Grahl Center summer courses offer something for everyone

KCC's Grahl Center is located in Coldwater.

KCC’s Grahl Center is located in Coldwater.

COLDWATER – Kellogg Community College is offering a variety of courses at the Grahl Center during the 2013 summer semester, which began this week.

While some classes began May 20, others don’t start until later in the summer for the convenience of students, whether they are working professionals, retirees or university enrollees completing extra course work.

“Even in the summer, our classes offer something for everyone,” said Roberta Gagnon, director of the Grahl Center.

The summer course schedule at the Grahl Center includes an array of classes, from basic math and composition to an introduction to psychology and computer software.

“We have a wellness class in which people can walk or jog twice a week on their lunch hours and we have a United States history class for people who want to learn about the social and political heritage of our country,” Gagnon said.

For more information about classes offered at the Grahl Center, call 517-278-3300 or email Gagnon at gagnonr@kellogg.edu.

For more news about Kellogg Community College, view our latest press releases online atwww.kellogg.edu/daily/category/press-releases.

ALERT: Grahl Center closed, evening classes canceled Feb. 27

Evening classes will run as scheduled at KCC's Grahl Center in Coldwater tonight.

Evening classes are canceled tonight at KCC’s Grahl Center in Coldwater.

Kellogg Community College’s Grahl Center campus at 125 Seeley Street in Coldwater will remain closed this evening, and all evening classes have been canceled at the center.

Daytime classes were canceled this morning due to hazardous weather conditions, which were also the factor keeping the center closed this evening. Classes and events at all other KCC campus locations are planned to run as scheduled.

Please stay tuned to local media for more information about area weather conditions.

For future alerts related to the operating status of Kellogg Community College, visit www.kellogg.edu/facilities/opstatus.html or follow this blog, our Facebook page and our Twitter feed.

For more news about Kellogg Community College, view our latest press releases online at www.kellogg.edu/daily/category/press-releases.

ALERT: Day classes canceled at KCC’s Grahl Center, evening classes still on for Feb. 27

Evening classes will run as scheduled at KCC's Grahl Center in Coldwater tonight.

Evening classes will run as scheduled at KCC’s Grahl Center in Coldwater tonight.

Daytime classes at  Kellogg Community College’s Grahl Center, 125 Seeley Street, Coldwater, have been canceled today, Wednesday, Feb. 27, due to hazardous weather conditions.

This affects daytime classes only at the Grahl Center in Coldwater, and classes beginning at 5 p.m. or later at the center are planned to run as scheduled. Classes, events and activities are expected to proceed as normal at other KCC campus locations.

Please stay tuned to local media for more information about weather conditions throughout the day.

For future alerts related to the operating status of Kellogg Community College, visit www.kellogg.edu/facilities/opstatus.html or follow this blog, our Facebook page and our Twitter feed.

For more news about Kellogg Community College, view our latest press releases online at www.kellogg.edu/daily/category/press-releases.

ALERT: KCC to close Hastings, Coldwater centers at 5:30 p.m.

KCC's Fehsenfeld Center in Hastings.

KCC’s Fehsenfeld Center in Hastings.

Kellogg Community College has cancelled classes this evening at its regional centers in Hastings and Coldwater due to hazardous weather conditions.

As of 5:30 p.m. today, the Fehsenfeld Center in Hastings and Grahl Center in Coldwater will close for the evening. Students and staff are advised not to report at those locations.

As of late afternoon today, KCC’s other locations in Battle Creek and Albion remain open and operating as scheduled. Please stay tuned to local media for more information as weather conditions, including flooding and drifting snow, are expected to deteriorate across the region.

For more news about Kellogg Community College, view our latest press releases online at www.kellogg.edu/daily/category/press-releases.

KCC to host career fair for future corrections officers Jan. 16

KCC is hosting a career fair from 4 to 6 p.m. Wednesday, Jan. 16, to help people learn more about working in the corrections field.

KCC is hosting a career fair Wednesday to help people learn more about working in the corrections field.

Kellogg Community College is hosting a career fair from 4 to 6 p.m. Wednesday, Jan. 16, to help people learn more about working in the corrections field.

The career fair is being held at KCC’s Grahl Center, 125 Seeley St., Coldwater, in anticipation of the State of Michigan hiring hundreds of additional corrections officers over the next year. The college hosted two similar fairs in November in Battle Creek and Coldwater.

Representatives from the Michigan Department of Corrections will be available at the career fair, as will representatives from KCC’s Student Employment Services and Financial Aid offices.

