May 30, 2022, GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. – It’s the kind of place where everybody knows your name. “The Veterans Center is always my first stop when I get to campus,” said CJ Norton, who served in the U.S. Marines and is now enrolled at Grand Rapids Community College. “When you meet another veteran there for the first time, it’s like an instant connection … you know you’ve gone through similar circumstances.” Start at GRCC and go anywhere. Every student has a story to tell about how GRCC gave them the education and opportunity to be successful, with support services available to help them through. GRCC’s new Veterans Center on level G2 of Raleigh J. Finkelstein Hall opened in October to serve as a single point of contact for students who served in the military, connecting veterans with campus resources, including financial aid, advising and disability support. It’s also a place to call their own on campus. “The other veterans I’ve met there have been great. I met another former Marine who I studied physics with, and another guy who I work out with every morning I’m on campus,” said 26-year-old Norton, of Wyoming. Norton enlisted in the Marines at age 17, serving four years as an embarkation logistics specialist at Camp Lejeune in North Carolina. After his 2016 discharge, he returned to West Michigan and tried GRCC for the first time. “I was still sort of transitioning from the military and I just couldn’t handle college,” he said. After years working security, waiting tables and odd jobs in warehouses, Norton decided to follow in the tracks of a childhood friend pursuing an engineering degree. He re-enrolled at GRCC in 2019 and is making progress toward his own engineering degree. “I’m super happy with how I’m doing in school now,” he said. A big part of that is thanks to GRCC’s Veterans Services team, which Norton said goes above and beyond the call of duty to support military and veteran students at every stage of their academic journeys. It was the Veterans Services staff that told Norton about Michigan Reconnect. Michigan Reconnect is the largest effort in state history to ensure that Michiganders who are 25 or older and don’t have a college degree have an opportunity to earn an associate degree or skills certificate, with the cost of in-district tuition covered.   “As soon as they told me about Michigan Reconnect, I applied for the scholarship and immediately qualified. It was a huge weight off my shoulders,” said Norton, who’s transferring to Grand Valley State University this fall to continue his engineering degree. The Veterans Center is helping GRCC expand its partnerships with state and local veterans’ agencies, helping students access benefits and support in the community. It’s also making veterans in the community aware of opportunities at GRCC to earn credits for degrees or transfer and in-demand career skills. Norton said the center fills different needs for veterans. “If you want to go there and study, you can study,” he said. “If you want to talk with another vet, you can do that. If you want to play video games with a buddy, you can do that. There are people there to help you in whatever you might need. “I see it as such a bright light, and I feel like if other veterans go in there they’ll feel the same way.” Students can connect with the Veterans Center by phone at (616) 234-2578, and by email at  veterans@grcc.edu . Additional information is available online at  grcc.edu/veterans This story was reported by Beth McKenna.

May 27, 2022, GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. -- After 10 years of teaching Grand Rapids Community College nursing students as an adjunct faculty member, Fred Comer, MSN RN reached his goal of teaching as a full-time faculty member at GRCC. Comer values the unique population of students who come to a community college. “I appreciate the variety of students, and the various walks of life they come from, when starting their life journey at GRCC,” he said. “They are students of different ages, backgrounds, and life experiences. You could have in your class students who are first-time college students, adults that are returning to finish school after life halted their educational journey, and students that are starting a new career path.” Comer’s students see his commitment to their success as he teaches them. His classes might not be easy, but he is making sure his students graduate with skills to land them a job in a demanding field. “Professor Comer is caring, willing to help, and has a very calm demeanor,” shared one of his students. “He creates a comfortable atmosphere and will answer any question you have. He is a great listener and really wants you to succeed.” Being accessible to students in and out of the classroom is key to Comer’s support of their success. “ In this virtual world it is important to be accessible to students,” he said.“I flex my availability, and am willing to meet with students outside of my scheduled office hours. This has meant answering a few more emails over the weekend or staying after class an extra 30 minutes to an hour to allow students to ask questions or practice a skill.” Comer switched careers in his 30s, from biology to nursing, and wishes he would have made the decision sooner. “This would have given me many more years to serve as a nurse and nursing professor instead of entering a great profession in my mid 30s,” he said. After earning a bachelor’s degree in Biology, Comer earned a bachelor’s degree, and then master’s degree, in nursing. Look for Comer this fall, teaching Introduction to Practical Nursing Concepts, Health Illness Concepts for the Practical Nurse I, Health Illness Concepts for the Practical Nurse II, Application of Basic Nursing Skills, Health Illness Concepts II, Health Illness Concepts III.

