Dec. 9, 2024 Mariana Zaragoza ran the best season of her cross-country collegiate career in 2024 after overcoming a torn ACL less than a year ago. Defeating the odds, she beat her personal record at the National Junior College Athletic Association regional competition putting her in fifth place and securing a spot for the Grand Rapids Community College women’s team to compete in the national competition.  Sharon Becker, GRCC’s women’s cross-country coach, knew Zaragoza was going to be a pivotal part of the team.   “Zaragoza was our fifth runner,” Becker said. “She was crucial to us being ranked third, for us winning regionals, and for us winning the conference.”  Zaragoza’s accomplishment came after a great deal of hard work to get her there. The previous season, Zaragoza tore her ACL playing basketball two days before the cross-country season was set to begin. She spent the next six months working to gain her mobility and strength back after surgery. She would miss the entire cross-country season in physical therapy. Zaragoza reflected on the moment she knew she was seriously injured. “Having a big part of my personality, my athleticism, taken away from me so instantly was really hard on me,” Zaragoza said. However, Zaragoza was no stranger to overcoming the setbacks an injury can bring.  A love for running leads to new determination  At 3 years old, Zaragoza’s leg was run over by a lawn mower. “I don’t remember the accident itself. I remember sitting in a sink of ice while my Grandmother sang to me, “Zaragoza said. “I remember I spent the whole summer in the hospital.”  Zaragoza’s mother, Rebeckah, recalled the moment the doctors came to speak to her. “They said it would be easier to just cut off her leg. I told them no, unless it’s her life or her leg,” Rebeckah Zaragoza said. “After multiple surgeries, the doctors couldn’t believe how her body was healing itself so remarkably. Zaragoza’s bones were regrowing surprisingly quickly. She walked out of there months later with just a skin graft. I always told her; you are a miracle and you’re going to do great things.”  Zaragoza’s injury left her without an ankle bone and an inefficiency in her blood flow. That didn’t phase her at all. She was an even more active child after her surgeries than before. After following in her oldest sister’s footsteps, Zaragoza took up running in the fourth grade when her family moved to the Upper Peninsula. When she ran her first race at 8 years old and came in first place, she knew she was on to something big.  Overcoming setbacks to achieve a personal best After tearing her ACL, Zaragoza knew she had overcome difficult hurdles before. Her determination had been tested in the past and she persevered in ways only a miracle could. After almost seven months of rehab, relying on a strong support system and dedicating herself to the hard work or recovery, Zaragoza pushed herself to run again. She decided to rejoin the cross-country team after Becker encouraged her to return. “Sharon really cares about each one of her athletes on a personal level. She didn’t want me to give up. She knew I could do it,” Zaragoza said of Coach Sharon Becker. “The doctor told me after my ACL surgery that I could be two to four minutes slower. After a lot of hard work, I knew I was going to be okay.”  Less than a year back from her injury, Zaragoza ran a personal record coming in more than 10 seconds under her fastest time.  Zaragoza recalled how much her support system gave her the extra motivation to keep going.  “I accepted that I may not be able to run again. That I am more than an athlete. I’m a student, I’m a daughter, I’m a granddaughter. I’m someone’s friend, I’m someone who people can come to when they need someone,” Zaragoza said. “The ACL surgery helped me see that. My injury as a child wasn’t a setback. It motivated me to never use anything as an excuse. It helped me actualize my determined spirit to never limit myself. If I can overcome that, I can overcome this. I’ve done it before, I’ll do it again.”  Zaragoza not only came back to the sport of running when she rejoined GRCC’s cross-country team, she achieved her personal best. She proved to herself once again that she can do whatever she puts her mind to and motivated many people along the way.  “It’s something I’ve worked hard for. The accident as a child didn’t define who I was. My hard work because of what I went through defined who I was,” Zaragoza said.  “In a way it made me who I am and I worked really hard to get here.”  Zaragoza’s positivity and determination to work through the challenges not only brought her to new levels in her collegiate running career, it helped her appreciate the journey that much more.  This story was reported by Anjula Caldwell.