“It’s exciting that the State of Michigan is ramping up its hiring and we at KCC want to do everything we can to help people in our communities obtain those jobs,” said Ronald Ivey, director of KCC’s Criminal Justice programs.

Nationally, corrections officers earn a median $39,020 annually and the occupation is expected to grow 5 percent from 2010 to 2020, according to the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Job seekers who attend the career fair also will receive information about KCC’s Criminal Justice courses, five of which are designed to be completed together on a fast-track basis to certify future corrections officers and prepare them to take a state exam required for employment. The five-course certification will be offered at the Grahl Center on weekday evenings over a 15-week period beginning this month.

For more information about the Criminal Justice Program at Kellogg Community College, visit www.kellogg.edu/criminaljustice.

For more news about Kellogg Community College, view our latest press releases online at www.kellogg.edu/daily/category/press-releases.

Grahl Center students volunteer more than 1,000 hours in fall

KCC students from the SERV 200 class with instructor Ann Lown.

KCC students from the SERV 200 class with instructor Ann Lown.

Students in the first-ever SERV 200 service learning course offered at Kellogg Community College’s Grahl Center in Coldwater served a combined total of 1,019 hours of community service during their fall semester.

As part of the course, 23 students each designed a 20-hour project to be implemented at a local nonprofit of their choice. Course instructor Ann Lown said the class was an awesome challenge for students and a great way to make a difference in Branch County.

“Think of the impact these students have made,” Lown said. “I’m blown away by all the ways they have served the community.”

Student projects included a fundraiser for the Humane Society of Branch County; a Christmas gift fundraiser and event for the Branch County Coalition Against Domestic Violence; a flag football event to raise funds for and awareness of causes related to cystic fibrosis; a bake sale for the Bronson Public Library; a medicine disposal event held in conjunction with the Michigan State Police; the creation of a website for Family Promise of Branch County; the production of care packages for troops in Africa; a healthy meal event for parents; several activities and events held for Beginnings Care for Life Center; increased awareness of the Habitat for Humanity ReStore; math tutoring in local schools; gift wrapping at an Eby-Klein Youth and Family Center event; and a cancer awareness event.

Course organizers said many of the students far exceeded their 20-hour service requirement for the course and that many plan to continue working with the organization they chose after the class has ended.

Josh Englehart, a student in the course, said during his final presentation that he plans to continue the cystic fibrosis fundraiser he completed for the course annually.

“I have the ability to give back and use my abilities to round up more support and awareness for cystic fibrosis,” Englehart said. “Next year my goal is to raise $10,000.”

An expanded service learning initiative that began at KCC this fall requires every student pursuing an associate degree outside of the applied sciences to complete 15 hours of service learning in a course with a service-learning certified faculty member or to complete 24 hours of service learning as part of SERV 200.

The course will be offered at the Grahl Center again this spring, with classes beginning on Jan. 25. Organizations interested in participating with KCC students in future service learning projects are encouraged to contact Grahl Center Director Bobbi Gagnon at 517-278-3300.

For more news about Kellogg Community College, view our latest press releases online at www.kellogg.edu/daily/category/press-releases.

Corrections officer program offers certificate in one semester

Future corrections officers interested in learning more about the field had a chance to hear from those in the know and to pick up information about certification during two corrections officer career fairs hosted by Kellogg Community College this week.

Jim Lyon, an administrative assistant at Lakeland Correctional Facility in Coldwater and an instructor in KCC’s corrections certificate program, met with individuals interested in a career in corrections at the College’s Grahl Center during the fair held there yesterday.

Lyon said the last mass hiring of corrections officers in the state was in the late 1980s, and that as many of those people become eligible to retire more people are needed to fill the open positions.

“We have a lot of vacancies throughout the state for corrections officers,” Lyon said. “The Michigan Department of Corrections is hiring.”

Lyon said hiring has already begun but that it’s anticipated to pick up even more in 2013. KCC is helping prepare applicants with an accelerated, five-course certification program so they can be qualified when they’re ready to start pursuing their career in the field.

“We’re trying to promote interest in being a corrections officer,” Lyon said of the promotion of KCC’s certificate program during the career fair. The program will be offered at the Grahl Center on weekday evenings over a 15-week period beginning in January 2013.

“In one semester they’ll have the requirements met,” Lyon said.

Among those interested in the program was Trayh Harvey, of Coldwater, who stopped by the career fair and spoke with Lyon for several minutes, leaving with a handful of literature about the corrections field.

“It’s just kind of something I’ve been thinking about doing,” Harvey said outside the Grahl Center. “I think it’d be a good career.”

