Kailee Potgeter joins the Communications Team this week, and will oversee GRCC’s storytelling in the growing and quickly changing world of social media.
Kailee, an Allendale native, earned an associate degree from Muskegon Community College through an early/middle college program and a bachelor’s degree from Grand Valley State University.
Kailee’s career started at the City of Hudsonville and Hudsonville Chamber of Commerce, launching the “Hudsonville Has It” campaign that is still being used to support the community and its employers.
She has most recently worked as the marketing lead for Chick-fil-A on 28th Street, managing social media, community partnerships, and events.
At GRCC, she’ll oversee campus accounts, work with departments, and drive our messaging to new and growing audiences.
The Grand Rapids Community College volleyball team is looking to return to nationals for the 12th time in the history of the program with a mix of honored sophomores and incoming freshmen.
GRCC last season finished runner-up in regionals after winning its 10th conference championship and eighth Michigan Community College Athletic Association title.
“I’m very confident that this year’s team has what it takes to contend for another regional championship and get back to nationals,” Coach Chip Will said. “We should have strong leadership from our nine sophomores and a great incoming class and I’m very excited to get the season underway.”
Will celebrated his 400th career win last season.
Nice players are returning, including outside hitter Audrey Torres, who earned All-Region, First Team All-Conference honors; setter Shannon Russell, who earned Second Team All-Conference honors; and Kara Hecht, Karissa Ferry and Eliza Thelen who were all named All-Conference Honorable Mention.
Also returning is Alena Visnovsky, recently named to the NJCAA All-Academic team for a perfect 4.0 GPA; Rylee VanPatten, and outside hitter from Charlotte; and Audrey Gower, a defensive specialist/libero from Dimondale.
The team has three incoming freshmen. Outside hitter/defensive specialist Braelyn Berry graduated from Morley Stanwood High School and was namedFemale Athlete of the Year.
Defensive specialist Lexi Heavner went to Rockford High School, and defensive specialist Vienna Koenigsknecht comes from Portage Central High School.
GRCC lost All-American middle hitter Annie Holesinger, now playing at Lander University in South Carolina, and Ola Nowak, now at Davenport University.
The 2022 season will include new competitors and a celebration of the 2012 National Championship team at Homecoming.
The team kicks off its season with a scrimmage at Ferris State University on Aug. 11 in Big Rapids followed by two more scrimmages on Aug. 12 and Aug. 16 at GRCC.
The regular season begins on Aug. 19 as the Raiders travel to Rockford, Ill. for the McHenry County College Invitational. The team will face stiff competition including Iowa Central Community College and Johnson County Community College, which finished third and fourth in the NJCAA National Tournament last year.
A week later, GRCC travels to Owens Community College for three more matches, playing Terra State Community College, which finished in sixth at nationals and the host team, which won the NJCAA Division III National Championship.
Conference season begins on Sept. 16 at Bay College in Escanaba. With the addition of Bay, North Central College and Delta College, the MCCAA realigned the conference and GRCC and Muskegon Community College will play in the North Division.
This year’s Raider Challenge is scheduled to take place Oct. 1 and 2 at the Gerald R. Ford Fieldhouse on the campus of GRCC.
The Oct. 7 match against North Central Community College will be Homecoming, with the 2012 National Champions invited.
Postseason play begins Oct. 29 and this year’s National Tournament is Nov. 17-19 in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.
8/1/22 The Lanthorn (Grand Valley State University student newspaper)
In a little over a month both Grand Rapids, Michigan and the Grand Valley State University community will conclude the summer with the city’s biennial ArtPrize competition. This contest brings artists from all over the world to Grand Rapids where they get to present their artistic passions in whatever medium they choose.
… (Christina) Hindley, Canadian native and current Grand Rapids Community College (GRCC) student is working on a paper quilling project in which she will display almost 14,000 paper-quilled hearts at Art Prize in an attempt to break the Guinness World Record for the most paper quilled hearts on display.
August 2022 League for Innovation in the Community College
Ensuring that different voices are heard with equal weight across a college campus can be difficult, but well worth the effort. Arguably, from their inception in the early 1900s, community colleges were intentionally created for the purpose of diversifying the higher education student body; offering inclusivity to those who previously did not have the socioeconomic stature to attend an institution of higher education; and providing learning spaces that were deemed fair, accessible, and equitable (Nevarez & Wood, 2010; Ratcliff, 1986). The word “intentionally,” however, can be used as a scapegoat for institutions, excusing certain actions because the intention was good or came from an honest space.
… Far too often, the expectation is for a Chief DEI Officer to single-handedly undo decades of practice and policies and evoke radical structural change (Asare, 2019; Jones & Padamsee, 2021; Paikeday, 2021). When they sit at the leadership table, however, officers often find that that their job description is the only one that includes the concept of equity, which can be translated as them being only person in the room invested in the work. Dr. McNeely Cobham (Personal communication, January 19, 2022), Chief DEI Officer at Grand Rapids Community College, says that every vice president position at a college should have the word equity included in their job description, as it primes everyone to listen and engage with an equity-centered focus. Williams and Wade-Golden (2008) found that, “no officer alone can singularly direct campus-diversity efforts; collaboration is essential” (para. 7)
The Summer Teaching and Learning Institute will take place from August 10 – August 12, 2022.
The event will offer a mix of session modalities including in-person, virtual and hyflex formats.
Highlights of this year’s sessions include…Beyond the File Cabinet: Moving from Paper to Digital, Building Your Own Virtual Field Trips, Using They/Them Pronouns (Parts 1 & 2), and Don’t Panic: Condensing from 14 to 7 Weeks without Losing It, just to name a few.
Guest speaker Amelia Gamel, founder of Equitable EDU, will discuss ways to Support Inclusion from the Start, providing faculty with high-impact practices that can be implemented on the first day of class that will foster an equitable environment to close the achievement gap.
The CTE will offer the option of lunch on Wednesday and Thursday during the event. Registration for lunch will be required.
The daily employee newsletter of Grand Rapids Community College 