Toni Glasscoe, associate vice president of Lansing Community College, has a passion for doing everything she can to help students and the local community.
She has been a part of the Lansing community for nearly her entire life, helping to improve it since she was just a teenager. Her passion for volunteering and helping others started back in the 1970s.
Ms. Glasscoe spoke with Spartan Newsroom reporter Trevor King about her prior experiences as a volunteer as well as some of her responsibilities as the associate vice president of LCC.
Q. How did you get started with helping those around you?
A. “I used to help my parents at the church they founded called Shiloah Missionary Baptist. That’s where I learned how to be a leader, how to organize, how to be an administrator.”
Q. Are you still involved with any work at other churches and if so what kind of work?
A. “I still volunteer when I can at the church I attend now, Mount Hope, which is in Lansing. Before the pandemic I would go on about two mission trips a year… I have been all across the world, I have made trips to Africa; in school I did a study abroad trip there.
I have been to Ghana, Nigeria, Haiti, and spent time working in the Middle East…While overseas I would help build homes and attend conferences…I am a volunteer addict.”
Q: How does it make you feel to be such a helpful member of our community?
A: “It doesn’t matter how much money I make; it doesn’t matter how much money I have in the bank…I volunteer because it brings me so much joy to see how people’s lives are changed. I think volunteering changes me more than it changes the ones I help.”
Q: How can students and local residents help our community grow?
A: “… don’t think that there is nothing you can do and that you have nothing to give, it is not all about money…That would be my advice. You can talk to anyone at any time and they will be able to tell you what you can do, that fits your passion, your love, your interests.”
Q: What are some of your daily responsibilities at LCC?
A: “One thing I love about my job is that every day is different..I could be attending meetings with the Michigan State Economic Club or I could be discussing a Gretchen Whitmer initiative, called Reconnect, which aims to get 60% of the Michigan community some kind of certificate, bachelors, or associate’s degree.”
Q: What kind of relationship do MSU and LCC have with one another?
A: “We have conversations about things like transfers, how we can make it easier for LCC students to continue their education…We have all sorts of students from MSU, whether it be because it’s less expensive or for the smaller class sizes.”
Q. You are currently down on a business trip in Washington D.C. What is it exactly you are doing down there?
A. “I lobby for the college and will be attending a conference; this is a national conference so community colleges all across the world will be attending. We come to find out on a national level what’s happening, what are the legislators proposing, and what our agendas will be.”