Grand Valley State University was recently awarded a $375,000 grant to fund an initiative called “Fostering Laker Success,” a program designed to support students who have been in foster care. The majority of this funding will go toward hiring an independent life skills coach to work with students. In its entirety, the program is designed to provide holistic services to students, both helping them with their enrollment needs and working to ensure their on-campus success. 

In a sea of more than 25,000 students, it is often easy for individuals, particularly students from difficult or complicated backgrounds, to feel neglected. This grant, though, which was authored by two GVSU staff members, is a concrete example of the university’s commitment to actively work toward creating a prosperous and inclusive campus life for all students. With such a large and diverse student population, it is important for GVSU to have services that provide students of all backgrounds with the support they need to succeed.

The Lanthorn commends GVSU for taking this, and other, concrete steps toward fulfilling its mission to promote a diverse, inclusive, welcoming campus. Doing well in college can be difficult for any student, but perhaps even more so for students from more challenging backgrounds. With this grant, GVSU is clearly striving to live up to its commitment to put students first.

This grant is just one of many ways that GVSU caters to the needs of its student body. There are a number of other campus organizations and services dedicated to meeting specific student needs, including the following:

Replenish student food pantry

The student food pantry, Replenish, was established in 2009 at GVSU and is located in the Kirkhof Center, Room 0074. The goal of the pantry is to assist students whose financial situations may compromise their access to a proper amount of nutritional food. Pantry employees encourage healthy food donations, like whole grains, fruits and vegetables. More information can be found at www.gvsu.edu/replenish.

Addiction support groups 

GVSU has a number of support groups on campus, including Alcoholics Anonymous, Narcotics Anonymous and Adult Children of Alcoholics, to name a few. The University Counseling Center offers both individual and group counseling sessions. For more information, visit www.gvsu.edu/counsel.

Disability Support Resources

The mission of Disability Support Resources (DSR) is to provide students, faculty and staff with the resources they need to be successful at GVSU. Not only does the DSR provide support services to those who need it, but it also strives to educate the community about issues related to disability. For more information, visit www.gvsu.edu/dsr/.

TRiO Student Support Services

This is a comprehensive support program for first-generation and limited-income college students. Students who participate in this program are assigned an adviser and have the opportunity to meet with peer mentors. The goal of this service is to offer all forms of support to students to ensure they have a successful experience at GVSU. Visit www.gvsu.edu/sss/ for more information on the program.

Thanks to GVSU’s abundant resources, students have a plethora of options to find the help they need, whatever their situation.