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As seen from a drone, a large blue and white beach ball is tossed around by a stadium full of students.

GVSU in Photos, August 2026: Kicking off the new year as only Lakers can

BY University Communications
Image credit - Top image by Cory Morse

Sep 2, 2026
A university president wearing sunglasses smiles in the middle of a group of students all wearing blue.
President Philomena V. Mantella poses with resident assistants during the RA Appreciation Dinner hosted by the Office of the President at The Deck at Lubbers Stadium August 18.
Image credit - Kendra Stanley-Mills
A student studies beneath an art glass sculpture in an academic building.
Physician assistant studies graduate student Jacob Sanderson sits inside the DeVos Center for Interprofessional Health on the first day of classes on the City Campus August 31. The "Laker Blue and Opaline Persian Chandelier" art piece by Dale Chihuly can be seen above.
Image credit - Cory Morse
As seen from a drone, cars snake in a pattern as they wait to move in to college.
Cars wait in line during the first day of Move-In on the Valley Campus on August 26.
Image credit - Cory Morse
Red and light lights highlight a dance as their braids flow in the air.
A member of Grand Valley’s Ignite Dance Company performs during Laker Kickoff on August 28.
Image credit - Macayla Cramer
Two dancers wearing traditional colorful Hispanic folk clothing dance on a stage.
Lilleigh Drouin, sophomore criminal justice student, dances with junior nursing student, Adrian Perez, on stage during Laker Kickoff. The two are part of Monarcas, a student group that celebrates Hispanic culture through dance.
Image credit - Kendra Stanley-Mills
Two young children sit on boxes of belongings being moved into a college dormitory.
Ty Randall, 3, left, and family friend, Ronin Wickham, 5, sit atop boxes of belongings of Ty’s big sister, Natalie Randall, who was moving into Kirkpatrick Living Center.
Image credit - Kendra Stanley-Mills
College students raise their hands in the air with big smiles on their faces.
Incoming students celebrate during Laker Kickoff at Lubbers Stadium.
Image credit - Grace deBest
College students raise their hands in celebration during a small regatta boat race.
Mechanical engineering major Max Mensching, top, reacts during the Wooden Shoe Regatta at the Keller Engineering Laboratories on August 4.
Image credit - Cory Morse
As seen from a drone, colorful carnival games are seen as people mingle during a welcome event.
Students take part in the Laker Kickoff on the Kirkhof Lawn.
Image credit - Cory Morse
A person wearing a patriotic hat snuggles with a dog.
First-year student, Devon Cload, hugs his dog while sitting on the grass near Zumberge Pond during Laker Kickoff.
Image credit - Eliana McGlinchey
A band member with their instrument rests on a football field.
A Laker Marching Band member rests on the football field in Lubbers Stadium before the start of Laker Kickoff.
Image credit - Macayla Cramer
Two college football players collide during practice.
Offensive line Jordan Miller and defensive line Landon VanBeek collide during football practice on August 7.
Image credit - Grace deBest
Two college students frolic in a foam pit.
First-year nursing student, Finnley Vreeke, left, tackles sophomore accounting student Brayden Creedon while enjoying the foam pit at Laker Kickoff.
Image credit - Kendra Stanley-Mills
A college student is seen reflected in a mirror as she and her mother carry in boxes to her dormitory.
Liza Graham, right, helps her daughter Riley Graham move into Hoobler Living Center on the first day of Move-In August 26. The two were hurrying to get their belongings inside before the rain.
Image credit - Kendra Stanley-Mills
Golden light hits the side of a housing unit as a student carries in a basket of belongings.
First-year social work student, Stella Mindok, carries belongings into Kirkpatrick Living Center during Move-In.
Image credit - Kendra Stanley-Mills
A stadium full of incoming college freshmen wearing matching blue shirts raise their hands in the air.
Incoming students do a chant during the start of Laker Kickoff at Lubbers Stadium.
Image credit - Kendra Stanley-Mills
An architectural element of a library is seen against a blue sky.
Located in the center of the third floor, the outdoor Reading Garden is a seasonal place to study while in the heart of the Mary Idema Pew Library on the Valley Campus.
Image credit - Kendra Stanley-Mills
A person blows leaves off of an amphitheater area with a carillon tower in the background.
Kelly O'Mara, of Custodial and Operations Services, cleans the Mary Idema Pew Library's outdoor amphitheater before a University Libraries and Art Museum staff photo on August 20.
