A new alternative school in Flint is working to change those statistics, according to Winston Stoody, Director of GearUp Academy, which is a program run by the Flint nonprofit, GearUp2Lead. The program is a no-cost, nontraditional school that provides students with an opportunity to earn their high school diplomas through online classes and become employed by a local business partner, nonprofit or government agency. In the program’s first year, there were six students (including one graduate), and 14 the following year. That number is expected to grow to 28 diverse students this year from as far away as Montrose and Fenton, the director reports.
A well-known and beloved Flint Italian restaurant, Luigi’s is best known for its super-delicious, super-thin-crust pizza. And, according to Kirk Laue, who co-owns the popular eatery with Tom Beaubien, it’s all about family.
From the time the gates open in the spring through its final race in the fall, the Richfield Park BMX track in Davison is abuzz with activity.
What these gals have in common is that they all love cars and participating in Back to the Bricks. “I come from a family of GM workers,” says Rau, who was born and raised in Flint. “That was our bread and butter, and we learned to love cars.” Back in the day, she used to drag race. “I loved the drag strip. I loved the cars,” she shares, even though she never won a race. “But, it was cool to come home with a number written on the car in white shoe polish.” Rau liked cars so much, she even chose her boyfriends by how “cool” their cars were.
Nic Gatlin, Program Director at Carriage Town Ministries for the past seven years, came aboard to help when his dad, Dr. Dallas Gatlin, took on the role of executive director in 2010. According to Nic, “my parents have always supported CTM. All the while I was growing up, they were donors and we volunteered.” They have created many initiatives and changes through that time, but the latest addition to the ministry comes in the form of sweet, pastry goodness – and valuable job training.
Transcendental Depths,” a recent exhibit at Buckham Gallery, featured a series of nature-inspired prints by Nancy Pennell, 62, long-time member of Buckham Gallery and Flint Artists Market.
The Peace Barn, a Downtown shop offering vintage and handmade décor and furniture, is becoming known for its handmade flower crowns – something that owner and founder, Michelle Cardillo, sees as the perfect symbol for what her shop means to her: growth, independence and learning to be a free spirit.
Noah Patton, 29, remembers the days he lived, with five felonies under his belt, as “a gang-banger on the streets near Flint’s Northside – a gang-ridden, gunshots-every-night, dilapidated, run-down area where we have no exposure to things like college life or higher education because we’re trying to survive. I counted myself out (of society) because I was always smelling like weed, hurting people and stealing purses. I was your basic, common thug.”
The Mott Community College (MCC) Jazz Band & Combo have delighted the Greater Flint Community with outreach performances everywhere from the First Frost event at the Flint Institute of Arts, to Downtown’s 2nd Friday ArtWalks. As a community college, MCC makes it part of their mission to bring music to the community through their music program. That is their outreach – and, the best part is that anyone can get involved.
In the past couple of years, the UM-Flint Engineering program has doubled and has grown exponentially, according to John O’Brien, Engineering Technician in the new design space that opened last winter to support the progress. O’Brien works alongside fellow engineering technician, Greg Keller, and says “we are a team and anything the professors or students need help with in the design space or on any of the machines, we do it. We make sure everything here runs smoothly for them.”
