Sept. 23, 2022, GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. – The Grand Rapids Community College cross country teams are among the best in the country, according to the first U.S. Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association poll of the season. The women’s team, with All-Americans Audrey Meyering and Kaylee Scott, was ranked No. 6 in the nation, and the Men’s team, with All-American Coleman Clark in No. 13. The teams have spent most of the young season competing in races that included many four-year schools. While it’s good to be challenged, women’s coach Sharon Becker said it is important for the teams to focus on their performances and improvements and not worry about the other competitors. Becker said all seven of her runners improved their times and racing skills during the first two competitions of the season. “When running a race with many 29 teams and 200 runners, it is easy to forget our original race goals, what we can control and how well we ran the race or finished the race,” she said. “Even though our brains like to trick us and compare, compare, compare, we start looking at how green the grass looks on the other side. Theodore Roosevelt said, ‘Comparison is the thief of joy.’ If we stop comparing and look at the facts, our team has many reasons to be joyful.” Last year, both of the GRCC teams finished the season ranked No. 7 in the nation.  Both teams are racing Friday at the Kirtland Fireboard Invitational at the Hanson Hills Recreation Area in Grayling.    

Sept. 22, 2022, GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. -- Grand Rapids Community College alum Chris Wessely’s dream of opening a restaurant that also fights food insecurity will get a boost after being among 10 projects earning $20,000 prizes at the Start Garden Demo Day. Wessely, a 2011 graduate of GRCC’s Secchia Institute for Culinary Education, plans an upscale ramen noodle and boba tea shop and pledges to donate a portion of every meal to charities providing meals to children. Noodle Pig, at 601 Bond Ave. in Grand Rapids, is planned to open this fall. Start Garden is a Grand Rapids organization aiming to accelerate experimentation, risk-taking and investment in early startups. Wessely in July was chosen to be a finalist in the Start Garden 100, a competition for entrepreneurs. At Wednesday’s Demo Day at GLC Live at 20 Monroe, Noodle Pig and nine other projects were selected and winners received $20,000 to help their businesses. He prepared for the event in the Secchia kitchens, creating samples to share at the competition and speaking with current students. “I was humbled and honored to have been selected as one of the top 10 to be awarded this year,” Wessely said. “I was also very proud to be able to also represent my culinary school last night. Thank you again for all the love and support!” Wessely didn’t start out to be a chef. He earned a bachelor’s degree from Aquinas College in 2004, majoring in Political Science and Japanese, participating in a year-long exchange program with Seikei University in Japan. In 2008 he founded the Sport and Social Club, which operates sports leagues for adults, with an eye toward helping young professionals stay fit.  But he loves to cook, and enrolled in the Secchia Institute for Culinary Education while running the Sport and Social Club, graduating with a 4.0 grade point average and earning Faculty Choice honors. Now he’s changed his responsibilities with the Sports and Social Club to focus on opening Noodle Pig. “It’s going to be a different concept, a fast-casual ramen restaurant like you’d find in Japan and big cities here,” he said last year. “I think of it as healthy foods meeting quickness.” He plans to make all of the food from scratch, including the noodles. He purchased a Japanese noodle machine and patrons will be able to watch it work. Every bowl of ramen sold will help cover the cost of a meal for three children. He plans to partner with three charities focused on feeding children. He is looking to partner with a local and national effort, and with a friend who runs a children’s home in India. “As you slurp away to ramen-bliss, know that you’ve also made a significant impact in three children’s lives today,” Wessely posted on the restaurant’s website. “Together, we will end child hunger, one bowl at a time.”

