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My Story Started at GRCC: IT leader Jake Blough says GRCC introduced him to new worlds

July 18, 2022, GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. -- Jake Blough is grateful to GRCC not only for his 22-year career but for introducing him to the world beyond his small town.

ā€œComing from a small town, GRCC afforded so much more possibilities to interact with a diverse population, diverse professors and, of course, diverse learning experiences,ā€ said Blough, who graduated from Thornapple Kellogg High School. ā€œI spent a majority of my time at GRCC between the Music program and Computer Science program. Learning how to learn was a really important skill to hone.ā€

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.

Blough was hired by Service Express Inc., a global IT company, just three weeks after his 2000 graduation from GRCC.

ā€œOver 22 years, I have gone from field engineering, supply chain, data science and, ultimately, to the CTO position,ā€ he said.

For Blough, learning continues to be an essential task.

ā€œService Express was a very small company when I started of only 24 employees,ā€ he said. ā€œOver the years, it has grown immensely to over 900 employees in multiple countries. It took a lot of hard work, creative thinking and learning new skills every single day to keep up.ā€

Let GRCC help you start your story. The first chapter starts at grcc.edu/apply.

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