GRCC In the News, 3-26-15

Global Experience Festival

March 25, 2015; WZZM

Grand Rapids Community College students will share cuisine and cultures from around the world during the Global Experience Festival on March 27.

Rolling Stone journalist to discuss ‘wealth gap’ Wednesday at GRCC conference

March 25, 2015; MLive

GRAND RAPIDS, MI – Rolling Stone journalist Matt Taibbi will give the keynote address Wednesday for Grand Rapids Community College’s 2015 Race, Ethnicity and Identity Conference.

Songs of nostalgia with the Oakland East Bay Symphony

March 25, 2015; San Francisco Chronicle

Maestro Michael Morgan got a taste of Diana Gameros’ pure, pretty voice at the Fox Theater in Oakland last winter, when the Mexican-born San Francisco singer performed with the Magik Magik Orchestra. Morgan, who was conducting other pieces on the program celebrating the flexible orchestra’s fifth birthday, pretty much booked her on the spot for this week’s Notes From Mexico concert with the Oakland East Bay Symphony at the Paramount Theatre.

… Gameros studied classical piano and recording technology at Grand Rapids Community College, singing in a chorus that made it to Carnegie Hall. But she opted to pursue songwriting and performing in a personal style influenced by the quiet intensity of artists like the late, great Brazilian singer Elis Regina and her daughter Maria Rita, and bossa nova singer Rosa Passos. She also digs Bjork, the Canadian indie-rock band Patrick Watson, and the late Costa Rican-born Mexican ranchera singer Chavela Vargas, called la voz áspera de la ternura, the rough voice of tenderness.

Council of Independent Colleges names school president to board

March 25, 2015; Grand Rapids Business Journal

A national nonprofit that supports independent higher education institutions has selected a local academic leader to serve on its board of directors.

… He (Juan Olivarez) worked at Grand Rapids Public Schools for more than 11 years and at Grand Rapids Community College for roughly 20 years.

Hometown Heroes 2015 Profiles: Judge Sara Smolenski

March 24, 2015; therapidian.org.

Each year the American Red Cross celebrates the community heroes who inspire us through their commitment to service and their recognition of the humanity of their neighbors down the street, across the country, and around the world.

… The American Red Cross of West Michigan is proud to honor Judge Sara Smolenski with the Mabel Boardman Spirit of Volunteerism Award. Judge Smolenski has proven her commitment to her community through the many services she provides including her active volunteer efforts. Through the years, Judge Smolenski has donated her time and effort to organizations such as Hospice of Michigan, St. John’s Home for Children, the American Red Cross, YWCA, the American Cancer Society, Resources Against Violent Encounters to Women of West Michigan, Gilda’s Club Grand Rapids Laughfest and many other community events.

(Article doesn’t mention it, but Judge Smolenski is a GRCC alumna.)

TRiO Peer Mentors make presentation at state summit

GRCC/TRIO Student Support Services Peer Mentors presented at the Annual MI-CAPP Student Leadership Summit at Great Wolf Lodge on March 21st. Amanda Aguirre and Enemecia Sepulveda presented “College 101: Life Hacks” to over 100 Upward Bound high school students!

Congratulations to Amanda Aguirre; she was selected for the $1000 Study Abroad Scholarship. Amanda will be going to Salamanca, Spain, in May after being selected by the Keith Sherin Global Scholars with this study abroad scholarship.

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Today’s Mathematics Seminar looks at how brain learns numbers

The Grand Rapids Community College Mathematics Department will host its next Mathematics Seminar on Thursday, March 26, 3:00-4:00 PM in 103 Cook. Our speaker will be GRCC Mathematics Instructor Andrea Hayes. The title and abstract for Andrea’s talk may be found below.

Whether you are a math maven or a math avoider, the question of how we learn mathematics (or anything else) is deep and difficult to answer. Are we hard-wired to “know” that 1 + 1 = 2, or do we learn it? Is such knowledge/learning unique to humans? This talk does not require a strong background in mathematics – all are welcome!

Pop and cookies will be served at 2:45 PM.

Number Sense: A Biological Look at How Our Minds Create Mathematics

How can an infant know that 1 plus 1 equals 2?  Why is it that, even after years of school, many of us still aren’t sure if 6 times 7 is 42 or 54?  How can animals without a language know some elementary arithmetic?  This talk will take a biological look at how the human mind creates mathematics and its implications on the teaching of mathematics.

Raider Salute to Tamber Bustance

A special thanks to Tamber Bustance for helping Trio Peer Mentors Amanda Aguirre, Hien Nguyen, and Enemecia Sepulveda present at the 2015 Latino Youth Conference:

You have given us the opportunity to experience public speaking at a professional level that has helped us excel as college students at Grand Rapids Community College. Because of this experience that you have given us, we have taken these public speaking skills and have used them recently at the MICAPP Student Leadership Summit, where we presented to high school students seeking to attend college. After getting many compliments on our presentation from staff and students it filled our hearts with joy. We are endlessly thankful to have worked with you, and hope to work with you on future projects.

Geography and Urban Studies Professor Speaks Tonight on Racism and Prisons

The last keynote lecture of the annual symposium on Race, Ethnicity, and Identity will be delivered tonight by Dr. Anne Bonds, Assistant Professor of Geography and Urban Studies at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee: Colorblindness and Geographies of Racial Violence. Dr. Bonds has a record of extensive research addressing issues pertaining to poverty and inequality, especially with regard to racism and incarceration. The lecture begins at 7:00 pm this evening in Sneden Hall Room 108 on the DeVos Campus.

In commemoration of the institution’s centennial, GRCC Social Sciences Professors Steve Abid and Dillon Carr will be making a presentation today as well: GRCC 100 Year Anniversary: Exploring the Relationship between your Community’s College and the Community. Their talk will also be held in Sneden Hall Room 108, and it will take place between 1:00 pm and 2:30 pm.

The conference is sponsored by the GRCC Social Sciences Department and Grand Rapids Community College, as well as Pearson Education, the International Geographical Honor Society, and the Association of American Geographers. The lectures are free and open to the public.

GRCC Exercise Science Department Supporting National Walking Day with the American Heart Association

On Wednesday April 1, the GRCC Exercise Science Department would like to invite you in celebrating National Walking Day with the American Heart Association and the GRCC Exercise Science Department.   Physical inactivity is a huge national problem and we want to promote a healthier community here at Grand Rapids Community College. So let’s take a 30 minute walk on April 1 and start setting some new health, wellness and fitness goals.

100 Ways to Give: Workforce Training staff help at Habitat house

In honor of GRCC’s 100 year anniversary, Workforce Training staff volunteered at a home being built by Habitat for Humanity of Kent County. The home is located near the Tassell MTEC. They helped by painting trim, hanging doors, installing soffit, and doing some general cleanup. Nice work everyone!

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