May 15, 2023, GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. – Former Grand Rapids Community College golfer Arie Jackman this weekend won the Michigan Medal Play Championship, one of the state’s most prestigious amateur tournaments. Start at Grand Rapids Community College and go anywhere. Every former student has a story to tell about how GRCC gave them the education and opportunity to be successful. According to Jim Young of Amateurgolf.com , Jackman started the event at the Detroit Golf Club slowly, then “blistered” the course in the later rounds to catch, then pass leader Drew Miller with two rounds of 63 strokes.   GRCC golf coach John Forton said the Michigan Medal Play tournament is a “very prestigious amateur event in the state of Michigan.” The 72-hole event was founded in 1964 Jackman, a Caledonia native, didn’t start playing in tournaments until he was 16. He joined the GRCC team for the 2020-2021 season and thrived. Jackman was named the team’s captain and shot a 224 to capture medalist honors and win by eight strokes at the Michigan Community College Athletic Association championship in 2022. His time at GRCC included earning All-MCCAA and All-Region honors and maintaining a 3.75 grade point average. He finished the 2021-2022 season ranked No. 82 in the NJCAA Division I and II. Jackman was recruited by Central Michigan University to play on the university’s first golf team in 37 years. CMU, in Mt. Pleasant competes in the Mid-American Conference in the NCAA's Division I. Start your GRCC story at grcc.edu/apply today. 

May 13, 2023, STEVENSVILLE, Mich. – The Grand Rapids Community College softball team's chance at a national tournament berth came to an end after losing to Jackson College in the NJCAA Division II Regional Championship on Saturday. GRCC needed to win three games on Saturday to win the championship, and got off to a good start by defeating Hocking College 4-1. But the team lost another tough game to Jackson College, 4-2, ending a season that included a Northern Conference championship, and the team’s most wins since 2013. GRCC's Izzy Regner and Macy Huver combined to give up no earned runs, four hits and struck out 12 batters against Hocking. Jaye Guichelaar was a perfect three-for-three with two RBI while Vanessa Hewitt hit her second home run of the year and Annika Roersma hit a double and scored two runs. In the championship game, GRCC struck first with a leadoff home run by Lauren James in the second inning. But Jackson responded with four runs over the next three innings for a 4-2 victory. GRCC out-hit Jackson nine to six, including two each from Regner and James. Regner (20-5), who leads all NJCAA Division II pitchers with 292 strikeouts, earned the save in game one before picking up the loss in the later game. Because of their strong play in the tournament, Regner, Guichelaar and James were all named to the All-Tournament team. Regner had an ERA of 1.85 and struck out 35 batters including a season-high 16 against Mott Community College.  Guichelaar batted .538 with seven hits and was the only player to not strike out.  James batted .417 and led the team with three RBI. GRCC finished the season with a 25-18 record. This story was reported by Ben Brown.

May 12, 2023, STEVENSVILLE, Mich. – The Grand Rapids Community College softball team lost a tough 4-1 decision to Jackson College in the winner's bracket final at the NJCAA Division II regional tournament on Friday. Izzy Regner (20-4), who now leads all NJCAA Division II pitchers with 278 strikeouts, took the loss giving up three earned runs while striking out five.  GRCC struggled offensively in Friday’s game, collecting just five base hits - two each from Lauren James and Jaye Guichelaar and one from Alyssa Wierenga.  Jackson scattered nine hits and scored one run in the first, second, third and seventh innings. The Raiders scored their lone run on a single by Wierenga in the third inning. The defeat doesn't eliminate the Northern Conference champions from a chance at going to the NJCAA national tournament. The Raiders move on to face Hocking College in an elimination game on Saturday at 10 a.m.  Should the team win that game, it will have to defeat Jackson College twice to advance to the national tournament. This story was reported by Ben Brown.

May 12, 2023, GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. - Jeff Byrd first came to GRCC as a guest student while earning his bachelor’s degree at Ferris State University. Now he helps students navigate their own educational paths at the Leslie E. Tassel MTEC.  Byrd is an educational training specialist and career coach for Job Training students. He is passionate about helping students identify what careers are suitable for their interests and skills. Then he helps them enroll in a Job Training program.  “Job training is special because we offer so many opportunities for students to succeed,” Byrd said, “Our staff stand out because they are sincerely invested in the success of our students”.  Byrd encourages all students to take their time discovering what career they want to pursue, emphasizing that there is no “right” timeline. Career coaches, and all GRCC faculty and staff, are always happy to help.  Byrd is particularly passionate about working with nontraditional students. In previous jobs he has worked with returning citizens, helping them integrate back into society. He is a strong advocate of students returning to school to change careers and follow their passions.  “I enjoy working with students from all walks of life. I take the time to understand their backgrounds and help them select a path or career,” Byrd said.  The students realize the care that Byrd puts into his work. Multiple alumni have reached out to thank him for the part he played in helping them succeed.  More information about job training can be found here.

