Saginaw Valley State University

A group of Saginaw Valley State University students will fuel their passion for leadership and service through their participation in the Roberts Fellowship program. (First Name) (Last Name) of (Hometown), a (Major) major, is one of the 12 students chosen for this prestigious program.

Over the next few days, 100 enthusiastic students will begin orientation training in their roles as NEST Ambassadors. These individuals will assist with keeping the community healthy and safe, serving in one of three specialty areas: Student Experience, Information Technology, and Health and Wellness.

Ten students were selected as part of the Roberts Fellowship Program, a student leadership development initiative founded at Saginaw Valley State University 20 years ago.

About 1,000 people donated funds to Saginaw Valley State University's Relay For Life initiative, with $27,000 in proceeds now set to benefit cancer research.

Ten Saginaw Valley State University students are engaged in a year-long leadership development initiative following their selection for the highly competitive Roberts Fellowship. The program annually challenges SVSU students in both academic course work and extracurricular activities designed to enhance their potential as future political, economic and civic leaders. The program culminates in a trip to Asia to provide the Fellows with an international perspective on leadership. The class recently selected for the program will travel to Asia in May 2019.

Nine Saginaw Valley State University student members of the Residence Housing Association and National Residence Hall Honorary recently attended the National Association of College and University Residence Halls (NACURH) annual conference at Arizona State University May 25-27. Throughout the conference, students participated in workshops to further develop their leadership skills and to learn more about different programming opportunities to bring back to the residence halls. The conference marked the end of Ashley Murdock's term as the coordinating officer for development and education for the Great Lakes Affiliate of College and University Residence Halls (GLACURH) Regional Board of Directors. GLACURH is an organization for student leaders in college campus housing operation and includes students from Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Ontario and Wisconsin. Murdock, an SVSU communication major from Oxford, was the first SVSU student to ever hold that position. The Residence Housing Association is an organization that improves the on-campus community for residential students through planning various activities and programs. The National Residence Hall Honorary is a student group that is dedicated to recognizing leadership and success in both student groups and individually. For more information on the National Association of College and University Residence Halls, visit www.nacurh.org/.

Saginaw Valley State University is stepping up its efforts in sexual assault prevention with help from a $25,044 grant from the State of Michigan. The funds will support SVSU's Bringing in the Bystander program, which is based on an initiative created by the University of New Hampshire. SVSU has participated in the program since 2015. The recently-awarded $25,044 grant from the State of Michigan Campus Sexual Assault Grant Program funded training for more students through the Bringing in the Bystander initiative. The program's impact will reach beyond SVSU's campus, said Michele Gunkelman, SVSU's director of Residential Life and one of the program's campus coordinators. "It's not just here at SVSU where we have an impact," she said. "Our campus is the main focus, but we also have a responsibility to our students to give them skills to take into the workforce and the community." Using the funds, 30 students and staff were trained during an 8-hour workshop. These trained facilitators in return plan to train other program participants. Campus leaders say at least 1,000 students will receive the training by December 2018. The grant also will be used to launch a "Know Your Power" poster campaign - also designed by the University of New Hampshire - and a video contest for SVSU students. Videos submitted will demonstrate good pro-social bystander behavior to reduce sexual assault and stalking. The project at SVSU is led by Gunkelman and Cortney Heileman, SVSU's assistant director of Student Wellness Programs. For more information on the Bringing in the Bystander campaign at SVSU, visit www.svsu.edu/titleix/trainingeducation.

A Saginaw Valley State University student recognized for his leadership and passion for bettering SVSU students' life on campus has added another national award to his resume. Pedro Marin, a marketing major from Grand Blanc, earned the Student of the Year award from the National Association of College and University Residence Halls (NACURH) during its annual conference May 25-28 at Arizona State University in Tempe. NACURH is an organization for student leaders in college campus housing operations.

Jessica Schafer-Thomas started tossing T-shirts. That action sparked an interest in sports marketing that has landed the recent Saginaw Valley State University graduate one of the most coveted internships in the industry.

Saginaw Valley State University senior Women's Tennis student-athlete Danielle Slonac has been honored as a YWCA Emerging Leader Honoree for the Great Lakes Bay Region. Slonac was honored as part of the Award Ceremony on Wednesday, March 21 at the Horizons Conference Center in Saginaw.

