Monday August 29 - Gender Based Violence Training TIER 1 *mandatory for all FRESHMAN & TRANSFERS 

TIME: 9:00pm via Zoom (link will be provided through Blackboard)

This workshop will provide an overview of gender based violence for our newest Lakers including important definitions & statistics.  It will also provide information related to trauma, how to best support a victim/survivor and options for reporting acts of gender based violence including specific resources for a victim survivor.  

This will all be accomplished while respecting our community guidelines:

• What's said here stays here, what's learned here leaves here.
• Lean in!
• Take care of yourself

This information will be presented by the Violence Prevention & Education Coordinator and the Victim Advocate from the Center for Women & Gender Equity

 

Tuesday September 6 - Gender Based Violence Training TIER 2 *mandatory for all SOPHOMORES

TIME: 9:00pm via Zoom (link will be provided through Blackboard)

This workshop will provide a recap of consent including reflection on boundaries and rights.  It will include specific scenarios for the college athlete to engage the audience.   It will also provide information on how to best support a victim/survivor and options for reporting acts of gender based violence including specific resources for a victim survivor.  

This will all be accomplished while respecting our community guidelines:

• What's said here stays here, what's learned here leaves here.
• Lean in!
• Take care of yourself

This information will be presented by the Violence Prevention & Education Coordinator and the Victim Advocate from the Center for Women & Gender Equity.

 

Monday September 12 - Gender Based Violence Training TIER 3 *mandatory for all JUNIORS

TIME: 9:00pm via Zoom (link will be provided through Blackboard)

This workshop will unpack abusive relationships through the use of video and open conversation.  It will help define what a healthy relationship looks like by discussing myths commonly associated with dating & domestic violence.  It will also provide information on how to best support a victim/survivor and options for reporting acts of gender based violence including specific resources for a victim survivor.  

This will all be accomplished while respecting our community guidelines:

• What's said here stays here, what's learned here leaves here.
• Lean in!
• Take care of yourself

This information will be presented by the Violence Prevention & Education Coordinator and the Victim Advocate from the Center for Women & Gender Equity.

 

Monday September 12 - Let's Get This Party Started "College 101" *recommended for FRESHMAN, anyone welcome to attend

This workshop is designed to help student-athletes get off on the right track academically, by providing tools and tricks to help them excel in and out of classroom. 

We will discuss:

• How to prepare for an exam and what to learn from the first exam given.
• How to take notes, develop note cards and outline readings.
• Resource spaces on campus if you are struggling academically.

 

Tuesday September 13 - Gender Based Violence Training TIER 4 *mandatory for all SENIORS+

TIME: 9:00pm via Zoom (link will be provided through Blackboard)

This workshop will discuss healthy relationships further and what is means to feel heard and communicate effectively with a partner.  It will also provide information on how to best support a victim/survivor and options for reporting acts of gender based violence including specific resources for a victim survivor.  

This will all be accomplished while respecting our community guidelines:

• What's said here stays here, what's learned here leaves here.
• Lean in!
• Take care of yourself

This information will be presented by the Violence Prevention & Education Coordinator and the Victim Advocate from the Center for Women & Gender Equity.

 

Monday September 19 - Waves of Change, Part I: Athletes Igniting Athletes *recommended for ALL CLASSES

VIRTUAL SESSION - LINK WILL BE PROVIDED

Continuing the conversation on the intersections of athletics and diversity, equity and inclusion.

Athletes Igniting Action founder and President, Kenton Mack, returns to guide us through conversations around leveraging your unique platform as a student-athlete to move the needle in your community towards greater inclusion and broader justice. Kenton is a former NMU Men’s Basketball student-athlete and has been a key partner in building out our SEA of Change program. He has become a crowd-favorite for his engaging facilitation and focus on real-world applications of skills to help you start tough conversations and build community. This session is offered in partnership with our Student-Athlete Ambassadors, who will help facilitate the conversation with Kenton.

If you have any questions, concerns or want to get involved with the Student-Athlete Ambassador program, please contact Callie Youngman at [email protected].

