Become More Guide

Become
More
Grand Valley State University
2016-2017
GVSUStudentLife
®

Welcome to...
Student Life
Credits: This book was designed by Nick Ciliak (Class of 2016) and the content was written by Lena Chizek.
Student
Your time at Grand Valley will simultaneously be the
longest and shortest
Your time
time
at
of
Grand
your life.
Valley
How
will
will
simultaneously
you
be the
spend it? Student
longest
Life
and
wants
shortest
to help
time
you
of your
become
life. How will you
more than just
spend
another
it?
student.
Student Life
We
wants
have resources,
to help you become more
programs, services,
than just
and organizations
another student.
of every
We
kind
have resources,
that will help you
programs,
become
services,
who you
and
want
organizations
to be during
of every kind that
college.
will help you become who you want to be during college.
Who We Are Who We Are
We’re a diverse
We’re
group.
a diverse
We are
group.
professionals
We are
dedicated
professionals dedicated
to providing events
to providing
and programs
events
for
and
your
programs
benefit,
for
and
your benefit, and
we are your peers—the
we are your
students
peers—
experiencing
the students
those
experiencing those
benefits of being
benefits
involved.
of being involved.
Become More Become More
Your experience Your at Grand experience Valley at will Grand be what Valley you will make be what you make
of it. Student of Life it. is Student here to Life help is you here make to help it better you make it better
than you’ve ever than imagined. you’ve ever We imagined. value what’s We going value on what’s going on
outside of the outside classrooms—the of classrooms—the unique experiences, unique experiences,
involvements, involvements, and relationships and that relationships will shape that your will shape your
time, and you. time, and you.
Become More.
1
What do you want to do? What
kind of leader do you want to be?
This is your chance to start new.
Maybe you were part of a club,
theatre, sport, or honor society in high school. Or,
maybe you weren’t involved at all. Either way, this
is a new playing field, and the involvement you
had before can now explode in Student Life.
Life
find us in 1110 Kirkhof

2
Your Average
å College Week
The only thing you will be doing more in
college than sleeping is choosing what to
do with your free time.
Sleeping
34%
Why Get
In Class
Studying
9%
18%
The perfect amount of
time to spend getting
involved in Student Life!
Involved?
Most high school students are familiar with playing
sports, performing in theatre, band, or music, or
participating in honor societies. We want you to know
that all of this is available through Student Life, plus a
whole lot more. There are leadership groups, networking
opportunities, areas to develop professional skills,
organizations that focus on hobbies, and much more.
The only thing is that you have to take the first step
to get involved. There are plenty of reasons to do so.
Not only is getting involved in Student Life fun, but it
can help you build a resume, meet people and network
with new people, and help you acclimate to your new
home at Grand Valley.
Eating*
Free Time
Grooming*
Traveling*
3%
4%
6%
27%
Finding a good balance is the key to a
successful journey as a Laker. Make the
most of your free time and have a blast
doing something you love.
3
*According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics
BECOME MORE INVOLVED