Fifteen seniors in the Medical Laboratory Science Program at Saginaw Valley State University attended the Coagulation Symposium on Thursday, Oct. 12 in Plymouth, Mich. The event featured several different speakers who delved into topics relating to "Value-Based Hemostasis Education for the Clinical Laboratory."

Saginaw Valley State University students elected Mikaela Ashton, a senior management major from Grayling; and Mitchell Kennedy, a senior accounting major from Bad Axe, as the university's 2017 Homecoming queen and king. Ashton and Kennedy were crowned Saturday, Oct. 14 during the halftime festivities at SVSU's football game against Ferris State University.

Saginaw Valley State University's forensics team competed well with strong team and individual performances at the Michigan Intercollegiate Speech League tournament Saturday, Dec. 3.

Saginaw Valley State University student Rebecca "Becks" Meredith has been selected by the YWCA Great Lakes Bay Region to receive an Emerging Leader award for her enthusiastic service on campus and in the community.

Saginaw Valley State University student tutors demonstrated dedication to support aspiring writers during a creative writing workshop for 12 students for students from Bad Axe and Merrill high schools recently.

Saginaw Valley State University students attended the Great Lakes Affiliate of College and University Residence Halls (GLACURH) Conference, which took place Nov. 18-20. The event was held at the Hilton Hotel in Milwaukee and the theme was "Lights, Camera, Leadership!"

A Saginaw Valley State University student with a passion for public speaking recently continued an impressive streak in earning honors for his ability. Erik Breidinger was named winner of SVSU's 27th Annual Sims Public Speaking Competition in November. The victory earned him $400. The title of his presentation was "Feeling Lucky? The Descent into Google-ocracy."

The 2016 Homecoming Court included D'Onna Cameron, Haley Gouine, Laura Gray, Rebecca "Becks" Meredith and Melissa Whitford, as well as Sean Gilmore, Michael Hensley, Shane R. McClure, Timothy Nelson and Jason Pelletier.

Saginaw Valley State University was represented by 14 members of its Sigma Pi fraternity chapter in the NIRSA: Leaders in Collegiate Recreation National Flag Football Championships in Pensacola, Florida, Jan. 2-4. The team, Theta-Beta, was selected to receive the Sportsmanship Award for the men's collegiate league.

A group of Saginaw Valley State University student residential hall leaders recently attended a national conference in Fargo, North Dakota-- and helped clean up a neighborhood while there. The 10 SVSU students attended the National Association of College and University Residence Hall Annual Conference at North Dakota State University from Friday to Sunday, May 22-24.

The year-long leadership development initiative enlists students annually in both academic course work and extracurricular activities designed to enhance their potential as future political, economic and civic leaders.

Keshara Mumford arrived at Saginaw Valley State University with a generous nature. Her course work and her relationships with faculty and staff helped her develop that attribute toward a career path. After graduating from Chandler Park Academy (an SVSU charter school in Harper Woods) in 2011, Mumford began college as a criminal justice major, but the Detroit native found her true calling was helping others, so she switched her major to social work.

VanFleteren will lead Saginaw Valley State University's week-long fundraising efforts, which kick off Sunday, Nov. 9. It culminates with the rival football programs' 1 p.m. game on Saturday, Nov. 15, at SVSU's Harvey Randall Wickes Stadium.

During a statewide conference, eight tutors from SVSU's Center for Academic Achievement discussed their success in working with student-athletes to improve their academic performance.

Members of Saginaw Valley State University's chapter of Phi Delta Epsilon raised $6,103 for Hurley Medical Center's Children's Miracle Network, which supports improving medical facilities and healthcare for ailing youths.

At least one team of Saginaw Valley State University students has qualified for a national moot court tournament in Phoenix next year.

The team won an Outstanding BACCHUS Affiliate award Nov. 16 at the BACCHUS General Assembly Conference in Reston.

Eleven students joined this year's homecoming court, determined by a vote of SVSU students.

Saginaw Valley State University student Andrea Winne, a nursing major from Cottrellville, presented at the 24th International Nursing Research Congress Thursday, July 25 in Prague, Czech Republic. The conference was sponsored by Sigma Theta Tau International Honor Society of Nursing.

Saginaw Valley State University student Emily VanFleteren, a secondary education major from Troy, was selected Student of the Year by the Michigan Organization of Residence Halls Association. She received her award Sunday, Feb. 24 at Central Michigan University.