Visit the Grand Valley State University Homepage
News from Grand Valley State University
Cars wait in line near a curvy shaped living center during move-in week.

GVSU in photos, August 2023: The beauty of beginnings, from new homes to new friends, and even a sunrise

BY Amanda Pitts

Sep 7, 2023
A college student holds a plant while smiling with braces.
Alexis Clemens, a senior criminal justice major, brought a collection of house plants to campus during move-in on GVSU's downtown campus August 21. "She's a plant mom," said her father, Mark Clemens.
Image credit - Kendra Stanley-Mills
A college student hugs her dog while inside a dorm room.
Alexandra Kozelek hugs her emotional support animal Milo, during move-in on August 22.
Image credit - Amanda Pitts
A Polaroid photo of two smiling sisters is held in a person's hands.
Isabel Calderon holds a photo of her sister Elizabeth Calderon and herself that she brought to campus because they are so close. Calderon is a first-year student studying education and moved in August 20.
Image credit - Kendra Stanley-Mills
A college student wearing an oversized hat holds a large stuffed teddy bear.
Joshua Bednarz holds Steve the bear, who was left behind by his sister when she went to college years ago. Joshua adopted Steve and they moved to campus together on August 22.
Image credit - Amanda Pitts
A college student wearing glasses holds a women's devotional bible.
Zoë Rodgers holds a women's devotional bible that has been passed down from her grandmother. Rodgers brought the book as something sentimental from home as she moved into the Allendale Campus August 20.
Image credit - Kendra Stanley-Mills
A college student hugs a stuffed animal during move-in.
Charlotte Baldwin holds Clara the cow during move-in on Tuesday, August 22. Charlotte has had Clara since before she was born.
Image credit - Amanda Pitts
A college president wearing sunglasses laughs with college students.
President Philomena V. Mantella, center, laughs while interviewing Elizabeth Kalafut, a resident assistant at Grand Valley, left, during the filming of Philly on the Street August 20.
Image credit - Kendra Stanley-Mills
A young college student with blue hair smiles.
"I'm happy to expand my knowledge and grow more as an individual," Alanna Stevenson said about starting college. Stevenson, a first-year student studying criminal justice, had just moved in and was spending time with friends near Kleiner.
Image credit - Kendra Stanley-Mills
A college student laughs while moving belongings during move-in.
Jada Roberson unpacks her belongings during Laker Connections move-in on August 20.
Image credit - Amanda Pitts
Laker Familia college students laugh together.
Students participate in an ice-breaker outside as part of the Laker Familia orientation event August 21.
Image credit - Amanda Pitts
A college student with family members move into a university housing unit.
Nevaeh Hemmes-Palms sets up her room while surrounded by family members during Laker Connections move-in on August 20.
Image credit - Amanda Pitts
A college campus is seen at sunrise.
The sun rises over Grand Valley's Allendale Campus August 9.
Image credit - Kendra Stanley-Mills
College students move boxes during move-in.
Two people move boxes toward a living center during move-in week August 22.
Image credit - Amanda Pitts
A college student holds a dog while it's being "interviewed" with a microphone.
President Philomena V. Mantella, left, pretends to interview her dog, Lily, during the filming of Philly on the Street August 20.
Image credit - Kendra Stanley-Mills
A small child is being hugged during a family gathering.
An incoming student hugs her family members goodbye at the end of the Laker Familia Orientation Luncheon August 20.
Image credit - Amanda Pitts
A group of college students wearing matching purple tie-dyed T-shirts walk on a college campus.
Honors College students walk through Kleiner Commons during move-in week at GVSU.
Image credit - Kendra Stanley-Mills
A high school student poses for a photo with a Laker mascot.
High school student Isiah Jett poses for a photo with Louie the Laker while touring Holton-Hooker Learning and Living Center August 15.
Image credit - Kendra Stanley-Mills
A photo of a cell phone as a group of college students take a selfie.
First-year nursing students pose for a selfie during Convocation August 24.
