GRCC In the News, 4-29-16

Wyoming teens earn diplomas and degrees from GRCC

April 28, 2016; MLive

GRAND RAPIDS, MI – Twenty-nine Wyoming High School students involved in the Middle College program have something most teenagers don’t – an associate’s degree and a high school diploma.

7 communities picked for federal healthcare job program

April 28, 2016; Becker’s Hospital Review

The White House has chosen seven communities as pilot sites for its new Health Career Pathways program, a federal initiative aimed at expanding career pathways and connecting Americans to healthcare jobs, according to The Sacramento Bee.

… Here is what the seven communities have committed to, as stated by the White House.
In Grand Rapids and Muskegon, Mich., Mercy Health West Michigan, a regional health ministry of Livonia, Mich.-based Trinity Health, will interview all candidates that meet agreed-upon hiring agreements and are referred to them by the public workforce system, West Michigan Works, which will work with Grand Rapids, Muskegon, and Montcalm Community Colleges, NAACP and Goodwill to find and train up to 300 people annually for healthcare professions.

Expanden programa universitario gratis para estudiantes en Grand Rapids

April 28, 2016; El Vocero

GRAND RAPIDS, MICHIGAN (EVH) — La Grand Rapids Community Foundation, una institución sin fines de lucro que se dedica, entre otras cosas, a la promoción de la educación universitaria en diversas escuelas públicas de Grand Rapids, anunció que expandirá su programa para que estudiantes que cursan sus estudios en la Union High School también califiquen para un programa de becas que patrocina dicha fundación.

Hasta el presente solo los estudiantes que estaban enrolados en las escuelas intermedias Harrison y Westwood y que terminaban sus estudios de high school en la Union eran los únicos beneficiarios de las becas. Con la expansión del programa cualquier estudiante que esté cursando estudios en la Union aunque no haya pasado por las escuelas antes señaladas, tendrá derecho a aplicar por las becas que ofrece la fundación. Comenzando con los graduandos de la clase del 2020, cualquier estudiante de la Union High School, que haya cursado los 4 años en dicha escuela y con promedio mínimo de grados de un 2.0 o mejor, será elegible a dos años de entrada gratis en el Community College de Grand Rapids.

(GRAND RAPIDS, MICHIGAN –The Grand Rapids Community Foundation, a nonprofit organization that is dedicated, among other things, to promoting higher education in various public schools in Grand Rapids, announced it will expand its program to students who are studying at Union High School to also qualify for a scholarship program sponsored by the foundation.

To date only students who were enrolled in middle schools and Harrison and Westwood and finished their high school studies in the Union were the only beneficiaries of the grants. With the expansion of the program any student who is studying at Union but has not passed through the aforementioned schools shall be entitled to apply for the scholarships offered by the foundation. Beginning with the graduating class of 2020, any student at Union High School, who has completed 4 years at the school and with minimum average grade of 2.0 or better, will be eligible for two years of free entry into the Community College of Grand Rapids.)

Northview senior Danielle Anderson finding happiness through softball

April 28, 2016; MLive

GRAND RAPIDS — Some people play sports because their friends do, some because they like it.

… “After school, I am planning on going to Grand Rapids Community College,” (Danielle) Anderson explained. “I hope to play softball there, but right now they don’t have a coach. I plan on going to college and playing softball. Most definitely in the future, I want to coach softball. I like helping people in general. Making people happy makes me happy.”

Some spots remain for learning opportunities

Quick, grab a spot! Spaces are filling up quickly for this year’s remaining learning opportunities!

