Kevin Curiel-Vazquez is a proud Grand Rapids Community College alumnus, born in Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico, and raised in Grand Rapids, Michigan.
As a first-generation immigrant and college student, Kevin spent his early years at GRCC navigating the higher education system and finding his footing. Those years proved to be transformative. It was at GRCC, through his role as Vice President of Student Government, that Kevin discovered a passion for organizing and advocacy that would go on to shape his entire career.
Since then, Kevin has earned a bachelor's degree in organizational communication and a master's degree in organizational change leadership from Western Michigan University. His professional journey has taken him across multiple sectors, each rooted in the same core commitment. In the public sector, he developed programs connecting community members to legal rights education and expungement resources. In the nonprofit space, he led program development focused on expanding access to essential resources. In the private sector, he served in an executive role dedicated to upskilling and creating pathways for upward mobility for immigrant workers and non-traditional employees navigating the workforce for the first time.
Community development, equitable access and meaningful outcomes have always been at the center of Kevin's work. That commitment brought him back to where it all began. Today, he serves as a program coordinator for the Rise Up and Achieve Program at GRCC, helping students navigate higher education just as others once helped him.
