Jan. 13, 2023 GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. – Families can learn about the water they drink and potential careers through hands-on activities during two “Water Pool-ooza” events. The program, funded by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, is designed for fourth- through 12th-graders and their families, said Hillary Caren, a chemist with Grand Rapids’ water system. Grand Rapids Community College, which runs a training program for jobs related to municipal water, public works, clean energy and river restoration projects, is a partner. “Water Pool-ooza will provide students with hands-on activities, taught by water professionals, community partners and nonprofits, that are designed to expose them to a variety of water-related issues and careers,” she said. The two Water Pool-ooza events are free: Feb. 25, 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the city’s Lake Michigan Filtration Plant, 17350 Lake Michigan Drive. Participants can follow the journey drinking water takes to reach their faucet. Water professionals will guide them through the treatment process with interactive activities to learn more about drinking water and about careers in the water industry. March 11, 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. at GRCC’s Tassell M-TEC, 622 Godfrey Ave. SW. Participants can learn more about water sustainability, conservation and careers through activities led by nonprofit and community partners. City staff will lead demonstrations, and water professionals will share their roles within the water industry. Caren said speakers at the two events will come from the state Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy, the Kent County Drain Commission, the cities of Grand Rapids and Wyoming, and private industry. “Water Pool-ooza will educate school students about the importance and beauty of the water around us and how it impacts our daily lives,” she said. “They will learn about diverse topics related to our water resources and begin to understand their role as water stewards and champions.”

Jan. 13, 2023, GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. – West Michigan’s commemoration of the life and legacy of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. will include reflections on the past, a hard look at our current challenges and a look to the future through scholarships. Dr. Eddie Glaude Jr., an author and Princeton University educator, will provide the keynote address as part of the 37th annual community commemoration, a partnership between Davenport University, Grand Rapids Community College, and Grand Valley State University, with support from local sponsors. The 2023 keynote is planned for 6 p.m. Jan. 16 at Fountain Street Church, 24 Fountain Street NE in Grand Rapids. The event is free and open to the public. Doors open at 5 p.m. Registration is available here .  The event will also introduce area high school students receiving “Inherit the Dream” scholarships and include short welcomes from college presidents and community leaders. The event will be among the first official duties for incoming GRCC President Charles Lepper, who officially starts on Monday. Lepper is planning to speak about Dr. King’s legacy with GVSU President Philomena V. Mantella and Davenport University President Richard J. Pappas. The event will also introduce area high school scholarship recipients, musical selections from the West Michigan District AME Zion Choir, and blessings from the Rev. Nikki Smith, associate minister of Hilliard Chapel AME Zion Church and an associate professor in GRCC’s Criminal Justice Department. Glaude, the keynote speaker, is an author, political commentator, public intellectual and passionate educator who examines the complex dynamics of the American experience. Combining a scholar’s knowledge of history, a political commentator’s take on the latest events, and an activist’s passion for social justice, Glaude challenges all of us to examine our collective American conscience, "not to posit the greatness of America, but to establish the ground upon which to imagine the country anew." His writings, including “Democracy in Black: How Race Still Enslaves the American Soul,” “In a Shade of Blue: Pragmatism and the Politics of Black America,” and his most recent, the New York Times bestseller, “Begin Again: James Baldwin’s America and Its Urgent Lessons for our Own.” Glaude is the James S. McDonnell Distinguished University Professor and chair of the Department of African American Studies at Princeton. He is also on the Morehouse College board of trustees. He frequently appears in the media, as a columnist for TIME Magazine and as contributor on “Meet the Press” and on MSNBC programs. Glaude also hosts Princeton’s AAS podcast, a conversation around the field of African American Studies and the Black experience in the 21st century. He also is a former president of the American Academy of Religion. Community sponsors for the event include: Corewell Health, Bethany Christian Services, Consumers Energy, Foster Swift, Warner Norcross and Judd, and the Amway Grand Plaza Hotel.

