Saginaw Valley State University

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.

Since Saginaw Valley State University's moot court program was established in 2010, SVSU never has failed to qualify competitors for the nation's most elite tournament. Thanks to countless hours of preparation preparing for and rehearsing oral arguments, SVSU students have earned another impressive showing, and that streak will continue for a ninth consecutive year in 2019. SVSU students Lindsey Mead and Justin Weller will advance as a team to the American Moot Court Association national tournament Jan. 12-13 at Florida A&M College of Law in Orlando. Mead will make her second consecutive appearance in the annual contest, which features 120 of the nation's best undergraduate moot court competitors. Acting as teams of two attorneys, students competing in moot court tournament are tasked with arguing two hypothetical legal cases based on real-life courtroom battles. The competition is judged based on the clarity of the students' argument, their public speaking skills, their ability to answer questions, and how well they know the law and the case. The SVSU moot court program has excelled in those categories since their inception. Julie Keil, SVSU associate professor of political science, has served as the team's adviser for all nine years; today she is joined by Amy Hendrickson, SVSU associate professor of law. SVSU students have competed well over the years, and SVSU consistently has been ranked among the nation's elite programs. Its current ranking by the American Moot Court Association at No. 19 is its highest yet, ahead of larger institutions such as Texas A&M University (ranked no. 21) and University of Louisville (No. 23). Last year, SVSU ranked No. 24 out of the more than 425 higher education institutions that fielded teams for the American Moot Court Association. Mead, an English major from Saginaw, and Weller, a political science major from Bay City, earned their invitation to the 2019 national tournament based on the strength of their performance at a regional American Moot Court Association tournament hosted by SVSU in November. The pair advanced to the semifinal round, finishing third in a competition featuring 46 teams from 11 colleges and universities. Three other SVSU teams finished among the top 16 teams at the SVSU-hosted tournament. Those teams featured the duos of Justine Brabaw, a political science major from Breckenridge, and Erik Byron, a political science major from Birch Run; Joshua Cianek, a political science major from Auburn, and Lauren Legner, a psychology major from Bay City; and Ted Meckley, a political science major from Saginaw, and Porche Spiller, a sociology major from Saginaw.

After two brain surgeries and one spinal surgery, 20-month-old Joey Stagray has yet to take his first steps. Diagnosed with spinal bifida, he often watches while his 4-year-old sister runs, jumps and plays across their Sterling farm. But family members say Joey now can keep pace with his active sibling thanks to the support of Saginaw Valley State University students determined to help him move despite his physical limitations. Joey and another child with physical disabilities - 4-year-old Finn Edmonds, of Bay City - recently took home ride-on toy vehicles modified for their specific physical needs by SVSU computer science, electrical engineering and mechanical engineering students. The mini-vehicles were given to the families during a gathering Friday, Oct. 12, at SVSU's Pioneer Hall.

Saginaw Valley State University students elected their 2018 Homecoming queen, king and court recently. Kayla Flintoft and Tyler Boylen were elected as the 2018 Homecoming queen and king, respectively, Saturday, Oct. 13 during a halftime ceremony at SVSU's home football game against Northern Michigan University.

Saginaw Valley State University's Wind Ensemble will be performing its first concert of the 2018-19 season Thursday, Oct. 4 at 7:30 p.m. in the Rhea Miller Recital Hall. The performance is free and open to the public. The ensemble is directed by Norman Wika, SVSU assistant professor of music. Wika also directs SVSU's Cardinal Marching Band. He performs with the Tulsa Symphony and the Saginaw Bay Symphony Orchestra. Thursday's concert features clarinetist Gary June, an adjunct faculty member at SVSU. The program will feature music with a Halloween theme from contemporary composers Scott McAllister and Thomas Miller. Musical pieces include "Off to Transylvania," "Dawn and the Vampire" and "The Death March and the Book." For more information on SVSU's music program, call (989) 964-4159 or visit www.svsu.edu/music/.

Saginaw Valley State University hosted the Summer Engineering Symposium Friday, Aug. 17, when students presented projects they worked on with collaboration from engineering industry partners. In total, 37 students - all mechanical engineering majors - presented their projects for six different companies: Duro-Last, Huhtamaki, Kremin, Millet, Motiv and Nexteer Automotive. All SVSU mechanical engineering majors are required to collaborate with outside clients or university organizations as part of their senior projects. The eight teams of students' projects include a wheelchair basketball shooter, a bowling automated ball quality control check, a plastics cup stack dispenser, an auto electric home gym and a roofing automated pull tester. For more information on SVSU's College of Science, Engineering and Technology, please visit www.svsu.edu/collegeofscienceengineeringtechnology/.

In its attempt to douse a fire, "Card-Bot 1.0" is blazing a trail for a new STEM-oriented student organization at Saginaw Valley State University.

