A couple reminders as we transition our bookstore partnership from Follett to Barnes and Noble.
Gift cards: Bookstore gift cards purchased through Follett won’t be valid for in-person use after the store closes in June. While the GRCC bookstore website will be inactive starting May 14, the gift cards could be used online at any of the company’s other 1,200 stores.
Departments have been able to charge items purchased at the bookstore to an account. That option will only be available through the end of April.
GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — Two incoming high school students will attend Grand Rapids Community College tuition-free through a new scholarship opportunity from the GRCC Foundation’s board of directors.
GRAND RAPIDS, March 4, 2022: Two incoming high school students will attend Grand Rapids Community College tuition-free through a new scholarship opportunity from the GRCC Foundation’s board of directors.
In 2020, Chef Dayanny Delacruz was hard to miss. You may have seen her smiling on National TV or cooking a special porchetta dish for the Today Show, but Chef Dayanny, as the first woman and first Latino to host the Super Bowl, was all over the media.
… But she admits to always ending up in the kitchens, tasting food and many times thinking, “I can do that better”. That passion for making it better ultimately led her back to the kitchen, this time in Grand Rapids, Michigan, where she pursued her Master’s degree in Culinary Arts at the Grand Rapids Community College. She reflects fondly on her time there, praising her professors and mentors, always “feeling love” and graduated with Honors, as the first Latino to receive the prestigious Director’s Award as well as one of only a handful of women.
Ludington’s Lilli Goodrich is looking forward to what lies ahead once she graduates as she recently signed her National Letter of Intent to play softball at Grand Rapids Community College.
SCOTTSBORO, Ala. – Arie Jackman shot a three-round score of 148, finishing tied for seventh overall, helping the Grand Rapids Community College golf team finish in fifth place at the Ron Marshall Spring Invite on Monday and Tuesday.
Thirty-six golfers from seven colleges competed in the tournament at Goose Pond Lake Course.
GRCC golfers shot a 326 in round one followed by a 318 and 324, to finish with a total of 968, 104-over par. John A. Logan College won the tournament with a score of 45-over par.
Jackman’s rounds of 79, 74 and 78 gave him a total of +15, just seven strokes back from co-champions Andrew Watson and Tanner Walton, both of John A. Logan College.
Matt Denhartigh finished tied for 11th place with a score of 19-over par.
Conner Oman, +31, Brad VandenHout, +42, and Sam Foss, +50, rounded out the Raiders golfers.
Lynnell Talbert knows the importance of giving youth a voice in the justice system, and the power of being a transformative force and advocate in their lives.
Lynell Talbert
An assistant professor in the GRCC Criminal Justice program, Talbert saw a need to better prepare students for working with incarcerated youth. She created a new Juvenile Residential Services course, which is expected to launch this summer.
The class will be offered as an elective, and Talbert hopes it eventually will be required in the Juvenile Services Associate Degree program. Talbert has taught at GRCC since 2008 and is the college’s juvenile services coordinator.
The focus of the class is working with youth in secure or medium secure residential facilities, a need that is always present. According to the ACLU, on any given day nearly 60,000 youth under age 18 are incarcerated in juvenile jails and prisons in the United States.
“This class will specifically center around the culture and environment around custodial care. It’s very different being a probation officer versus a youth worker in a detention center or residential facility,” Talbert said.
Areas of study include services for juveniles and the challenges they face. Juveniles in these facilities have been separated from their families and often have a range of mental health and emotional needs.
“Our framework comes from the restorative justice perspective,” Talbert said. Restorative justice focuses on repairing harm caused by criminal behavior over penalization.
Students will also be trained to work through physical challenges by way of effective communication and redirecting youth who have become out of control or irrational.
“When juveniles are placed in our residential facilities, the workers will need to understand the trauma and the mental health aspect of it (on the child).”
There’s a huge demand for youth specialists to work in residential facilities and probation officers, she said. “We are having more and more juveniles at a younger age who are participating in delinquent or criminal behavior. Our residential services centers and our secured facilities are becoming overcrowded and they don’t have enough workers.”
In creating the class, Talbert received input from members on an advisory board for juvenile services, which she facilitates. The course is designed to better equip workers in regard to state guidelines, protocols, behavior modification and training.
Cierra Lowe has worked as a youth specialist at Kent County Detention Center and graduated with her associate degree in juvenile services in 2017. She also pointed out the importance of a reformative approach in juvenile justice.
Lowe said before working at the Kent County Juvenile Detention Center, she did not realize in detail how vital the restorative process is for adolescents. She said she is very pleased to hear GRCC is adding the course.
“I think this course will provide great insight into the need (and) benefits that residential treatment brings to our juvenile adolescents. I think it also will provide great insight into how many career opportunities residential treatment provides.”
During the course, students will visit a medium secure and secure residential facility to tour and ask questions. (Medium secure facilities are not locked, meaning students do things in the community, while secure ones are.)