Dec. 5, 2024 Grand Rapids Community College (GRCC) stands strong in the commitment to become a hunger free campus. The GRCC Food Pantry offers any student enrolled in at least one class at GRCC an opportunity to utilize the food pantry located in the Center for Student Life & Leadership office on the first floor of the Student Center . If a student is enrolled in one class, including credit or not for credit classes, ESL, job training program and workforce program, they can fill out an intake form and gain access to the pantry once a week. Ocrea Collier , student resource coordinator, reflected on her time at GRCC prior to having a resource like the food pantry available. “Running the pantry myself, I feel students are so lucky to have this resource. When I was going to school here in 2011 and 2012, I had 7 classes and there was no food on campus. GRCC really fought hard for this program. Every student should utilize the pantry.” Collier continued, “Current students have no idea how much the students before needed this kind of a resource. My experience as a student of coming at 7 in the morning and not being able to leave until about 7 at night, if I didn’t bring food, in between classes I wouldn’t be able to eat. Having snack shelves or going into the pantry to get food would have been a game changer. I wish students could see how valuable this program is and that it’s not something to feel bad about using. It’s really a gift to us all.” GRCC’s student pantry received a generous overhaul during 2020 after pairing up with a grant from Feeding America West Michigan. “Prior to the grant with Feeding America, we used to provide a small bag of food to students who requested it. After the grant, we were able to build out the pantry to look more like a store,” Collier shared. “The unique thing about the GRCC Student pantry is we don’t micromanage your selections. You can visit the store once a week after you fill out an intake form. We give you two bags along with a cooler bag for cold goods and you can peacefully shop for what you need on your own. It’s just like shopping at any other store,” Collier explained about the experience when visiting the pantry. She added, “We also have diapers and wipes. If you need diapers, you just let us know what size you need, and we’ll have them waiting at the desk for you when you’ve completed your shopping.” In combination with the grants they’ve received, GRCC continues to pour resources into ensuring every student has access to having their basic needs met. “We are all human and we all need to eat,” commented Collier. “That’s nothing to be embarrassed of.” Collier reflects on the valuable resource made available by GRCC’s commitment to a hunger free campus. “I’ve had many students tell me they would not have survived the semester without the pantry. Even if it’s just a snack. We have snack pantry shelves all over the campus in areas where students gather. We have a big shelf in the library as well. If you need something to eat, it’s available there for any student to get what they need whether it’s a noodle bowl, an oatmeal or something to drink.” In addition to the Food Pantry, Collier, along with Lakisha Beck , registrar, started the Garden Club in hopes to have fresh vegetables available as well. “Our plan is to get to a point where students can eat their own vegetables that they grew themselves. We’ll also have a table with vegetables available for students to come get what they need,” Collier shared about the new club’s goals. Anyone can donate to the pantry to help GRCC’s priority of ensuring all students’ basic needs are met. Collier expressed the current gaps in the pantry’s offerings. “We’d love to see more community involvement in donating to the pantry. We have needs for any kind of cleaning agent like laundry detergent, dish soap, body soap, cleaning supplies, anything like that. Students have also expressed the need for pots and pans, anything they can use to cook their food.” “We also need gardening items like pots, gardening tools, soil, things like that to get the Garden Club off the ground. Any help from the community goes a long way,” Collier passionately shared. “It’s easy to donate as well, you can drop anything off directly at the office of the Center for Student Life & Leadership. We’ll take it from there,” said Collier. Prior to Covid, the pantry was a smaller footprint on the GRCC campus. Since 2020, it’s grown into a full store that serves the students with ease. This incredible program continues to grow and provides a valuable resource for any student who needs it. To gain more information on the hours for the Pantry or to learn how to utilize this resource, visit https://www.grcc.edu/students-resources/student-life-leadership/get-help/food-assistance for more information. This story reported by Anjula Caldwell