Nov. 16, 2022, LIVONIA, Mich. – The Grand Rapids Community College men's basketball team stayed perfect on the year, improving to 5-0 after overcoming an eight-point halftime deficit to defeat Schoolcraft College 91-82 on Wednesday. Bashir Neely, a freshman graduate of Grand Haven High School, led GRCC with a game-high 18 points. Jordan Houser scored 11 points in his starting debut. "We put together an incredible team effort tonight for a comeback win on the road," head coach Joe Fox said. "I'm impressed with the mental focus the team showed. Jordan Houser played great in his first start, and Bashir Neely played with great energy. A lot of guys had great individual efforts. Rico Wade hit a big shot late, and Myron Brewer hit a three with 1:30 left to put us up seven. Chris Coleman made some plays down the stretch as well. I am looking forward to seeing the guys hit the road on Friday". Brockton Kohler and Danyel Bibbs each chipped in with 14 points. The team hits the road again for its next game at Harper College in Illinois on Nov. 18. Tip-off scheduled for 5:30 p.m. 

Nov. 16, 2022, GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. – The newest players for the Grand Rapids Community College softball team have extensive experience with travel teams, creating a solid foundation for the season ahead, coach Chuck White said. White celebrated the signings of five players, building a program that did not field a team in 2022. “This class was my first, and will be a huge catalyst in keeping the program turning in a great direction, White said. “As far as the upcoming season goes, I will have a great group of hardworking student-athletes who set a positive culture. We’re looking to be capable of being competitive from day one.” New players are: Macey Springer, who pitches and plays second base. She is from River Valley High School in Three Oaks. She played on the Lakeshore Pirates travel team, and was named to an All-State team last year. Maddie Miller, who plays catcher and shortstop. She is from Coopersville High School and played on a travel team with the Blaze organization. Joslyn Vander Hart, who plays second base and third base. She is from Grandville High School and played for the Diamonds travel team. Amara Kline, who pitches and plays in the outfield. She is from Portage Central High School and played for the Chaos travel organization. Sophia North, who pitches and plays first base. She is from Grand Rapids West Catholic High School and played for the Rockford Krush travel team. White and assistant coach Steve Roersma are in their first year coaching the GRCC softball team. The season begins in late February. There are still opportunities for students looking to be a part of the team. A recruiting questionnaire is available here .    

Nov. 15, 2022, GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. – Back-to-back honors for Danyel Bibbs of the Grand Rapids Community College men's basketball team after being named Michigan Community College Athletic Association Northern Conference Player of the Week for the second week in a row. "Danyell continues to impress with not only his counting stats but his leadership on the court," coach Joe Fox said. "The play we see from him is a direct reflection of his commitment to the process of improving every day." Bibbs, a Saginaw native who attended Union High in Grand Rapids, is coming off a team-high 22 points and seven assists while adding seven rebounds in Thursday's game against Lansing Community College, helping GRCC to a 106-99 victory. Last week, the sophomore point guard helped guide the team to another victory with a team-high 28 points and 12 assists against Great Lakes Christian’s junior varsity squad. The men's basketball team is off to a perfect 4-0 start. The team's next game is Nov. 16 in Livonia at Schoolcraft College. Tip-off is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. 

Nov. 15, 2022, GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. – Grand Rapids Community College psychology professor Ennis Young said he would likely be in prison if he didn’t go to college. Pursuing education allowed for a different life path, he said as part of a panel of educators during a National First-Generation College Student Day celebration. “A lot of people I grew up with are dead and gone or locked up and that’s my truth,” he said. “I grew up with people in my community and in my own home who didn’t believe in me. Those words kick you in the gut and you feel inadequate.” Young and other faculty, staff and college students shared their stories about what it’s like to be first in their families to go to college at a Nov. 8 event organized by GRCC’s TRIO program . The annual recognition was started in 2017 by the Council for Opportunity in Education and the Center for First-Generation Student Success . TRIO’s mission is to support and motivate first-generation, low-income students and students with disabilities throughout their college experience. GRCC student and TRIO student employee Erika Hernandez said she received support from Dr. Kristi Haik, dean of GRCC’s School of STEM, who told her, “nothing goes as planned” and to “always have a plan B” in regard to your college journey. “I graduated in 2020 and that switched my plans,” Hernandez said. “I took a gap year and then came to GRCC. Things didn’t go as planned, but I learned so much about the college journey coming to GRCC and TRIO.” Through TRIO, she learned about financial literacy in regard to attending college and got connected with tutoring. “They have supported me, given me tools and resources and helped me see the reality (of college),” Hernandez said. “I’ve learned to set goals and imagine my future.” Learning to Navigate Education After immigrating from Mexico to the United States, where Hernandez was born, her parents moved back for a few years and then returned to Michigan, where she had to relearn English while attending high school and preparing for the future. “When it came time for college, my parents didn’t know how to help me get into college or the things I needed to know about financial aid,” she said. She also faced additional roles and responsibilities as the oldest child in her family. “Coming from an immigrant family, you’d think a diploma comes with authority and confidence. But being a first-generation college student doesn’t go away just because you graduate and get your degree.” Looking forward, Hernandez hopes to receive her associate degree in business in spring 2023 and transfer in the fall. No matter what her future holds, Hernandez will be happy if she can help people and “do what she wants to do.” “For so long, I was doing what other people told me to do,” she said. “My dad says to me that so many people will try to tell you things and influence you. But in the end, you have the final choice.” TRIO Program Director Victoria Powers said she hoped putting professional first-generation college students in front of current students was informative and inspiring. “When you get a degree or a certification, it isn’t a magic piece of paper to make the anxieties and insecurities go away for first-generation college students,” Powers said. This story was reported by Alexis Stark of the School News Network.

