Change Ups: Penning named member of Arthur W. Page Society
4/27/18 Grand Rapids Business Journal
… EDUCATION
Grand Rapids Community College has a laptop vending machine available to its students located in the GRCC Student Community Center’s counseling area. Students can use the laptops for free by swiping their college ID card.
Secchia Institute for Culinary Education student Heather Stadt received Grand Rapids Community College’s Arthur Andrews Award, which goes to the Delta Pi Alpha student with the highest cumulative GPA and the greatest number of honor points. Stadt will receive this spring her Associate of Applied Arts and Sciences in Culinary Arts.
Corrections officers complete academy training
4/30/18 Herald-Palladium (St. Joseph)
Six Berrien County Sheriff’s Office deputies have recently completed a local corrections officer training academy.
Deputies Heather Saberniak, Brittany Zabel, Nicholas Jewell and David Helfman attended the academy at Kalamazoo Valley Community College. Deputies Victoria Doan and Amanda Tober attended the academy at Grand Rapids Community College.
Mushroom Head Malt Company debuts at Steele Street Brewing in Ionia
4/28/18 Ionia Sentinel-Standard
SARANAC — Mushroom Head Malt Company products made its debut last weekend in Ionia at Steele Street Brewing.
… The Vierzens also learned Monday that the head brewer of the B.O.B. in downtown Grand Rapids is interested in their product, and Grand Rapids Community College is bringing their brewing class out to see their setup in the fall.
MCC’s Vandenbrand finishes in first place at Jayhawk Invitational golf tournament
4/28/18 Local Sports Journal (Muskegon)
Muskegon Community College golfer Tyler Vandenbrand finished in first place individually at the Jayhawk Invitational at Stonegate Golf Course on Friday.
… The MCC team finished second in the event with a score of 326, just behind first place Grand Rapids Community College, which won the event with a 324.
When asked about an experience that demonstrated his belonging to the GRCC community and he said, “Once again there is no single story that covers how I feel but rather a constant appreciation for the opportunity to do what I do where I do it. In the winter of 1973 I was a student on my Junior Semester Abroad in Spain. Every morning I walked up Gran Vía toward the University of Valencia on Paseo Valencia al mar. It was winter in Valencia, the air had a chill, the sun was brilliant even at 7:45 and the air was filled with sounds and smells; the smell of diesel, cigarette smoke, fresh bread from the “panaderías” were ever present every day. For 25 years I have walked into GRCC usually before 8:00 am and there have been moments especially in the winter and sunny days that I pick up the scent of diesel in the air and cigarette smoke (not so frequently nowadays) and I am transported back to those days in Valencia. Looking back I realize that I knew then that I was in the right place, at the right time doing what was right for me. The 17 years I taught for Grand Rapids Public Schools were wonderful years and taught me methods, classroom management, patience and when to be more structured and in control of the classroom environment. But it was when I came to GRCC that I felt that feeling again of being in the right place, at the right time doing what was right for me. I will always be grateful for the opportunity to teach here. I have had a career full of fun in class with my students, reward when I saw them succeed, excitement when they “got it”, challenges when presented with difficult concepts to introduce, introspection when trying to figure out how to better present those concepts given the restrictions of the calendar and sometimes anger and frustration when what we do in the classroom does not seem to be enough. I have had the privilege to work with many wonderful people: colleagues and students have become friends and I have established lifelong relationships with many of them. So, why do I belong at GRCC? Because I understood our mission, performed my tasks and played my role as I understood it to be and I believe that I contributed to the nationwide reputation GRCC has as a premier academic institution. I lead a great department, we had a superior program in Spanish thanks to the help of my adjunct colleagues, we developed curriculum that challenged and improved our students’ performance and we adapted and changed as the needs of our transfer institutions, our students and the college changed.”
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