Jan. 11, 2023, GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. – Grand Rapids Community College basketball player Brockton Kohler will be playing for Cleary University next year, part of the school’s inaugural men’s team. The sophomore shooting guard from Greenville is averaging 12.4 points per game and is the team's best three-point shooter. This season he has 20 three-point shots, shooting at an impressive .426 clip.  Last season he averaged 11.9 points. He needs just 20 more points to reach 500 for his career. "Betting on yourself isn’t as much of a risk when you’re as committed, passionate, and driven as Brockton is," said GRCC head coach Joe Fox. "I'm so thankful that I’ve gotten a chance to coach him and look forward to seeing him play compete at the next level." Cleary is located in Howell and is part of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics. The university is forming its first basketball team, starting with the 2023-2024 season. Kohler will be part of head coach Carl Thomas' first signing class. Thomas, a former NBA player and college standout, is the father of GRCC player Carter Thomas. “None of this would have been possible without the love and support of coach Fox, my teammates, and, most importantly, my family, and I am forever grateful for all of them,” Kohler said. “It’s been a long process to get where I am so it’s great to know I’ll be moving on to the next level. I’m excited for the future. But right now, my focus is on competing for a conference championship beside my brothers.” The GRCC men's basketball team is off to an impressive 11-1 start and will finish the non-conference portion of its schedule on the road against Lansing Community College tonight.  

Jan. 10, 2023, GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. -- Grace Lodes started playing basketball in kindergarten at the tender age of 5, but, she said, it was love at first dribble. “Yes, I loved it from the second I started playing,” she recalled recently. “I wanted to learn and know more about the game every single day, and I did.” That love for the game continues this season at Grand Rapids Community College where she has become one of the team’s most dependable players. A 6’2” power forward and center, Lodes is averaging 32 minutes per game for the Raiders and making the most of her time on the floor. Through the first eight games of the season, she was averaging a double-double: 13.0 points per game and 12.1 rebounds per game. “I have some guard-like qualities – quick feet and hands and some speed – that sometimes surprises my opponents,” she said. “That, plus my height, allows me to work on different aspects of my game every game.” Seventh-year GRCC coach David Glazier agreed. But he said during the recruiting process, something Lodes said to him struck him as powerfully as her on-the-court abilities. “We were talking about her playing time during her senior year, and her comment was that she believed in her coach's vision, she knew what her role was, and she just wanted to make the best of her opportunity when her number was called,” he recalled. “That comment provided such a level of insight into where she was in her emotional growth and how she would carry herself at GRCC.” Now that she’s at GRCC, Glazier added, what he saw in Lodes as a high school senior continues. “She is always looking to improve and always wanting to know more about other’s opinions both in basketball and in life,” he said. He added with a big laugh: “She is also very willing to tell me when she thinks I am wrong.” Opposing coaches haven’t seen much wrong with Lodes’ work on the hardwood. Last year she was named Defensive Player of the Year by the Michigan Community College Athletic Association Western Conference and was both an all-conference and all-region honoree. She also led the nation last season in blocked shots as GRCC finished with a 20-11 record, reaching the championship game of the NJCAA Great Lakes A District tournament. Lodes, of Comstock Park, said that as a high school senior at West Catholic considering college options, she was drawn to what her future might look like apart from basketball. “I was looking for opportunities such as starting my own business and getting my real estate license,” she said. “I was still focused on playing basketball in college, but in terms of my career, I wanted to go somewhere that would put me in the best position of where I wanted to be in the next couple years.” She found that at GRCC, she said. And the fact that GRCC was the best option financially was an added bonus. The recruiting process was also a highlight. “Coach Glazier made me feel wanted, welcomed and appreciated,” she said. That has carried over to her career as a Raider. “Coach Glazier’s coaching style is constructive and caring,” she said. “He is always looking a step ahead, at what we as players sometimes can’t see, and he looks out for our best interests.”  Lodes is studying business and business management at GRCC and on track to earn her associate degree this spring. She said her classroom experience wasn’t smooth sailing at first but now she’s figured things out, including better time management, and her sophomore year has gone much better in terms of learning new material, communicating well with her professors and, she added, “getting assignments done well before their due date.” After graduation, she hopes to earn a bachelor’s degree in business and also is aiming to get her real estate license by the end of 2023. “My end goal is to be in the real estate field while also getting into starting my own business within the next 3-5 years after GRCC,” she said with a smile. As her opponents would tell you, don’t bet against her. This story was reported by Phil de Haan. 

