John Hancock’s influence on the foundation of the United States extends far beyond his iconic signature at the bottom of the Declaration of Independence. Amidst the tumultuous atmosphere of revolution, it was Hancock’s moderate viewpoints that provided a stabilizing force for his fellow Founding Fathers.
The Hauenstein Center will host author and historian Brooke Barbier for a discussion on her book, “King Hancock: The Radical Influence of a Moderate Founding Father,” on March 14 at the DeVos Center on the Pew Grand Rapids Campus, starting at 6 p.m.
“The book talks about the American revolution and how John Hancock, one of the most popular men in the colony, navigated this time of social and political upheaval,” Barbier said. “How did this man of moderate and often shifting political views deal with the radical times?”
The radical times, Barbier writes, called for leaders with measured approaches to the rising fervor of revolution.
Hancock, already a prominent and respected politician in New England, provided a steady, guiding presence as the president of the Second Continental Congress. Barbier noted that Hancock played a crucial role in bridging divides between the northern and southern states, as well as between the Federalists and the Anti-Federalists.
“I hope that Thursday’s audience members will appreciate the messy and uncertain politics of the American Revolution because when we decline to see the outcome as inevitable, the story becomes more interesting,” Barbier said. “We see people thrust into a very uncertain time, needing to engage and make difficult choices that deeply impact their place in the community, their livelihoods and how they will be ruled.”
Barbier’s presentation marks another installment in the Hauenstein Center’s ongoing series on empowered citizenship . Throughout the 2023-2024 academic year, the Hauenstein Center is hosting authors, lecturers and scholars who will explore the responsibilities facing citizens on national and global scales.
For more information on the event, visit the Hauenstein Center webpage .
The Region 12 Michigan Science Olympiad is returning to Grand Valley for its 40th year, building on the vision of university leaders who in the 1980s saw an opportunity to strengthen science education while showing how invigorating science can be.
The competition on March 23 on the Allendale Campus will feature the hallmarks of Science Olympiad : events that allow middle school and high school students from Kent, Ottawa and Muskegon counties to showcase their STEM capabilities and demonstrate the teamwork and problem-solving skills necessary for success.
Students from 22 high school teams and 18 middle school teams will participate in the 23 events at each level (the same number of events as the number of chromosomes). New events Robot Tour Track, Optics and Air Trajectory will join classic flying and vehicle events and lab events such as Crime Busters, said Chelsea Ridge, tournament co-director.
Nine high school teams and seven middle school teams will quality for the state tournament. The competition will run from 8:30 a.m. to 2:50 p.m., with the awards ceremony beginning at 4:30 p.m. in the Kelly Family Sports Center.
“When I consider the number of lives that our regional tournament has touched in the 40 years of competition, I am overwhelmed and honored by the magnitude,” said Ridge, who is also co-director of the GVSU Regional Math and Science Center, which hosts the competition. “The stories of how Science Olympiad has impacted the lives of so many people inspire us to continue the work and speak to GVSU’s commitment to the community.”
For Doug Kindschi, the regional Science Olympiad competition is an enduring point of pride from when he helped lead its inception at Grand Valley as the dean of Science and Mathematics.
Its beginnings at Grand Valley came during a time of heightened outreach by GVSU faculty members to K-12 educators to collaborate on ways to strengthen education at all levels, Kindschi said. He said the late Howard Stein, professor emeritus of biology, had heard of Science Olympiad and suggested establishing a tournament at GVSU.
“I have always thought about working for an organization like a shelter, and this trip has provided a great opportunity to see what this work is like and it also reinforces my love for animals,” said Jae Gauthier.
Rather than spending their spring break relaxing, Gauthier and other Grand Valley students spent the first week of March in Batavia, Ohio, gaining career experience and caring for neglected animals at The League for Animal Welfare .
Gauthier is a wildlife biology major who hopes to pursue a job with the Department of Natural Resources or at an animal shelter.
The week in Ohio was part of the group’s involvement in Alternative Breaks (AB), a student organization that was established at Grand Valley in 1991. Like its parent organization, Break Away , AB strives to create a society of active citizens who make the community a priority in their values and life decisions.
Jae Gauthier, a wildlife biology major, said the Alternative Breaks trip reinforced her passion for working with animals.
AB sent six groups of students across the country for service projects such as aiding a homeless shelter at Our House in Little Rock, Arkansas, or protecting forests and clean water with Mountain True in Murphy, North Carolina.
