Sept. 28, 2022, GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. -- David Puente moved to Grand Rapids to be with his girlfriend and start a new life and found a new career through Grand Rapids Community College. “My vision of Grand Rapids was much different than what I found to be true,” he said. “There are so many opportunities for people and so many resources to help. The Metallica Scholars welding program is just example of how Grand Rapids is different.” The GRCC Metallica Scholars Welding Bootcamp offers people the opportunity to gain skills for entry level welding positions.  It is a short-term program to get welders work in West Michigan, with the goal of helping these residents grow into apprenticeships or other learning opportunities within the welding field.  Puente had no experience as a welder but wanted to take a welding training program while he was incarcerated. COVID shut down that idea as all hands-on programs were no longer offered. When Puente was released, he heard about the Metallica Welding Scholars program through his parole officer, and got in contact with Tassell M-TEC team members. “I started getting emails and text about the program and I signed up. The people at GRCC have been so helpful.” The program goal is to build an accessible pathway into the field of welding with a focus on producing ready-to-work welders for Kent County companies. This program works to attract, retain, and graduate people of different genders and racial and ethnic backgrounds to welding careers. Puente believes it was all it was meant to be. “I really wasn’t looking for it. It was a real blessing how it all came together. I hadn’t had any welding experience before. I had never held a welding gun. So, when we held that welding gun on practically the first day, I was really surprised at how well I could do it! “I was excited and a little intimidated at first. Nick Pinckney, our instructor, is very good and very knowledgeable. I had all the confidence in him. He never skipped a beat. His teaching is very thorough and that helped build my confidence. Because of that, I knew I would come out of this class knowing how to weld.” For many adult learners, class schedule can be a barrier. “Because the program is offered at night, it allowed me to work during the day. I have to continue working and carrying on my responsibilities. The schedule made this possible for me.” For a long time, Puente didn’t have a career path. “These skills not only allow me to provide more for my family but also give me direction. It’s a good feeling to feel stable and confident that I have given myself the opportunity to live a stable life and develop a career.” Puente grew up listening to Metallica. “It’s great that they have used their resources to give back and make a difference. When you have the opportunity to make a difference you should. I am very grateful. The program has been excellent. The fact that the Metallica scholarship covered the $4,000 tuition was truly a blessing.” Puente plans to gain more skills in the future. “This is not where it ends. This is the beginning of a great thing. This is an opportunity, not just for me, but my whole family is excited about it!” Puente started at Etna as a hand welder in August, making a great hourly wage with opportunities to earn more! “I feel so good about it! This certification gave me the confidence to get a direct hire position.” Metallica Scholars is a partnership between GRCC Workforce Training, the band's All Within My Hands foundation, and the American Association of Community Colleges. The next offering of the Metallica Scholars Welding Bootcamp begins Oct. 27, 2022. To qualify for the program, participants must be 18 years of age, have a high school diploma or GED, and be able to work in the United States. For more information go to grcc.edu/metallica .  

Sept. 27, 2022, GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. – All-American cross country runner Kaylee Scott of Grand Rapids Community College was named Michigan Community College Athletic Association Women's Cross Country Runner of the Week Scott, a sophomore from Grandville, finished in 2nd place in a field of 87 Michigan Community College Athletic Association competitors at last week's Kirtland Firebird Invitational. “Kaylee deserves the recognition as Runner of the Week,” coach Sharon Becker said. “She has been working on her goals. She is been focused on her goal to get her 5K time faster. It will come. She will get there. She improved so much. Her training and her personal best times will come. She is trusting the coaching and the process and getting the work done. She had been a great leader for others on the team to follow.” GRCC, ranked No. 6 in the first U.S. Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association poll of the season, also finished in second place in the race. The Raiders are next scheduled to compete in the Oakland Community College Invitational on Friday Sept. 30. Competition is set to begin at 1:30 p.m. for the women and 2:30 p.m. for the men.