Jan. 9, 2023 GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. – A murder investigation brings up questions of truth, loyalty and justice in the GRCC Players production of Kenneth Lonergan’s “Lobby Hero.” Grand Rapids Community College student Nicholas Kamp portrays Jeff, a security guard; Jhaiell Kilgore plays his boss, William, and Aiden Bond and Jenna Bassett are two police officers. Tom Kaechele, the head of GRCC’s Theater Department, directs the production. Kaechele is very familiar with Lonergan’s play, having directed it years ago. “The characters are wonderfully nuanced and are difficult to bring to life, but these college student-actors are up for the challenge,” he said. “And since we’re performing in our black box space, the audience gets to be right on top of the action!” “Lobby Hero” runs at 8 p.m. Jan. 12 through 15 at Grand Rapids Community College’s Spectrum Theater, 160 Fountain St. NE. Tickets, which can be purchased online, are $5 for students, $10 for GRCC faculty and staff, and $14 for the public. For more information, call (616) 234-3387. While the play was written before the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, it’s just as timely today in light of the Black Lives Matter and Me Too movements, Kaechele said. “I’m always drawn to plays that get an audience to think, instead of telling them what to think,” he said. “I think the production makes you ponder how you make the right choices in a world where nothing seems to be absolute.”

Jan. 9, 2023, GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. -- Steven Couch’s lessons at GRCC’s Secchia Institute for Culinary Education prepared him for a career at the stove … and in front of a TV camera … and in an office. 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. Couch came to Grand Rapids with a bachelor’s degree in dietetics from Michigan State University after a year working with AmeriCorps. He wanted to combine what he’d learned at MSU – preventing chronic disease through nutrition – with the culinary arts. “Even though my whole adult life I have loved food and nutrition, which is why I studied dietetics at MSU, it wasn’t until I learned to apply that knowledge to food cookery and presentation, inspired by the unique and world-class chef instructors, that I found my true calling as an entrepreneur and chef,” he said. With help from a GRCC Foundation scholarship, Couch could take advantage of unique opportunities in the culinary program. “When I got the Amway hotel scholarship – I applied for it and got it – it was 2,500 more reasons why I was able to achieve my dream,” he said. “And it wasn’t about the money, it was about ‘now I can do the things that I’m really supposed to do – I can make purposeful decisions.’” Couch was one of seven students selected to compete in the World Culinary Grand Prix in Glasgow, Scotland. The competition, sponsored by the World Association of Chefs Societies, features six teams from around the globe preparing and serving a three-course meal. Chef Angus Campbell, now retired from GRCC, coached the Secchia students. Couch counts Campbell as one of the greatest influences on his career. “My ability to work efficiently, communicate clearly and own true to my commitments were all from lessons I learned during my time as a student in his classes,” Couch said. The Grand Prix introduced Couch to the pleasures of exploring the world through culinary experiences, as he and his teammates visited London and Paris, in addition to Scotland. One of his favorite GRCC memories comes from that trip: eating with his fellow students at chef Gordon Ramsey’s restaurant in London. “I just couldn’t believe how good the food was – not just some of the food, but all of it,” Couch said. “There were no lame ducks: It was true excellence in food and service. It was the best meal of my life, shared with the best team I had ever been a part of. “I’ll never forget that experience, and it has been my personal mission to create that experience in anything I pursue.” After earning his Associate of Culinary Arts and his personal chef certificate, Couch kept busy working as a chef throughout the United Kingdom, including the iconic St. Andrews Links golf course in Scotland, competing on “Guy’s Grocery Games” on the Food Network, and launching his own business, Mr. Eat Right. A chance conversation with a fellow passenger during a 2017 flight to the Caribbean took him in a whole new direction. The passenger ended up recruiting him for his year-old construction technology firm. “He said he was impressed with my ability to deliver both hospitality and care in business relationships and wanted to bring that skillset into his firm,” Couch said. “Four months later, I relocated to Los Angeles, moved into his ‘startup house’ and became employee No. 1 at BIM Designs Inc.” During his nearly five years with the company, he served in positions ranging from project manager to account executive to head of sales and marketing, helped generate $13 million in revenue and opened three offices nationwide. The company now has more than 60 employees in 10 states. Couch started this year with another career shift, returning as president of Mr. Eat Right and launching Venture Valley Consulting, a business development firm. He doesn’t plan to stop trying new things and or saying ‘yes’ when an opportunity comes along. “I believe you can lead a horse to water, but it’s his thirst on the inside that makes him drink the water on the outside,” he said. “And it’s never too late to develop a thirst for life!” Start your story today at apply@grcc.edu

