Oakland Community College (OCC) student Lisa Bica Grodsky is working to bring her passion for helping others into reality. After returning to college in her mid-50s, Bica Grodsky is now one step closer to her dream, thanks to a $7,000 award from the University of Michigan’s optiMize Social Innovation Challenge in April. The funds will help support the launch of a project she developed to support kinship caregivers.
Currently in her second year of study toward an associate degree in mental health and social work, Bica Grodsky balances a full-time job with classes. She is also married and the mother of two children.
“I started college straight out of high school, but I didn’t have a focus, so I never completed a degree,” said Bica Grodsky. “(Over the years) I bounced through a series of jobs, and have been working for the Oakland Livingston Human Service Agency (OLHSA) for the last 20 years, which connects residents with resources to improve the quality of their lives.”
Recognized as a leader by her OCC peers and instructors, Bica Grodsky was elected Vice President of Scholarship of the College’s Phi Theta Kappa (PTK) chapter. PTK is the oldest, largest and most prestigious international honor society recognizing students pursuing two-year degrees.
High achievers encourage fellow students to reach higher
The connection to the Social Innovation Challenge came through OCC Dean of Student Engagement-Student Services, Stacey Crews, who learned about the competition from OCC alumna and former PTK officer Elena Wong. Wong currently serves as an admissions professional at the University of Michigan (UofM). The challenge invites students at UofM and community colleges across Michigan to answer: If you could change anything, what would you change?
“Like Elena, Lisa is a high achiever, as are many of our student leaders,” explained Crews. “They truly embody PTK honor society’s four membership characteristics: leadership, scholarship, fellowship and service. Lisa is a great source of encouragement for other students, especially as a non-traditional student with years of professional experience in her field. She didn’t need much guidance or advice from me on this challenge and took the ball and ran with what she wanted to change.”
Membership in PTK requires students to complete projects that will benefit others. Bica Grodsky focused on a project at OLHSA where she and some colleagues invested a lot of time working exclusively with kinship caregivers—relatives who become guardians of their minor grandchildren, or children of other relatives, due to adversities as substance abuse or mental health challenges.
Despite programs for caregivers of individuals with Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s and foster parents, kinship caregivers often lack similar support. According to Bica Grodsky, these caregivers work tirelessly but rarely get a break.
“I work with this kinship caregiver population every day at work. Their need for a break and some time off has not been met,“ she said. “Kinship care is in its own bucket, and there is nothing for them. If this population of selfless caregivers burn out, more children end up in the foster care system.”
Her project is about giving these caregivers the respite they deserve and the support to continue.
Social impact project begins
Encouraged by OCC alumni Wong, Bica Grodsky and her fellow PTK officers participated in UofM’s annual optiMize Social Innovation Challenge – a 13-week student incubator to develop self-directed social impact projects. optiMize offers skill-building workshops on the University’s Ann Arbor campus, mentors and feedback to help teams with their projects. After teams develop their ideas, they can pitch their projects to optiMize for a chance to receive up to $10,000 to help with project development.
Bica Grodsky wanted to further develop her kinship caregiver project with OLHSA. Because she worked full-time and attended classes part-time, she attended most of her team’s meetings via Zoom calls. After months of hard work and sacrifice, she pitched her Kinship Care Respite/Staycation project to the challenge organizers. She was awarded $7,000 at the optiMize Spring Showcase to help bring her OLHSA program to life.
According to Bica Grodsky, she and her team are starting “small.” The program’s first initiative will provide a one-day, all-expenses-paid boat ride on Lake St. Clair for 130 caregivers on July 21. The event includes a fine-dining meal through Infinity and Ovation Yacht Charters, and supervised activities for the children, allowing caregivers much-needed rest and relaxation.
“We’re grateful for the many volunteers who will help make this happen for our kinship caregivers and the children they love,” said Bica Grodsky. “Our volunteers will entertain and feed the children during the cruise so their caregivers can decompress with their children safe and close by.”
Bica Grodsky credits OCC for nurturing her leadership skills and emphasizes the essential support from her family, saying she couldn’t have done it without the support of my husband and children.
“I’m happy my family was able to attend the award ceremony. They finally got to see where I was on those long Zoom calls!”
About OCC
Celebrating 60 years, Oakland Community College (OCC) has educated over one million students since 1965. OCC offers more than 80 degree and certificate programs and is committed to student success with affordable tuition, support services, flexible class options and top transfer opportunities. The College serves more than 20,000 students annually while advancing our community through education, training and career support. OCC is nationally recognized as Michigan’s top online college, and seventh in the U.S., by Newsweek’s America’s Top Online Colleges 2025. Learn more at oaklandcc.edu.
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