May 11, 2023, GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. – The Grand Rapids Community College baseball and softball pitchers dominated their competition on Thursday, helping the teams advance in the NJCAA Region XII tournaments.   Izzy Regner struck out a career-high 16 batters as the softball team shut out Mott Community College, 3-0 to advance to the winner's bracket final. Jerad Berkenpas, Caden VanDeBurg, Lucas McKinney and Ethan London allowed just two runs in the team’s two-game sweep over Ivy Tech Community College to advance to the final four of the regional baseball tournament. In the softball game, Vanessa Hewitt, Annika Roersma and Lauren James drove in runs for GRCC. In game one of the baseball doubleheader, Berkenpas held Ivy Tech scoreless until the seventh inning. The offense totaled 18 hits and cruised to a 12-2 victory. Every batter had at least one hit including a five-for-five performance by shortstop Joe Hoeks and a team-high three RBI.  Trevin Laming opened up the scoring for GRCC with his ninth home run of the year in the first inning. In the nightcap, GRCC's Laming, Hoeks, Fernando Rivera-Calderon and Zacarias Salinas all had a hit, helping the team to a 3-0 victory. Both the baseball and softball teams earned their way to regional tournaments by winning the MCCAA Northern Conference crown. The softball team (24-16) moves on to face Jackson College on Friday at noon, while the baseball team (35-12) awaits its opponent for next week's final four. This story was reported by Ben Brown.

May 11, 2023, GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. – Grand Rapids Community College adviser Erin Busscher was honored recently for her advocacy for students and career of helping them along a pathway to success. Busscher, an associate professor in GRCC’s Academic Advising and Transfer Center, was presented with the Outstanding Academic Adviser Award from the Michigan Academic Advising Association at the organization’s recent conference at Kalamazoo Community College. “This award means so much to me!” she said. “I strive to contribute to the advising profession at GRCC and at the state and national level.  It feels wonderful to be recognized for those contributions! Working alongside advising colleagues across the state supports me in my unique role as an adviser who helps students transfer, and together we are supporting seamless transfer from GRCC to all of our colleges and universities in Michigan.” The award’s selection committee considered evidence of qualities and practices that distinguish the nominee as an outstanding academic adviser, faculty adviser, advising administrator, graduate student, or pacesetter. Busscher started her career as a student employee at Grand Valley State University and enjoyed the environment and helping students succeed. She worked in various positions at GVSU for more than 10 years before coming to GRCC to serve as the transfer and articulation coordinator. She quickly missed working with students and was able to step back into an adviser role. Busscher earned a Bachelor of Arts from GVSU in Professional Writing with a minor in Public Relations. She then earned her Master of Education - Higher Education, College Student Affairs Leadership at GVSU. She is certified as a Global Career Development facilitator and enjoys helping students with career exploration.    

May 10, 2023, ADA, Mich. – Drew Harrington led the Grand Rapids Community golf team to a GRCC Invitational win and the team’s 13 th consecutive Western Conference championship on Wednesday at Egypt Valley Golf Course. The golf team is the third GRCC team to earn a conference title this spring, following the baseball and softball squads. "The team had specific goals to achieve during the spring season," coach John Forton said. "The student-athletes' dedication to get better every day paid off. Regardless of the obstacles, we stayed the course and it resulted in success."  GRCC tied Muskegon Community College with a score of 327. The Raiders earned the title because GRCC's No. 4 golfer scored better than Muskegon's No. 4 golfer. It was the final conference invitational of the year, and because GRCC finished with the lowest score of all five tournaments combined, it earned the Western Conference championship as well. The championship marks the 22nd since 1969 for GRCC, and 13th consecutive title. Harrington shot a 78 and earned Western Conference medalist by finishing with the lowest score in all five conference tournaments. Conner Oman, who earned All-MCCAA honors on Monday, shot an 81 to finish in fourth place. Brad VandenHout, 83; Ty Marchlewski, 85; and Sam Foss, 87; rounded out the Raiders’ golfers. The team now sets its eyes on its ninth regional title as it competes in the three-round tournament May 15 and 16 at Bedford Valley Golf Course in Battle Creek.   This story was reported by Ben Brown. 

