Have you ever wondered who the people you pass on campus or sit next to in classes really are? Grand Valley State University seniors Marvis Herring, Jessica Smith and Miranda Roberts did and their curiosity spurred the new GVTV show “Laker Life.”

Get to know just who the guy answering your phone calls at 20/20 really is, or those athletes you see on the field but don’t know much about other than that they play a sport.

“We really wanted students to know who they’re in class with,” Herring said. “There are a lot of students who are commuters that come to class and they sit down and then they leave and they didn’t know that the person next to them could’ve been their best friend.”

The show was initially supposed to be called “Getting to know your Lakers,” Herring said. The plan was to have a fast-paced talk show, going from one student to the next.

“The important thing is that we’re not looking for people who are trying to save the world, we’re just trying to get people to realize that there are unique things about everybody at Grand Valley,” Herring said. “It’s just getting to know the other side of people that you pass everyday almost.”

Herring and Smith came up with the idea for the show last semester and took it to GVTV’s pitch night, where students can suggest show ideas to be aired on the university’s television channel.

The two students came up with the concept of the show, how they wanted to shoot it, when they wanted to shoot, how many crew members they were going to need and how they were going to make the whole thing happen. Their talents mixed with Roberts was sure to produce something worth while, so the three broadcasting students went for it.

“Marvis and Jessica asked me to be a part of the show last semester and I loved the idea. Marvis is the host and his personality is awesome,” Roberts said. “Jessica does everything behind the scenes. She helps me shoot, arranges interviews for Marvis, gets a crew together. She puts a lot of work into it and she is amazing with the details.”

Roberts is the street beat reporter. Her job is to go out around campus and ask random people questions that relate to the person that Herring is interviewing.

“It’s fun because I stop people on their way to class and ask them questions and they answer but no one really asks what we are doing. I thought more people would, or would tell me no but they don’t,” Roberts said. “Everyone is very willing to talk and very polite.”

All three of the students are just trying to gain some experience that they can take with them after graduation, while enjoying themselves at the same time.

“The show is so different than what we all are used to in our broadcasting classes – it’s entertainment,” Roberts said. “We use the skills we’ve learned in class, but get to have more fun with it and throw a little personality in there. That’s the fun part.”
Each of the students brings a bit of their own character to the show. They are all striving to be great and do what they can to make a name for themselves to better prepare them for their future goals.

Herring, for instance, aspires to report news on a national level. He’s prepared to start off small with local news and anchoring but plans to do what he can to build his demo reel and make it in the broadcasting world.

“I like news surprisingly, as boring as it is,” Herring said. “It’s fun because it’s fast paced, I’m very sporadic, ADD and with the news one day you could be reporting a murder and the next day you could be reporting Beer Fest. It’s very different everyday and that’s one thing I like about my job right now, too.”

Right now they have six people working for the show consistently and plan on airing all of the episodes they have ready as soon as they set up a time slot on the channel.

“We are just doing this for fun. We are all friends, we share an interest in broadcasting, and we all want to get more experience doing what we love,” Roberts said. “It’s been a great experience.”
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