If there was ever a beautiful day to visit a college, you could say it’s today; sunny, with just a little cloud cover, a nice breeze, just a little warm for my tastes, but I’m not complaining. The summer semester is about two weeks in, and orientation is on a short break. Which doesn’t mean that there isn’t work to be done; there’s a lot of catching up being done on behind the scenes tasks. It just means that there aren’t quite as many visitors on any given day as there would be during orientation. Still, freshmen will come back and start registering in a couple of weeks, and summer session will continue rolling along, so you could say that we’re kind of at the midpoint of the summer.
The construction on campus is looking great, it just looks as though some of the buildings will need to be cleaned out, but the new dining hall and housing structures look to be pretty much done. I’m really looking forward to the new dining hall; as much as I love the current locations, a little variety never hurts. But most of all I’m just excited to check out the interior architecture of the building, and the dining room layout.
On a personal note, my internship is going great; things have been a little slow over there for the first half of the summer, but it’s really picking up over the next couple of weeks. Combining that with work here in Allendale, plus getting prepped and starting the initial research for my senior project means that I’m a pretty busy guy. But I certainly don’t mind. Speaking of which, I should probably wrap up and finish some other jobs around the office, there’s still a lot to be done.
Let me know if you have any questions.
-Kyle
Monday, June 28, 2010
Friday, June 18, 2010
Advice from admissions students
Well, I’m feeling rather lazy today, so rather than come up with a topic to write about myself, I decided to ask some of the other tour guides what they would tell incoming students. So as a result, today you get “College Advice 101” from Leslie and Caitlin.
Leslie said that the defining feature of her experience was that college is a lot of fun, and one should enjoy it and take the time to take it all in. Yes, classes are pretty important; in fact, they’re the central reason that one would attend college, but there are more facets to time spent at a university than academics. Also, she wanted to let students know that GVSU creates a great sense of community amongst its students. Whether it’s through classes or housing arrangements, or perhaps through clubs and organizations, one of the best features here at Grand Valley is the ability to be a part of a welcoming, friendly, and active body of students and peers.
Caitlin echoed Leslie’s advice, but with a slightly different twist. Her advice was for students to get involved across the campus (although this is really applicable no matter where you go for higher education). College probably won’t be an enjoyable experience for someone who simply goes to class and then just goes back to their dorm/apartment. In order to really enjoy the experience she (as well as most students you’ll talk to) suggests being a part of activities beyond the classroom. Whether this is a club, a study group, or just a group of friends who you can spend time with, it’s important for a student to break out a little and see all that a college has to offer. Her second piece of advice was to take advantage of your resources; if you are struggling, it’s not tough to find help. Tutoring is free for all 100 and 200 level classes, there are a number of help offices across the campus for different departments, and students have free access to academic, career, and personal counseling. Even if you’re just struggling to get involved on campus, that’s not a problem; just drop by the student life office or website, and they can help you find an organization you might be interested in.
And just so I don’t seem too uncommitted, my advice is for any student who will be a senior this fall to start their college visits soon and see a lot of places. Not that I’m trying to put pressure on you guys, but there are a lot of options out there for post high school studies, and if you look around during the summertime, you have less to worry about once school starts in the fall. Plus, as much as I love Grand Valley and love taking classes here, I know it’s not a perfect fit for everyone, and even though I’d love for all of you readers to come here for college it is important to see a wide variety of options and choose what fits you best. Also, I strongly suggest that you guys never think to yourselves “college isn’t for me.” Sometimes students are concerned about the academic challenge, or the financial burden, or simply don’t want to spend any more time in school, and I really recommend that those students reconsider. A college degree is a vital asset when filling in a resume or a job application, and there is assistance available for any and all of the above objections for attending college (at least at GVSU).
But, I think that’s a good place to finish. We all hope to see you guys come by for a visit sometime, and hopefully you’re enjoying your summer so far.
-Kyle
Leslie said that the defining feature of her experience was that college is a lot of fun, and one should enjoy it and take the time to take it all in. Yes, classes are pretty important; in fact, they’re the central reason that one would attend college, but there are more facets to time spent at a university than academics. Also, she wanted to let students know that GVSU creates a great sense of community amongst its students. Whether it’s through classes or housing arrangements, or perhaps through clubs and organizations, one of the best features here at Grand Valley is the ability to be a part of a welcoming, friendly, and active body of students and peers.