May 8, 2023, WEST BRANCH, Mich. – Conner Oman led the Grand Rapids Community College golf team to a second-place finish at the Michigan Community College Athletic Association Championship on Monday. The baseball team was also in action, dropping its final regular season game of the year, despite a team-leading 10 th home run from Fernando Rivera-Calderon. Oman finished second place overall with a two-round score of 148, including shooting a 72 in the first round with four birdies. He finished with seven birdies on the day. Ty Marchlewski, Drew Harrington, Brad VandenHout and Sam Foss finished 12th, 13th and 14 th , respectively. GRCC finished 11-strokes back of Muskegon Community College, which won the championship with a score of 611. The baseball team lost to Lansing Community College, ranked No. 5 in the nation, despite out-hitting the Stars, 16 to 13. GRCC fell behind 8-0 after three innings, but clawed back into the game by scoring five runs in the fourth, four in the fifth and three more in the sixth to tie the game at 12. Lansing regained the lead 13-12 in the bottom of the sixth and piled on nine more runs in the next two innings to win 22-12. Five GRCC players had multiple hits, led by Aaron Bess and Andres Rivera-Calderon with three.  They also combined for five of the teams' eight RBI. Fernando Rivera-Calderon hit his third home run in three games, giving him a team-high 10 for the year. GRCC's next game will be in the first round of the Region XII Tournament on May 11 at 1 p.m. against Ivy Tech Community College, in a best two-of-three series.  Game two of the series will be at 5 p.m. and should both teams split, the decisive game three will be Friday at 1 p.m. The golf team will compete in its final conference tournament May 10 at Egypt Valley Golf Course in Ada.  This story was reported by Ben Brown.

May 8, 2023, GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. -- Pickleball is one of the fastest-growing sports in America, and Grand Rapids Community College alum James Grochowalski is all in on the new craze. In fact, he is one of the owners of the aptly named All In Pickleball Gym which just opened at 76th Street and 131 in Grand Rapids. Grochowalski said the new facility, an old Safelite AutoGlass shop, includes five full-sized, dedicated pickleball courts, plus dinking and skinny singles courts, with 16-foot-high containment nets around all the courts and industry-leading lighting. It’s open from 4 am to midnight seven days a week, year-round and offers an easy booking app to make reservations without a phone call. Interestingly, Grochowalski did not pursue a business degree at GRCC or afterwards. After four years at Byron Center High School, where he played tennis and bowled, he decided to attend his hometown community college because it struck him as an affordable way to get some of the prerequisite courses, he’d need for an eventual transfer to Grand Valley State University. In his first year, he took English and science and a number of other courses he knew he’d need at GVSU, but then he decided to go in a different direction. He transferred instead to Compass College of Cinematic Arts, now Compass College of Film and Media. That decision launched his current career as the owner of James Grocho LLC. “We’re a post-production company,” he said. “That includes editing and motion graphics. We serve multiple organizations throughout the country by editing and animating videos for concerts, webinars, online conferences, churches and social media companies.” He has zero regrets about his decision to pivot from his original path to Compass and is grateful not just for what GRCC gave him academically but also for the contagious, can-do spirit that he said is part of the DNA at GRCC. And he is grateful now to have two passion projects to keep him busy. “I oversee all of the creative marketing and media for All In, so what I do at my day job and what I'm doing for All In is a perfect fit,” he said. ““Media is my passion, and I love telling stories and making videos that help companies grow.” All In opened in April 2023, and the run-up from turning an old Safelite into a state-of-the-art pickleball facility meant some long days, nights and weekends for him and majority owner and founder Dan McConnon and fellow owners Scott McAllister and Mike Davis. He estimates that he has been spending 30 to 40 hours per week beyond his day job getting ready for the All In launch. He smiled as he recalled the first steps he took to becoming a pickleball gym owner. “I saw a post by Dan on Facebook, so I messaged him online asking to meet with him,” Grochowalski said. “And a few short months later, it has blossomed into a meaningful relationship and our partnership at the pickleball gym.” Despite the extra hours, and the many details involved in starting a new business, Grochowalski said he wouldn’t change a thing. As he grows older, he added, he is realizing more and more that life is short. And he hearkens back to lessons he learned at GRCC. “Take the leap of faith and follow your passion,” he said. “You’ll find happiness and fulfillment.” This story was reported by Phil de Haan.