 

Monday October 3 - "What the What"/Freshman Transition Workshop *recommended for FRESHMAN

You are a little more than a month into college and you are probably asking yourself “what the what is happening right now?” We have all been there. We have all asked this question. You have experience tons of changes, maybe some homesickness, you are tired, the newness is wearing off, and maybe do not feel like you belong or are succeeding. At this workshop we will talk about all these emotions you are feeling, all the questions you are asking, and have some guests who have been in your shoes. What you are feeling is normal and we want to validate that!

 

Thursday October 6 - Employment Search Strategies *recommended for JUNIORS/SENIORS, but anyone welcome to attend

This workshop is designed to provide students with the necessary strategies and information (i.e. writing an effecting resume/cover letter, utilizing Handshake/LinkedIn, networking, interviewing, following up, etc.) which will help you secure a first job/internship. 

 

Monday October 17 - Stress Management  *recommended for ALL CLASSES

College is stressful.  Being a student-athlete can be stressful.  Life is full of stress but there is a healthy amount of stress and a healthy way to manage your stress.  Stop by this session to gather some helpful information on how to recognize and appropriately respond to your stress level.  Everyone is different but stress is one consistent thing we have ALL experienced.  

 

Tuesday November 1 - Waves of Change, Part II: Election Day Warm-Up! *recommended for ALL CLASSES

Continuing the conversation on the intersections of athletics and diversity, equity and inclusion.

November 1 is one week out from the 2022 Election Day! Together, we will watch the ESPN documentary movie 144 and engage in conversation. 144 follows the 2020 WNBA “Wubble” season where 144 professional basketball players descended on a single location in Florida to compete for a championship amidst a summer of social protest and unrest. You will witness their lived experiences as athletes as well as how they unified, amplified and ignited around a common call for justice and progress. This session is being presented in partnership with GVSU Votes! and the GVSU Community Service Learning Center.

If you have any questions, concerns or want to get involved with the Student-Athlete Ambassador program, please contact Callie Youngman at [email protected].

 

Monday November 14 - Money Smarts Laker/Financial Literacy  *recommended for ALL CLASSES

TIME: 6:00 p.m. - FRESHMAN/SOPHOMORES  

           7:00 p.m. - JUNIORS/SENIORS

This workshop is designed to provide student-athletes with the tools and resources (i.e. creating a budget, paying bills.) to be a Money Smart Student-Athlete. The upperclassman session will assist in better understanding your finances and developing or defining your money management skills as you transition from college to career.

 

Tuesday November 29 - Final Exam Study Prep *recommended for ALL CLASSES

DESCRIPTION COMING

Wednesday January 11 - Professionalism in the Workplace: Why is it Important? *recommended for JUNIORS/SENIORS, anyone welcome to attend

This workshop will delve into why it is important for students to build and develop the necessary competencies (i.e. self-awareness, tact, responsiveness, empathy, ethic, etc.) while still in college which will lead to workplace professionalism.

 

Tuesday January 17 - Waves of Change, Part III: Supporting International Student-Athletes and Interrupting Xenophobia *recommended for ALL CLASSES

VIRTUAL SESSION - LINK WILL BE PROVIDED

TIME: 6:30 - 7:45pm

While becoming an NCAA Student-Athlete in the US is an exciting opportunity for many international athletes, the realities of being far from home and in an unfamiliar sociocultural environment can be challenging. Many factors impact the experiences and safety of our international student-athletes, including intersecting systems of oppression and complex policies/bureaucracy. 

Waves of Change, Part III is going to feature six of our international student-athletes here in GVSU Athletics on a panel moderated by Hope Leinen (Lacrosse):

• Sebastian Arce (Columbia): Tennis

• Judith Essemiah (Netherlands): Track and Field

• Jesse Goodyear (Australia): Swim and Dive

• Leonie Leister (Germany): Tennis

• Ana Romero (Spain): Tennis

• Pato Sepulveda (Mexico): Tennis

Simran Sethi is a former student-athlete at Oklahoma University Athletics. She played tennis professionally and has helped the NCAA develop resources for Interntational Student-Athletes. A group of our international student-athletes met with Simran last week to talk about their experiences and career aspirations. Simran will provide us with information and resources around xenophobia, neo-racism and neo-nationalism so we can better understand and support our fellow Lakers as well as prepare for a more global future.