A School News Network feature -- Goofy, funny and random items have become fodder for Abby Haywood’s cartoons, which include appearances by a vintage Garfield phone and a huge rubber duck. But she also draws inspiration from serious material: news headlines and issues affecting the world and teenagers. Her bubbly, big-eyed characters provide commentary on relationships, the pandemic, politics and more, serving as an outlet for her own perspective on things. “I kind of just latch onto anything that I think is kind of funny,” she said. “I try to make fun of it, I guess, with pictures.” Abby graduated from East Kentwood High School this week, and has been dual enrolled at Grand Rapids Community College, working on The Collegiate , the campus news outlet. She created a cartoon about a character listening to CDC guidelines and removing her mask before noticing an enormous virus labeled “Delta Variant” looming ahead. Another features a student tallying up major costs for a community college course after boasting about “saving so much money.” Abby is a two-time national winner of Scholastic Art & Writing Awards for cartoons published in The Collegiate. She earned the Herblock Award for Editorial Cartoons scholarship in 2021 for an editorial cartoon about President Trump. The award recognizes three students nationally who exhibit exceptional skill in editorial cartooning and provides each with a $1,000 scholarship. She is invited to attend the national awards ceremony at Carnegie Hall in New York this summer. Abby has also won several other awards for her illustrations through the Scholastic competition. East Kentwood art teacher Le Tran has watched Abby develop her craft. “Abby’s style is definitely very distinctive and unique. She has a real vision and I love seeing how all of that comes together,” said Tran, a GRCC alumna. “When I see her work, it gives me a feel of looking at vintage art, and I feel like I am traveling back in time, yet her ideas are so relevant and connect with her peers.” Abby plans to continue courses at GRCC and to start at Grand Valley State University in the fall to pursue illustration and eventually make it a career. A Pandemic Outlet A longtime art student, Abby got involved in editorial cartooning as something to do while she was staying at home during the pandemic. Her mom, Jennifer Ackerman-Haywood, a former Grand Rapid Press journalist who is the adviser for The Collegiate, approached her about getting involved with the paper through cartooning. She started during the summer of 2020. “I was like, ‘You know what? This is actually kind of fun,’” Abby said about seeing her work published. She describes her style as influenced by American cartoons and anime. She remembers as a young child watching Pokémon, pausing the screen and drawing the scene. Last school year in AP Art, she created her biggest project to date, a 30-page cartoon book, called “Love with Strings Attached.” She won a Scholastic Gold Key award for it. Whether it’s a personal issue or one grabbing the headlines, Abby said illustrating is a great way to work through her thoughts about what’s going on. “There’s a lot of stuff happening. I don’t journal or anything. It gives me an outlet to be like, ‘OK, things are happening. I’m going to draw a picture,” she said. “Hopefully, it’s funny and it’s going to help me process what is going on. (For others), it can maybe make it less intimidating than a news story. They can just see a picture and be like, ‘Oh, yeah! I know what’s happening.’” Publishing also helped her connect with others during the school closure. “Everybody knows virtual school and being stuck at home – the pandemic in general – sucks. It’s not fun. There was a lot going on. Everybody was in kind of a bad place, mentally. It was really important when I was literally physically stuck in my house, just to be able to do something.” She’s learned her comics resonate with others who see themselves in the characters and experiences, from having anxiety about making phone calls to uncertainty about life in a pandemic. Friends and even strangers at Grand Rapids Zine Fest, where she had a booth, have told her they can relate. “A lot of people would come up to me and say, ‘Oh, my gosh! I love this one. I experience this!’” This story was reported by Erin Albanese of the School News Network.

