The Outstanding Educator Award is presented to a faculty member who has had a significant impact on the lives and careers of alumni.

Kristen Vu knows that preparing students for a career in health care means teaching more than technical skills. It means helping them build confidence, think critically and understand the responsibility they carry into every clinical setting.

Vu graduated from Grand Valley in 2008 with a bachelor’s degree in radiation therapy. In 2009, she received a medical dosimetry certificate from the University of Texas before returning to GVSU to earn a master’s degree in medical dosimetry in 2016. Now as an assistant professor and program director of Grand Valley’s medical dosimetry graduate program, Vu prepares students for a field where professionals help design radiation treatment plans for cancer patients, working to target tumors while protecting healthy tissues.

Vu sets a high bar for her students, and she works alongside them to help them reach it. She makes the most complex material approachable by connecting it to the decisions they will face on board exams and in clinical practice. Her students learn not simply to recall information, but to work through difficult questions and apply what they know. Vu is committed to helping them develop the clinical judgment they will need in the field.

That balance of challenge and support has become a defining part of her teaching. Her students said that when material is difficult, Vu revisits concepts, breaks them down and gives them multiple ways to understand and apply what they are learning. In doing so, she creates a classroom where students feel both challenged and supported. One of Vu’s former students shared, “Kristen’s guidance and encouragement have made a huge impact on my education and my confidence as a future dosimetrist.”

Alongside her faculty role, Vu continues to work one day per week as a practicing medical dosimetrist, bringing current clinical expectations and patient-care perspectives back to her students. Her teaching is shaped by the understanding that radiation oncology continues to evolve and that graduates need the confidence and curiosity to evolve with it.

“One of the things that I am most proud of is the high-quality standard that I hold students to,” Vu said. “So, one day they will have the skill set to offer high-quality care to their patients.”

That same commitment has shaped the program itself. Vu has strengthened hands-on learning through advanced treatment planning labs and expanded access to modern tools and techniques, helping students gain experience that directly supports their clinical responsibilities. She has also begun building resources that extend beyond graduation, including video demonstrations and alumni connections that help graduates continue learning as they enter the profession.

Through her teaching, mentorship and commitment to lifelong learning, Vu has created a program culture where Lakers are not only ready to enter the field, but to grow with it. That lasting impact on students and alumni reflects the heart of the Outstanding Educator Award. 

For more information about the GVSU Alumni Awards, visit gvsu.edu/alumni/awards.