A Cause Close to Her Heart
Talbert worked for many years in juvenile justice. She was a youth specialist at a residential facility for a detention center in Kent County. She helped children in many ways: school, hygiene and social skill development, to name a few. She developed an incentive system as well, rewarding them for good behavior.
She has also worked as a community probation office for juveniles, and discovered that the two areas of the system have different norms. That’s another reason the class is needed, she said.
“It’s fulfilling for me when I see young people afterwards and they say ‘Thank you, Miss Lynn, for all the work you invested in my life. You put more time in me than my mother, father, my grandmother or anyone in my life, and you told me the potential I had.’”
She is passionate about training GRCC students to have similar impacts. “My job and my goal is to help others become successful, productive citizens in our world, community and society.”
This story was reported by Erin Albanese of the School News Network.
Grand Rapids Community College basketball player Grace Lodes was named Defensive Player of the Year by the Michigan Community College Athletic Association Western Conference in postseason awards announced Wednesday.
Lodes, who led the nation in blocked shots, was joined by teammate Sally Merrill in being named All-Region, All-MCCAA, First Team All-Conference, and to the All-Freshman Team.
“I’m proud of our student-athletes and coaches for strong performances,” Athletic Director Lauren Ferullo said. “We have strong programs, with some of the best players in the state, and the nation. They work hard to be successful on the court and in the classroom.”
GRCC’s Marlene Bussler was named Second Team All-Conference, and Allison Kellogg and Emersyn Koepke were named Honorable Mention All-Conference.
The women’s team finished with a 20-11 record, reaching the championship game of the NJCAA Great Lakes A District tournament. David Glazier, wrapping up his sixth year at the helm, posted the most wins of his GRCC career.
Lodes, from Comstock Park, led the nation in total blocks with 99 and ranked in the top 10 in conference in rebounding. Merrill, a freshman from Allegan, was the team’s leading scorer with 491, averaging 15.8 points per game.
For the men’s team, Ryel Daye and Andrew Moore were named Third Team All-Conference, and Danyel Bibbs was named Honorable Mention All-Conference. The men’s team finished with a 10-19 overall record and 5-13 in the conference.
Moore led GRCC in scoring, with 584 points, averaging 20.1 per game. Daye was one of the best rebounders in the NJCAA D2. His average 11.9 rebounds per game was third best in the nation.
Student Support Services has three events coming up!
The GRCC Financial Aid Resources Presentation: Presented by David DeBoer, Executive Director of Financial Aid. The date will be Wednesday March 16th 2022 from 12:30 p.m. to 1 p.m. It will be located in the Office of Student Life & conduct Lounge Area. Students can RSVP and join via zoom. Walk-ins are also welcomed. A raffle or a portable bluetooth speaker will be done. And lunch will be provided.
Red Table Talk on Marijuana: The GRCC Office of Student Life & Conduct and the Office of Counseling & Career Development will be doing a Red Table Talk on Marijuana. It will be a discussion on the most controversial Marijuana questions. It will be facilitated by Rosario Parada MPA, Student Resources Coordinator and Melissa Ware LMSW, CPS-GRCC Program Director/Professor/Counselor. It will be on Wednesday March 23, 2022 from 12:30 p.m. to 1:30 p.m. It will be located in the Office of Student Life & Conduct. Students can RSVP for a zoom link however Walk-ins are welcomed. There will be a raffle of airpods and to go lunch provided.
Blood Drive: The Office of Student Life and Conduct will be hosting a Versiti Blood Drive. It will be on March 30 from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. It will be located on the Applied Technology Center (ATC) room #124. Please register for an appointment at https://donate.michigan.versiti.org/…/drive…/141250
Walk-ins are also welcomed. Donors will receive a $10 gift card and free lunch.
Have you ever found yourself searching for a file or an application on your Macbook that you just can’t find anywhere? Macbook has a very easy solution to assist with finding things using a keyboard shortcut. Select command + space on your keyboard to bring up the Spotlight menu. With Spotlight you can find files, open apps, search the web, as well as search for emails. Spotlight can also be used as a calculator and can even make money conversions.
For more information and helpful tips, please visit the IT Customer Support Portal or contact the IT Customer Support Desk at x4357.
If you have a suggestion or a Technology Tip you think can be useful, you can submit them by emailing techtips@grcc.edu
Office of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion: Unpacking the Ukraine-Russia Crisis Wednesday, March 16 at Noon Use your GRCC email address to register at: tinyurl.com/ODEIroundtable
Faculty Conversations on Open Educational Resources: March 18 at 12 p.m. Register here.
Adjunct Appreciation Week: March 21-25
The Draft Edit “Murder Your Darlings” (recorded from Learning Day)
Mission Critical: Interweaving Equity into the Strategic Plan The 2022 Cultural Competence Institute will take place on Friday, April 8, 2022 from 8:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. Register here: tinyurl.com/GRCCequity
Register for the Faculty Showcase! Thursday, April 14, at 1 p.m. via Zoom. Register here.
The daily employee newsletter of Grand Rapids Community College 