On a crisp autumn morning in 2009, academic advisor Kaelee Steffens, then Kaelee Macklin, walked across the campus of Grand Rapids Community College with her trusty MP3 player, earbuds singing, “I’m so 3008, you’re so 2000 and late, I got that boom boom boom, that future boom boom boom,” as she headed to her student employee shift at the Enrollment Center.
“Zombieland,” starring Jesse Eisenberg and Emma Stone, just hit theaters. Lady Gaga, Beyoncé, and the Black Eyed Peas dominated the pop charts. “Glee” was taking the world by storm. For Macklin, it was another ordinary day as a GRCC student, which she was until her graduation in 2012.
Nearly two decades later, Steffens is married to a fellow GRCC alumnus, Travis Steffens, and together they are raising two young children. Though life has moved quickly post graduation, she still recalls the professors who challenged her, the friends who turned into lifelong connections, and the small campus she continues to call home. As GRCC evolves, alumni reflections like Steffens’s reveal not only how the college has changed, but what has remained at its core all along.
By speaking with four alumni, spanning from 1965 to 2023, a mosaic of memories pieces together a portrait of how GRCC has transformed, through the music students listened to and the buildings they studied in, and what has remained unchanged over the decades.
Campus Culture, Then v. Now
Mary James, my grandmother, attended Grand Rapids Community College when it was known as “Grand Rapids Junior College” from 1963 to 1965, before transferring to Hope College in Holland. James remembers her excitement to start college, saying, “Just like kids today, I was happy to have graduated from high school and ready to take the first big step toward reaching my goal of becoming a teacher,” she said. “I didn’t know anyone at GRJC and made a lot of new friends. Some of them stand out in my memory, but I am no longer in touch with any of them. Mostly, I remember being excited about being a college student and enjoying the people and the classes.”
James’s transistor radio held a mirror up to the culture at the time. “I was not into what was called ‘rock and roll’ in the ‘60s. I was not a fan of the Beatles, but liked Ricky Nelson, Pat Boone and Neil Diamond.” Because James is my grandmother, I can confirm that to this day the only artist I’ve witnessed her listen to firsthand is Neil Diamond– she has never been about the Beatles noise.
James’s favorite thing to get for lunch on campus was a daily chocolate chip cookie from the cafeteria located at what is now Raleigh J. Finkelstein Hall, “There was a cafeteria on the top floor of the building at 143 Bostwick, and the food was very good,” James stated.
Andy Schultz, Executive Chef of Four Chefs, a business local to Grand Rapids, graduated from GRCC in 2008, getting his Associate of Applied Arts and Sciences in Culinary Arts at the Secchia School for Culinary Education. His campus dining experience was night and day to James’s, “I do not go out for lunch, I make my own food. Being in the industry, I do not feel like the caliber is up to par as it was 20 years ago. I make lobster tail, crab cakes, filet, etc,” Schultz explained.
Kaelee Steffens shared her love for Art and Bev’s– which is now Foodology– in the Applied Technology Center, when asked what her favorite thing to get there was, she said, “everything.” Steffens also enjoyed Patatas, where she would frequently get nachos or a baked potato.
Though Schultz graduated only four years before Steffens, their college music taste couldn’t be more varied. Schultz remarked how he was (and still is) into country music, with his favorite band being Old Dominion who got their start in 2007. Steffens was more into the Billboard Top 100, with some notable favorites being Beyonce, Black Eyed Peas, Kanye West, 3OH!3, The Fray, and Miley Cyrus. Steffens said, “Everyone knows ‘Party in the USA,’ I don’t care who you are. If you Google Billboard Hot 100 Pop songs, I probably listened to it.”
Tanisha Williams is an alumna from 2025, getting her associate’s degree in social science. Williams, having graduated only last year, explained that her music taste hasn’t shifted much. “I still listen to Reggae music,” Williams started, “I always have, and I always will listen to roots, reggae and culture music from the Caribbean.”
As for Williams’ campus dining experience, she shared, “I lived in the Raider Grill and in the Café and I can recite the menu at both places! I usually got soup and a sandwich, sometimes all I could afford was the soup.”
Professors who changed everything
Any college student, regardless of the time or place, knows one thing to be true: Professors make or break the class. GRCC is fortunate to have many amazing professors, and this has been a constant across each decade.
James recalled enjoying most of her classes at GRJC equally, having a good time making friends and challenging herself in every class. Williams had a similar sentiment, saying, “My favorite professor and my favorite class vary for many reasons. I can’t just give flowers to one class or one professor because I have a handful of amazing professors.”
Schultz recalls his favorite professor being Chef Bob Schultz, and his favorite class was his field experience for The Heritage, which remains GRCC’s fine dining establishment on campus.
