Feb. 8. 2023, GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. – Jamillya Hardley was a first-generation college student who was determined to succeed as a student, but also as an athlete, playing for the University of Michigan women’s basketball team. Hardley said she draws on her experiences in her role as assistant director of the Grand Rapids Community College Office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion. Hardley shared her journey to GRCC and how her new role finds her supporting students and planning important campus events including Black History Month activities and next month’s Salute to Women on the My GRCC Story podcast. Hardley said she faced adversity as a student and an athlete, and was supported by strong mentors who challenged and motivated her. She thinks about the support she received as she builds relationships with GRCC students. “I’ve sat across the table from many different folks, a wide variety of races, cultures, backgrounds,” she said. “I’ve been able to identify some sort of aspect or trait or characteristic that I’ve seen in myself in the students that I’m working with. I am able to naturally learn and listen and then identify some of those characteristics that we have in common, even though we may not look the same. A lot of the stories and the incidents and the situations college students are going through, I’ve done it. I’m a walking testimony.” Hardley graduated from Grand Rapids Christian High school. She played sports, focused on academics, and earned a full-ride scholarship to University of Michigan, where she played four years on the basketball team. “Playing in the Big 10 conference, you are learning every single day,” she said. “You are learning on the court and off the court. You have to be all in. It taught me time management, it taught me to be on a routine, and it taught me family. I’ll never forget those conversations around ‘It’s bigger than us.’ ‘It’s bigger than you as an individual player.’” Living away from home and going to college was challenging. “I had to figure it out on my own,” she said. “I had to bump my head. A few times I had to learn from my mistakes. I had to hear rejection, a few nos to learn and shape myself as a student. And even personally, being first generation meant that I had to have it together while learning while I didn’t have it together.” She is excited about the events planned for Black History Month, with a keynote address from Grand Rapids Pride Center Director Jazz McKinney at 4 p.m. on Feb. 9 in GRCC’s Wisner-Bottrall Applied Technology Center Auditorium, 151 Fountain Street NE. Details and registration for the month’s events are here . “What we learn in a text book, it can be beyond that,” she said about the month. “Conversations around different cultures, and identifying African American contributions to the world. And we get to expand upon that, whether it is music, food, clothing, fashion, modern arts. There are so many things we don’t talk about in school or especially when growing up, and we need to have those conversations and learn. The key component is that continuation of learning and being able to find beauty in diversity.” The My GRCC Story podcast is available here , Spotify, Apple Podcasts and other hosting sites.

Feb. 8, 2022, GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. – Grace Lodes of the Grand Rapids Community College women's basketball team was named Michigan Community College Athletic Association Northern Conference Player of the Week after setting career bests in points. “Grace had an outstanding week with two solid performances,” head coach David Glazier said. “Each day in practice she comes ready to build on what she’s already done with a focus on helping her team in whatever way we need her on any given night.” Lodes, a Comstock Park native who attended West Catholic High School, is coming off a career-high 29 points on 76.5 percent from the field in Saturday's game against North Central Michigan College, helping her team to a convincing 91-23 victory. The two-year starter also added 13 rebounds and six assists in the team’s biggest win of the season, giving her a two-game total of 40 points, 21 rebounds, eight assists, four steals and three blocks. Lodes currently leads the team in rebounding, averaging 10.6 per game and blocks, averaging 1.5 per contest, and steals, averaging 2.2 per game. She is also second on the team in scoring, assists and field goal percentage. Earlier in the season, teammate Marlene Bussler was named Player of the Week for week ending Dec. 11. The women's basketball team is 11-6 overall, 5-2 in the conference and will attempt for its fourth straight win when it takes on Mid Michigan College in a 5:30 p.m. tip-off.   This story was reported by Ben Brown.

