When I was about to turn 30 — and shortly after watching “The Holiday” starring Kate Winslet — I made a bold decision. I would travel to London for vacation. Alone. Just me, giving myself the gift of adventure while I thought about what I really wanted in life. And I would save money by… Continue Reading Planning your time is boring. Create quest maps instead!
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Curious about Virginia Western’s Title III grant? Our grant narrative might have been 55 pages long, but we were able to boil main points down to one page. You can download the summary as a PDF and print, or find the overview below (updated as of March 2021): Get REAL One Sheet SummaryDownload Get REAL… Continue Reading Summary: Get REAL (Refocus Education on Adult Learners)
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I only remember two things from my first day of college: What I was wearing, and meeting Sophia. And I only recall my outfit — a risky combo of black skirt with tan tights — because Sophia joked about it months later. Our “integrative studies” program at George Mason University was a pretty radical cohort… Continue Reading Are we a relationship-rich college?
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I’ve been following the snow buzz very closely this week, as this “wintry intrigue” may interfere with the Improv for Teaching and Learning workshop we have been planning for almost a year. The Zoom workshop is currently scheduled for 9 to 11 a.m. Friday, Jan. 8, and it’s open to all faculty and staff. I’m… Continue Reading Friday will be fun! (Even if it doesn’t snow)
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What is the No. 1 soft skill sought by employers? Answer: Creativity, according to a 2019 survey on LinkedIn. I realize the entirety of 2020 has felt like one, big exercise in creative problem solving.  But how might Virginia Western teach creativity? Is that even possible? Yes, teaching for creativity is not only possible …… Continue Reading Want to be more creative? Join our Improv session during in-service
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I have been struggling with this question for months now, ever since Virginia Western was awarded what Dr. Sandel calls the “holy grail” of community college grants: A Title III Strengthening Institutions Program (SIP) grant, awarded by the U.S. Department of Education. *Woot woot!* This is a 5-year grant in the amount of $1.8 million,… Continue Reading What does a successful adult-focused college look like?
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Sometime in late summer — when I must have been in an especially energetic mood — I decided to sign up for an introductory class offered by the Cincinnati Montessori Secondary Teacher Education Program (CMStep), one of the only MACTE-accredited programs in the country that focuses on Montessori education for ages 12-18. The course provides… Continue Reading 5 takeaways from my adult learner experience
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This post started with a straightforward mission: Thanks to an Innovation Grant from the Educational Foundation, I’m organizing an (optional) improv theater workshop during January in-service. In order to help promote this virtual workshop, I wanted to share some research by UNC Chapel Hill professor Keith Sawyer, author of “The Creative Classroom: Innovative Teaching for… Continue Reading Falling in love in a time of fear
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I’ve written before about the pandemic being a portal (credit: novelist Arundhati Roy), and it’s becoming clear my portal is leading to my teenage self, in all her 1990s glory. A combination of things have rattled some long-dormant memories over the past 6 months: My quarantine closet purges … a playful “two truths and lie”… Continue Reading How to create moments of real magic
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If you’re anything like me, then you have been streaming *a lot* of TV during this pandemic. I just finished “The Witcher” on Netflix, and whew … it rocked my world. Left me in angry tears. A more serious documentary called “Hungry to Learn” also left me in a puddle when I first watched it… Continue Reading ‘Hungry to Learn’ documentary about college student food insecurity now streaming for free
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About Shelley

Shelley Lyons - Administrative Officer for Grants AdministrationShelley 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.

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