Students who participate in these trips can complete over 40 hours of service. The trips were led by student site leaders like Lily Clark, president of AB and site leader for the Ohio trip.
“An additional goal of AB is to bring the knowledge and experience from these trips back to the GVSU campus so that we can benefit our local community with events and other activities to give back,” said Clark.
For Trinity Simon, a sophomore studying pre-veterinary medicine, spending a week at the The League for Animal Welfare offered opportunities for her to attend a vaccination clinic and work with animals outside of her job as an assistant at a West Michigan emergency animal hospital.
“Not only do I get a chance to travel at fairly inexpensive costs, but I also get to give back to a community and work with animals, which has been my passion for as long as I can remember,” Simon said. “My own house looks more like a zoo.”
The League for Animal Welfare is one of the oldest and largest no-kill animal shelters in Ohio. Carrie Leary, volunteer manager, said it serves the larger Cincinnati area. Staff there find homes for more than 1,500 cats and dogs each year.
Ethan Doyle walks one of the shelter dogs at The League for Animal Welfare, one of Ohio’s largest no-kill animal shelters. Staff there find homes for about 1,500 cats and dogs annually.
Every student on the trip worked directly with sheltered animals, providing them care through baths, feeding and playtime. They also got down and dirty to help benefit the shelter that hosted them by thoroughly cleaning every aspect of the facility at least once and helping prep food or clean llitter boxes.
Leary complimented the work by Grand Valley students. “They were a fantastic group, and I cannot say enough good things about them,” she said.
The students got to name a handful of kittens that were recently taken in by the shelter. They named the cats Laker, Anchor and Philly, after President Philomena V. Mantella.
“Alternative Breaks provide all of these experiences but with a greater impact,” said Clark. “You are living and working in a small group, often creating friendships and connections that help deepen your understanding of a particular issue and drive home the importance of making the community a priority in your life.”
Thomas Garrett is a student writer for University Communications. Garrett, a native of Stevensville, is a senior who is majoring in writing.
Stuttering in children has been perceived as something that would go away with time, or a problem that needed to be fixed. A Grand Valley faculty-student research team studied the use of books to improve the resilience of a child who stutters.
Student Maisley Kreger and Cara Singer, assistant professor of communication sciences and disorders, researched the use of bibliotherapy, which uses an individual’s relationship to the content in books, poetry, and other written words as therapy.
Singer said: “Reducing negative self-reactions and emotions is one avenue to reduce stuttering severity. That avoids putting demands on the child to talk in an unnatural way.”
Cara Singer, assistant professor of communication sciences and disorders, (left) and Maisley Kreger hold books used in a research study using bibliotherapy to improve the resilience of children who stutter.
Image credit – Thomas Garrett
Each book is a targeted selection made by Kreger to, she said, “help the child develop words and language to express themselves related to the way they speak and talk.”
Kreger added that one of the main goals of this research was to develop resilience in children, a protective factor that may mitigate the development of adverse impacts from stuttering.
The study was performed last summer and fall with children ages 5-8 years old. Each child and their caregivers completed a four-week intervention that included at least one book with a related activity per week and discussion topics, all parent-led. Singer worked directly with the child to evaluate their communication skills and feelings towards communication before the intervention. Kreger worked with the parents to explain how the books and activities were part of the process.
Resilience improved for all children in the pilot study, they said. “We are seeing that parents tend to think their children have more resilience and that the children tend to have lower perceptions of their resilience,” said Kreger.
Singer said their research will help doctors, caregivers and speech-language pathologists learn one way to support the child’s perception of their communication abilities. “The supporters can talk about stuttering neutrally and positively to develop foundations for how the child views their speech, rather than waiting for the third-grade bully to do it,” Singer said.
Kreger, a native of Gaylord, will graduate in April with a bachelor’s degree in speech-language pathology. She began working with Singer as a sophomore at the Stuttering in Pediatrics and Adults Lab (SPA Lab).
“I just always wanted to help people, that’s why I looked towards health care and even teaching. Speech-language pathology was this nice middle ground between those two worlds,” said Kreger, who plans to pursue a master’s degree in the subject.
Thomas Garrett is a student writer for University Communications. Garrett, a native of Stevensville, is a senior who is majoring in writing.