• RUN! HIDE! FIGHT! Join us for a 90 minute Active Shooter training session presented by our very own Police Chief, Rebecca Whitman. This course will describe what an active shooter is, detail the “Run, Hide, Fight” response, explain ways to recognize and report potential threats to our campus, as well as answer any questions you may have. Whether you’re a new employee completing compliance trainings or an existing employee who would like a refresher, we would love to have you join us on Monday, February 8th from 3:00pm – 4:30pm.
• Thinking about taking the next step in your career? If so, please come to the Resumes and Cover Letters workshop hosted by our very own Human Resources Generalists, Christine Coon and Jim Fox! In this session, you will learn the basic steps to promote your strengths and experiences to land you your next role! This workshop will be held on Tuesday, May 10th from 1:00pm – 2:30pm.
• Formation retreats are a long-standing tradition at GRCC and this year, we are once again pleased to offer this opportunity to faculty and staff. Based on the work of Dr. Parker Palmer, formation is a three-day, two-night professional development opportunity in which participants reflect on what they believe about their work, reconnect to the passion that brought them to the work, and renew themselves as practitioners. Two retreats will be held this year, both at the picturesque Gilchrist Retreat Center near Three Rivers, Michigan. The Introduction to Formation Retreat will run from May 11 – 13, and the Continuing Formation Retreat for prior participants will be held May 8 – 10. The retreats are offered at no cost to GRCC employees, but enrollment in each retreat is limited to 10 participants, so register early. If you would like more information, visit the GRCC Formation Retreat web page at www.grcc.edu/formation . Again, enrollment is limited, so register today!
• Institutional Learning Outcomes include the knowledge, skills, and competencies embedded within every aspect of the college to inspire and enhance each student’s transferable learning skills. They represent the broad categories of competence including critical thinking, communication skills, as well as social and personal responsibility. Please attend our ILO’s Explained workshop on Wednesday, June 1st from 9:30am – 11:30am to learn how we help provide our students with the skills that enable them to have successful futures!

Please register at: http://www.grcc.edu/humanresources/staffdevelopment/learningopportunitiesregistration

Congratulations to Noah DeSmit

Congratulations to Noah DeSmit for winning best local TV and cable (30 minute time slot) for the “Cooking with Angus” series at the 5th Annual Eclipse Awards. The 12 part series features Chef Angus Campbell from Secchia Institute for Culinary Education and two GRCC students as they traveled and learned about food preparation first-hand in Italy and Scotland. Each week, Chef Angus shares his global culinary experiences, both the culture and the cuisine. Many thanks to GRCC Foundation Donors for supporting this work. Congrats to Noah and Chef Angus and the whole team in our I.T. Media Technologies department!

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Raider Salute to GRCCePRINT

As we come together to celebrate so many accomplishments at this busy time of year, it is often those working behind the scenes, solving last-minute problems and putting the finishing touches on the small details, who make all the difference. For this reason, the communications department sends a Raider Salute to GRCCePRINT!

Linda Witte, Workforce Training receive state Impact Award

Congratulations to Linda Witte and Workforce Training Team for being a recipient of the State of Michigan’s Impact Award presented by the Michigan Works! The Impact Award was given for strategic partnership and collaboration with community partners to create a U.S. Department of Labor Registered Medical Assistant Apprenticeship Program.

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GRCC In the News, 4-28-16

Grand Rapids Community Foundation expands Challenge Scholars program to reach more students

April 27, 2016; mibiz.com

GRAND RAPIDS — Grand Rapids Community Foundation is expanding its Challenge Scholars program to include every graduating student at Union High School.

The program offers two years of tuition-free college at Grand Rapids Community College to students who attend Union for four years and have a GPA of 2.0 or higher. Students are also offered support through professional development and career coordinators.

The comeback kids: How Grand Rapids Public Schools are making a dramatic turnaround

April 28, 2016; rapidgrowthmedia.com

When Grand Rapids Public Schools Superintendent Teresa Weatherall Neal took the stage to deliver her first State of Our Schools address at Ottawa Hills High School five years ago, the district was in serious disrepair.

… Neal’s emergence as GRPS’s rising star was a long time coming. One of nine children, she grew up with her siblings and parents in Grand Rapids, attending Madison Elementary School, South Middle School and Creston High School. At the age of 16, she began working at Creston High School her alma mater that she was forced to close as superintendent because of poor attendance and a myriad other problems and was so successful as a work study student that she was asked to start full time, prompting her to graduate early (which she had enough credits to do). She attended Grand Rapids Community College, Grand Valley State University and Western Michigan University, and, for the past 41 years she has worked in GRPS, including as a receptionist, secretary, compliance officer, assistant to the superintendent, and, now, superintendent.

Campbell inks six for 2016 Cornerstone recruiting class

April 27, 2016; victorysportsnetwork.com

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. – Head volleyball coach Ryan Campbell is pleased to announce the signings of five local and one out-of-state standouts to the 2016 recruiting class. The Golden Eagles will enter the 2016 campaign fresh off a 27-11 year in which they made it to the semifinals of the WHAC Tournament.

… ALEX POLAKOVICH Grand Rapids CC / Carpe Diem Volleyball Club

Congratulations to the Van & Marinus Swets 2016 Travel Award Winners

The Foundation received 30 creative travel plans from employees.  Due to the excellent response we decided to award 8 employees again this year.

