My GRCC Story

Melissa Gheorghiu is a non-traditional college student, meaning that she began her collegiate career well after graduating from high school in 2000. Missy, as she is known, was always good with numbers, and she decided to try taking classes at GRCC after some encouragement from a friend. There were uncertainties at first: How would she learn to use all the technology that had developed in her time off? How would she continue raising her three kids while juggling coursework? With determination, persistence, and help from the honors program, Missy overcame those obstacles and has already begun to apply her studies to growing her own small business.

Lydia Hendrian is a first-year student pursuing an automotive technology certificate at GRCC's Tassell M-TEC (Michigan Technical Education Center). Although only about 10% of automotive technicians in the US are women, Lydia’s positive attitude and GRCC’s comprehensive program have put her on track to succeed. 

Jamillya Hardley is the Assistant Director of GRCC's Office of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, where she is hard at work organizing events for Black History Month as well as next month's Salute to Women. Jamillya's experiences as a first-generation college student and U of M athlete uniquely prepared her to help students today, particularly those from diverse backgrounds and those who are taking extra-large steps to reach their goals.

Lizzie Hornack is GRCC's new women's soccer coach — and the first, as the college looks forward to launching its first new sports program in many years. Lizzie honed her skills growing up in Manchester, England, and came to Davenport University in 2010 so she could play soccer while earning a degree. She stayed in West Michigan, coaching youth teams for the past six years, and is excited to lead GRCC women to victory starting this September.

Evodie Djunga serves as president of the Campus Activities Board. CAB, as the group is known, creates events where students can have fun, get help, or connect with each other. Evodie also works in the Enrollment Center, helping students get a good start — something she says is key to a good outcome. She came to Grand Rapids from Raleigh, North Carolina, but is originally from Congo.

Dr. Brian Knetl, GRCC Provost, gives his experience of navigating COVID-19 at a community college while illustrating the various ways students can expect to learn this Fall. Whether it's completely online, hybrid, or something totally new, Dr. Knetl tells Dave and Evan what GRCC has been doing to help support the success of its students.

Thomas Brown and Victoria Uy represented GRCC’s Secchia Institute for Culinary Education, one of 10 teams competing -- selected from 52 schools nationwide -- in the NASA HUNCH Astronaut Culinary Challenge. A competition to create food items for the astronauts at the International Space Station.

The educational world, much like the rest of the world, has undergone dramatic changes in recent days to combat the spread of COVID-19. Dave talks about the temporary move to distance learning for all courses at GRCC with Bill Knapp (Executive Director of Distance Learning & Instructional Technologies), Sheila Jones (Dean of Instructional Support), and Noah DeSmit (Video Production Coordinator in Media Technologies).

Sarah just made the President's List at GRCC. She's also an author. Sarah writes in both YA and NA genres such as Fantasy, Mystery, Romance, and Psychological Thriller. Sarah also writes business/marketing articles for WorkSpace Digital, Music reviews for International Digital Magazine, MuzicNotez. She spends most of her spare time encouraging and motivating other Indie-authors to publish their own novels through scene-mapping, prompt writing and staying organized.

Dayanny DelaCruz is the Executive Chef for the Miami Dolphins and Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Florida. Dayanny talks about struggling to raise a family while working all night making empanadas to sell at the Grand Rapids Farmers Market and studying at GRCC.

Lesley Bos is a GRCC student, mother of 3 boys, TRIO Peer mentor team leader, the Native American Student Organization President, and currently completing an Associate’s Degree maintaining an accumulative 4.0 GPA.

Dave Murray grew up in Long Island and went to community college. Evan Macklin grew up in Grand Rapids and went to community college. We start this podcast with the stories of our two hosts and what brought them to community college for both education and employment!