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GRCC's Campus Activities Board hosts a Comedy Night

Campus Activities Board (CAB), an appointed student organization on campus, whose charge is to create meaningful experiences for students and the GRCC community, is hosting a comedy event tonight, January 16th from 5 - 8pm in the ATC Auditorium. Tonight's comedians are Ben Palmer, also known as PalmerTrolls, and Caleb Elliott. Check out their bios below! Ben Palmer (a.k.a. PalmerTrolls), is a comedian and internet personality renowned for his distinctive blend of satire, trolling and social commentary. He initially gained fame by posing as corporate accounts, government entities, and other official organizations on social media, responding humorously to customer complaints and social issues. Ben's content often involves elaborate pranks, such as impersonating customer service agents, creating fake court cases to appear on TV, or pretending to be a journalist to trick CEOs and multilevel marketing figures. His work has gone viral across platforms like TikTok, YouTube, and Instagram, accumulating over a billion views. His live performances mix digital storytelling with traditional stand up comedy, creating a unique blend that resonates with audiences. Caleb Elliott is a comedian, writer, and actor from North Carolina who's been performing stand up since he was 11 years old. At the age of 14 he opened for Bill Bellamy, and since then has worked with comedians such as Tracey Morgan, Ralphie May, Donnell Rawlings, and Sinbad. In 2020 he became the youngest comic to release a Dry Bar Comedy Special, "Diary of a Smooth Black Kid". In 2021 he released a comedy extended playlist "Humorous Interpretation" on Sirius XM and Laugh USA. In 2022, Caleb made his first television appearance on season 2 of 'Stand Up Nashville' for the Opry Network. He is currently on tour with John Crist. CAB is welcoming students and employees to join this fun event tonight. Feel free to bring a friend and we will see you there!

You're invited: State of the College presentation with President Lepper Jan. 29

Mark your calendars! Join us for President Lepper's State of the College presentation where he'll share important updates, celebrate our achievements and outline the exciting future ahead for Grand Rapids Community College. Date: Wednesday, Jan. 29 Time: 2 PM Location: ATC-168 and live streamed in 102 Lakeshore Campus This is your chance to hear directly from President Lepper about the initiatives and priorities shaping GRCC's growth and success in the years to come. We hope to see you there!  

GRCC’s Early Middle College program at Kenowa Hills High School earns key certification

Jan. 15, 2025 The Office of High School Partnerships at Grand Rapids Community College recently earned certification from the Michigan Early Middle College Association (MEMCA) for its Early Middle College program at Kenowa Hills High School. This unique program allows students to complete high school and college at the same time. They apply during their freshman year and start taking GRCC courses alongside their regular classes at their high school during sophomore year.  After a 13th year spent completely at GRCC, they graduate with both a high school diploma and an associate degree or technical certificate, a year earlier than a more traditional educational route.  Since the program covers tuition and regular college course fees through per pupil state funding, students don’t need to worry about whether they can afford it either. David Lovell, GRCC’s interim dean of students, expressed his enthusiasm for the certification. "It’s the latest affirmation of GRCC's ability and willingness to partner with the community to collectively meet their needs. The credit for this accomplishment goes to our K-12 partnerships team, GRCC faculty and academic departments, and our great friends and colleagues at Kenowa Hills High School. It's a team effort, and we're very excited to celebrate this together,” Lovell said. Kenowa Hills is GRCC’s sixth partner high school to earn this stamp of approval – the result of four years of program planning and implementation – which signals to the public the strength and credibility of the program. “It shows that the kids are in good hands, and that they’re going to get a quality experience and a quality education through this program,” said Tammy Taylor, GRCC’s student navigator at Kenowa Hills, who was highly involved in the certification process. To earn MEMCA certification, Early Middle College programs must demonstrate that they include college-focused academic programing, as well as academic, social, and emotional supports for students, strong high school and college collaboration, and a culture of continuous improvement. MEMCA’s evaluation committee was quick to recognize that GRCC’s program more than met these requirements, breaking with protocol and granting certification immediately following a presentation by a team from GRCC.  They specifically praised the close collaboration between the high school and the college, the high pass rate of GRCC courses, and the program’s intentional recruitment and support of underrepresented populations. This doesn’t surprise Taylor, who explained that the ultimate goal of the program is to make higher education more accessible. “This is for the kids who are maybe first-generation college students or who are from a lower socioeconomic background,” she said. “We just want to instill in them that they are college material, and they can do it. And we support them all the way through.” This story was reported by Alissa Griffin.