Feb. 7, 2023, GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. -- GRCC Reference and Collection Development Librarian Sophia Brewer is sharing her expertise and passion for learning and history in a new statewide leadership role Brewer was elected to be one of the Michigan Library Association ’s three new directors-at-large, a move she said is a logical progression in a career that has been marked by a love for libraries. “I want to serve the profession that has given me so much,” she said. The Michigan Library Association is the state’s oldest and largest library association, serving the library profession for more than 130 years. The organization supports more than 2,000 libraries throughout Michigan from public, academic, school and special libraries, as well as organizations that are supportive of libraries. The group advances the profession through sharing of best practices, innovative ideas and new programs and services that benefit library personnel, library patrons and the communities it serves. Brewer added that she was intrigued by one of the MLA's top strategic priorities: efforts around equity, diversity, accessibility and belonging. “I want to learn more about and have an impact on these efforts,” she said. “Banning books and the efforts to suppress the history of Black, Indigenous and people of color concerns me. I am my ancestors, so that history follows me when I walk into the room and sit at the table. I am the walking story and legacy of my ancestors. I will not be banned.” That passion is also evident in her work at and love for GRCC. She started part-time at GRCC as an adjunct in 2007 and as a full-time librarian in 2014. She oversees a wide variety of resources, but she loves that her work puts her in regular contact with students. “I love to help students with research, including finding scholarly material and citing sources,” she said. “The best part about my job is the ability to work with students and staff via campus-wide efforts. I teach information literacy classes and serve as a liaison for several departments, including business, communications and culinary arts. I represent the library in everything I do, but I also am able to share and learn about the people who make GRCC great.” A native of McComb, Miss., Brewer went on to attend Jackson State University, one of the largest HBCUs in the United States, and there she majored in elementary education before going on to earn her master's degree in Library Science from Wayne State University in Detroit. Prior to earning her MLA seat, Brewer spent seven years as a Grand Rapids Public Library commissioner, and her decision to run for the state seat compelled GRCC professor Lauren Woolsey to run for Brewer’s vacated position. She said it was gratifying to be a GRPL commissioner and serve and have a positive impact in the community where she lives and works. She also has served as a board member and presenter for the Greater Grand Rapids Women's History Council and is a member of the Grand Rapids Civilians Appeals Board, which she joined in 2020 after the killing of George Floyd. And she writes a regular column for the Grand Rapids Times, founded in 1957 and the oldest existing weekly publication targeted to Black communities in Grand Rapids. “I represent the voice of an everyday person,” she said. “I use my words to draw lines and images that connect our present to our past and future. It's important for me to keep doing this because, in my mind, the reader of my column and I are growing together. As we grow, we learn, and when we know better, we do better.” This story was reported by Phil de Haan.

Feb. 6, 2023, GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. –   Just after Albert P. Smith arrived at what was then Grand Rapids Junior College in 1947, he created an event intended to serve as both a celebration of student hard work and talent.   Now in its 75th year, Musical Moods remains one of the highlights of the Music Department calendar, an opportunity to showcase the college’s performing arts opportunities with the campus and greater community. Musical Moods 75 will be presented by the Grand Rapids Community College Music Department on Saturday, Feb. 11 at 7 p.m. at the East Grand Rapids High School Performing Arts Center. Admission is $15 for adults, while high school and GRCC students are free with a current and valid student ID at the door and children 12 and under are also free. Contact music@grcc.edu for more information. Featuring GRCC ensembles and soloists, the approximately 80-minute concert will feature not only the college’s 100 music majors but also many other GRCC students who are not majoring in music but are talented instrumentalists and singers, nonetheless. Kevin Dobreff , Music Department head and program director, has been with GRCC since 1991 and said each year’s edition of Musical Moods is still a thrill. “It’s a great event,” he said. “It showcases so many fine ensembles and vocal groups. It’s been a great thing for me to be part of over these last 30 years, and I can’t wait for this one.” Dobreff noted that the concert tradition was started by Smith, who founded the Music Department during his 35 years at the college, and is the man for whom the current GRCC music center is named. “We know him as Smitty,” Dobreff said. “He was a graduate of the University of Michigan where he had been part of a similar concert, and when he came to what was then Grand Rapids Junior College, he brought this idea with him, and we have been presenting it ever since.” That included, Dobreff said, during the pandemic when Musical Moods went virtual. But last year, and now this year, the concert is back to an in-person event. The event is intended to both present outstanding music and also be a recruiting tool for the GRCC Music Department. As such the location is always a local high school. Over the years, Dobreff said, it has taken place in almost every high school in the Kent Intermediate School District. This year’s concert, Dobreff said, will feature a variety of musical styles, everything from the classical and Renaissance periods to jazz and contemporary. “We're covering pretty much all the bases there with all the different styles,” Dobreff said. “There will be something for everybody.” And, he added, it won’t all be soft, soothing and sedate fare, pointing to the percussion ensemble and a percussion solo on the djembe, a West African drum. “People aren’t going to be falling asleep,” he said laughing. This story was reported by Phil de Haan.  '