Finding fun
on
Nervous about living on campus, joining a new
community, blending with a group of peers? It’s daunting
now, but the good news is that by the end of your
college experience, many of the people you are yet to
meet will be your friends for life and share some of
your most cherished memories.
The goal of campus programming is to fill up the
other 70% of time you’re not in class, and help you
meet others who share your interests, or at the very
least share your Laker Pride. Students can choose
from over 450 student led organizations, get involved
with leadership programs, or attend the variety of
campus events and performances put on by the Laker
Traditions Team or Spotlight.
PRESIDENTS’ BALL!
Leadership • Campus Life
Night • Family Weekend •
Homecoming • Founder’s
Day • Make a Difference
mpus
Day • Battle of the Valleys
• Sibs & Kids • President’s
Ball • Leadership Summit
• Intercultural Festival
Transitions • Campus Life
Night • Family Weekend •
Homecoming • Founder’s
Day • Make a Difference
Day • Battle of the Valleys
I've met some of my closest friends through the Laker Kickoff
Party and we've been attending every tradition since.
Overall, Laker Traditions Team has impacted my first year
here at GVSU in every positive way possible.
• Sibs & Kids • President’s
Ball • Leadership Summit
• Intercultural Festival
—Hailey Merritt, public and nonprofit
administration, sophomore
Traditions
Laker Kick-off: Held in conjunction with the first night of Transitions,
this huge street party is in the circle drive in front of the
Fieldhouse Arena. It’s a great way to meet fellow Lakers and enjoy
dancing or outdoor games.
Campus Life Night: This outdoor fair, held the Tuesday after
Labor Day, hosts student organizations, campus departments, area
businesses, and non-profits. Not only do you get to connect with a
variety of new people, but you have the chance to take home a lot of
free stuff.
Family Weekend: This is an opportunity to invite your parents,
siblings, and any other important family member back to campus.
Show them all your favorite spots on campus and enjoy a wide range of
family-oriented activities.
Homecoming: A time to really celebrate your Laker Pride. The
week is filled with themed activities, games, and competitions and
includes the annual Lip Sync battle. All of this is to get you ready for
the big Homecoming game on the weekend. Go Lakers!
Founders Day: This day is celebrated each year to honor the
individuals who came together with a vision to found Grand Valley. Grab
a cupcake at whichever campus you’re on, and possibly a selfie with
the president, T-Haas, who will be around campus to help celebrate.
Battle of the Valleys: We take Laker Pride seriously. All week
long participate in fundraising efforts for the Laker Children’s Fund,
and help us raise more money than our rival: Saginaw Valley. Then,
come out on the weekend to watch our football team do the same!
Sibs & Kids Weekend: Invite any special youngster—sibling,
cousin, niece, nephew, or family friend—to spend a weekend as a
Laker. The whole campus is dedicated to providing an assortment of
events and activities like photo booths, exotic animals, inflatables,
movies, and much more.
Presidents’ Ball: Get dressed up to the nines as you and your
friends enjoy an evening downtown for dinner and dancing. One of the
favorite traditions, each year has a new theme and a new reason to
celebrate in style!
Intercultural Festival: A tradition for over 50 years, this
festival recognizes that culture is not solely confined to ethnic traits.
We recognize and celebrate all the diversity Grand Valley has to offer in
the way of food, music, dance, displays, and more.
“These traditions build a sense of community and
provide activities for students on campus. Most
importantly, it helps students make connections
and make Grand Valley their home.”
—LeaAnn Tibbe, Associate Director of Student Life
Spotlight
Students are usually pretty strapped for cash, so Spotlight provides a solution to
the resulting entertainment shortage. Spotlight is a group of students who plan
events on campus that are as simple as movie nights to elaborate scenes like
concerts and bringing in comedians. Grand Valley has hosted such well known
names as Sheryl Crow, Adam Sandler and the The Black Eyed Peas in the past!
“To be in a leadership role on a team that positively
impacts both individuals and the campus community
has provided lessons and facilitated personal growth
that I will build upon for years to come. My advice to
incoming students? Get involved in student life!
It will transform your university experience.”
—Katie Mulcahy, supply chain management, junior
4 5
BECOME MORE ENGAGED

6 7
Learning Through
Service
For many of you, service has been a part of your high
school experience and you have learned the benefits of
giving back to your local communities. Grand Valley
understands the importance of volunteer opportunities
and encourages students to continue to be involved.
That’s what the idea of Civic Engagement means.
It’s the unique combination of social interaction and
benefitting others all while using your unique talents.
It introduces you to alternate perspectives, including a
social justice perspective. Not only will it prepare you
for a career, but it will also acquaint you with other
kinds of responsibilities as well.
These experiences are the
roots of preparing students
to be active, informed and
engaged public citizens.
—Melissa Baker-Boosamra, Associate
Director of Student Life, Civic
Engagement and Assessment
There are endless ways to engage locally at Grand
Valley, and the university provides countless ways to
interact with the surrounding community. Find
information and opportunities on everything from
volunteering and fundraising, to voting, working on a
board or getting involved in service learning. These are
the kinds of skills and experiences that give you a leg
up on your competition for that dream job. To start
making a difference, visit gvsu.edu/service.
CSLC
Community Service
Learning Center
The Community Service Learning Center (CSLC)
The Community Service Learning Center is an invaluable starting
point for making connections and finding opportunities to volunteer.
Consultants and interns will gladly pair you with organizations they
work with, locally and abroad, so that you find a way to help with
what interests you.
“It’s great experience for students shifting
from school to the real world. Students
should start finding out in college
what they’re passionate about, whether
that be politics or volunteering, or
groups of people like refugees, and they
can continue building their community
after they graduate.”
—Danielle Tanner
Events New and Old
The CSLC sponsors a few major events every year, but the fall
semester is a big time for involvement. First, the national Make a
Difference Day will be held on Saturday, October 22 this year. The
event begins on the Allendale Campus, at the Russel H. Kirkhof
Center. Volunteers will be bussed to various organizations in the
greater Grand Rapids area for a day of volunteering. This is a great
event to start getting involved and to feel good about making a
difference in the community.
The CSLC also puts on monthly blood drives and campus-wide
days of service. New this fall is the Student Civic Assembly, held
the week of Sept 26. Each night from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. discussions
will be held on how to be an engaged citizen on campus, how to
have civil discourse and how the First Amendment applies to being
on campus. The week will conclude on Friday with an opportunity to
get registered to vote and a “Rock the Vote” concert.
BECOME MORE SUPPORTIVE