The spring issue of Grand Valley Magazine focuses on beginnings: the start of an academic program partnership, new journeys by campus members, Laker lore and an unusual beginning for the football team.
These stories are now presented on a new digital platform made possible through a collaboration between University Communications and University Marketing.
The platform allows for larger photos, more video content, easier social sharing and a way to present stories that are more engaging to readers, according to Jennifer Allard, associate vice president for University Marketing.
The debut of a new digital platform coincides with efforts to retarget the magazine toward the growing alumni and supporter communities.
“It’s really game-changing,” Allard said. ” This new immersive platform allows us to reach new audiences in an interactive way.”
Chris Knape, assistant vice president for University Communications, said enhancing the magazine’s digital presence coincides with efforts to retarget the magazine toward Grand Valley’s growing alumni and supporter communities while reducing printing and mailing costs.
“This platform will enable our teams to reimagine the ways we create and share our stories while saving money and reducing our environmental footprint,” Knape said. “This first step also opens the door to using these new digital tools in innovative ways that we’re looking forward to sharing in the year ahead.”
The spring issue’s cover art is by Anishinaabek artist Alan Compo. Compo’s “Ngushe Aki” highlights the cover story, “Two-Eyed Seeing,” about the partnership anthropology faculty members established with Indigenous peoples during a field school dig in Blendon Landing. The GVSU Art Gallery has purchased Compo’s work to add to its collection.
Grand Valley Magazine is printed twice a year. Copies will be available in the Student Services Building, Kirkhof Center and the University Communication
Allendale High School student Ryan Brandon sat down at a piano for his regular lesson at a Northeast Grand Rapids instrument and music store, his fingers gracefully dancing across the keys and instantly filling the room with beautiful sound.
That beautiful sound from the restored baby grand piano was made possible by some Grand Valley music students, including a talented piano technician, who helped Mei Lin Wooden, ’23, launch her career. A heartwarming video hints at the depth of the story behind the gift.
On this day in her studio, Wooden sat next to Brandon on the bench and encouraged him to focus on those dancing fingers. She talked about what the thumb should be doing, and the pinkie. And she explained how to position the wrist while breaking down what he was playing into parts.
Brandon, who plans to study piano performance in college, said Wooden has been particularly helpful in refining his technique.
Mei Lin Wooden works with high school student Ryan Brandon during a lesson.
“I was self taught for a long time,” Brandon said. “So going into these lessons, there were a lot of habits that needed to be deprogrammed.”
For Wooden, these lessons represent a career goal achieved after earning her Grand Valley degree. But the piano represents even more: a rebirth of musical passion, a tight-knit group of students, a deep appreciation for a mentor and a piano-gifting gesture paid forward.
Wooden was leader of the piano students in the fall semester, serving as a sounding board and someone who kept an eye on how the students were doing. This influence came during a time of rejuvenation for Wooden, who said she had experienced burnout that drained her love of music.
For the second time in three years, a Grand Valley student is a finalist for the Truman Scholarship.
Nancy Hoogwerf is among the 193 national finalists from 136 institutions for the prestigious 2024 Harry S. Truman Scholarship. More than 700 applicants applied for the approximately 60 scholarships awarded, but Hoogwerf said she hadn’t considered it until a mentor suggested it to her.
“It is absolutely crazy but so amazing at the same time,” said Hoogwerf, the fifth Laker in school history to be named a Truman Scholarship Finalist. “I honestly can’t even believe it. I didn’t even look to apply for the scholarship.
“One of my professors, Laura Schneider, actually recommended that I apply. If it wasn’t for her saying that, I don’t think I ever would have applied, and I don’t think I ever would have really understood my potential for this scholarship either.”
Hoogwerf, a junior studying political science, said it was Schneider’s PLS 102 class, “American Government and Politics,” that fostered her interest in politics and public service.
“If there was a class that could make or break my passion for political science in college, it could have been that class,” she said. “I had an amazing experience in the class, and it just put me on a great path.”
Hoogwerf’s fascination with politics began at an early age, she said. Growing up in a small town, Hoogwerf said the 2016 presidential election enthralled her as a middle school student.
“I just remember being so captivated by the way that people thought, and why they thought the way that they did,” she said. “It was just so interesting, and in 2016, it was the first time that a woman was in the general election to be president.
“Over the next four years, I had just grown to understand American government at its most basic form, but then also just really grew a passion for politics.”