Feb. 6, 2023, GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. – One of David Lovell’s favorite memories as a GRCC student is of a certain table on the Student Center’s third floor. Fellow students from his home town always met there to hang out. A decade later, Lovell is on that same floor, associate director of a U.S. Department of Education grant project designed to help more GRCC students achieve their goals. 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. Lovell knows first-hand the doors a GRCC education can open. “I started here as a clueless 18-year-old fresh out of high school,” he said. “I left here with a formal education, a degree, applicable skills and personal drive to achieve my goals. This is where I began an educational journey that culminated with a master’s degree and, maybe one day, even more than that. “Something ‘clicked’ while I was here, and I’m very thankful it did.” While his two older brothers graduated from GRCC, Lovell enrolled for mostly financial reasons: His father had lost his job during the recession, and his full Pell Grant entirely covered tuition. That savings allowed him to pay off his student loans three years after his 2014 graduation from Ferris State University.  But attending GRCC also bought Lovell the time he needed to figure out what he wanted to do. “I started taking English and Journalism classes, but I really didn’t have a personal passion – and my grades reflected that,” he said. “During the summer between my first and second year at GRCC, I took an internship that really exposed me to the world of business. The next fall, I changed my degree and began pursuing Business. I found the subject matter to be very interesting and highly applicable in the job market.” After receiving his bachelor’s in business administration from Ferris, he earned a master’s degree from Davenport University while working at GRCC helping to place manufacturing certificate recipients in jobs. He then became the project manager for the U.S. Department of Labor’s America’s Promise health care grant. In 2020, when that project was nearing completion, he became the project manager for the five-year, $2.1 million Department of Education Title III grant. “Altogether, I’ve been working on different grant projects at the college for eight years and managing them for the last six,” Lovell said. As someone who’s viewed GRCC as a student and a staff member, he has advice: “There are incredible opportunities and so much life here. But it’s a college, serving adult students. No one can force you to be successful. You have to make that decision for yourself. And when you do, you’ll be amazed at the opportunities that present themselves.” Start your GRCC story today here.  

Feb. 4, 2023, GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. – The Grand Rapids Community College men's and women's basketball teams had season-best performances against visitors of North Central Michigan College on Saturday. In the first game, the women's team set season-highs in points with 91, scoring margin, winning by 68, field goal percentage (.551), assists with 26, and turned the ball over just a season-best seven times. "Fun to watch our kids really play a full 40 minutes for each other," head coach David Glazier said. "The way we supported our reserves finding success this afternoon was great! They work so hard day in and day out to make us better by competing on every play, in every drill, and then provide support even when they don’t get the time in games." Grace Lodes' was nearly flawless, out-scoring the entire North Central team on her own by six points. Twenty-two of her career-high 29 points came in the first half.  She finished 13-of-17 from the floor while adding a game-high 13 rebounds and five assists. Allison Kellogg was nearly perfect herself, going 8-of-9 from the field, while scoring 17 points, just two points short of tying her career high. Sally Merrill added 13 points and Karissa Ferry had 10 for GRCC, which now won three in a row and improved to 11-6 overall, and 5-2 in the conference. The men's team has won four out of five games after a convincing 112-80 win. Twelve players scored for the Raiders, including freshman Seth Schuitema who was on fire, going 8-for-10 from the field and 7-for-9 from three-point range for a career-high 26 points in just 18 minutes of action. GRCC surpassed the 100-point mark for the seventh time this year, mostly in part to outside shooting, making a season-high 17 three-point shots in just 35 attempts. Danyel Bibbs scored 17 points and had a team-high five assists and Brockton Kohler knocked down four three-pointers while finishing with 16 points and five rebounds. GRCC had just nine turnovers, which was the team's sixth time with 10 or fewer turnovers. Both teams will be back at home on Feb. 8 to take on Mid Michigan College, whom they both lost to in their first meeting.  The women will tip-off first at 5:30 p.m.    This story was written by Ben Brown.