Nov. 14, 2022, GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. -- It’s 5 p.m. on a Thursday, and Islam Hoxha is pacing the hallways of the Gerald R. Ford Fieldhouse. He’s nervous. A first-year assistant coach for the Grand Rapids Community College’s men’s basketball team , Hoxha said he gets nervous before every game. But on this mid-November day, he and the Raiders are 2 ½ hours away from tipoff against their archrivals, the Lansing Community College Stars. And although Hoxha is new to the GRCC program, he knows that his head coach, Joe Fox , spent three seasons working under the leadership of Hall of Fame coach Mike Ingram at LCC, so this game has particular meaning for Fox. Which means it has particular meaning for Hoxha. Which means even more pre-game jitters than normal. Still, basketball, Hoxha knows, is not life and death. He knows this because he knows life and death. “I do still have memories of Kosovo,” he said of his home country, while safely ensconced in the cozy confines of the fieldhouse. “I can remember riding on my dad’s shoulders as he carried me, as my family fled to the mountains in search of safety, running from the people who wanted to kill us.” That was 1998, and Islam Hoxha was 5 years old. He and his family were caught in the middle of the Kosovo war, an approximately 16-month conflict that pitted forces from Yugoslavia against the Kosovo Liberation Army. Really though, the violence of the war had been going on for most of Hoxha’s life, beginning already in the early 1990s when the KLA formed to fight the persecution of Kosovo Albanians. So, after running to the mountains, the Hoxha family just kept going, first to Macedonia and eventually to the United States. Hoxha was 7 years old and starting over in a new country, fluent in the languages of Albania, Bosnia and Serbia but knowing no English. He smiled as he recalled that time in his life. “We were welcomed,” he said. “We had families who sponsored us and helped us. At school, we were put in a class with other refugees, so we could learn together. We had English language services available to us, and we just had so many people who helped us. I can’t thank them enough.” Part of his refuge, he says now, was sports. His dad had been a professional soccer player, so at Forest Hills Northern, Islam was a standout member of the school’s soccer team. He never played basketball though, neither in high school nor in college, first attending GRCC for two years taking hospitality courses and then finishing up at LCC in the hospitality program. So, how did a soccer-playing native of Kosovo end up as an assistant coach on the GRCC men’s basketball team? Well, part of the story includes a woman. And part of it is hooked to Hoxha’s bold approach to life. Again, he smiles as he recounts the story. “I had met someone on a trip back to Kosovo,” he said. “We were dating and then she became my fiancé and now she is my wife. But before that happened, I went back for a year to be with her. And one day, I went to see the local basketball team practice. And then I went to see their director of basketball operations, and I said to him, ‘I would like to join your staff as a volunteer.’” And that’s how Islam Hoxha became an assistant coach for the 2021-22 season for the KB Rahoveci Vreshtarët in the Kosovo Basketball Superleague, the top professional league in Kosovo and a member of FIBA, which governs the sport of basketball worldwide. “We had a coach from Greece, another from Turkey,” he said. “We had a dozen (NCAA) Division I players from the U.S. It was the learning experience of a lifetime.” Now Hoxha is back in the U.S., working at Corewell Health (formerly Spectrum Health) as a patient services representative even as he plans to enter a new GRCC neurodiagnostic apprenticeship program that sees the college partnering with Corewell to fill a growing gap in the health care system. And he is sharing his experiences in Kosovo – and his deep love for basketball – with the GRCC basketball program, its 15 players and his fellow coaches. “I love basketball because it’s a beautiful game,” he said simply. “But another reason I love it is because I know I am helping young men achieve some goals they have set for themselves. It’s meaningful to be a part of their lives and always be there for them when they need advice, knowledge or just someone to talk to.” And, he added, there is a strong element in his coaching philosophy of paying it forward. “Coming to the United States as a refugee, a lot of people helped my family and me in the beginning and I could never be more thankful,” he said. “So, helping these young men get to where they want to be in life as people and as athletes is definitely a way in response to everyone who has helped me.” Fox said that in Hoxha’s short time with the program, he already is making a big difference. “It's hard to overstate how he has helped us in his first semester on campus,” Fox said. “Coming from the world of professional basketball, he sees the game with a different eye. The guys really respect his knowledge of the game and love learning from him. Beyond that, the players also respond to his positive energy.” In return, Hoxha said he is thrilled to be learning from Fox, whose coaching roots run deep.  Gary Fox, Joe’s dad, was a longtime coach at Greenville High School, and George Fox, Joe’s granddad, won a state championship with Magic Johnson at Lansing Everett.  “Coach Fox already has helped me a lot with learning the game further,” Hoxha said. “And, hopefully, me bringing some knowledge from the European way will help further bring success to the program.” Hoxha noted that before the game against Lansing Community College the team ran a new warm-up, based on large part on what the team at KB Rahoveci had used to get ready for games. “If we don’t win tonight,” he had said with a laugh prior to tipoff, “we might not ever run it again.” But at the end of the contest, the big scoreboard at the fieldhouse told the tale: GRCC 106, LCC 99, as the Raiders ran their 2022 record to a perfect 4-0 and the new warmup got its first “W.” Nervous no more, Hoxha could only smile as he walked with the team from the floor to the locker room after a hard-fought victory. Prior to the game, just two hours earlier, he had leaned in with his fellow coaches and the players for a final cheer before the Raiders took the floor. Together they had shouted, “One, two, three, team. Four, five, six, family.” In that moment, it was hard for Hoxha to not think about the path his life has taken and the journeys he has been on with both his biological family and now his GRCC basketball family. And while he knows his players aren’t literally riding on his shoulders to safety, as he once did with his dad, Hoxha said he hopes they’re perhaps doing so metaphorically.  “To me, personally, that chant is powerful,” he said. “It means I know I am changing someone’s life for the good every single day.” This story was reported by Phil de Haan.  