Jan. 12, 2022, GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. - Teri Herdon, a Grand Rapids Community College  dental Instructor, has seen first hand how dental care can change lives.  She vividly recalls one patient she encountered while volunteering at a Mission of Mercy event, which provided dental care for patients in need in Grand Rapids.  After completing treatment, the patient began crying and hugging Herdon. The patient had never been able to afford dental care, and by getting the help she needed, could now be put on a kidney transplant list. “We both began crying with joy. She thanked me for saving her life, and I’ll never forget the impact she had on me. We still keep in touch and she’s doing well,” Herdon said.  Herdon enrolled in GRCC’s Dental Hygiene program in 1990. She worked in private practice for a while and came back to GRCC to teach in 2003. She still maintains a busy schedule of teaching, working in private practices, administering board exams, and volunteering.  “I love working with the students. We work hard and build strong relationships. I get to take what I have learned in the world and bring it into a hands-on classroom,” Herdon said.   The program involves hands-on learning in the GRCC Dental Clinic. The Dental Clinic is open to the public and offers preventative services to the public such as cleanings, x-rays, and more for affordable rates.  Herdon says the dental faculty have created a collaborative environment. The program has a strong reputation for knowledgeable staff, state-of-the-art technology, and hardworking students. “I’ve been to many other colleges to administer exams,” Herdon said. “I am always proud to come home to GRCC. Our dental program has a strong reputation, it makes me proud to work here”.  The dental hygiene program has a competitive waitlist, more information can be found here .  The Dental Clinic is currently accepting new patients, more information can be found here .   

Jan. 11, 2023, LANSING, Mich. – Head coach David Glazier of the Grand Rapids Community College women's basketball team earned his 100th career win after his team's convincing, 27-point victory over Lansing Community College on Wednesday. In the later game, GRCC's men's basketball team couldn't overcome a 22-point first half deficit and fell to the Stars 93-81, only the team’s second loss of the season. The women’s team held Lansing to just 26 percent from the field, 50 percent from the free throw line and just 40 total points, while scoring 67 of their own on a season-high 42.1 percent from the field. "Proud of these kids tonight in a complete team bounce back after a disappointing outing this past Saturday," Glazier said. "Tonight was a showcase of what this team really is when we play team basketball." Allison Kellogg scored a career-high 16 points on 6-of-8 from the floor while adding seven rebounds. Grace Lodes finished with her seventh double-double of the season with 16 points and a game-high 14 rebounds.  Marlene Bussler filled the stat sheet with 14 points, six assists, six rebounds, a block and a steal. Glazier, in his seventh season as head coach of the Raiders, is now 100-77.  His team is coming off a 20-win season that included a runner-up performance in the NJCAA regional tournament.  Two years ago, he led the team to its first trip to the NJCAA national tournament. "Humbled by the milestone because it isn't possible without the sacrifices, hours of hard work, and dedication that so many players have given to the program," Glazier said. The men’s team, after winning its first 11 games, has now lost two in a row. Rico Wade led a total of 10 Raiders that scored, with 14 points on 6-of-9 from the floor. Brockton Kohler, who recently signed to play with Cleary University, was 4-of-8 from three point range and finished with 13 points. Danyel Bibbs chipped in with 13 points and a team-high five assists and Chris Coleman nearly had a double-double with nine points and nine rebounds. Both teams will be back in action on Jan. 14 as they play host to Bay College at home in their conference openers. The women's game will tip-off first at 1 p.m. with the men to follow. 