Feb. 3, 2023, GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. – Grand Rapids Community College will create a state-of-the-art Center for Automation, serving as a training hub for students pursuing high-demand jobs in advanced manufacturing and automation, as well as those already working in the field who need additional training or credentials for promotion. U.S. Senator Gary Peters and U.S. Rep. Hillary Scholten announced the $998,000 project on Friday in GRCC’s Leslie Tassell MTEC, where the center is planned to start operating in time for the winter 2023 semester. Peters secured $998,000 through the government funding bill signed into law in December to create the project, which will enhance GRCC’s extensive career training programs geared towards the future of manufacturing in Michigan, and support the college’s efforts to meet regional workforce demands. “The fields of automation and artificial intelligence are evolving and expanding, creating new and exciting careers to meet the needs of today and drive change for the future,” GRCC President Charles Lepper said. “GRCC is proud to work with our partners in the government, like Senator Peters, and with employers for an Automation and AI Lab that will help build a talented workforce, give people valuable skills and strengthen the economy in West Michigan and beyond.” Lepper led Peters and Scholten on a tour of the workforce training center , joined by Neil Ruster, CEO of Urgent Tool and Machine. The Grand Rapids firm is one GRCC’s industry partners in regional workforce development. “Grand Rapids Community College excels at preparing students for successful careers and obtaining good-paying, in-demand jobs, and with employers based right here in West Michigan,” Peters said. “I was proud to secure new federal resources to create a new, state-of-the-art, and fully automated training facility that will help elevate GRCC’s skills training programs and support their efforts to cement Michigan’s leadership in advanced manufacturing.” The high-impact, local project that will support GRCC’s efforts to meet local, regional, and statewide workforce needs by preparing students for current and future jobs, including as automotive technicians, computer support technicians, construction electricians, machinist/CNC technicians, welding/fabrication technicians, and medical assistants. “Investment in education is critical to the future of our country and state. Grand Rapids Community College has long led the charge of making quality, world-class education affordable and accessible for West Michiganders – I’m happy to see that tradition continuing on,” Scholten said. “Investment in our students and in the next generation is so important – it’s a priority in West Michigan. I’m eager to get to work on projects and initiatives like these in the future in collaboration with Senator Peters and my colleagues from the Michigan delegation.” Peters has worked to expand skills training opportunities, including in STEM education, to strengthen our nation’s economic competitiveness and help place more Michiganders in needed, good-paying jobs. He previously helped enact bipartisan legislation that included provisions he authored to expand access to career and technical education opportunities outside of the traditional four-year degree career pathway. Peters also authored bipartisan legislation into law to allow more veterans to use their GI bill benefits toward securing a registered apprenticeship. Peters additionally helped pass significant funding through the government funding bill signed into law in December for workforce development programs and registered apprenticeships across the country.  

Feb. 2, 2023, GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. -- The passion for soccer runs deep in Lizzy Hornack’s family. “I played it all my life! It’s the only sport I know. It’s the only sport I did." Hornack is the coach of Grand Rapids Community College’s first women’s soccer team , which will take the field in fall 2023, along with a men’s team coached by Damiekco Smith . Hornack appeared on the My GRCC Story podcast to talk about her journey from growing up in Manchester, England to becoming a two-time collegiate All-American to building a program from scratch. She was introduced to the sport, called football in the rest of the world, by her brother and father. “I have an older brother. He’s 18 months older than I was,” she said. “I was pretty much just following his footsteps. He wanted to play football, so I wanted to play football. He joined a boys’ team, so I joined a boys’ team. It’s been a thing since I was four. Whatever he did, I did. My dad played and he coached us.” She came to the United States in 2010 to play with Davenport University, earning All-American honors in 2010 and 2013. She is atop Davenport’s leaderboard in nine categories, including points, with 131; goals, 55; and game-winning goals, 14. She has been coaching at the collegiate and youth level since graduating with has a bachelor's degree in Marketing and a master's degree in Human Resource Management, and was thrilled when she learned GRCC started a program.  “When the athletic director, Lauren Ferullo, said, ‘Hey, I have a women’s soccer program,’ I was, like, ‘Love it! It’s got my name on it!’ and we went from there.” With the addition of both soccer programs, GRCC now offers 10 athletic programs, including men's and women's cross country, golf, volleyball, men's and women's basketball, baseball and softball. The My GRCC Story podcast is available here , Spotify, Apple Podcasts and other hosting sites.