 

Monday January 23 - MEN in Mental Health & WOMEN in Mental Health *recommended for ALL CLASSES 

LOCATION - MAK A1182 & A1184

We will be holding simultaneous sessions in side-by-side rooms, one for those who identify as men and one for those who identify as women. These sessions are designed to help us all evaluate how gender factors into the perception of mental health and wellness. The two groups will join one another for the last 20 minutes to share and connect as a collective. Whether you participate in a men's sport or women's sport, mental wellness should not be viewed as something that makes you weak or vulnerable, but rather something that makes you strong and resilient. 

We want to acknowledge the ways that this seminar is structured based on a binary approach to gender and also acknowledge the limits of that structure. It does not fully the capture the complexities of gender across the spectrum and experiences with mental health/wellness - whether participants identify within a binary or not. The seminar was designed to address gender-based stigmas. And despite the structure, we are hopeful that together we create a space where student-athletes can share their experiences with mental health/wellness with radical candor and support from all. If you have questions, concerns or would like to voice your own experiences with gender-related mental health stigma in a more private forum, please reach out to Gretchen Goodman (Associate AD - Athletics Health Care), Callie Youngman (Athletics Inclusion Coordinator), Katie Woudstra (University Counseling Center) or a trusted member of the Athletics Department. We are actively working to build capacities in this space of being more inclusive and want to support all of our student-athletes. 

 

Monday February 13  - Athletics Identity - Athletics to Working Professional *recommended for SENIORS, any one welcome to attend

Student-athletes sometimes struggle in transitioning to life without their sport.  This workshop will help student-athletes understand the importance of maintaining a “healthy identity of self” as they transition thru and ultimately lose their Athletic Identity. 

 

MyPath Refresher/Student-Athlete Registration Reminder *REQUIRED FOR ALL STUDENT-ATHLETES, CHECK WITH LASC ADVISOR FOR DETAILS

* SENIORS Monday, February 27

* JUNIORS Tuesday, February 28

* SOPHOMORES Wednesday, March 1

* FRESHMAN Thursday, March 2

 

Tuesday March 14 - Upperclassman Panel *recommended for FRESHMAN/SOPHOMORES, anyone welcome to attend

Upperclassmen from different sports will talk about what they wish they would’ve known freshman year.  i.e. how to juggle school and sports, and the importance of creating a separate identity outside of their sport.   

 

Tuesday March 28 - Waves of Change, Part IV: Intersections of Mental Health & DEI *Recommended for ALL CLASSES

VIRTUAL SESSION - LINK WILL BE PROVIDED

Continuing the conversation on the intersections of athletics and diversity, equity and inclusion.

Join us for a conversation on the central role of mental health in efforts around improving our diversity, equity and inclusion here at GVSU Athletics. Dr. Dolores Christensen serves as the Director of the Psychological Resources for Oklahoma University Sooner Student-Athletes (PROS) program. And Dr. Monique Marsh-Bell serves as the Associate AD for Mental Health Services at Baylor University Athletics. In partnership with the GVSU Anchor Team, they will guide us through the ways individual and community mental health intersects with systems of oppression and how our focus on mental health must also include focused engagement in inclusion and equity.

If you have any questions, concerns or want to get involved with the Student-Athlete Ambassador program, please contact Callie Youngman at [email protected].

 

Tuesday April 11 - Staying Fit & Healthy for Life. *recommended for SENIORS, anyone welcome to attend

Transitioning from eating for training and performance to simply eating to enjoy life and feel great can be quite challenging.  This is particularly true if you are not planning to stay as active after graduation. This workshop will provide helpful tips/info on being more mindful of eating choices as well as the benefits of an active lifestyle.