Sept. 27, 2022, GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. –   When Grand Rapids Community College professor Bob Schultz gets the chance to meet with alumni in the far-flung corners of the globe, he learns more about the cuisines of other countries, and wonders how he can bring that back for his international cooking class. This year, he returned from his travels with an unusual menu item for GRCC’s Heritage Restaurant: kangaroo. With three decades of teaching at his alma mater and its Secchia Institute for Culinary Education , Schultz has a large network of former students he has stayed in touch with over the years. “I try to make a trip every summer, see former students and bring back things to my current students that we can explore in the kitchen,” he said. This summer, that meant a trip to Australia to spend time with Daniel Wilson , an acclaimed chef and 1997 graduate of GRCC’s culinary education program. And that trip means his students -- and diners in West Michigan -- will have a chance this fall to taste kangaroo filets, likely a first for the area. Schultz explains. “When you travel, you can’t help but eat, especially the local foods,” he said. “In Australia, Daniel was my tour guide, and in Melbourne, we spent days at what is billed as the largest outdoor market in the Southern Hemisphere. I can’t even describe it, but the diversity there was amazing.” That diversity included kangaroo. On one of their market trips, Schultz said, he was struck by the rows and rows of hanging meat available for sale, especially an animal with a distinctive ruby-red appearance that was unlike anything he’d ever seen. Wilson told him that it was kangaroo. Schultz knew he needed to know more, so he bought some steaks and some stew meat, and he and Wilson experimented with different ways of cooking it at Wilson’s house. As his stay Down Under continued, he explored other local neighborhoods and markets, seeking out distinctively Australian items he could serve with kangaroo. When his kangaroo filets arrive in West Michigan – likely the second part of the fall semester -- he and his students will be creating a dish with macadamia-encrusted kangaroo with apricot mirin sake sauce, parsnips and Davidson Plum powder. It will bring an authentic taste of Australia to local palates and create what Schultz calls a culinary story. “All of these different flavor profiles will help us build a plate that tells some of the story of Australia,” he said. “I can’t wait for people to try it, to experience it.” The dish, which is currently being prepared with venison, will be available at The Heritage restaurant, GRCC’s fine dining experience that is staffed by culinary school students under the direct supervision of chef and table service professors. Indeed, Wilson credits much of his career success to not just his classroom education at GRCC but also the hands-on experience he got working on campus. “I worked with Bob when he was the banquet chef,” Wilson recalled. “We did all kinds of events, and Bob's positive attitude and strong work ethic made me feel welcomed and gave me something to look up to.” Now, three decades later, Wilson is thrilled to have become a good friend of Schultz and other GRCC instructors. “The breadth, experience and passion of the instructors was instrumental in developing my career,” he said. “I feel very grateful that I had the opportunity to learn from masters of their craft and build many lasting friendships along the way.” Wilson, a native of Auckland, New Zealand, said he loves that Schultz was able to bring a kangaroo dish to West Michigan.  “Bob has a very inquisitive nature and loves to share his learnings and knowledge with his students,” he said. Schultz notes that Australians have created what they believe is a sustainable source of meat with kangaroos. All kangaroo meat in Australia, and anything that is exported, comes from kangaroos that are harvested in the wild from specific areas, with quotas set on the number of animals that can be taken. He added that kangaroo meat is high in protein and low in fat and has been eaten for generations by indigenous Australians.   And although Schultz and his students are currently making the dish they hope to launch next month with venison, kangaroo doesn’t really taste like venison, he said. “No,” he said with his characteristic broad smile, “it actually tastes like ostrich. It’s a little bit gamey but also a little bit sweet.” This story was reported by Phil de Haan.  