Feb. 1, 2023, UNIVERSITY CENTER, Mich. – Sally Merrill matched her career-high of 27 points to lead the Grand Rapids Community College women's basketball team to a gritty, 71-61 win at Delta College. The men's team snapped a three-game winning streak, losing in overtime 91-81. GRCC's women's team jumped out to a 23-7 first quarter lead and seemed to be in control.  But the Pioneers fought back from a 22-point deficit to make it just a three-point game with just 30 seconds remaining.  Delta was forced to foul and it nearly worked out to perfection. But after GRCC missed both free throws, Delta called a time out it didn't have, resulting in a technical foul. Merrill knocked down both technical free throws to seal the victory for GRCC, which has won two in a row and improved to 10-6 overall, and 4-2 in the conference. Head coach David Glazier was extremely proud of the way his players executed the game plan and was happy to see their hard work pay off in a big game. "Can't say enough about how this group battles together in the high and low moments throughout a game," Glazier said. Merrill added seven rebounds and a career-high six steals, playing in all 40 minutes. Allison Kellogg and Grace Lodes both nearly had double-doubles with 12 points, nine rebounds for Kellogg and 11 points, eight rebounds for Lodes. The men's game was within three points nearly the entire game and each team had a chance to win in regulation. But GRCC missed a free throw and Delta's three-point attempt was blocked as time expired. In the extra session GRCC was out-scored 16-6, and falls to 14-5 overall and 3-3 in the conference after the loss. "It's really hard to win on the road in this league, and it's even harder when you don't make free throws down the stretch," head coach Joe Fox said. "It's always tough to lose games you have a chance to win, especially on the road. We just have to pick ourselves up and be ready for Saturday." Saginaw native Danyel Bibbs put up some big stats in his return home, scoring a team-high 22 points, grabbing a team-high nine rebounds and led the team in assists and steals with five and four. Bashir Neely totaled 16 points and Brockton Kohler and Herman Brown added 14 and 11. Both teams will be back at home on Feb. 4 to take on North Central College.  The women will tip-off first at 1 p.m.   

Feb. 1, 2023, GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. -- Cory Stout worked in the tool and die Industry for several years, but moved into a construction job when he heard rumors of layoffs. Then, during the COVID shutdown, Stout was able to reflect and decide what comes next. He remembers being interested in the welding activities during his time in tool and die. He heard GRCC has a reputable welding program and checked into it. “Once I looked at the program and the hands-on welding lab, I was excited to get started.” Stout was connected to career coach Michael Wemmer, who turned him on to the Michigan Reconnect program. “If you are willing to fill out the forms, there is support available. Michigan Reconnect has been a godsend.” Michigan Reconnect is a state program that covers the cost of in-district tuition for Michiganders 25 or older without a college degree. This program provides eligible students with access to pursue an associate degree or occupational certificate at their local community college. The Job Training Welding program meets for 18-weeks, Monday through Thursday, for 34 hours per week and offers job placement assistance. “The schedule of the program is great,” Stout said. “It’s set up just like a job.” As a student, you learn: shielded metal arc welding, gas metal arc welding, gas tungsten arc welding oxy-fuel welding, cutting, brazing, blueprint reading, mathematics, metallurgy, problem solving, teamwork and communication skills. The program is led by GRCC Instructor Nate Haney. Haney holds a Bachelor of Science in Welding Engineering Technology from Ferris State University and is an American Welding Society Certified Welding Inspector and Certified Welding Educator. “Nate is far and away the best teacher I’ve ever had,” Stout said. “Truly exceptional. He never says a negative thing. He will tell you the positive aspects of the weld and how to improve it, but he never uses the word ‘bad’. Every time you walk away from Nate, you feel confident that you can improve on what you are doing. That is something you don’t find anywhere. Anyone can pass on learned knowledge but to do it in a way that you want to learn is truly special.” Stout believes the hands-on aspect is invaluable. “There is no comparison between learning from a book and learning by doing. We started welding the second day of class!” He also enjoyed the staggering of the class start dates. “The class that started before me was really helpful and now I am helping the classes that started after me. We are all learning from each other. It’s been fun and very satisfying,” he said. “There is so much new technology developing in the welding field. It’s not just old school welding- it’s lasers, micro welds, pulse welds, spray welding-avenues I never even knew existed! If I were to get a job and get training from my employer, I would never learn all the other types of welding that are out there.” This program is highly regarded by employers as a top trainer in welding and fabrication. Job Developers are ready to help you with the job search process. Graduates will be ready to begin a career as a welder, cutter or brazer – with the skills to meet the needs of not only local companies but national companies as well. Stout is looking at several different employment opportunities.  “I have been working with Diego Roman, a job developer at the MTEC, but pretty much everyone has helped me somewhere along the way. Everyone seems to have connections in the industry and they are working really hard to help find the best fit. “My family is super supportive and proud of me. I have had to make some sacrifices financially but it is totally worth it. This may be short-term training but there are definitely long-term benefits. The program gets you into the workforce in just over four months and, for me, without any debt.” Stout has already finished the required work for the program and will graduate on Feb. 16.   One Workforce grant has provided the careering coach and job develop support for Cory. The next section of Job Training programs begins, April 17, 2023. For more information: grcc.edu/jobtraining or (616) 234-3800.