Road to
INVOLVEMENT
Go to gvsu.edu/orgsync
to explore all of the
student organizations
at Grand Valley!
As you’ve probably read earlier in this magazine,
Grand Valley has a diverse campus with over 450
student organizations. This includes cultural groups,
fraternities and sororities, interfaith organizations and
a whole host of other types of groups like honor
societies, performing arts, sports, and service and
advocacy. If there’s something you want to be
involved in while in college, Grand Valley has an
opportunity for you!
To make it easy for students to find information
on the things they want to be involved in, GV has a
feature called OrgSync. This is the online database
for GV’s undergraduate and graduate student organizations.
Similar to “groups” on Facebook, student
organizations can create informational pages, recruit
new students, plan events, submit funding requests,
and monitor members.
After you set up an OrgSync account, you gain
access to involvement in Student Life. The search
function in OrgSync helps you find anything you are
looking for. To find events, just click on the “events”
tab and go to a monthly calendar of all of the student
organization events. Or, when you are in a student
organization’s page, you can click on events to view
the individual organization’s upcoming events. In all,
you can browse groups and events and ask questions
from your own personal profile when you go to
gvsu.edu/orgsync.
8
OrgSync is a great starting point for getting involved on
campus. You can join a student organization that interests
you, create a new organization, or just attend any of the
awesome programming that our heavily involved student
organizations put on every single day of the week.
—Eric Stevens, Student Organization
Development Coordinator
9
BECOME MORE CONNECTED

FRATERNITY
AND SORORITY
The mission of Greek Life is to promote
character and leadership development,
academic achievement, diverse community
involvement, and lifelong bonds through
principles encompassed in our rituals.
What is Greek Life?
Greek Life is a social and professional atmosphere
where a large group of people are committed to
relationships and helping each other achieve their
personal and professional dreams. Grand Valley boasts
32 national and international fraternities and sororities
represented on its campuses. Getting involved in
one could be your ticket to knowing a huge chunk of
your fellow Lakers because 8% of GVSU students are
part of Greek Life.
Greek Life at GVSU keeps their core values at the
center of their interactions within membership, Laker
society, and the greater Grand Rapids community.
They work hard to promote:
• Academic Success
• Service to Community
• Brother and Sisterhood
• Healthy Lifestyles and Choices
• Free Exchange of Beliefs and Ideas
• Accountability and Respect
• Leadership
• Lifelong Membership
If you’re interested in becoming a part
of Greek Life, or in getting more information,
you can visit gvsu.edu/greeklife
and fill out the interest form there.
10
DID YOU
KNOW?
Academic Success
LIFE
Service to Community
Brother and Sisterhood
Healthy Lifestyles and Choice
Free Exchange of Beliefs & Id
Accountability and Respect
8% of students
are part of Greek
Life at GVSU!
Leadership
Lifelong Membership
Accountability in Greek Life
“While there have been many negative stories across
the nation about Greek Life, we are very fortunate to
have a community that prides itself on living by our
stated values … The majority of our members never
imagined “Going Greek”, but ultimately they found a
home in our organizations.”
—Santiago Gayton, Fraternity and Sorority Life Coordinator
and 13 year member of Sigma Lambda Beta
“It can be stressful at times juggling a social, academic,
and sorority life, but it really is worthwhile in the
end. I am establishing not only my career, but my
identity and presence in every project I do at both
Grand Valley and within my future.”
—Meghan McBrady, member of Alpha Sigma Tau,
journalism major
11
BECOME MORE COMMITTED