Those sentiments were echoed by Cassandra Champion, of Hillsdale, who also stopped by the fair to learn more about the field. Champion said her former career working in restaurant management wasn’t paying off how she wanted it to and that she’s been looking for something different.

She said she’d more than likely sign up for KCC’s corrections certificate program as a way to pursue a career in a field that her friends and family have told her she’s suited for.

“It’s not the most glamorous job,” she said, “but they say I have the personality and temperament for it.”

For information about studying corrections at Kellogg Community College, visit www.kellogg.edu/criminaljustice/corrections.html.

For information about all of the Criminal Justice programs at KCC, visit www.kellogg.edu/criminaljustice/index.html.

Pictured above, Trayh Harvey, left, speaks with Jim Lyon during the corrections officer career fair held yesterday at KCC’s Grahl Center in Coldwater.

Students at Grahl Center give back through service learning

As part of a new service learning requirement at Kellogg Community College, students at the Grahl Center in Coldwater are engaging in activities which directly benefit their community.

Starting this semester at Kellogg Community College, a service learning endorsement is required for every student pursuing an associate degree outside of the applied sciences. Each graduate must complete 15 hours of service learning in a course with a service-learning-certified faculty member or 24 hours of service learning as part of SERV 200, a course dedicated to service learning.

“Service learning creates a hands-on experience for students to apply their classroom learning while also helping students understand, appreciate and give back to the wonderful community we live in,” said Roberta Gagnon, director of the Grahl Center.

Recently, Gagnon and service learning instructor Ann Lown invited representatives to speak to students at Grahl about their organizations, which included the Branch County Community Foundation, Community Resources Network, Beginnings Care for Life, Humane Society of Branch County and the Branch County Coalition Against Domestic Violence. Students met with these experts to discuss possible projects that would help the students and the organizations.

The service learning initiative is just one more way KCC is committed to its role as a community partner in all of the locales within the College’s service district. Service learning combines service to the community with academic objectives to equally benefit the community and the student. Students participate in projects which meet community needs and which involve self-reflection, self-discovery and the acquisition of values, skills and content knowledge.

As KCC plans future service learning activities, organizations interested in partnering with the College are invited to contact Kathryn DeGraaf, manager of Service Learning, at degraafk@kellogg.edu or 269-965-3931, ext. 2211. Organizations in the Coldwater area can directly contact Roberta Gagnon at gagnonr@kellogg.edu or 517-278-3300.

Open calls for Branch County Community Chorus begin Sept. 4

Open calls for membership in Kellogg Community College’s Branch County Community Chorus will be held from 6:30 to 9 p.m. Tuesdays Sept. 4, 11 and 18, at the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, 284 W. State St., Coldwater.

The ensemble is one of three residential choirs at Kellogg Community College and is seeking new singers for its fall 2012 concert season, which includes three major choral events from Oct. 27 through Dec. 8:

Fall Choir Retreat
9 a.m. to noon Saturday, Oct. 27
First Presbyterian Church, 111 Capital Ave. NE, Battle Creek

G.F. Handel’s “Messiah” with the Monroe Symphony and Community Chorale
3 to 5 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 2
IHM Motherhouse Cathedral, 610 W. Elm Ave., Monroe

“Sounds of the Season” (Handel’s “Messiah” with guest soloists, organ, chamber orchestra and chorus)
7:30 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 8
St. Mark’s Episcopal Church, 27 E. Chicago St., Coldwater

Gerald Blanchard, director of the Vocal Music Area at Kellogg Community College and artistic director of the Branch County Community Chorus, said anyone interested in singing – with or without previous experience – is invited to join.

“The 22-plus member ensemble is made up of community members and students performing choral works from various periods and genres,” Blanchard said. “Members have a variety of musical backgrounds, which range from having very little formal music training to those who have degrees in music.”

Those wishing to join the group will go through a brief vocal placement assessment and interview with Blanchard before the start of rehearsals. There is no formal audition process and no need to prepare any music in advance, though choir members must register for the ensemble through Kellogg Community College’s Enrichment Program at the Grahl Center, 125 Seeley St., Coldwater.

Blanchard noted that the ensemble is in particular need of lower voices – basses and tenors in particular – but that openings are available in all vocal areas.

“Come lend your talents to this fine group of dedicated singers,” Blanchard said. “ There is space waiting for you!”

For more information about registration, contact the Grahl Center at 517-278-3300. Those interested in financial assistance should contact Gerald Blanchard at blanchardg@kellogg.edu.

For more information about the Branch County Community Chorus, visit www.kellogg.edu/performart.

Pictured above is a photo of the Branch County Community Chorus in 2011.