The winning essays were interesting, creative, just as Marinus would have liked.

Congratulations to:

• 1st Place: Karin Gallagher- $400
• 2nd Place: Sandra Lancaster- $300
• 3rd Place: Simon Kittok- $200

Honorable Mention

• Sean McKay- $100
• Michelle Allen- $100
• Tom Boersma- $100
• Erica Brown- $100
• Kim Zinger- $100

Thank you to all who submitted essays.  We hope you all enjoy your vacations you have planned.  We look forward to hearing from the winners and seeing pictures from their travels.

Safe travels!  We hope to see even more entries next year.

Volunteers needed for GRCC Foundation event

Volunteers needed!

Are you available during the evening of Tuesday, May 17, 2016 from 5-8pm?  We are looking for volunteers to help at our event!

What we need:

• Parking Help
• Greeters
• Coat Check
• Registration

All volunteer positions will be assigned.

That evening, food will be provided to all volunteers in the volunteer break room.

Also, each volunteer will be asked to wear a white shirt with black pants.

We need at least 10 dedicated volunteers.

Contact Mary Reed at 3930 or mreed@grcc.edu  to sign up.

View this document on Scribd

GRCC In the News, 4-27-16

GRCC holding input sessions on search for new president, launches website

April 26, 2016; MLive

GRAND RAPIDS, MI – Grand Rapids Community College will begin holding input sessions this week for students, faculty and staff on its search for a new president to replace Steven Ender.

Morning News

April 27, 2016; WZZM

We’re expecting a big announcement this morning concerning the Challenge Scholars program, the Grand Rapids initiative now in its second year, works to increase the number of students attending college.

… “It will be something that Grand Rapids Public Schools can really promote, and I know President Ender at Grand Rapids Community College is wonderfully opening the door to many.”

College baseball: Ocelots win first conference games

April 26, 2016; Observer & Eccentric (Wayne and Oakland counties)

The tables finally are turning for Schoolcraft College’s baseball team as the Ocelots won their first games since their March trip to Florida.

… The baseball team will host a couple of opponents at Ford Field. At 2 p.m. Friday, Schoolcraft welcomes Rochester College’s junior varsity team; Grand Rapids CC visits for a 2 p.m. Sunday matchup.

Challenge Scholars expands, offering GRCC free to incoming 9th-graders at Union High School

Grand Rapids Community Foundation’s Challenge Scholars program is expanding to include students who graduate from Union High School with up to two years of tuition-free college at GRCC, beginning with the Class of 2020.

The expansion complements the existing Challenge Scholars program, which provides four years of tuition-free college for students who attend Westwood Middle and Harrison Park Schools and go onto Union High School. Now, students at Union High School who did not attend Westwood or Harrison Park schools can also aspire to college or career training. “We didn’t want to create an inequitable situation, where some students were college-bound and others were not. With this new structure all Union High School graduates starting in 2020 have the opportunity for post-secondary education,” said Community Foundation President, Diana Sieger.

There is a large cohort of students that are headed to Union High School from middle schools and K-8 schools across the city, including Burton, Riverside and Southwest Community Campus. And while these students would be in classes with Challenge Scholars, they would not have been Challenge Scholars. Beginning with the class of 2020, any Union High graduate who has been at the high school for four years and graduates with a 2.0 GPA or better will be eligible for two years of tuition-free college at Grand Rapids Community College through Challenge Scholars. “”We are truly grateful to Grand Rapids Community Foundation for expanding the Challenge Scholars program to ensure all students at Union benefit from this remarkable opportunity,” said Grand Rapids Public Schools superintendent Teresa Weatherall Neal, M.Ed.

While the scholarship portion of the program is critical, a key component of the Challenge Scholars program include the services that students and their families receive to help them pursue their educational dreams. These services include Kent School Services Network, college/career coordinators and teacher professional development. Union High School students will also benefit from dedicated GRCC staff to guide them on the college path.

“These young men and women are the future of our great city. It’s a win-win. And it just makes good sense—for Grand Rapids Community College success coaches to work collectively with our community partners, and parents, to provide another layer of support that fosters the growth and success of Union High School students,” GRCC President Dr. Steven C. Ender said.

“We are sure that this expansion of the program will not only be a benefit to the students seeking an education after high school, but to the community as a whole,” Sieger said.