May 26, 2022, GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. -- What does the Futures for Frontliners scholarship mean to GRCC graduate Jason Reckner? Well, there’s his recently completed degree in Tooling and Manufacturing for one. He said without the scholarship he probably would not have finished that degree. There’s also the work he was doing as an HVAC technician for a local hospital. That work was definitely made better by his GRCC degree, he said. And, oh yeah, there’s that new job he just took. That position, which came with a nice raise, will see him doing maintenance, repairs and diagnostics on injected plastic mold machines, including being directly involved with installing and setting up the latest expansion of his new employer, West Contract Manufacturing, a subsidiary of Pennsylvania-based West Pharmaceutical Services. That job, he said, would not have happened without his GRCC degree. “I have always been very mechanically inclined, a problem solver,” he said. “But I would never have gotten this interview, let alone the actual job, without having my degree. Yay for Futures for Frontliners!” Futures for Frontliners is a state program that covered the cost of in-district tuition for people who worked in essential fields during the state’s COVID-19 shutdown. A similar program, Michigan Reconnect, is available for residents age 25 and older who have not completed a college degree. Additional information is available at grcc.edu/reconnect . Futures for Frontliners, he added, was critical in that it removed the largest obstacle that previously had stood in his way: money. “I was motivated when I saw a chance to open my possibilities with this scholarship,” he said. And he admitted he had a little extra motivation at home. “I also felt it was very important that my daughters see me graduate and be a part of the hard work it took to get it all done,” he said. Those daughters have seen him for the past few years as Coach Jason, a dedicated softball and basketball coach for their teams in Northview Little League and elsewhere. They now can also see him as a college graduate, and that brings a smile to his face as he talks about it. “For them to see what happens when you’re given an opportunity, and that if you meet that opportunity with hard work and dedication you can flourish, is pretty special,” he said. Jason first started taking classes at GRCC in 2009, transferring in credits he had earned during a short stint at Defiance College after his 1992 high school graduation. A graduate of Morenci Public Schools, he headed to Defiance to play baseball but ended up on academic probation after, he said, spending too much time on baseball and not enough on academics. He soon slid into a career in construction. “It was what I grew up with and felt comfortable with,” he said, “but I was never really pushing my limits or excelling in other areas.” He got married in 2008, and they began their family in 2010 which put a halt to his first return to the classroom. But, as his daughters got older, Jason felt more and more of a push to finish the degree he had begun almost three decades earlier. When the Futures for Frontliners program was announced there were no reasons not to make it work he said. “Education is very important, but it is very hard to validate a degree that you are not completely sure will pay off,” he said simply. “This program was a way to have no excuses to make it happen.” This story was reported by Phil de Haan.

May 26, 2022 GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. – Two incoming Grand Rapids Community College students will start their higher education journey debt-free after being selected for a new GRCC Foundation scholarship through a partnership with local districts. Gabriel Gloria, a Jenison High School senior, and Sophia Vincent, a Caledonia High School senior, are the first recipients of the GRCC Foundation Board of Directors Excellence Scholarships. The award covers tuition and all fees associated with registered classes for a full academic year. High school counselors nominated students, with one student each from Kent and Ottawa counties, receiving the scholarship. Counselors were asked to consider academics and a variety of factors including barriers and obstacles the student has faced, involvement in community service, and leadership activities or qualities. “This has proven to be a wonderful partnership with counselors in West Michigan schools,” said Dr. Kathryn Mullins, vice president of College Advancement and executive director of the GRCC Foundation. “Our foundation board members know very well the struggles our students face and are thrilled that this new scholarship offers another way to help them attain a life-changing education.” Gloria plans to study finance and business administration at GRCC. For him, the new scholarship is important to keeping his college experience debt-free. “I’m humbled and appreciative of the fact that my high school counselor felt that I was deserving of this prestigious award,” said Gloria, who plans to continue working part time for Meijer. “I was extremely excited and blown away by the generosity of this scholarship and what it will provide.” Vincent will major in early childhood education at GRCC. “This year, another student and I committed to devoting our afterschool time on Monday nights to assist a local elementary school teacher in setting up her classroom, cleaning, and creating lesson plans,” said Vincent, who has also worked as a nanny and swim instructor. “This not only liberates her of stress and time but also enables us to gain more experience in the early education field.” The GRCC Foundation plans to distribute $1.4 million in more than 300 scholarships this year to over 1,000 students. More information about the foundation – including ways to contribute to a life-changing GRCC education – can be found online .  

