“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 for membership in the ATD network. In the years since, I’ve explored ATD’s website and found *free* resources in their “Knowledge Center,” including data-rich reports and toolkits full of practical advice, from designing college for part-time students to this practitioner’s guide to engaging adjunct faculty. ATD’s mission is to “lead and support a national network of community colleges to achieve sustainable institutional transformation through sharing knowledge, innovative solutions and effective practices and policies leading to improved outcomes for all students.” I’m emphasizing the “transformation” part, because it’s reminding me of this simple but profound quote by social activist and author Grace Lee Boggs: “Transform yourself to transform the world.” I had just read that quote in “Emergent Strategy: Shaping Change, Changing Worlds,” where author Adrienne Maree Brown explained the concept of fractals, or never-ending patterns, in nature … and she emphasized what we practice at… 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 to glamorous … Roanoke, VA. That seems more like a punishment. …” LOL, just watched an episode of The Dating Game in which the prize was a trip to glamorous… Roanoke, VA. That seems more like a punishment. <Preparing to be ratio'd by Roanoke.>— Emily Nussbaum (@emilynussbaum) February 8, 2021 As you can imagine, the response was swift. By the next morning, “Roanoke” was trending on Twitter, with local citizens, journalists, the Visit Virginia’s Blue Ridge tourism bureau — even Gov. Northam’s Twitter account — coming to Roanoke’s defense. Author Stephen King is also involved, and not in a good way. The Roanoke Times covered the twitterstorm here. Many of us reacted by noting what we LOVE about Roanoke, which included everything from the beautiful mountains to the families we are raising here. It was an opportunity to send some hearts to our Star City.… Continue Reading My valentine to Roanoke starts with a mean tweetRead More
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 traveling right after the winter holidays — on New Year’s Eve. I thought flying overnight on NYE would be exciting and romantic: I envisioned a dramatic midnight countdown … a hearty cheer from the passengers … and maybe a champagne toast as we landed in the new year. Alas, that dream was quashed. No countdown, cheers or bubbly. The pilot only wished us a happy new year right before we deplaned. That was one of the last times I expected someone else to make my fantasies come true. On this solo trip to London, I learned how to create my own quests. First, I read a couple of guidebooks in the weeks leading up to my trip. This instantly made my vacation more meaningful: I knew some history, but only in book form. I was ready to bring that history to life.I made a *short*… Continue Reading Planning your time is boring. Create quest maps instead!Read 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
- Some 24/25 Highlights July 16, 2025
- Have you heard? October 28, 2024
- The Game of Life – Innovation Edition! August 29, 2024
- Why Try An LOI? May 10, 2024
- Grant Nerds Unite! March 12, 2024