Seeing Gretchen Whitmer win the 2018 Michigan gubernatorial election further inspired her, but it was serving as an intern on U.S. Rep. Hillary Scholten’s staff last fall that truly illuminated the political process to her. The long days in Washington, D.C., gave her a glimpse behind the scenes of the daily legislative process.
“It was the best semester of my life,” Hoogwerf said. “I don’t think I really fully comprehended how much went into everything. Just seeing how much truly happens behind the scenes. That was remarkable. I didn’t think it was that complex.”
Back on campus, she is as active as ever. This year, she was selected as a 2023-2024 fellow in the Peter C. Cook Leadership Academy, and she’s wrapping up her term as vice president for allocations on the Student Senate Cabinet. She plans on running for next year’s Senate too, this time as a General Senator.
“Nancy is a powerhouse,” said Brenda Tooley, associate director for the Center for Undergraduate Scholar Engagement, who worked with Hoogwerf to develop her application essays. “I have every expectation of eventually voting for her for governor of Michigan. It was a delight to work with her as she brainstormed and refined her essays for the Truman Scholarship.”
The next stage in the Truman process is a busy day in Chicago at the end of this week. Hoogwerf will join her fellow Truman Scholarship Finalists from Michigan, Indiana and Illinois for a day of interviews conducted by a Truman panel, which includes previous scholarship recipients.
“I really want to work on everything that I’m passionate about, which is anything from women’s issues to climate policy to social policy,” Hoogwerf said. “But I’d also like to focus on making politics accessible to everybody and making politics feel reachable.”
For more information about the Truman Foundation and its scholarship, visit truman.gov.
Valarie James, ’10, never anticipated opening her own business, but with the guidance of the West Michigan Small Business Development Center, she’s embracing the new opportunity before her.
James is one of thousands of clients helped by the Michigan Small Business Development Center and the West Michigan SBDC, both headquartered at the Seidman College of Business. The Michigan SBDC acts as the state headquarters for the 10 regional SBDCs across the state.
Wednesday, March 20, marks Small Business Development Center Day, a day to recognize the network of nearly 1,000 SBDCs around the country and its mission in offering no-cost consulting and planning to entrepreneurs.
“Working with the Small Business Development Center, I was able to learn how to create a marketing plan and learn how to do market research,” James said. “At first, it could sound very intimidating, but once you have the support of a mentor, you’re able to have those conversations. We walked through that process, and so now, it makes sense.”
Ed Garner, the West Michigan SBDC regional director, is elated whenever he hears of a client reaching their potential like James.
“We are really client-focused, so when we hear the success of people expanding their business, we really feel honored that we had a maybe some small part in that,” Garner said. “That’s what we work for.”
“We’re here to provide advice and technical assistance to not only new and starting entrepreneurs, but to people that are growing their businesses or people that may be exiting their businesses as well. We are there for the whole lifespan of the business entity.”
For James, her journey to becoming a small business owner began as a result of her fitness journey, she said.
“Fitness is important to me because it helps me along like my own personal journey just dealing with my own mental health needs,” she said.
James said she felt inspired and creative after teaching a Zumba class. But what really surprised her was hearing how her classes affected her students in the same manner.
“There’s just something about fitness and also being in a group setting, where it can lead to community,” James said. “It can lead to friendships and conversations, and it can lead to healing.”
But, it wasn’t until she attended a women’s conference with other health and wellness professionals, she said, that everything clicked for her, and she saw her future path.
“ I never saw myself as an entrepreneur, but it was at that moment, taking that trip by myself, when I felt inspired to turn this into a business,” James said.
In 2023, James was one of seven finalists selected for the Michigan SBDC Pitch Black competition. Organized to assist Black entrepreneurs and small business owners, the pitch competition gave contestants five minutes to sell their venture to a panel.
Ed Garner, regional director of the Michigan SBDC leads a tour for U.S. SBA Administrator Isabella C. Guzman and Congresswoman Hillary J. Scholten of the Seidman Center and the Michigan Small Business Development Center (SBDC) on August 3, 2023.
Image credit – Kendra Stanley-Mills
“We found throughout COVID that Black-owned businesses had been disproportionately financially impacted,” Garner said. “We at the SBDC felt we needed to respond to that to try to help these businesses survive.”
While James didn’t finish in the top three, she did earn the People’s Choice Award and its $500 prize. And, the Pitch Black concept has taken off, Garner said. Besides Muskegon and Grand Rapids, Garner said there will be a similar event in Detroit and hopefully in Saginaw or Flint.
