Hello! Are you looking for information about the G3 program at Virginia Western? *** Hello, and welcome back to the Virginia Western Game of Trivia, which is really a quiz, but GOT is the only acronym that makes any sense. (Cue the laugh track) The game is a quick way to relay important data points… Continue Reading Time again for the Virginia Western Game of Trivia (G3 edition)Read More
Did you read Highlights magazine as a kid? One of our neighbors — a retired military colonel who I only remember as “The Colonel” — gifted our family a subscription when I was just learning to read in San Antonio, Texas. The subscription continued when we moved to Roanoke — and one of the features… Continue Reading How to build better relationships with Goofus, Gallant and ALICERead More
We’re excited to introduce Crystal Hall, Virginia Western’s new Get REAL Activity Coordinator, who started March 25. Crystal Hall This role is foundational to our 5-year, $1.8 million Title III project, as Crystal will lead the day-to-day grant activities and serve as a connector across college departments and the greater community to help Refocus Education… Continue Reading Please welcome our new Get REAL coordinator: Crystal HallRead More
Many of us already know Cathy Ferguson. Beyond advising students through the Career Center for the past five years, she currently chairs the Staff Senate and serves on the college Reopening Taskforce. Cathy Ferguson Last year, she was awarded a $5,000 Innovation Grant to advance the work of our Credit for Prior Learning (CPL) workgroup.… Continue Reading Wa-hoo! Please congratulate Cathy Ferguson on her latest adventureRead More
Just in time for spring break … or when you just need a day to hit the reset button: I’ve boiled down years of research about creative people, creative spaces, and creative habits into a simple way to plan your own creativity retreat, which you can do ASAP, in your own home, with stuff you already own.… Continue Reading DIY creativity retreat: Choose your own adventuresRead More
08
Mar
About three years ago, I first learned about Southern New Hampshire University (SNHU). The private, nonprofit school has been celebrated as not only one of the most innovative colleges in the America … but one of the most innovative organizations in the world. They are able to serve over 3,000 residential students on their campus… Continue Reading What can we learn from one of the most innovative schools in higher ed? (Plus: *Your* professional development ideas)Read More
02
Mar
This is going to sound way more boring than it was, but here goes: Over the summer, in an effort to better understand my role in the grants office, I read books including “Project Management for the Unofficial Project Manager” and “Meeting Design.” In those books, I learned some valuable tips, like this one: The… Continue Reading Sunny? Cloudy with a chance of rainbows? You have the power to make the weatherRead More
Hello, and welcome to the Virginia Western Game of Trivia, which is really a quiz, but GOT is the only acronym that makes any sense. (Cue the laugh track) The game is a quick way to relay important data points and random bits of trivia about our college … and also an excellent excuse for… Continue Reading Time to play the Virginia Western Game of Trivia!Read More
“Transform yourself to transform the world.”Grace Lee Boggs, author and social activist, 1915-2015 Long before Virginia Western was awarded our Title III grant, I had a crush on Achieving the Dream (ATD). I first learned about ATD as our team prepared our first Get REAL grant proposal in 2017; our budget includes money to pay… Continue Reading We transform ourselves by learning like our studentsRead More
The timing couldn’t be more perfect. Just this week — in the days leading up to Valentine’s Day — a TV critic for The New Yorker disparaged our little city on Twitter. Emily Nussbaum tweeted to her 280K followers: “LOL, just watched an episode of The Dating Game in which the prize was a trip… Continue Reading My valentine to Roanoke starts with a mean tweetRead More
About Shelley
Shelley Lyons is glad to be back on campus as she is a Virginia Western alum, and has served as the Administrative Officer for Grants Administration at Virginia Western since early 2022. Prior to VWCC, her career focus was within the Human Services and Arts fields. She wrote her first grant in 1996 on a whim and has continued to plan and learn since that time. She most enjoys seeing a well-planned project come to fruition, where funder, project manager and beneficiaries can all feel success and see impact.
Recent Posts
- Grant Nerds Unite! March 12, 2024
- The Power of Collaboration November 17, 2023
- Time to Innovate October 4, 2023
- How to tackle grant season? August 14, 2023
- Welcome to Grantology February 3, 2023