Jan. 7, 2023, DOWAGIAC, Mich. – Grand Rapids Community College men's basketball team’s hopes for a perfect season came to an end Saturday with a heartbreaking one-point loss at Southwestern Michigan College. In the earlier game, GRCC's women's basketball team also lost by one point in a game that came down to a shot at the buzzer. The men's basketball team, averaging nearly 100 points a game, managed a season-low 60 field goal attempts to score 67 points. But in a game that featured 13 lead changes, GRCC was able to get a good look at a potentially game-winning shot just before the buzzer expired. "Disappointing result against a tough opponent," coach Joe Fox said. "It's good to go out and get tested on the road before conference play starts next Saturday. We have a lot of work ahead of us to get ready for a rematch with a very good Lansing team." The loss snaps an 11-game win streak to begin the season, the best start GRCC has had since the 2000-2001 season. Chris Coleman and JaJuan Walker led the Raiders with 12 points, with Bashir Neely scoring 11.  Isaac Warning gave the GRCC a big boost on the glass with a team-high eight rebounds to go with his eight points. Dave Glazier's women's basketball team fought back from an 11-point second half deficit to tie the game at 47 with under four minutes remaining. Sophomore guard Marlene Bussler hit a shot with a minute left, making it a 53-52 game. After a great defensive stop on the other end, Grace Lodes had a chance for a game-winner, but the ball tipped the rim without sinking through the net. Lodes was the only player on the court with a double-double with 14 points, 11 rebounds and two blocks. Bussler and Sally Merrill contributed to score 10 each and Bussler added a game-high six assists. Both teams will be back on the road on Jan. 11 to finish the non-conference portion of their schedules as they travel to Lansing Community College for the second time this season. Both teams defeated Lansing on Nov. 10. 

Jan. 7, 2023, GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. – Usually professor Andrew Rozema and guests on his “Defeasible Reasoning” podcast talk about computers. But on his latest episode, he’s talking with a computer – about the benefits and challenges of artificial intelligence. ChatGPT is a chatbot so advanced that some students have used it to fake writing assignments. In this episode, Rozema demonstrates the power of ChatGPT by engaging it in a discussion of sorts about the implications of its use in academic settings. ChatGPT, launched by OpenAI in November 2022, is built on top of OpenAI's GPT-3.5 family of large language models, and is fine-tuned with both supervised and reinforcement learning techniques. Rozema, head of GRCC's Computer Information Systems Department, is a nationally known cybersecurity expert. The podcast covers all things relating to cybersecurity – and beyond – talking with current and former students and experts. And, now, a computer itself. Rozema uses Murf, an AI voice generator, to bring the discussion to life. He “interviews” the chatbot about what it can do, how it works, and some of the ethical problems it creates. During the discussion with the chatbot, Rozema recognizes how artificial intelligence is advancing and will be become more prevalent. He notes there are practical and beneficial uses of the technology. “I would recommend you engage in this process,” Rozema said. “Try one of these out. Write a poem. Write a program. Write a blog entry. And see what it is like to bounce ideas off of a machine that’s pretty helpful and relatively powerful and a sign of things to come. These technologies are a rachet. They only go one way. And this is only getting better”. He also tries to trip up the computer with moral questions, asking it what its favorite human rights violation would be. “As an AI language model, I do not have not have personal feelings or preferences,” the computer responded. “And I do not have the ability to engage in moral or ethical discussions in the same way that humans do. I do not have a favorite human rights violation, as I do not have the ability to experience emotions to have personal opinions or preferences on such topics.” Rozema’s “Defeasible Reasoning” podcast launched in 2018. Defeasible reasoning is a kind of reasoning that is rationally compelling, though not necessarily formally valid. Rozema said it’s making decisions with the best information we have at the time. It’s the sort of reasoning that happens in the real world, where we’re all doing the best we can with what we’ve got. The podcast is available on Spotify, Apple Podcasts and other places.