More than 1,800 students from Saginaw Valley State University earned a spot on the winter 2018 semester Deans' List.

There were more than 500 students from Saginaw Valley State University whose determination and commitment to academic excellence earned them a spot on the winter 2018 semester President's List.

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/.

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.

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.

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.

The work of Saginaw Valley State University students were featured recently as part of SVSU's annual Science and Engineering Symposium.

Six Saginaw Valley State University students showcased their determined spirit by besting a number of their mechanical engineering peers - many from larger higher education institutions - during a national competition recently. During the American Society of Mechanical Engineers' (ASME) annual Student Design Competition, SVSU placed 22 out of 50. Penn State University hosted the contest April 13-15. This year's competition involved "robot soccer," which tasked teams with building robots designed to play the role of soccer players. SVSU's team created two robots - one designed for offense and the other for defense. Despite Bluetooth-related interference, the team landed five goals, outscoring competition such as University of Wisconsin, Virginia Tech University, and Clemson University. The opportunity allowed SVSU's ASME students to network within their field and practice solving real-world engineering problems that will benefit them moving forward with their future careers.

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.

For more than 50 Saginaw Valley State University students, spring break is not a typical vacation. They will be traveling across the U.S. to volunteer as part of the student-run Alternative Breaks program. Five teams of students are traveling to volunteer for community organizations throughout the country during SVSU's spring break March 5-11. The complete lineup of Alternative Breaks programs includes the following: *Champion Athletes of the Ozarks, located in Springfield, Missouri. The organization is designed to help children and adults with special needs. SVSU students are helping with daily activities. *Appalachian South Folklife Center, located in Pipestem, West Virginia. SVSU students are helping perform housing repairs along with other community service projects. *Arkansas Children's Hospital, located in Little Rock, Arkansas. SVSU students are assisting with daily activities needed throughout the hospital. *Kingdom House, located in St. Louis, Missouri. SVSU students are assisting in after-school programs where children eat healthy meals and focus on their academics. *Chesapeake Bay Foundation, located in Annapolis, Maryland. SVSU students are helping to keep the Chesapeake Bay clean and educate others about the importance of keeping such natural resources safe. SVSU's Alternative Breaks program sends students on community engagement-geared trips during both the traditional college winter and spring breaks each December and March. You can learn more at www.svsu.edu/officeofstudentlife/serve/.

Saginaw Valley State University students rose to the challenge and delivered inspiring performances at the Michigan DECA conference in Grand Rapids. All 6 SVSU students who competed qualified for the national contest in April, despite the fact that SVSU had never before sent students to the competition. DECA is an international association of high school and college students interested in marketing, management and entrepreneurship in business, finance, hospitality, and marketing sales and service.

There were more than 500 students from Saginaw Valley State University whose determination and commitment to academic excellence earned them a spot on the fall 2017 semester President's List.

More than 1,900 students from Saginaw Valley State University earned a spot on the fall 2017 semester Deans' List.

Men's Basketball senior guard Mike Wells Jr. earned the weekly honor after leading the Cardinals to a pair of victories...

Redshirt freshman wide receiver Chad Gailliard capped-off his first season with another great honor...

The senior guard added another honor after his career weekend in leading the Cardinals to a pair of victories...

Saginaw Valley State University moot court program expects to face its toughest challenge yet during its ninth year competing in the national tournament.

Saginaw Valley State University student Alissa Rhode, an athletic training major from Grosse Ile, recently learned that her determined research efforts will result in being published in a leading scholarly journal - a rare achievement for an undergraduate. Her article, "Injury and Illness in Marching Band and Color Guard Members and the Need for Athletic Trainers: A Critically Appraised Topic," will appear in the Fall 2017 edition of the Journal of Sports Medicine and Allied Health Science.

Eight teams of Saginaw Valley State University students are spending a week of their winter break traveling to seven states in order to volunteer their time as part of SVSU's Alternative Breaks program.

Saginaw Valley State University will host its annual fall Engineering Symposium on Friday, Dec. 8 from 10 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. During the event, 29 mechanical engineering students will demonstrate their senior project.

As the winter semester's close approaches, members of Saginaw Valley State University's Honors Program are set to graduate.

Four Saginaw Valley State University students attended the Boosting Alcohol Consciousness Concerning the Health of University Students (BACCHUS) Initiatives General Assembly. The conference, which took place Nov. 16-19 in Denver, was hosted by the Student Affairs Administrators in Higher Education. The event brought students and advisers from across the nation together to network, collaborate, and share ideas related to university-based peer health education programs. The students in attendance were all members of the SVSU Peer Health Education Program, a student wellness program geared towards educating students on a range of topics relating to alcohol and drugs, sexual responsibility, and other health-related topics.

Students from across the state came together in Ann Arbor this past weekend to discuss how they are helping their college fight back against violence on campuses.