate the often-overwhelming world of chemistry. At least for now. “I don’t know what our next adventure will be,” Crandall said. “We’ve talked about skiing across Antarctica … I do know that with Shawn, there are no limits.” This story was reported by Beth McKenna.

Jan. 30, 2023, GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. – Steven Van Iwaarden lives in Manhattan with his wife and dog and works at a prestigious New York law firm. He has a law degree from the University of Michigan and helped launch a first-of-its-kind law journal.  It all sounds like a dream come true, but Van Iwaarden didn’t believe it could happen to him – not at first. “For various reasons, my high school career was less than stellar, and I did not attend college for years after graduating high school,” he said. Start at GRCC and go anywhere. Every former student has a story to tell about how GRCC gave them the education and opportunity to be successful. When Van Iwaarden decided to finally get serious about his education, he enrolled at GRCC. He found knowledgeable and understanding professors and uses many of the skills he learned in those early classes – College Writing, Principles of Microeconomics and Macroeconomics, and Fundamentals of Public Speaking – in his career today. “In my first semester at GRCC, I entered – and ended up winning – the ‘One Book, One College’ essay contest,” Van Iwaarden said. “The prize for this was getting to attend a dinner with the author of the book that was the subject of the contest, Josh Sundquist, and then getting a front-row seat to his keynote speech later that evening. “Winning this contest really put wind behind my burgeoning academic sails. It was through this experience that I realized my talent for reading and writing could lead to great things, so long as I put the requisite effort into developing it.” Another turning point: a GRCC-sponsored bus trip to Ann Arbor to tour the University of Michigan. “That ended up being an important factor in me thinking I could actually attend that university after graduating from GRCC,” Van Iwaarden said. After receiving his associate degree in 2016, he earned a bachelor’s degree in philosophy, politics and economics in 2019 from U of M, where he served as an ambassador to transfer students. He earned Juris Doctor degrees from University of Michigan. He gained experience working on employment discrimination claims as a clerk to Administrative Judge Thomas Harward of Equal Employment Opportunity Commission’s hearings unit in Los Angeles. He also helped a group of law students and doctoral candidates launch the Michigan Journal of Law & Society, which brings the humanities and social sciences into legal scholarship. Last year, Van Iwaarden, who passed the New York State Bar exam in July, accepted an offer from Latham & Watkins LLP to become a lawyer in its New York office. Van Iwaarden credits the success he’s seen to the support of his family and friends, as well as his willingness to take advantage of opportunities offered to him, like the Ann Arbor bus trip.  For him, GRCC means two things: hope and opportunity. “I view GRCC as a place offering hope to prospective students who don’t fit the archetype of the over-achieving high schooler who goes straight to a four year university,” he said. “GRCC is an institution that serves an invaluable social goal: a gateway to prosperity for those who didn’t have it handed to them.  “I would not be where I am today without GRCC.” Start your GRCC story today here.