Course Packs due tomorrow (Friday, August 6)

All course pack files, planners, orders, and SKUs are due on Friday, August 6 to make sure they are in the bookstore in a timely manner for the students to purchase prior to the start of classes.

If you are planning to do a course pack and it is a reprint, please notify the bookstore.

If you are doing a new or updated course pack, please send your file and planner sheet (if needed) to grcceprint@grcc.edu and notify the bookstore that you are needing a new course pack for your class.

If you have any questions, we can be reached at (616) 234-3960 or grcceprint@grcc.edu.

Thank you,
The GRCCePRINT Team

Here to Help: Marisol Blanco connects students with resources to be successful

Always remember, at GRCC, you are surrounded by people who want you to be successful and are ready to walk with you on your educational pathway. We are here to help!

Meet Marisol Blanco. Marisol is associate director of GRCC’s College Success Center, which hosts success coaches who are passionate about assisting students along their educational paths.

The center connects students with helpful campus resources, and runs programs such as FastTrack, a three-week learning lab to help strengthen academic and study skills and prepare students to take placement tests through a combination of web-based and professional tutor-guided activities.

Marisol earned a Bachelor of Arts in Sociology, Spanish, and Latino Studies from the University of Michigan, and then a Master of Education with an emphasis on Adult and Higher Education from Grand Valley State University. 

This month she was recognized by the Michigan Department of Labor and Economic Development as the state’s AmeriCorps Site Supervisor of the Month.  

Her department has two AmeriCorps college completion coaches to support first-generation, low-income, and students of color with a focus on college persistence and completion.

“Blanco is dedicated to student success and retention,” read an announcement from LEO. “Drawing on her own experience as a low-income, first-generation college student, a Michigan College Advising Corps alum, and a GRCC Success Coach, Marisol works to bring forward ideas like FastTrack and other coaching initiatives to improve student success at GRCC.”

The state praised Marisol as an exemplary leader who is focused on staff development as well as student success.

“As a servant leader, Marisol focuses on rapport and team building to create a cohesive team and promote a healthy team dynamic, creating a warm and welcoming environment for college completion coaches as much as permanent staff. From her dedication to lifting others up, to maintaining a cohesive team, she embodies the values and goals of AmeriCorps and the College Completion Corps program.”

Marisol was recognized as one of the 2018 Top 50 Latinas of the state by the Hispanic Latino Commission of Michigan, and was one of 13 people saluted by the West Michigan Hispanic Chamber as a Young Professional of the Year.

You can find the College Success Center at 113 Sneden Hall on GRCC’s DeVos Campus, and can connect with the team through email at collegesuccess@grcc.edu and by phone at (616) 234-2312.

Tech Tip: Student employee access extension

Do you have a student employee who will be working with you again next semester? Now is the perfect time to request for their access to be extended with the IT department! If you weren’t aware, access for student employees is only granted on an academic semester basis. 

We’ve simplified the process for you! Please navigate to the Network Account Provisioning Form  on our Support Portal and under request type select extend current access. From there you add the student’s information and submit the request. IT will make sure your student employee’s access is extended for them when they come back to work the next semester. 

For other great tips, visit the IT Customer Support Portal and search the Knowledge Base for other articles.

If you have a suggestion or a Technology Tip you think can be useful, you can submit them by emailing techtips@grcc.edu 

Operation United is back

GRCC is partnering once again with Operation United to complete yardwork, landscaping, and minor outdoor home repair for veterans and active military families here in Kent County. Groups of volunteers will be matched with a veteran and then complete work at their home on event day. 

This is a part of the Heart of West Michigan United Way “Month of Caring” service activity. The 2018 Leadership Institute cohort, better known as InteGReatCC, had a great experience supporting Operation United in May 2019.

Watch their news appearance!

And this exciting and rewarding volunteer service opportunity back this year:

Friday September 24, 2021
9:00am -1:00pm
A veteran’s home in the GR area

Full time employees can earn up to four hours of professional development time volunteering for this service activity.

This experience is limited to the first 24 full time employees.

If you would like to volunteer, please obtain your supervisor’s approval via Leave of Absence form and complete the 2021 Operation United Registration Form.

Thank you! This service employee engagement opportunity is brought to you through a collaboration of InteGReatCC (2018 Leadership Institute cohort) and HR. Please contact angelasalinas@grcc.edu, dianesmith2@grcc.edu or abennett@grcc.edu for more information and any questions you may have.

Volunteers needed for Information Stations Aug. 23-27 and Aug. 30-Sept. 1

It’s that time: We are looking for volunteers to help with the Information Stations! As you may know, volunteers at the Information Stations help our students feel welcome and find their way around campus. This will be especially important this semester!

This year, we are holding an information table outside of the new Enrollment Center prior to Fall start. The first three days of Fall start will be the stations set up around campus like in the recent past. As you look at the volunteer sign-up sheet, please take note of the two different tabs to sign up accordingly!

RJF Info Station: August 23-27 from 10:00am-3:00pm
Semester Start Stations: August 30-September 1 from 7:00am-6:30pm

Sign up here

Details about Information Stations that may look a bit different this semester:
We are inviting two volunteers to each station, but please prioritize filling each station so we can guarantee coverage for the 2-hour commitments.

1. Please follow the current campus protocols while working at the information station to minimize contact and germ spreading.
2. Each station will have two tables and 2 chairs in addition to plexiglass barriers and signs indicating wayfinding.
3. Instead of having a binder of information that everyone thumbs through, a Google doc. will have all relevant information.This will allow us to keep information up-to-date as things change.
4. Please bring your GRCC-issued laptop or tablet to access the Google doc. of information (again, to minimize the spread of germs).
5. Handouts at each station will include campus maps, Sneden shuttle flyers and GetHelp cards.
6. Please plan on bringing your own water and snacks as these will not be provided.

There will be hand sanitizer at each table. We will also have antibacterial wipes so the table can be wiped down at the end of each shift.

GRCC In the News, 08/5/2021

Holland Public School teacher named Michigan Virtual Online Teacher of the Year

August 4, 2021; WZZM

A Holland Public School teacher has been named the 2021 Michigan Virtual Online Teacher of the Year.

… (Sara) Sibble earned her Bachelor of Science in Child Development from Michigan State University, and studied at Western Michigan University and Grand Rapids Community College for graduate studies. She previously held positions as a Great Start Readiness Program and Early Childhood Special Education Teacher at Holland Public Schools and first grade teacher in the Lansing School District.

Morning News

August 5, 2021; WZZM

(Mask policies for area colleges and universities.)

Fueling the Future

August 5, 2021;  convenience.org

ALEXANDRIA, Va.—Ten college students were selected as recipients of $­3,000 scholarships through the Future Fund Scholarship Program—one of the signature programs supported by the NACS Foundation, a 501(c)(3) charitable organization.

… The 2021-22 NACS Foundation Future Fund Scholarship recipients, each of whom is currently employed with a NACS retail member company, are:

• … Alexis Wood, foodservice area manager, Walters-Dimmick Petroleum; Grand Rapids Community College