Caitlin echoed Leslie’s advice, but with a slightly different twist. Her advice was for students to get involved across the campus (although this is really applicable no matter where you go for higher education). College probably won’t be an enjoyable experience for someone who simply goes to class and then just goes back to their dorm/apartment. In order to really enjoy the experience she (as well as most students you’ll talk to) suggests being a part of activities beyond the classroom. Whether this is a club, a study group, or just a group of friends who you can spend time with, it’s important for a student to break out a little and see all that a college has to offer. Her second piece of advice was to take advantage of your resources; if you are struggling, it’s not tough to find help. Tutoring is free for all 100 and 200 level classes, there are a number of help offices across the campus for different departments, and students have free access to academic, career, and personal counseling. Even if you’re just struggling to get involved on campus, that’s not a problem; just drop by the student life office or website, and they can help you find an organization you might be interested in.
And just so I don’t seem too uncommitted, my advice is for any student who will be a senior this fall to start their college visits soon and see a lot of places. Not that I’m trying to put pressure on you guys, but there are a lot of options out there for post high school studies, and if you look around during the summertime, you have less to worry about once school starts in the fall. Plus, as much as I love Grand Valley and love taking classes here, I know it’s not a perfect fit for everyone, and even though I’d love for all of you readers to come here for college it is important to see a wide variety of options and choose what fits you best. Also, I strongly suggest that you guys never think to yourselves “college isn’t for me.” Sometimes students are concerned about the academic challenge, or the financial burden, or simply don’t want to spend any more time in school, and I really recommend that those students reconsider. A college degree is a vital asset when filling in a resume or a job application, and there is assistance available for any and all of the above objections for attending college (at least at GVSU).
But, I think that’s a good place to finish. We all hope to see you guys come by for a visit sometime, and hopefully you’re enjoying your summer so far.
-Kyle
Friday, June 11, 2010
Renovation, construction, and other stuff
With June in swing, things are starting to get busy again in this office; most high school juniors will be finishing up in the next couple of weeks, so we’re expecting a lot of you guys to come by and visit the campus. Things are a little quiet around campus right now, students are just finishing the spring semester, but there’s a lot going on locally.
The Festival of the Arts was just last weekend downtown, which was great for the city. I was able to see a little of the festival; my internship had me working at an event in the gallery, but I still had a little bit of time to investigate other events and exhibitions.
Since summertime is in bloom, so is construction across campus, mostly just a few renovation/cleanup projects. The Commons roof is being redone, Kirkhof Center’s main entrance was refaced, the pool lobby is being fixed up, and a couple of the smaller bridges and walkways on campus are being taken care of. As far as big projects go, a couple that should be finished up this fall, south campus dining and housing, in particular. Half of the new dining hall will be open as early as August, I think, with the rest opening up when the school year starts. The new housing will be finished this fall as well, but I can’t recall for the life of me who will be living in those facilities. There’s also a new project along the western border of the campus. I don’t really know any details on the project, but I think it’s going to be an outdoor turf facility, which would be great for soccer, lacrosse, and rugby, and just nice I suppose for general student use. I think it will be done by the fall, but again, I haven’t heard any of the details on that project.
But I’m about to head out of the office and grab some lunch, so if there are any questions, post away.
-Kyle
The Festival of the Arts was just last weekend downtown, which was great for the city. I was able to see a little of the festival; my internship had me working at an event in the gallery, but I still had a little bit of time to investigate other events and exhibitions.
Since summertime is in bloom, so is construction across campus, mostly just a few renovation/cleanup projects. The Commons roof is being redone, Kirkhof Center’s main entrance was refaced, the pool lobby is being fixed up, and a couple of the smaller bridges and walkways on campus are being taken care of. As far as big projects go, a couple that should be finished up this fall, south campus dining and housing, in particular. Half of the new dining hall will be open as early as August, I think, with the rest opening up when the school year starts. The new housing will be finished this fall as well, but I can’t recall for the life of me who will be living in those facilities. There’s also a new project along the western border of the campus. I don’t really know any details on the project, but I think it’s going to be an outdoor turf facility, which would be great for soccer, lacrosse, and rugby, and just nice I suppose for general student use. I think it will be done by the fall, but again, I haven’t heard any of the details on that project.
But I’m about to head out of the office and grab some lunch, so if there are any questions, post away.
-Kyle
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