Sept. 21, 2022, GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. – For a guy who sings “No More Mr. Nice Guy,” shock rocker Alice Cooper is actually really nice, Grand Rapids Community College golf coach John Forton says.   The legendary rocker is known for his outlandish stage show, and also for being an avid golfer. Prior to Wednesday’s DeVos Performance Hall concert, Cooper and several band members headed to Egypt Valley Country Club in Ada, the home course for the GRCC golf team. “He was one of the most sincere, normal guys you want to meet,” Forton said. “I’ve been rocking to this guy for 45 years! I was a little nervous at first and called him ‘Mr. Cooper.’ And he said, ‘Nah, just call me Alice.' He was joking around and being just one of the guys.” Cooper, born Vincent Furnier in Detroit, credits the sport for helping him overcome his addiction to alcohol. His 2007 book is called “Alice Cooper, Golf Monster: A Rock ‘n’ Roller’s Life and 12 Steps to Becoming a Golf Addict.” Cooper was joined at Egypt Valley by GRCC assistant golf coach Mark Rasmussen and guitarist Ryan Roxie and bass guitar player Chuck Garric from his band. The group played just nine holes so the musicians had time to get ready for the show. Cooper told Forton he plays about 300 rounds a year. He’s appeared in ads for Callaway Golf equipment, and the company tries to line up course time while the band is on the road. “He’s a pretty good player, shooting a 39 for the nine holes,” Forton said, who was headed to the concert. “I tried to recruit him for our GRCC team, but he said he’s a little busy right now.” Off the course and on the stage, Cooper is a Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee known for songs including, “Under My Wheels,” “School’s Out,” and “Welcome to My Nightmare.” Forton is in his eighth year as GRCC golf coach – named MCCAA Western Conference Coach of the Year seven times -- and is the director of instruction at Egypt Valley. Forton said the Raiders had a good day on the links, too. Conner Oman finished in the top-10 helping the Grand Rapids Community College golf team to a fifth-place finish at the Aquinas College Fall Invitational on Wednesday. Oman, a sophomore who graduated from Coopersville High School, shot a 76 on the par-72 Kaufman Golf Course, which was just one stroke away from tying for fifth place. As a team, GRCC combined to shoot a 314, which was 26 strokes higher than Hope College, which ran away with the crown, defeating second place Lourdes University by 17 strokes. GRCC was the only two-year institution in the 12-team field. Freshman Mason Anderson and Drew Harrington each tied for 20th place while Ty Marchlewski finished tied for 26th place, shooting a respectable 79 and 80. Other Raider golfers included McCoy Denhartigh and Hunter Schwiling with 80 strokes and Sam Foss, with 94 strokes.     

Sept. 20, 2022, UNIVERSITY CENTER, Mich. -- Audrey Torres and Audrey Gower had career nights helping the Grand Rapids Community College team finish off its northern trip with a perfect 5-0 record, extending the Raiders’ win streak to nine games. After toughing out a 25-22 first set win against Delta College, GRCC won the final two easily, 25-6 and 25-17. "Overall, I think this trip was a super great experience for all of us," said Torres, who hit a career-high .438 during the last match. "We had so much success throughout the five days with not dropping a single set and finding ways to keep grinding even when we were all mentally and physically exhausted. Everyone was able to get some playing time and it was awesome seeing everyone show up and prove themselves. This last game was such a great way to wrap up the trip as we left it all out there on the court and had fun doing it." Torres' finished with a match-high 16 kills with just two hitting errors while adding an ace, four digs and two blocks. Gower, who just picked up her 600th career dig on Monday, added a match-high 21 digs, which was also a career best in just three sets. She also tied for the team lead in service aces with two. As a team GRCC played extremely well in all aspects of the game and they had to, playing a solid Delta team that was coming off two straight wins. The team had just two service errors and four reception errors, while picking up ten blocks and averaging 13 kills per set. GRCC, the pre-season pick to finish first in the new Northern Conference, won't play again until Sept. 29 as the team travels to take on rival Muskegon Community College.  