May 25, 2022, GRAND RAPIDS, Mich.  – Karissa Ferry has a busy schedule, staying on top of her Grand Rapids Community College studies while playing basketball and volleyball and trying to earn money for expenses. But as a student employee in the Gerald R. Ford Fieldhouse, Ferry is able to take advantage of flexible scheduling around activities and classes. “This is the best job I’ve ever had,” she said as she helped people check into the GRCC Fitness Center. “I’m on campus a lot anyway. This has been a great way to make money between going to class and playing sports -- and the people are really nice.” GRCC has a variety of student employment opportunities during the school year, and about a dozen to be filled during the summer semesters. Students can work in roles including office assistants, lifeguards, and orientation ambassadors, and in offices including Student Services, Student Life, Facilities and the Academic Advising and Outreach Center. A full list of available jobs is available  online . Christopher Allen, associate director of Student Employment Services, said GRCC recently increased student wages to $12.50 an hour, competitive with many off-campus summer jobs. “Student employee positions are a fantastic way for students to develop valuable work skills and experience while taking advantage of convenient and flexible scheduling,” Allen said. “Students can build their resumes while getting to know people and places on campus, all while earning money to cover expenses.” Student Employment Services can help with questions about campus jobs as well as provide tips on resumes and interviewing. The office is located on the second floor of Steven C. Ender Hall, 455 E. Fulton St. Students can contact the office at  ses@grcc.edu  and (616) 234-4170.  

May 25, 2022, GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. -- After serving in the U.S. Marine Corps, Joe Wisneski worked in a variety of factory positions. “I got to a point where I just knew I couldn’t do it for the rest of my life,” he said. That’s when he starting looking into the Job Training Automotive Technician program at GRCC. When that was full, Wisneski’s plan B was the Welding Technician program. GRCC Workforce Training programs provide in-demand skills leading to rewarding careers. We are introducing students who are heading down an educational pathway and changing their lives by earning occupational certificates “At first, I was a little nervous. The last time I was in school, I was 22-23 years old and fresh out of a war zone but everybody is pretty like-minded – no drama.” Once Wisneski started welding, he was hooked. “Almost the first day, first welds, I was like ‘Hey, I’m actually kind of good at this and it’s fun!'" The GRCC Job Training Welding program takes place at the Leslie E. Tassell M-TEC and meets for 18 weeks for 34 hours per week. The program offers small class sizes, hands-on learning and job placement assistance. “I’ve always liked doing stuff that is dangerous,” Wisneski said. “I don’t know why. There is definitely an element of danger in welding. I think you’ve got to be a little bit crazy to get into it.” As a student, you will learn: shielded metal arc welding (arc/stick welding), gas metal arc welding (metal inert gas/wire welding), gas tungsten arc welding (heli-arc/tungsten inert gas welding), oxy-fuel welding (gas welding), cutting, brazing, blueprint reading, mathematics, metallurgy, problem solving, teamwork and communication skills. “When you weld two pieces together, you get that nice bead going, there is this sense of satisfaction that you get out of it,” Wisneski said. “It’s like a huge dopamine dump. It’s, dare I say, an addiction -- but a good addiction.” Wisneski’s Instructor is GRCC’s 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. Wisneski believes that as far as knowledge and experience goes, Nate is unmatched. “Honestly, if Nate wasn’t my instructor, I don’t know that I would have done so well. Now the competitive side of me has come out. I want to get through fast, and better than everyone else.” Wisneski will complete the program this week and is considering welding jobs out-of-state. He is happy with the training he has received. He has experienced a new kind of accomplishment. “Last week I made my wife a jewelry box. I drew it up on a sheet of paper and made it. I’m not used to having the design in my head, making something and having it come out so perfectly.” 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. When you graduate, you 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. Wisneski’s tuition was paid for through his VA Benefits. Additional support was provided by the One Workforce grant. According to the Michigan Bureau of Labor Market Information and Strategic Initiatives, there will be 34.7% job growth in welding from 2012 to 2022. The next section of Job Training programs begins, Aug. 8, 2022. For more information: grcc.edu/jobtraining or (616) 234-3800.

May 24, 2022, GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. – Nominations are open for the 39th Annual GIANT Awards, scheduled to be presented Oct. 1, 2022. The GRCC Office of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion is accepting nominations for several awards and scholarships, including the distinguished GIANT among GIANTs honor. The deadline is Wednesday, June 22. Grand Rapids Community College since 1983 has hosted the annual awards recognizing African-American people and organizations for their exceptional contributions in shaping the history and quality of life in Grand Rapids. Each award is named after a community pillar that has demonstrated excellence and is a perpetual memorial to those notable contributions. Honorees are scheduled to be announced in July. Ticket sales and sponsorships open on Aug. 12. For additional questions, contact Erin Mieskowski at ODEI@grcc.edu .