If you don’t have the time and you can’t
participate in varsity athletics at the
college level, then club sports may be the
place for you!
“Club sports are a way for new
students to continue to play a
sport or try a new sport with
people who are like them,
immediately giving them a
group of friends to belong to.”
—Mitch Eastlick, Competitive
Sports Coordinator
12
Club sports allow students to get together
regularly and play a sport they love without
the super demanding schedule that can
interfere with academics at the college
level. However, students still get to travel
and play competitively.
CLUB
SPORTS
Leadership Opportunities in Club Sports
Club sports are typically managed and run by the participants
themselves, including coach selection, travel,
fundraising, scheduling, practices, and participant
development. These clubs bridge the gap between
intramural and intercollegiate athletics. Although some
clubs remain completely recreational, most are highly
competitive, like the Bass Angling (fishing) team at
GVSU. Last year they were ranked number one in the
nation out of thousands of teams!
Philanthropy and Club Sports
In addition, each individual club team is required to participate
in at least one volunteer service or philanthropic event
each year, so if you’re looking to also have opportunities to
help people, it’s all rolled into one!
“Without club sports I don't really
know if I would be able to balance
out my life so well. Work and no
play makes Rod a dull boy haha...It's
really helped improve how
I interact with people and really
just overall made my life here at
Grand Valley that much more
enjoyable through the activities and
great fun we have with everyone.”
—Rodney Avutia, boxer and senior
with double major in business MIS and
supply chain management
Ultimate Frisbee
Rugby
Dance
Baseball • Bass Anglers •
Bowling The commitment • Cricket isn't • Cyclin
Dance as high • Dodgeball as a varsity • Eques
sport but it's still just
an •
as
Golf
competitive!
• Gymnastics •
Indoor Box Lacrosse • Ice
—Leah Fast, Rugby player and
Hockey • junior, Lacrosse major in biology • Pomp
Quidditch
• Roller Hockey
Rugby • Running • Rowin
Sailing • Shooting • Ski an
Snowboard • Soccer • Softb
• Strength • Swim • Synch
nized Skating • Tennis • T
athlon • Ultimate Frisbee •
Volleyball
• Water Polo • W
Ski & Wakeboard • Wrestli
For more information on how to get involved or to read more testimonies, visit gvsuclubsports.com.
13
BECOME MORE ACTIVE

Leadership
Student
The Official Student Government
Be a Part of What Makes Grand Valley Grand
12
Grand Valley believes that every student has their own
unique potential and skill set that can be honed and
used in amazing ways for the campus community and
any future localities after graduation! Many opportunities
are available for you to learn more about your
talents and how to best use them to help others. Below
is a list of the beginning leadership courses available to
take as soon as the beginning of your first semester.
First Year Leadership Experience
FYLE is a 6-week program for incoming students to help
newer leaders start gaining leadership skills, experiences,
and to develop your own personal leadership philosophy.
It also explains the stages of leadership training
available at GVSU and focuses more on personal values.
It’s offered every fall and winter semester.
Intermediate Leaders Institue (ILI)
ILI is a short, one day program that builds leadership
skills for group collaboration by helping leaders develop
communication skills, team dynamics, networking skills
and inclusivity. It can also be a great place to start
creating your own network! It’s offered every fall semester.
Community Leader Seminar (CLS)
CLS is a two week program focused on building social
and community values. Leaders who take this course
will learn how to become more civically engaged at
Grand Valley and in the community they will enter after
graduation. This program is offered every winter semester.
“Our student leaders stand out
from the rest and are what makes
our campus life so dynamic and
their contributions are important
to making campus what it is!”
—Valerie Guzman, Associate
Director of Student Life
Students should look for ways to take on leadership
roles to help build a strong resume when they graduate,
some positions include: student organization executive
board positions, Greek Life, Transitions Leader, Laker
Traditions Team, Student Senate, and internships.
StrengthsQuest® Series
StrengthsQuest® (Gallup Organization), is a personal
development tool that aims to help student leaders find
and understand how to use their natural talents. You
will learn specifics about your own gifts and how to put
them into practice in your current life and future
careers. This comprehensive, three-part series is
offered twice a semester.
For more opportunities, or to learn about all the ways
student leaders are recognized and rewarded, visit
gvsu.edu/leadership.
Student Senate is a governing body of fifty students,
with ten seats reserved specifically for first year
students. Senate meets every Thursday for General
Assembly meetings, which are open to all students.
There are a variety of committees that students can
serve on ranging from Educational Affairs to Public
Relations to Campus Activities, trying hard to cater to
each and every interest of the student senators! In
addition to serving on a committee and collaborating
internally, a lot of programming on campus is provided
with a variety of other student organizations, such
as the Laker Traditions Team. This unified body really
exemplifies the meaning of a Laker family, each
member is supported and encouraged to be the best
versions of themselves and to help create a strong
Laker community.
“Joining Student Senate was one of
the most amazing decisions I could
have made because I get to dedicate
my time, energy, and efforts towards
giving a voice to over 25,000
students in the hopes of making
GVSU the best Laker community it
can possibly be.”
—Malayna Hasmanis, special
education major, senior
Senate
15
BECOME MORE RESPECTED

Now it’s your turn. Get involved
with Student Life today!
gvsu.edu/studentlife
1110 Kirkhof Center
More.
16
Become
17

Generous
Excellent
Versatile
Active
Responsible
Professional
Dedicated
CIVIC
ENGAGEMENT
EVENT
SERVICES
FRATERNITIES
& SORORITIES
Skilled
Responsive
BECOME MORE...
Creative
Involved
LEADERSHIP
DEVELOPMENT
PROMOTIONS
Charitable
Understanding
Connected
Well-rounded
Diverse
Compassionate
Engaged
STUDENT
ORGANIZATIONS
TRADITIONS
2020 INFO