Sept. 20, 2022, GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. -- Milo Cadman’s educational journey has had some twists and turns. As a high school student, the Holland native recalled a lot of discrimination towards LGBTQ students. And after his 2018 graduation, he went immediately to college, enrolling at GRCC, but then dropped out after three semesters because of both financial and housing instability. It would have been hard for him to imagine then where he is now: back at GRCC, studying child development and planning to go to a four-year school after finishing his associate’s degree with an eye toward a career in child education. Oh, he added with a smile, there’s also his fiancé, gardening and taking care of a menagerie of animals that includes two dogs, four cats, 11 snakes, a bearded dragon, a tarantula, hermit crabs and fish! Milo is currently working as a Registered Behavioral Technician for an autism center in Indiana, helping kids on the spectrum develop new skills, strengthen current skills and reduce problem behaviors. He credited GRCC’s TRIO Educational Opportunity Center for helping him get back on a path he could feel good about. The Educational Opportunities Center connects people with programs and services that help with high school diploma or GED certificate completion, tutoring and mentoring, career exploration, financial assistance and completing college admissions and enrollment processes. The work covers a region of 13 counties. GRCC was awarded a five-year, $1.16 million grant from the U.S. Department of Education to create the center, where unemployed or low-wage workers, prospective first-generation college students, and other adult learners can work with campus specialists to explore higher education options and connect with on- and off-campus resources and programs to support their educational goals. “I didn't utilize EOC until I returned to school a couple of years after dropping out,” he said. “I learned about it when I was trying to figure out how to go about continuing my degree, changing my focus from tech to child development and seeking help with my name change in the system after I had my name legally changed in the time I had away from school.” The result of reaching out to EOC? They helped me accomplish all of those things,” he said. “And now I am enrolled in classes to bring me closer to my degree.” This semester, Milo is taking Human Growth and Development and Biology in Society, both online courses. Those classes are providing the validation he needed to affirm the career shift he made when he left the tech world to work at Head Start in Holland. “I discovered how much happier I was working with children than I ever was working with computers and code,” he said. After his recent move to Indiana, he is not sure how the rest of his GRCC education might unfold. “I don’t know whether I'll be able to complete my degree in its entirety online through GRCC or if I'll have to transfer,” he said. “I only have this semester planned out so far.” But, he added, thanks to EOC, that’s enough. He can envision a future that includes a four-year school and continuing to work and advance his current career. And as he looks back, he said simply: “GRCC has been pretty good with helping me accomplish my education goals.” Additional information about the TRIO Educational Opportunity Center is available by email at eoc@grcc.edu, by phone at (616) 234-3399 and on the web here . This story was reported by Phil de Haan.

Sept. 19, 2022, ALPENA, Mich. -- Audrey Gower, Karissa Ferry and Audrey Torres reach milestones in a doubleheader sweep for the Grand Rapids Community College volleyball team over Alpena Community College, giving the team eight straight wins after an 0-2 start to the season. Ferry earned her 200th career kill and Torres picked up her 400th career kill in a 25-23, 25-15, 25-10 win in the first match of the evening. "Today we came together as a team and played what we like to call, Raider volleyball," said Ferry, who finished with 14 kills and four blocks. "We kept our energy high during both games and had a lot of fun." Gower, a sophomore libero, collected her 600th dig in the second match helping her team to a 25-10, 25-15, 25-16 victory. Torres led the team with 16 kills while adding 21 digs over the two-match sweep. Other team leaders included Gower with 23 digs, Shannon Russell with 35 assists and six aces, and Alena Visnovsky with 14 blocks, including four solos in the second match. GRCC, the pre-season pick to finish first in the new Northern Conference, wrap up its northern trip against Delta College on Tuesday in a single match starting at 4:30 p.m. The GRCC golf team also was in action on Monday, kicking off its fall season with a third-place finish at the Mott Community College Invitational in Flint. This year's team has 10 men, allowing coach John Forton to send two teams to the course. Forton was proud of his players, but noted that they have work to do, especially after a dominating performance by the home Mott squad that ran away with the crown with a 20-stroke victory. GRCC's first team finished with a score of 312, just two strokes back of second-place Muskegon Community College. Freshmen Mason Anderson and Drew Harrington led the Raiders with scores of 76, while sophomores Connor Oman shot a 78 and Sam Foss a 79. The golf team is back in action on Wednesday, playing in the Aquinas College Invitational at LE Kaufman Golf Course in Grand Rapids.

Sept. 19, 2022, GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. -- “What am I doing with my life?” April Shirey found herself asking that question after losing her general management job in the bar and restaurant industry. After packing up her car and moving from California to Grand Rapids, she had been in the field for 13 years. “I had absolutely no clue what I was going to do,” she said. Shirey decided to enroll at GRCC – it would be her second attempt at higher education. 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. “I went to college right after high school, and that was not for me,” she said during a GRCC Foundation event. “I was just doing what I was told: You graduate high school; you go to college, and you get an education. You get married, and you move on. “Well, I tried that, and it was not very successful.” Shirey sensed this attempt would be different: “GRCC welcomed me with open arms.” She found her passion in the study of biogeography and served as president of Gamma Theta Upsilon, GRCC’s chapter of the international geographical honor society. She co-authored a paper on food insecurity among community college students that she presented before many groups, including the annual meeting of the American Association of Geographers. After graduating from GRCC in 2017, she earned a bachelor’s degree in geography from Aquinas College and then a master’s from Western Michigan University. She’s returned to Aquinas, as an adjunct instructor in geography. She’s also board president for Growing Roots Michigan, a disability services and support organization. “I was a returning college student at 30 years old, and I had absolutely no idea what I was doing,” Shirey said. “With a network of amazing professors and people who work at GRCC, I was able to figure it out.” Let GRCC help you start your story. The first chapter starts at grcc.edu/apply