Nov. 12, 2022, TALLAHASSEE, FL – Grand Rapids Community College runner Audrey Meyering earned her third All-American honor and both college cross country teams finished in the top 12 in the National Junior College Athletic Association DII National Championships. Kaylee Scott earned her second Coaches Association All-American honor in the event, where the GRCC women’s team finished seventh in the nation, and the men’s team finished 12th. “I’m proud of our student-athletes and coaches, who demonstrated again that GRCC’s cross country program is among the very best in the nation,” Athletic Director Lauren Ferullo said. “Our teams work hard to be successful on the course and in the classroom.” Meyering, a Middleville resident, finished 23rd with a time of 20:23. She is the first GRCC athlete to receive athletic All-American honors three times in the same sport. Scott, who broke the school's 5K record earlier this season, finished in 21st place with a time of 20:10. She earned All-American honors last year as well. Rose Meyer finished a solid 37th place of 218 runners, with a time of 20:43. The women’s team, coached by Sharon Becker, had four freshmen rounding out the team’s performance. Samantha Sixberry was 84th with a time of 21:49, Chloe Jones finished 93rd in a time of 22:02, Mariana Zaragoza was 102nd with a time of 22:16 and Zoe Zawacki was 158th in a time of 24:01. The men's team, coached by Rob Hyde, claimed 12th place in the nation, with 2021 All-American Coleman Clark leading the way, finishing 34th in the race with a time of 27:15. Mason Kolhoff finished just five seconds behind Clark to finish 37th while fellow freshman Dan Kehoe was 84th with a time of 29 flat. Four sophomores rounded out the rest of the Raiders in the field of 219 runners. Craig Fuller was 97th with a time of 29:20, Lucas Schneider was 120th with a time of 30:05, Derek Hopkins was 154th with a time of 31:05 and Andrew Periard was 193rd in a time of 33:07.

Nov. 11, 2022, GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. – After raising her children, Barb Bouthillier felt called to attend Grand Rapids Community College and study special education. While taking classes, an opportunity to help students struggling with math presented itself and Barb couldn’t say no.  Thirteen years later, she still loves supporting students as they study math.  Bouthillier, an adjunct math professor, recalls one of her very first students – one taking Math 95 for the third time.  The student had a very challenging, complicated personal life and worked very hard in the course. When the student passed the final exam, she was ecstatic! She told Bouthillier she was excited to tell her grandkids that if she could pass a college math class they could certainly handle college - no excuses! Bouthillier was awarded the Excellence in Education Adjunct Award in 2019 for her engaging and supportive approach to teaching. She encourages students to collaborate and ask questions and is a strong advocate for GRCC resources such as the tutoring labs and the Counseling and Career Center.  “It is more important to help students believe in their ability to learn math than to find the best way to teach a math concept,” she says. Success in education is a process of developing confidence, making mistakes, and learning from them. Bouthillier understands that all students learn differently and takes the time to discover how to best support and teach her students.  More information about the Mathematics Department can be found here.