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Workforce Wednesday: Metallica Scholars Bootcamp rekindles Zach Adsit's love of welding

July 5, 2023, GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. -- Zach Adsit had always regretted not pursuing welding any further than high school. "Returning to welding has been a remarkable journey for me,” he said. “I had some previous experience my high school's automotive program and I grew up welding with my dad. Then an unexpected opportunity came my way when my mom received an email notification from GRCC about the Metallica Scholars Welding program. I signed up right away.”

My GRCC Story: Matthew Wilkinson overcame homelessness and alcoholism, found a 'sense of direction and purpose' at GRCC

July 3, 2023, GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. -- By all accounts, Matthew Wilkinson had a pretty normal life growing up and even into high school. After graduating from Rockford High School in 1992, he headed north to Big Rapids to enroll in Ferris State University’s Professional Golf Management program with an eye toward a career as a club pro. But three decades after graduating from high school, Matthew Wilkinson was not working at a country club, giving golf lessons, supervising greenskeepers and deciding what merchandise to stock in the pro shop.

Here to Help: First-generation college grad Jaqueline Araiza helps students navigate admissions process

June 30, 2023, GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. – Jaqueline Araiza disliked high school so much that she dropped out. Now she helps students navigate their own education journeys at Grand Rapids Community College Araiza is a first-generation college student. She dropped out of high school, but ultimately went back to get her diploma when her mother insisted she needed to if she wanted to live at home. After graduating from West Ottawa in 2016, Araiza knew that college wasn’t for her. She began working long hours to make ends meet. 

My GRCC Story: Phalesha Kyes worked to be successful, and now empowers other BIPOC, female businesses

June 29, 2023, GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. -- It’s an hour before Book.ish, a book fair for adults at the Center for Community Transformation in Grand Rapids, and Phalesha Kyes is on the phone. “We’re having to make a little pivot,” she says. “But, yeah, it’s going well. We are getting it done.” Those last five words could be on the business card for her eponymous company, By Phalesha Events. No matter the event she’s planning, she brings a getting-it-done attitude to the job.

Juan Granados

Juan serves as the recruiter for TRIO Educational Opportunity Center at GRCC. His role focuses on recruiting first generation and low income students as well as forming connections with community partners. Juan likes to help individuals get to college and making sure that they don’t have to navigate a roadblock on their own when it comes to the admissions process. Prior to GRCC, Juan started his higher education career right after college in 2019. He served with Michigan State University College Advising Corps (MSUCAC). Where he helped high school students plan their post secondary goals whether that was college, trade school, or work force. In 2021, he worked at Montcalm Community College where he assisted adults with their post secondary education and worked with companies to get apprentices in Greenville. Juan has a passion for helping others and giving them assistance they need to achieve their goals when it comes to post secondary education. Whether it be skilled trades or college, he believes that higher education can help others get a sustainable job. He is a first generation college student. He knows the struggles that most students go through when it comes to getting support resources. That is why he makes sure that when he meets with people they know they can reach out to him so that he can connect to the right resources they need. Juan is originally from California and came to Michigan in 2014 to go to MSU. He graduated from Michigan State University where he earned a BA in Political Science/ Pre-Law with a double minor in Chicano Latino Studies and Latin American & Caribbean Studies. In his free time he likes to keep up to date with the latest tech.

Tammy Taylor

Tammy Taylor serves as a navigator with the TRIO Educational Opportunity Center. She assists adult learners who want to take the next step on their educational path–whether this means enrolling in a college program, job training, or earning a GED. She guides people through the steps of admissions, enrollment, and accessing financial aid. Tammy admires those who have the courage to begin something new, and she works to make the process less intimidating. Tammy began working at GRCC in 2022 after thirty years of public high school teaching. She attended Hope College and Grand Valley State University and is a certified writing teacher consultant through the Lake Michigan Writing Project. She has three children (two of whom attended GRCC) and an annoying cat. She lives in the country and is basically a good person.

Lizbeth Vargas

Lizbeth serves as an office support professional for the TRIO Educational Opportunity Center program at GRCC. Lizbeth manages the program’s administration, events, communication, and resources. She is passionate about guiding adult learners to their career goals: a degree, job training certificate, or GED. To whichever path students decide to take, she is there to grant them a welcoming and supportive environment. Lizbeth took on her current role in March of 2023. However, she started at GRCC in 2021 as a student employee for TRIO Student Support Services and Student Records. As a student employee, her passion to assist and serve students evoked. She loves the idea of being an asset to students, especially first generation and low income students. As a first generation college student herself, she emphasizes the importance of using the resources available at a community college to reach one’s ultimate goal of success. “It is never too late to start, TRIO EOC is here to give you the second chance you have been looking for” she says. Lizbeth is here to guide students through and provide the support they need to reach their career goals. Lizbeth is a proud GRCC alumni. She earned her Associate’s Degree from GRCC in 2023 and is currently pursuing her bachelor’s in Business Administration at Ferris State University.

GRCC partners with energy industry to create one-year certificate program to provide new career opportunities for students in a vital field

June 28, 2023, GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. – Grand Rapids Community College is partnering with the Michigan Energy Workforce Development Consortium to create a career pathway for energy careers, helping create rewarding opportunities for students and filling vital, in-demand jobs. The Energy Trades Pathway Program is a stackable, one-year credential program starting in fall 2023, and was created with MEWDC partners including Consumers Energy, DTE, Holland Board of Public Works, InfraSource, and Lewis Tree Service.

Chopped: GRCC culinary professor Jenn Struik battles to the final round of popular Food Network competition

June 27, 2023, GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. – Grand Rapids Community College culinary professor Jenn Struik made it to the final round of a popular Food Network game show. But in the end, she got Chopped. Struik is a GRCC alumna who returned to the Secchia Institute for Culinary Education to help the next generations of students find success in the kitchen. She said last week that she’s long been a fan of Chopped, where four chefs compete against each other in preparing an appetizer, an entrée and a dessert.
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