Steffens remembers her time in the education program fondly, “My favorite professor was probably Leigh Kleinert, everyone was great, but she changed the way I felt about myself as a learner,” Steffens started, “My favorite class was probably ED 200, because I was certain I was going to be a K-12 educator. That changed for personal reasons, but I am still a firm believer that education is our most powerful tool and resource for change,” Steffens stated.
Getting involved on campus
Arguably, just as important as the time spent on campus is what students do after their homework is done. From work to extracurricular activities, the alumni all shared what they did while they were juggling classes.
James didn’t have as many extracurricular opportunities as students have nowadays, but her schedule remained full during her time at GRJC, “I had a part-time job at Steketee’s, one of the large department stores that populated Monroe Avenue at that time. There were Steketee’s, Wurzburg’s, Herpolsheimer’s, and Houseman’s (Houseman and Jones Clothing Company), along with many other smaller dress shops and shoe stores,” James recounted, “During my second year at JC, I also worked at Bishop’s Furniture store on Ionia. All of these businesses are only distant memories — none of them exist today,” James said.
Schultz worked as well, getting involved in working for the culinary department both in their storerooms and banquets.
Steffens was a student employee working in the Enrollment Center, so she was heavily involved in the campus community. She helped with open houses and Raider Rally, but also frequently walked the hallways in search of a good time.
Extracurricular activities didn’t take up much of Williams’s time, instead she spent her time with the TRIO office, “My favorite moments always began and ended at the student center with TRIO staff and the amazing team who provided guidance, support, tools for success, a quiet place to study and always had fun activities for us to keep us motivated.”
Williams also remembers the Center for Student Success, which closed shortly after she graduated, “I went to my success coach frequently, and he was always encouraging, helpful and full of resources…. I always walked away empowered.”
Preparing for life after GRCC
Though time at a community college is crucial, where the alumni went afterwards is just as important. Whether through extracurriculars or classes, GRCC acted as a launch pad for all the alumni interviewed.
“Upon graduating from GRJC, I transferred to Hope College and was well prepared to continue my education and complete my bachelor’s degree,” James said, “ … I never felt as though I had missed anything or was lacking in any way in my preparation for my classes there. After Hope College, I later earned two master’s degrees from Western Michigan University and had a successful career in classroom instruction, school libraries, and school administration.”
Schultz finished the culinary program at GRCC with the skills to take him all around America.
“I gained the knowledge from my professors to take with me in each place I worked,” he said. “If that was in Hawaii, Colorado, Aquinas College, Pinterest, and my own business.” Schultz is the Executive Chef for Four Chefs, based in Grand Rapids, which offers services for privately catered events, custom meal delivery, and individual cooking lessons
“I grew up inside of these walls,” Steffens said, “I left for a while and went to GVSU, but my heart stayed here and that’s why I came back. Starting as a student employee, I immediately felt supported in completing my education, but also encouraged to explore the campus and student activities. It was also in that position that I learned a lot about collaboration, teamwork, respect, and leadership.”
Williams remembers how GRCC helped her build important skills for transferring, “GRCC prepared me for life beyond community college by giving me a strong academic and personal foundation. It helped me develop effective study habits, improve my time management, and become confident using computers and online learning platforms, which has been essential now that I am attending a university.”
What they hope hasn’t changed
Through changing buildings, new mascots, and an ever-changing student body, the alumni have a few things they hope every GRCC student can experience.
James talked about her family enjoying the value of an education, “I have a daughter who works there and, via my knowledge about her job, I know how hard the college works to insure the success of their students,” she started, “In addition, I have three granddaughters who are students there today and am impressed with how much they value it, how they appear to be impressed with their instructors, and how much they enjoy the activities in which they participate such as music, drama, and publications. … I see my granddaughters experiencing and appreciating the same things I did 63 years ago: new friends, challenging classes, and a variety of activities.”
In a similar vein, Schultz hopes the culinary students are still getting the level of education he had the opportunity to get, “There are different classes being offered, but are those classes to the full potential the students can use? Have the banquet class catered to the offices on campus. Give the students real life experience that way. My business I have 10 different corporate businesses that I cater to throughout the year. I gained that experience at GRCC when I was a student working in the banquets.”
For Williams, she shared what changed that she hopes will go back to how it was, “I am told that the program that made my student life a thousand times better had changed drastically and I don’t know if it changed for the better. I just pray the students that attend have the success coaches as well as TRIO services because I honestly can’t imagine myself graduating without them, always ready to assist.”
And for Steffens, while she accepts that the Black Eyed Peas aren’t on the Billboard Top 100, and her kids are using her old iPod as a “pretend phone,” she has a few hopes of her own.
“I hope current students get to experience finding a community at GRCC,” Steffens shared. “Being a student employee on campus really set me up for success, and I found a group of people who made me feel cared for, and I think it changed my entire trajectory.”
