Traverse City Commencement held Thursday

More than 70 students will participate in Grand Valley’s 10th annual Traverse City commencement ceremonies at 6 p.m. May 3 in the Grand Traverse Resort in Acme.

Students will be receiving undergraduate degrees in elementary and secondary education as well as liberal studies. Master’s degrees in education, social work will also be awarded. Although the primary group will be from the programs in Traverse City, there will be students walking from programs in Boyne City and Cadillac also.

One of the students participating in the ceremony will be Heather Strouse of Fife Lake. Strouse, 22, is the 2007 recipient of the Glenn A. Niemeyer Award for outstanding academic achievement — the most prestigious student award the university offers. Strouse is earning her bachelor’s degree in liberal studies and hopes to go on to law school.

Strouse has received the highest level of education in her family for four generations. Strouse worked 50 hours or more per week while carrying full load of courses. She leaves college with no debt, having paid for everything herself.

"My mom never went to college and she's always had very high standards for me,” She said. “She's shown me to value work, academics and community. I've had many mentors and I enjoy mentoring others -- especially young women in high school."

Grand Valley academic adviser Susan Odgers taught Strouse in three courses, and said she was an impressive student. “She is an extremely deep thinker,” Odgers said, citing a class project in which Strouse worked to bridging the gap in Fife Lake between summer residents and tourists and the year-round families that live there.

“Her concern was that school mileage elections often do not pass in Fife Lake because the seasonal residents and visitors don't use the schools and don't see the need or value. One of her ideas is to use the main school for summer multi-generational dances so that everyone in the community recreates together and sees the benefit of the school as a community center,” Odgers said. Strouse wrote a proposal and has underwriters for a series of events. “This is just one of the examples of her creative thinking,” Odgers said.