Jan. 11, 2023, GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. – Grand Rapids Community College basketball player Brockton Kohler will be playing for Cleary University next year, part of the school’s inaugural men’s team. The sophomore shooting guard from Greenville is averaging 12.4 points per game and is the team's best three-point shooter. This season he has 20 three-point shots, shooting at an impressive .426 clip.  Last season he averaged 11.9 points. He needs just 20 more points to reach 500 for his career. "Betting on yourself isn’t as much of a risk when you’re as committed, passionate, and driven as Brockton is," said GRCC head coach Joe Fox. "I'm so thankful that I’ve gotten a chance to coach him and look forward to seeing him play compete at the next level." Cleary is located in Howell and is part of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics. The university is forming its first basketball team, starting with the 2023-2024 season. Kohler will be part of head coach Carl Thomas' first signing class. Thomas, a former NBA player and college standout, is the father of GRCC player Carter Thomas. “None of this would have been possible without the love and support of coach Fox, my teammates, and, most importantly, my family, and I am forever grateful for all of them,” Kohler said. “It’s been a long process to get where I am so it’s great to know I’ll be moving on to the next level. I’m excited for the future. But right now, my focus is on competing for a conference championship beside my brothers.” The GRCC men's basketball team is off to an impressive 11-1 start and will finish the non-conference portion of its schedule on the road against Lansing Community College tonight.  

Jan. 10, 2023, GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. -- Grace Lodes started playing basketball in kindergarten at the tender age of 5, but, she said, it was love at first dribble. “Yes, I loved it from the second I started playing,” she recalled recently. “I wanted to learn and know more about the game every single day, and I did.” That love for the game continues this season at Grand Rapids Community College where she has become one of the team’s most dependable players. A 6’2” power forward and center, Lodes is averaging 32 minutes per game for the Raiders and making the most of her time on the floor. Through the first eight games of the season, she was averaging a double-double: 13.0 points per game and 12.1 rebounds per game. “I have some guard-like qualities – quick feet and hands and some speed – that sometimes surprises my opponents,” she said. “That, plus my height, allows me to work on different aspects of my game every game.” Seventh-year GRCC coach David Glazier agreed. But he said during the recruiting process, something Lodes said to him struck him as powerfully as her on-the-court abilities. “We were talking about her playing time during her senior year, and her comment was that she believed in her coach's vision, she knew what her role was, and she just wanted to make the best of her opportunity when her number was called,” he recalled. “That comment provided such a level of insight into where she was in her emotional growth and how she would carry herself at GRCC.” Now that she’s at GRCC, Glazier added, what he saw in Lodes as a high school senior continues. “She is always looking to improve and always wanting to know more about other’s opinions both in basketball and in life,” he said. He added with a big laugh: “She is also very willing to tell me when she thinks I am wrong.” Opposing coaches haven’t seen much wrong with Lodes’ work on the hardwood. Last year she was named Defensive Player of the Year by the Michigan Community College Athletic Association Western Conference and was both an all-conference and all-region honoree. She also led the nation last season in blocked shots as GRCC finished with a 20-11 record, reaching the championship game of the NJCAA Great Lakes A District tournament. Lodes, of Comstock Park, said that as a high school senior at West Catholic considering college options, she was drawn to what her future might look like apart from basketball. “I was looking for opportunities such as starting my own business and getting my real estate license,” she said. “I was still focused on playing basketball in college, but in terms of my career, I wanted to go somewhere that would put me in the best position of where I wanted to be in the next couple years.” She found that at GRCC, she said. And the fact that GRCC was the best option financially was an added bonus. The recruiting process was also a highlight. “Coach Glazier made me feel wanted, welcomed and appreciated,” she said. That has carried over to her career as a Raider. “Coach Glazier’s coaching style is constructive and caring,” she said. “He is always looking a step ahead, at what we as players sometimes can’t see, and he looks out for our best interests.”  Lodes is studying business and business management at GRCC and on track to earn her associate degree this spring. She said her classroom experience wasn’t smooth sailing at first but now she’s figured things out, including better time management, and her sophomore year has gone much better in terms of learning new material, communicating well with her professors and, she added, “getting assignments done well before their due date.” After graduation, she hopes to earn a bachelor’s degree in business and also is aiming to get her real estate license by the end of 2023. “My end goal is to be in the real estate field while also getting into starting my own business within the next 3-5 years after GRCC,” she said with a smile. As her opponents would tell you, don’t bet against her. This story was reported by Phil de Haan.