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Hajin Kim

Dr. Hajin Kim, an active pianist, currently serves as an Adjunct Piano Professor at Grand Rapids Community College and a faculty member at Michigan State University’s Community Music School. She works as a piano faculty member every summer at Blue Lake Fine Arts Camp And previously served as a piano faculty member at Siena Heights University. She earned her Doctor of Musical Arts (DMA) in piano performance at Michigan State University, where she also earned her second Master of Music (MM) degree in piano pedagogy. She earned her first Master of Music (MM) degree in piano performance at Sookmyung Women’s University in Seoul, South Korea, and her Bachelor of Music (BM) degree in piano performance at Boston Conservatory.  Born in Seoul, South Korea, Dr. Kim began her piano studies when she was four years old. She won first place at the Yook-Young National Piano Competition, one of Seoul’s top competitions, when she was six years old and, when she was eleven, won first place at the Seoul National Music Competition in South Korea. She has performed at multiple venues, including a piano solo recital at Weill Hall in Carnegie Hall, New York; Todi, Italy; Seoul, Korea; and various cities in the US, including Boston, St. John, East Lansing, Lansing, and Twin Lake. Dr. Kim’s dedication and commitment have helped ensure her students’ elevated performance, as evidenced at select competition awards, such as the Capital Area of Michigan Music Teachers Association (CAMTA) of the Music Teachers National Association (MTNA) in East Lansing, Michigan. She has also served as an adjudicator for music competitions with the Michigan PTA Reflections Arts Program since 2019. Based on her successfully proven piano pedagogy curriculum for the class piano for all levels, she published two piano textbooks. Piano Master for Everyone Level I  received excellent reviews from Kirkus Reviews, one of the top critics for new publications in New York:  “Readers will be pleasantly surprised at how quickly they’re able to try their hands at classic compositions” “…covering exactly what the reader needs to know, and not a sentence more” “aspiring players seeking to teach themselves directly from the page couldn’t find more straightforward instruction”           –Kirkus Reviews in New York Piano Master for Everyone Level I was also recently requested for inclusion in the 66th anniversary publication with selected bestsellers by Souvenir Press in the United Kingdom.  Dr. Kim’s second publication, Piano Master for Everyone Level II was included in the top 5% of the best books published in 2022 by Outskirts Press and earned a bronze prize (third place) in the Academic/Educational category of the EVVY Awards, an international independent publishing award supported by the   Colorado Independent Publishers Association (CIPA), in 2023.

It’s OK Not to Have It All Figured Out

Jan. 16, 2026 Not every student graduates high school with a five-year plan, and that’s OK. For many, the question “What’s next?” feels less like excitement and more like pressure. At Grand Rapids Community College (GRCC), students don’t need all the answers on day one. Instead, they find flexibility, affordability and the space to discover what comes next. That was exactly what Jennifer Levandowski needed. A Grand Rapids native, Jennifer Levandowski wasn’t sure what she wanted to do after high school, but she knew she wanted options. GRCC offered a place to explore her interests while keeping future doors open. After one year at GRCC, Levandowski completed an associate degree in the pathway program with a health and exercise sciences concentration and transferred to Grand Valley State University (GVSU). There,  she earned a bachelor’s degree in public and nonprofit administration.  Her academic journey ultimately led to what she calls her dream job: events and corporate giving administrator at Van Andel Institute. While building her career, Levandowski is also pursuing a Master of Public Administration at GVSU. Levandowski had a helpful example close to home. Her older sister also began her college journey at GRCC before transferring to GVSU. Being seven years younger, she had more time to determine her own plans, but her sister’s experience remained influential. “When I finished high school, I was just looking at what options were available to me,” Levandowski said. “I had an idea of what it looked like since my sister went to GRCC and transferred to GVSU. I was already working, so the flexibility of online, hybrid and in-person classes was something I really needed. GRCC had great options, and it was affordable. I could work and pay for college myself. It felt like a great place to start.” Levandowski entered GRCC with a strong academic background, including Advanced Placement coursework and classes through Kent Career Technical Center. After meeting with an academic advisor, she discovered she already had enough credits to transfer after just one year at GRCC. “I didn’t really realize how many college credits I already had going into GRCC,” Levandowski said. “I met with an academic adviser, and they looked at my transcript. When they saw I had credits from KCTC along with AP classes from high school, they told me I could transfer at any time. I was really excited that I had enough credits to transfer early.” Once she set her transfer goals, Levandowski kept her coursework general, focusing on health- and science-related classes. She selected courses based on her interests, which allowed her to explore potential career paths while meeting transfer requirements. GRCC’s course offerings made it easy to stack classes efficiently and stay on track. “GRCC offers the opportunity for you to come in and earn enough credits to easily transfer while you’re still figuring out what you want to do,” Levandowski said. “You never feel locked in or stuck. You have space to figure things out while working toward your transfer. I was able to take classes in my general field and transfer into a bachelor’s program without any hiccups. It was the best decision I made to start with GRCC and transfer to GVSU.” Thanks to previously earned credits and a clear transfer pathway, Levandowski completed her undergraduate education in just three years. Today, she’s building a career she loves while continuing her education, something she says wouldn’t have been possible without starting at GRCC. “I really feel like I got the full college experience while also being able to afford it,” Levandowski said. “Education is so valuable, whether it’s for a career or just for yourself. I’m going to graduate school and I already have a position I love. It’s valuable to you. ” For Levandowski, the journey from certainty to confidence didn’t require having everything figured out from the start. Just the willingness to begin. With GRCC’s transfer programs, that kind of path is possible for students every day.  To start your own college career, visit grcc.edu to explore programs and learn how to take the first step toward your future.  This story was reported by Anjula Caldwell

Denyse Bening Above and Beyond Award Recipient for January 2026

Denyse Bening, IR functional analyst, was nominated by her supervisor, Amanda Kruzona, for January’s Academic and Student Affairs Council’s Above and Beyond Award. Amanda writes, “Denyse has always put her heart and soul into her work for GRCC. Her work is often behind the scenes and not glamorous, but it keeps the college going. She is dependable, consistent, and always delivers. She was asked to fulfill many needs during the fall semester such as ensuring that the Board of Trustees received the feedback from the college and community that was critical to choosing our next president, supported all survey efforts for Human Resources from the pulse to business practices surveys, supported the Real College survey, and dedicated herself to maintaining the course evaluation process while onboarding a new survey tool. She is a true asset to Grand Rapids Community College.” Congratulations Denyse!
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