 

 

An Evening with the Phantom: GRCC Foundation Fundraiser to benefit GRCC music scholarships

Volunteers needed!

Are you available during the evening of Tuesday, May 17, 2016 from 5-8pm?  We are looking for volunteers to help at our event!

What we need:

• Parking Help
• Greeters
• Coat Check
• Registration

All volunteer positions will be assigned.

That evening, food will be provided to all volunteers in the volunteer break room.

Also, each volunteer will be asked to wear a white shirt with black pants.

We need at least 10 dedicated volunteers.

Contact Mary Reed at 3930 or mreed@grcc.edu  to sign up.

View this document on Scribd

GRCC Scholarship Golf Outing raffle tickets available

Raffle tickets are now available for the GRCC Scholarship Golf Outing.

Great raffle packages including:

• Airfare for two.
• Office chair.
• Dinner for eight at the McCabe-Marlowe House.

And many more prizes!

Tickets: 3 for $5

The raffle will take place on May 25th from 7-9 p.m. at the Thousand Oaks Golf Club.  Winners need not be present to win.

Proceeds support Student Scholarships.

Tickets are available from the following individuals:

• Dave Anderson
• Erin Cisler
• Tina Hoxie
• Scott Martin
• Kurt Meinders
• Mary Reed
• Danelle Sedore
• Jim VanDokkumburg
• Laurie Witczak

Campus Dining hours during exam week, summer

Campus Dining Hours for Exam Week

& Summer

(April 25th through April 29th)

The Raider Grille

Open Monday and Tuesday normal hours (10 am – 3 pm)

Closed Wednesday – Friday

The Quiet Café and The Sneden Café

Open Monday Normal hours (7 am – 6 pm)

Tuesday and Wednesday open 7 am – 4 pm

Closed Thursday and Friday

Summer Hours

The Raider Grille will be closed

The Quite Café and The Sneden Cafe

will be re-open on May 9th

Monday–Thursday 8 am – 1:30 pm

Closed on Friday

GRCC In the News, 4-26-16

FACT SHEET: White House Launches New $100 Million Competition to Expand Tuition-Free Community College Programs that Connect Americans to In-Demand Jobs

April 25, 2016; whitehouse.gov (White House press release)

Today, the Vice President and Dr. Biden will highlight how communities are coming together to make education tuition-free for hard-working students. This announcement celebrates the 27 new free community college programs that have launched in states, communities and community colleges and the additional investment of $100 million for America’s Promise Job-Driven Training grants (America’s Promise Grants) to connect more Americans to education and in-demand jobs. The Vice President and Dr. Biden will make these announcements at the Community College of Philadelphia, which modeled a free community college program after the President’s America’s College Promise plan this time last year.

… Partnership with Communities to Adopt Common Skills and Career Pathways for Healthcare Workers. Brought together by Hope Street Group, seven founding Health Career Pathway Communities composed of 15 healthcare systems, 11 community colleges and systems, 7 workforce boards, and 12 community-based organizations will adopt common skill and career pathways and support more than 1,000 disadvantaged Americans with training and placement into healthcare jobs with paid internships, career counseling, etc. HPCs include: Grand Rapids and Muskegon, MI; Denver, CO; Minneapolis, MN; Charlotte, NC; Bronx, Westchester and Hudson Valley, NY; New York City, NY; and Sacramento, CA.

‘Dream bike’ returned to Marine after FOX 17 investigation

April 25,2016; FOX 17

KALAMAZOO, Mich. — Last week, Allen Lipscomb thought he’d never see what he called his dream bike ever again. Just days earlier, the retired Marine and current student at Grand Rapids Community College left an afternoon class to find his $2,300 cycle missing off the rack it had been chained up to.

GRCC Golf wins 8th straight Western Conference Championship

April 25, 2016; MLive

Battle Creek, Mich — GRCC’s golf team, led by Capron, Alderink and Overbeek who swept the top three places individually, finished first at the 2016 Western Conference Championship at Bedford Valley Golf Course to capture their 8th consecutive Western Conference Championship. The Raiders shot rounds of 312, 313 and 311 to finish +72, 35 strokes ahead of second place Muskegon Community College.

Screening Committee Training

If you’re interested in becoming part of a screening committee, please join us Wednesday, May 4th, for training! The session will be held in 122 Diversity Learning Center from 8:30am – 10:30am. If you’re interested in participating, please register at: http://grcc.edu/humanresources/staffdevelopment/learningopportunitiesregistration