GVSU's Honors College -- Live. Learn. Lead.

ALLENDALE, Mich. — As students and faculty from Grand Valley State University’s Honors College settle into the new Glenn A. Niemeyer Learning and Living Center, they're getting down to the business of creating a nurturing learning community.

The Honors College began the fall semester in its new home on the Allendale Campus — a state-of-the-art facility that will help the college’s mission of providing a challenging interdisciplinary liberal education and living/learning environment that prepares students to be intellectually curious, lifelong learners and leaders in their communities. The new center has living space for some 450 students, a 70-seat case room, multi-purpose room, science demonstration lab, listening room, library/reading room and two LearnLab classrooms. There are also 16 faculty, staff and clerical offices.

“With its state-of-the-art classroom technology, its premium housing, its convenient suite of faculty offices, and its inviting meeting and study areas, the new Niemeyer Learning and Living Center is an optimal environment for student living and learning, a place that nurtures a genuine academic community,” said Jeff Chamberlain, director of the Honors College.

The Honors College offers a distinctive learning community and extraordinary opportunities for academically motivated students. It combines the best of the selective liberal arts college tradition with the resources, facilities, and affordability of a major state university. While participating in the Honors College, students learn through a distinctive interdisciplinary curriculum, and become leaders who make a difference in their world. It’s a program that the students appreciate.

“It’s a much more intense class setting, but you learn so much,” said Carmen Roth, a broadcasting major and theatre minor from Bad Axe. “The payoff — how many general education classes are covered and how much more intense the classes are — is great.”

Those sentiments are echoed by Jessica Roedema, an information systems major from Jerome, Mich. “I’ve found the Honors College classes to be the most challenging and the most rewarding of all my classes at Grand Valley. They really make you think about things,” she said.

The Honors College offers personalized instruction, allowing students to form close intellectual relationships with faculty specifically selected for their credentials and passion for teaching. Classes are normally capped at 25 or less, and often have two teachers. Honors courses are interdisciplinary, approaching topics from many different angles and asking students to think across traditional academic boundaries. Honors students have the opportunity to participate in undergraduate research and cultural experiences.

There are currently 970 Honors College students. Students who successfully complete the program are given honors status upon graduation, which gives them an edge when applying for jobs, fellowships, or graduate school.

Along with the new facilities, a new peer mentoring program was implemented at the beginning of the fall semester. The program has upper-level students helping new students adjust to college life as well as life in honors. Nearly 50 honors students are now peer mentors, assigned to a group of students during orientation, move-in and throughout the year.
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Peer mentor Kirstyn Wildey, a sophomore from Northville, said she contacted her group of students before the semester began. “I wanted to make that initial contact to get them excited about coming,” Wildey said. “College can be a huge transition and it helps to know there are others having a similar experience.”
   
Jessica and Jennifer Dick, twin sisters from Romulus, are also peer mentors. “I wish I had a mentor when I was a freshman in honors,” said Jessica. “I’m looking forward to guiding students, sharing my experiences and giving some advice when needed.”
   
Jennifer said peer mentors can add another perspective. “Some students don’t know what to expect and are intimidated by the term ‘honors,’” said Jennifer. “We can help show them that we’re a close-knit group, like a family, here to help one another.”
   
Patrick Lawrence, a sophomore from Almont, said his first year as an honors student was “unbelievable” and now, as a peer mentor, he will help new students have the same experience. “It’s easy to make friends if you leave your door open and invite people in,” he said. “Freshmen will find that everyone has the same work ethic and academic goals, which gives everyone a common ground to build from. The atmosphere is fun, despite the stereotype that honors students are stressed-out bookworms.”