“ I feel like the event did expand my network,” James said. “Still to this day, I get emails from people who remember me from the pitch competition.
“Then I’ve been able to follow up with my mentor through the SBDC, just so that I have that support. I don’t have to feel like I’m going through this alone, or if I feel like I’m stuck, or I want to pivot my business. I have someone I can connect with to make sure I’m making the right decision.”
Valarie James, ’10, owner of VSJ Fitness leads a class. West Michigan SBDC helped James with her marketing plan to develop her fitness brand.
Grand Valley has a new collection at University Archives in the Seidman House. Urban planner Mark Wyckoff donated master plans, zoning ordinances, maps and other documents that he collected throughout his life.
Annie Benefiel, archivist and digital collections librarian, said staff members digitized and preserved these artifacts for public use.
Mark Wyckoff is a lifelong urban planner who graduated from Michigan State University and frequently returns there as a visiting professor. He directed MSU’s Planning and Zoning Center for 24 years until it recently closed. After the center closed, Wyckoff donated most of the work to GVSU, according to Benefiel.
Mark Wyckoff donated master plans, zoning ordinances, maps and other documents to Grand Valley’s University Archives.
“The materials really document the history of land use across the state of Michigan in the 20th century,” said Benefiel, adding Jim Penn, professor of geography and sustainable planning, was instrumental in making a connection between GVSU and Wyckoff.
The archivists see the collection being of use for many areas of study. Benefiel said there is no other collection like this in Michigan.
“The Michigan portion was quite comprehensive,” said Benefiel. “There were only two counties in the whole state of Michigan that didn’t have any planning or zoning documentation in the collection.”
The collection was acquired in June 2022. Benefiel said it has only recently been processed due to its size — 65 linear feet of material. The collection covers subjects such as local government, zoning and city planning.
When Raul Gamez was a child working on a farm with his family in El Cedro, Jalisco, Mexico, he often found himself asking questions like: Why are things the way they are? What if things could be better?
Those questions, along with witnessing and experiencing injustices against migrant farm workers, sparked his lifelong advocacy work.
Gamez shared his experiences during Grand Valley’s César Chávez celebration on March 22. The event, hosted by the Office of Multicultural Affairs, was held to honor the life of Chávez.
Chávez was a Mexican American laborer and civil rights activist who advocated for farm workers and fought to improve their working conditions. César Chávez Day is celebrated annually on March 31, which also coincides with National Farmworker Awareness Week, held annually from March 25-31.
Thalia Guerra-Flores, assistant director for the Office of Multicultural Affairs, opened the celebration by sharing her own experience growing up with parents who had immigrated to the U.S. and were farmworkers.
The celebration continued with a performance by Monarcas, a student organization created last fall that performs traditional Mexican folkloric dances to showcase and appreciate Mexican culture.
The event’s keynote speaker, Raul Gamez, is currently a doctoral candidate in higher education at the Center for the Study of Higher and Postsecondary Education at the University of Michigan, and holds a master’s degree in higher education administration from the University of Michigan. Before starting graduate school, Gamez was the migrant youth director with Student Action with Farmworkers and coordinated the Adelante Education Coalition, a statewide coalition in North Carolina advocating for increased access to education.
Throughout his presentation, titled “Farmworkers Feed the World,” Gamez shared his own experience as an immigrant and farmworker as he educated attendees on the challenges faced by his family as they searched for better opportunities in the U.S., as well as modern-day challenges that migrant farmworkers face.
Keynote speaker Raul Gamez addresses the crowd at the César Chávez celebration.
His message invited attendees into education and advocacy, prompting individuals to ask the question: What needs to be done to turn awareness into advocacy?
To answer that question, Gamez reflected on the questions he asked as a child. “Even as a little kid, I would always think about these things: Why are things the way they are?” he said. “But when I started to be more engaged in advocacy, learning about César Chávez and all the people that came before us, I knew that things could be better.”
Gamez commended GVSU students for the work they have done and continue to do, noting how important it is for students to create space on college campuses for change to happen. “It’s important to highlight that, because sometimes we might feel so isolated, like it doesn’t matter what we do. But it does,” he reflected. “You don’t have to have the degree, you don’t need to be older for people to listen to you. It starts in college campuses.”
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