  Sept. 16, 2022, ESCANABA,  Mich.  - The Grand Rapids Community College volleyball team continued its hot streak by defeating Bay College in three sets, making it six wins in a row, with a career-best performance from sophomore middle Alena Visnovsky. Visnovsky earned 12 points, six on the offensive end and six on defense.  "It was good to be able to work on technique these past couple matches," Visnovsky said. "We'd go in for a time out and then get back on the court with a specific goal or an action to tweak. The ability of this team to comprehend and then execute is great to see from the inside." The team, now 6-2 on the season, took care of the Norse in just under an hour, 25-17, 25-7, 25-13. Sophomore Kara Hecht led GRCC in kills with seven and tied fellow outside hitter Audrey Torres with 10 digs to lead the team. Eliza Thelen, Visnovsky and Karissa Ferry combined for 17 of the team's 35 total kills. GRCC, the pre-season pick to finish first in the conference, will have Sunday off before playing a doubleheader against Alpena Community College on Monday, and wrapping up the trip against Delta College on Tuesday.   Meanwhile, back in Grand Rapids, the men's and women's cross country teams battled in their first Michigan Community College Athletic Association meet of the season at the Gainey Athletic Complex. Despite not having the team's All-American runner for the third straight meet, the GRCC men's team battled tough to finish fourth among all conference teams while the women's team finished second among all conference teams. The meet consisted of runners from nearly 30 programs, including NCAA D1, D2 and D3, and NAIA schools.  Northwood University, whose assistant coach is former GRCC coach Garrett Lacy, took the crown on the men's side, while Aquinas College finished first on the women's side.  Lansing Community College was first among all junior colleges in both the men's and women's meet. Mason Kolhoff led GRCC's men with an impressive time of 26:38, earning him 27th place.  Dan Kehoe each cracked the top-100 with times of 28:27 and 28:48. On the women's side All-American Kaylee Scott led the way with running the five-kilometer event in 20 minutes even, finishing in 23rd place. Rose Meyer and Audrey Meyering finished in 33rd and 37th with solid times of 20:33 and 20:41. The cross country teams will travel to Grayling on Friday to compete in the Kirtland Firebird Invitational.  

Sept. 16, 2022, PETOSKEY, Mich. - The Grand Rapids Community College volleyball team kicked off its first-ever swing through Northern Michigan by sweeping North Central Michigan College – and searching for Petoskey stones. The team is playing in the newly created Northern Conference of the Michigan Community College Athletic Association, and facing several new opponents. GRCC is playing five games over a five-day period on the road trip, and coaches planned educational experiences along the way. The team started the northern swing and conference play defeating North Central, extending its win streak to five matches. "I was pleased with the way we executed after such a long delay," assistant coach David Rawles said. "We got better with every point and finished on a high note.  Loved to see everyone contribute on the roster."  The team won 25-19, 25-15, 25-15, with the Timberwolves making their conference debut. Sophomore middle hitter Alena Visnovsky shined, almost meeting her personal goal of three points per set.  She totaled six kills against just one error, hitting .455.  She also added an assist and earned herself the defensive save of the game, which ended up resulting in a Raider point. Sophomores Kara Hecht and Karissa Ferry both hit .500 for the match and GRCC combined to hit a solid .269 for the match. Every GRCC player got to see action and 11 different players scored at least one point. The team, now 5-2 on the season, totaled 12 service aces and had just two reception errors. GRCC takes another new opponent Saturday at 1 p.m., heading over the Mackinac Bridge to face Bay College in Escanaba.  The team then takes a break on Sunday before playing a doubleheader against Alpena Community College on Monday, and wrapping up the trip against Delta College on Tuesday.   The MCCAA split into three conferences this year in five sports due to the addition of three additional schools to the association. North Central Michigan College, Bay College, and Delta College, are first-year programs. GRCC was the preseason favorite to win the newly created conference based on a coaches’ poll.