Jan. 6, 2023, GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. – Maria McKee considers herself “extremely lucky” to have a job that allows her to support both students and tutors.  McKee is the Language Arts Tutorial Lab coordinator for GRCC. Her interest in tutoring began in early high school. She was a writing consultant while completing her bachelor’s degree at Grand Valley State University in writing and poetry. McKee came to GRCC in 2019 and began tutoring students in reading and writing. “I really love community work and being in Grand Rapids. I get to give back to the neighborhood I grew up in,” she said.  McKee is responsible for overseeing the group of student and professional tutors in the Language Arts Lab. She enjoys supervising and mentoring the tutors. She believes if tutors feel prepared and supported to do their jobs, then they will provide the best service to students.  McKee empowers her tutors to build relationships with students. Academic support is not successful without a level of trust and rapport. Students need to feel that they are valued and safe. This mindset impacts the culture of the entire tutoring lab.  One way that McKee protects the culture of the lab is by establishing the expectation that students come first. She is frequently found helping students so tutors can take a mental break, making sure each student receives the help they need.  McKee said getting to work with all types of students who study a variety of disciplines keeps her job interesting.  “I get to learn new things, and get to witness students sort through the chaos, try new things, and create quality work,” McKee said.  McKee encourages students to remain flexible in college, emphasizing it is okay to be unsure about a major or pathway. She encourages students to focus on building their skills and exploring different gen-eds, and to utilize the student resources available. The tutoring staff all believe in their success.  The Language Arts Tutorial Lab is located on the fifth floor of Cook Hall, and reopens for the semester on Monday, Jan. 9 2023. More information about the lab can be found here.

Jan. 4, 2022, DETROIT, Mich. – Herm Brown returned home, nearly recording a triple-double to help the Grand Rapids Community College men's basketball stay perfect on the season with a 93-80 win at Community Christian College. The Detroit native earned game-highs in five categories, scoring 21 points, grabbing 14 rebounds, dishing out seven assists, and having four steals and a blocked shot. Community Christian jumped out to a 9-2 lead and led by one at the break, 41-40.  Midway through the second half with the score tied at 66, GRCC went on a 7-0 run and never looked back. Down the stretch, the team forced eight turnovers, while turning over the ball only once.  With the win, the GRCC improved to 11-0, the team's best start since the 2000-2001 season, when it started 13-0. Freshman Bashir Neely and sophomore Danyel Bibbs finished with 15 points each, with Bibbs grabbing nine boards and dishing out six assists. Jordan Houser, another Detroit native, and Diego Ledesma, playing in his first game of the season, scored eight points and combined for four steals. Sophomore Myron Brewer was 4-for-5 from behind the arc, finishing with 14 points. He also snagged five rebounds. GRCC returns to the court on 3 p.m. on Jan. 7 p.m. against Southwestern Michigan College in Dowagiac.   

Jan. 3, 2022, GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. -- Kristine Babcock, who has been a member of the GRCC Foundation Board of Directors since 2015, has been selected to be interim executive director for College Advancement and the GRCC Foundation.  Her first day in this role will be Jan. 16. Interim President Juan R. Olivarez announced Babcock will serve in the role while the college searches to replace Dr. Kathryn Mullins, who retired, and will become Ferris State University’s vice president for University Advancement and Marketing. Dr. Mullins led the GRCC foundation since 2012, raising millions of dollars for GRCC students and facilities. She has been with GRCC for 18 years. Babcock is an experienced human resources, information technology and business professional who spent her career in public and private West Michigan organizations. She spent 10 years in consulting and then 20 years in leadership positions building and coaching teams to success. She continues to provide Human Resources and other consulting services to area businesses. Babcock was recently elected chairperson of the foundation Board of Directors after serving as vice chair for several years. She will temporarily resign from the board while serving as the interim executive director. Babcock has a bachelor’s degree in Psychology and Communications from Central Michigan University and a master’s degree in Communications from Grand Valley State University. The College Advancement team includes the GRCC Foundation, Grants Department, Communications Department, and the Web and Digital Strategy Department.