May 24, 2022, GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. –  Ryan Dykstra earned four postseason honors after being a key player on a Grand Rapids Community College baseball team on a season that included a 17-game winning streak. GRCC finished the 2022 campaign second in the Western Conference and in third place in the region. Dykstra, a second-year outfielder from Byron Center, was named All-Region, All-MCCAA and First Team All-Conference. The South Christian High School graduate also was named to the All-Tournament team at the regionals after batting .588 in five games. Dykstra was the only Raider to play and start in 53 games. He is ranked 35th in the nation with a .422 batting average and led GRCC in many other statistical categories including hits, 73; home runs, seven; runs batted in, 45; and slugging percentage, .671. He is committed to play for Oakland University next year. "This team had a very successful season," Dkystra said. "We started the season a little slowly. But with a couple of back-to-back wins, everything started to click and we went undefeated to finish the conference and took that momentum into the playoffs and made an unforgettable run, finishing third. This is one of my favorite teams to be a part of. We all got along on and off the field. I made a lot of memories and life-long friends." Jared Berkenpas, another South Christian graduate, was also named All-Region, All-MCCAA, First Team All-Conference, and to the All-Tournament team at regionals after tallying two wins. The 6-foot, 5-inch righty was GRCC's top pitcher in their rotation and led the team with a 9-2 record, 1.41 ERA, 71 strikeouts, .223 opponents’ batting average, and had four complete games. Four GRCC players were named Second Team All-Conference: shortstop and pitcher Caleb Engelsman; catcher and first baseman Dylan Chargo; pitcher Eliott Traver; and pitcher Drew Murphy. Engelsman batted .309 and had 15 extra base hits and pitched 58 innings, the second-most among GRCC players, while picking up five wins. Chargo batted .337 in the cleanup spot, totaling 56 hits, four home runs and 43 RBI. He was third on the team in slugging percentage, .482, and on base percentage, .429.  He was also named to the six-player Western Conference All-Freshman team. Traver was the GRCC closer and picked up 11 saves while hoping opponents to just a .234 batting average in 26 appearances. He was second on the team with a 2.54 ERA and averaged 1.3 strikeouts per inning. Murphy closed the season as the number two pitcher in GRCC's rotation. He went 4-2 with a 2.65 ERA in 42.1 innings. Jacob Gumieny and Xander Reisbig were named All-Conference honorable mention. Gumieny, the Raiders everyday leadoff hitter, was fourth on the team, batting .316, totaling 56 hits and 20 RBI.  He led the team in triples with six and stolen bases with 11. Reisbig was second on the team, batting .347, totaling 51 hits, 18 for extra bases, and 29 RBI.  He also had 11 stolen bases on the season and was second on the team with a .524 slugging percentage. He was the steadiest defender, with just one error.  

May 24, 2022, GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. – At 48, Ron Moore has a good life: A loving wife, a supportive family and a thriving photography studio in Holland. But something always gnawed at him. “I never finished up my associate degree,” said Moore, who studied photography 20 years ago at Grand Rapids Community College. “They added some new requirements to the degree program. At that time, I was already working full time as a photographer and I was getting married. The degree just got back-burnered.” He began married life with his wife, Jennifer, and her son, Sam. Moore worked as a photographer’s assistant for several more years before opening his own business, Photo Op Studio, in 2005. Still, it gnawed at him. Fast-forward two decades to March. On a whim, Moore stopped by the new GRCC Lakeshore Campus in Holland to see just how many credits he still needed to earn his degree. Academic Advisor Kristie Kozub, who happened to be Moore’s classmate at West Ottawa High School, delivered the happy news on the spot. “Apparently, I had been sitting on 62 credits for almost 20 years,” Moore said. “Kristie explained I already had enough credits to graduate and could have done it a long time ago. It was crazy.” On April 29, Moore donned his blue cap and gown, walked across the stage at GRCC’s commencement and happily accepted his long-awaited diploma. “My mom is alive and healthy, and I wanted her to see me walk. But I also wanted to do it for myself because it’s important to finish what you start,” he said. “It took a lot of discipline back then going to college and working my butt off full-time. But that discipline helped sculpt me into the person I am today – and I’m proud of that.” This story was reported by Beth McKenna. Photo by Steve Jessmore.