Image credit - Lauren Seymour
A college professor talks through problems on a whiteboard during a study group.
The office hours of Randy Winchester, professor of chemistry, extend out into the hallways of the Padnos Hall of Science August 31.
Image credit - Amanda Pitts
College students laugh together in a pool during a swimming class.
Students laugh together during the FIT 150 Strokes and Drills class as the new academic year got underway. The class is taught by Eric Murray, the associate head swimming coach.
Image credit - Kendra Stanley-Mills
Two college students work side-by-side in a lab.
Students participate in a chemistry lab assignment in the Padnos Hall of Science August 31.
Image credit - Amanda Pitts
Hands are reflected while people wearing white lab coats point to an object.
Medical dosimetry students pose for photos at the Cook-DeVos Center for Health Sciences August 25.
Image credit - Amanda Pitts
Students are reflected into water while they sail small remote control sailboats on a pond.
Students in Nancy Giardina's FIT 153-02 class try their hand at sailing on Zumberge Pond August 31.
Image credit - Amanda Pitts
A drone photo of a row crew rowing on a river.
The crew team was back out on the Grand River for the first practice of the fall semester August 29.
Image credit - Amanda Pitts
A group of people laugh while working around a table together.
Lin Bardwell, assistant director of the Office of Multicultural Affairs, left, laughs with students Carson Brunette and Kelly Elswick, center, during a Maajtaadaa! Orientation event August 20.
Image credit - Amanda Pitts
Two college students raise their arms in the air while smiling.
Class of 2027 students celebrate at Lubbers Stadium during their class photo taken after Campus Life Night August 27.
Image credit - Lauren Seymour
A college student holds up her dorm key while smiling surrounded by her belongings.
Nariyah Conway holds up the key to her room while standing among her belongings during Laker Connections move-in on August 20.
Image credit - Amanda Pitts
A portrait of a woman with her head tilted back and her eyes closed among greenery.
Shannon Cohen, '00, '11, received the Distinguished Alumni Award, given to a Grand Valley alum who excels in their chosen profession, and whose accomplishments positively impact society and reflect favorably upon themselves, their community and GVSU.
Image credit - Kendra Stanley-Mills
A college student and younger sibling look out a dorm window together.
Rhyan Vereecken, right, looks out the window with her youngest brother, Dylan Schmuker, center, as he watches the "tiny cars" go by outside the fourth-floor window of Secchia Hall during move-in on the Pew Grand Rapids Campus.
Image credit - Kendra Stanley-Mills
A drone photo of students making the letters GVSU on a football field.
The class of 2027 formed the letters "GVSU" August 27 on the football field in Lubbers Stadium for the annual class photo.
Image credit - Amanda Pitts
A person in drag performs during a college event.
Vanity Blake performs in the Kirkhof Center during the Milton E. Ford LGBT Resource Center's Rainbow Social.
Image credit - Kendra Stanley-Mills
College students dance together in an outdoor commons area.
Daimion Banks, left, and Alexis Baskin, center, dance to music during a Black Excellence gathering outside of Kleiner Commons during move-in on the Allendale Campus August 20.
Image credit - Kendra Stanley-Mills
Sunlight filters through a tree as students walk past a building on a college campus.
Students leave the L. William Seidman Center on the first day of classes on the Pew Grand Rapids Campus August 28.
Image credit - Kendra Stanley-Mills

Tags

Subscribe

Sign up and receive the latest Grand Valley headlines delivered to your email inbox each morning.

Related Stories

Dancers in black uniforms stand in a circle and toss blue pom-poms into the air against a bright sky.
Laker Life

GVSU in Photos, November 2025: Saying hello again to Lakers, goodbye to fall splendor and 'yes' to cozy studying spots

A group of people wearing blue graduation caps, some decorated colorfully, is seen from above.
Laker Life

Commencement stories: Graduates reflect on their time as Lakers

Football players enter the field for the Homecoming game.
Laker Life

Lakers fill the Valley Campus for Homecoming 2025