Gary June

Dr. Gary June is a clarinetist and educator based in Grand Rapids, Michigan, where he teaches clarinet at Grand Rapids Community College and Grand Valley State University. He has previously served on faculty at Saginaw Valley State University and North Central College. As an orchestral musician, he is Principal Clarinet of the Holland Symphony Orchestra and the 2nd/Eb clarinetist of the Flint and Saginaw Bay Symphony Orchestras. He likewise regularly plays with orchestras such as the Grand Rapids Symphony, the West Michigan Symphony, and Sinfonia da Camera. As a committed educator of primary and secondary-aged students, he has a thriving studio of young clarinetists, and he spends summers teaching and playing at Blue Lake Fine Arts Camp. Gary June is also an active chamber musician and soloist. As a member of the Amosa Duo, he has given recitals at universities throughout the United States and at the PianoForte Foundation in Chicago, IL. In 2018 the Amosa Duo toured many of Taiwan’s most prestigious concert halls, including the National Recital Hall in Tapei. As a member of Grand Valley’s faculty wind quintet, Grand Valley Winds, he traveled in July 2018 to the Czech Republic to perform as a featured ensemble in the Janáček Music Festival. Other recent engagements include performing Debussy’s Premiere Rhapsodie with the Holland Symphony Orchestra, Copland’s Appalachian Spring at the Saugatuck Chamber Music Festival, and faculty recitals at GVSU, SVSU, and Blue Lake Fine Arts Camp. Dr. June has given master classes at universities such as the Janáček Conservatory and Ostrava University in the Czech Republic, the National Tainan University in Taiwan, the University of Colorado-Boulder, Northern Illinois University, the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, and Austin Peay State University. He holds degrees from Grand Valley State University and the University of Colorado-Boulder, and completed his Doctorate of Musical Arts at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, where he wrote his thesis on contemporary Finnish clarinet music. His principal teachers include Dr. Arthur Campbell, Daniel Silver, and J. David Harris.

Tech tip: Helping students log in to student email

Do you frequently talk to students who either do not know how to access their student email account or don’t even know they have one?  Below are a couple of knowledge base articles we suggest reading so that you may be able to assist students in those circumstances.  One explains when a student will have access to their GRCC student email account,  one explains how to sign into it and the other explains transferring emails to a personal account.  Who has access to student email? How do students access student email? How do students transfer emails and Google Docs to a personal email account? For more information and helpful tips, please visit the IT Support Portal or contact the IT Support Desk at x4357.

Facilities reminder: Energy procedures and polices

Due to breakers tripping around campus from space heaters, the Facilities Department would like to remind employees that the use of these devices cause a load on campus power, loss of efficiency, temperature fluctuations and potential fire hazards.  According to GRCC’s Energy Conservation Procedures , “…personally owned appliances such as heaters, foot warmers, etc., are not permitted for use on campus. Realizing exceptions may exist depending on location and usage; a written exception must be requested from the Facilities Department and approved by the Executive Director of Facilities. The Executive Director of Facilities or designee will notify the individual to remove non-permitted appliances.” Thank you for your understanding and compliance.

Campus Common Reading panel discussion Jan. 30: Braiding Sweetgrass

  Jan. 30 5:30-7:30 p.m. ATC 120 and 168 Join us for a panel discussion of the themes of  Braiding Sweetgrass,  from the perspectives of local Indigenous community members. Our panelists will share how the themes of the book have been reflected in their lived experiences and discuss Indigenous teaching and wisdom related to our relationship with the earth.  Free food and refreshments will be provided. Food will be served at 5:30 in ATC 120, and the panel will begin at 6:15 in ATC 168. This event is open to the public and the whole GRCC community.

Diversity Lecture Series: LaTosha Brown speaks on Jan. 20

  Jan. 20 6 - 8 p.m Fountain Street Church, 24 Fountain St NE, Grand Rapids, MI 49503  “There is power in my voice! It is a divine gift that I use to connect different worlds. I bridge the philanthropy world to the grassroots community, traditional politics to grassroots politics, and practitioners to the scholarship of movement building” (LaTosha Brown). LaTosha Brown is an award-winning visionary thought leader, institution builder, cultural activist and artist, and connector. She is a nationally recognized, “go-to” expert in Black voting rights and voter suppression, Black women’s empowerment and philanthropy.  She is also the visionary, founder and co-anchor of a regional network called the Southern Black Girls & Women’s Consortium. This is $100 million, 10-year initiative to invest in organizations that serve Black women and girls.  Brown has worked in 23 different countries to include Kenya, Guyana and Brazil. Her next mission involves resourcing and empowering women across the Diaspora. “I don’t want women to be seen as victims; they are the problem solvers for the world. I am convinced that Black Women are going to liberate the world!”  For more information on LaTosha Brown, and the full 30th Annual Diversity Lecture Series lineup, see the Diversity Lecture Series webpage.
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