Sept. 26, 2022 ST. CLAIR, Mich. -- Grand Rapids Community College placed four golfers in the top six to finish in second place at the Sam Kromer Invitational on Monday. "The Raiders played well through rainy and cold weather," coach John Forton said. "We are starting to get more acclimated to collegiate competition." One of GRCC’s top golfers, Conner Oman, finished in the top 10 last week at the Aquinas Invitational. He bowed out of the Monday tournament after just nine holes, which certainly played a huge part in the scoring. Tournament rules required Forton to turn in a lineup with five players competing as a team, and the remainder compete as individuals. Only two of GRCC's five score-qualifying golfers finished among the top four on the team; Mason Anderson and Drew Harrington each shot a 76 and finished tied for fourth place. Jayson Bultman and Sam Foss both finished tied for sixth shooting 78s on the par-72 St. Clair Golf Course. Had GRCC’s top four golfers been used for scoring the team would have run away with the title. Instead, it finished behind Glen Oaks Community College by two strokes; 314 to 316. Hunter Schwiling also finished in the top 10 in the field of 29 golfers, shooting an 80. Next up for GRCC is the Glen Oaks Invitational on Oct. 6 on the course of Island Hills in Centreville.

Sept. 26, 2022, GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. -- When you have a bachelor’s degree in history and political science from Indiana University and a master’s in education from Harvard, where do you go next? For Abbie Groff-Blaszak, it was Grand Rapids Community College. 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. After a 20-year career in K-12 education – including nine years with the state Department of Education – she was ready for a change. “I knew that I wanted to do something different, try something different, and the Secchia Institute for Culinary Education provided everything I needed to not only explore an entirely new field but to visualize myself within it and equip me to jump right in,” she said. Groff-Blaszak, who received her certificate in Craft Brewing in August, is now the head brewer for Creston Brewery. “I knew I wanted to work for myself, and rather than limit myself to working toward that goal within the fields I knew, I decided to explore a bit,” she said. “I’d always harbored a desire to go to culinary school, so I enrolled in the Secchia Institute and decided to pursue both the Baking and Pastry Arts and Craft Brewing certificates.” The Craft Brewing classes fit better around her schedule as director of the West Michigan Leadership Academy and “everything just clicked.” “I entered the program as an experienced craft beer enthusiast but with zero knowledge of the scientific and technical aspects of brewing,” Groff-Blaszak said. “In less than a year, GRCC equipped me with the practical knowledge and hands-on learning and experience to be a capable brewer and earn the confidence of an established Michigan brewery.” She especially appreciated the connections she was able to make through the program. “I got to learn how to brew from a brewer, learn sensory analysis from a certified cicerone and spend time in multiple breweries around the area,” she said. While she isn’t working for herself yet, she loves her head brewer job and is thinking about what she will do when she’s ready to start her own business. “For me, GRCC is the place that gave me the tools, resources and support to not only envision, but fully inhabit and embrace a career I wouldn’t have imagined possible.” Let GRCC help you start your story. The first chapter starts at grcc.edu/apply

Sept. 25, 2022 - GRAND RAPIDS, MICH. – Grand Rapids Community College is looking for coaches to head its fledgling soccer program, and the deadline to apply for the posts is approaching. Candidates have until midnight on Oct. 3 to apply for the head coaching posts for the men’s and women’s teams, which will start playing in fall 2023. Details about the jobs and online applications are available here . The GRCC Athletic Department is looking for candidates, preferably with collegiate head coaching experiences, collegiate recruiting experience, knowledge of NJCAA or NCAA eligibility, administrative experience and NJCAA experience. Applicants are required to have three or more years of soccer coaching, and a minimum of an associate degree.   The soccer teams are a first for GRCC, and Athletic director Lauren Ferullo said the sport is the most asked about sport from prospective student-athletes when they visit campus. Soccer is the most followed sport in the world and is growing in popularity in the United States.  The FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial international soccer championship, is planned to be played in the United States, Canada and Mexico in 2026.  Interest in the sport increased in 1994, when four World Cup matches were played in Michigan in the Pontiac Silverdome when the United States hosted the tournament. Currently GRCC offers volleyball, women's basketball, men's basketball, golf, baseball, softball, men's cross country and women's cross country.  Soccer will be the first new sport introduced since the cross country program was resurrected in 2014. The Michigan Community College Athletic Association includes five colleges with men's and women's soccer programs: Muskegon Community College, Schoolcraft College, Jackson College, Ancilla College and Lake Michigan College fielding teams.  Kellogg Community College, St. Clair County Community College and Delta College have women's teams. Potential players are encouraged to fill out an athletic recruiting questionnaire.