Image credit - Cory Morse
Two students laugh as they play cards together in a housing unit on a college campus.
Resident assistant Hunter Grifhorst, center, and junior communications student Arianna Westbrooks, left, laugh together as they play cards while waiting to help students with Move-In.
Image credit - Kendra Stanley-Mills
A university president and a band member conduct music together while smiling.
President Philomena V. Mantella joins Laker Marching Band drum major Quentin Campbell, who was conducting the GVSU Fight Song during a band practice on August 24.
Image credit - Cory Morse
A cheerleader flies through the air during a stunt.
Senior Eli Assaf, junior Robert Glennon and junior Sammy Garcia-Joseph throw sophomore flyer Regan Carolin during a stunt at Laker Kickoff.
Image credit - Macayla Cramer
Two college students kneel in the grass as they play Jenga, a wooden game.
First-year business student Devon Tutas, left, and first-year marketing student Asher Englert play Jenga while participating in the festivities at Laker Kickoff.
Image credit - Kendra Stanley-Mills
Two college students react with smiles and surprise while playing Jenga -- a wooden game.
Two resident assistants play a game of Jenga during the RA Appreciation Dinner hosted by the Office of the President at The Deck at Lubbers Stadium August 18.
Image credit - Kendra Stanley-Mills
Three college students wearing white lab coats and goggles work in a chemistry lab setting.
From left, students Grace Clark, Hailey Petersen and Shawn Millner work in a chemistry lab as part of scene for a video playing at Laker Kickoff.
Image credit - Kendra Stanley-Mills
White mushrooms peek up from the earth.
Mushrooms grow in the Great Lakes Plaza on the Valley Campus August 14.
Image credit - Eliana McGlinchey
A college student seen through an opening in a car door hauls a fan during move-in.
Freshman Brayden Hansen helps a student move into their apartment outside of Holton-Hooker Learning & Living Center
Image credit - Macayla Cramer
A person works on a laptop computer near a window with a cityscape behind them.
Experienced tax associate Aseel Ayesh works inside BDO, 109 Michigan St. NW, in downtown Grand Rapids on August 20. Ayesh graduated from GVSU in 2024 with a master's degree in accounting.
Image credit - Cory Morse
A person with a blue shirt and tattoos jumps up and down in a dumpster to smash down boxes.
Smashing down the waste in a dumpster, a facilities employee jumps up and down to make more room.
Image credit - Grace deBest
A person wearing a hat is seen through blue streamers as they push a cart of belongings into a housing unit.
“You guys got it going on here,” said John Barrera as he helps to move in his stepson to Winter Hall past streamers and balloons on the City Campus.
Image credit - Kendra Stanley-Mills
A student walks through a college campus during sunrise.
Students, faculty and staff made their way to classes through periods of rain on the Valley Campus during the first day of classes August 31.
Image credit - Kendra Stanley-Mills
Two people work on a pot of flowers on a college campus.
Chandrakala Nenavath, left, and Mounika Mallineni tend to plants as part of the Grounds Department at the DeVos Center on August 10.
Image credit - Cory Morse
A student walks underneath a canopy of changing leaves on a college campus.
A student walks underneath a canopy of slightly changing leaves during the first day of the fall semester on the Valley Campus.
Image credit - Kendra Stanley-Mills
A large parking lot is full of students and tables during an event on a college campus.
Over 400 student organizations at Campus Life Night August 30 introduced students to the multiple ways students can get involved on campus.
Image credit - Macayla Cramer
Two men laugh together during an event as they sit among college students.
GVSU President Emeritus Arend "Don" Lubbers, left, talks with the dean of the Padnos College of Engineering Adebayo “Bayo” Ogundipe during the Wooden Shoe Regatta at the Keller Engineering Laboratories on August 4.
Image credit - Cory Morse
Holding a blue sign, college students encourage people to come to their table.
The Grand Valley Swim Club greets students during Campus Life Night.
Image credit - Eliana McGlinchey
Birds fly over a college campus building.
Pigeons fly near the Kennedy Hall of Engineering and the Eberhard Center in Grand Rapids on August 11.
Image credit - Cory Morse
College women's soccer players react to a goal.
Junior Vesna Dennison heads the ball into the net for Grand Valley's first goal of the home opener on August 29. Senior Sonya Mehta and teammates gather to celebrate.
Image credit - Macayla Cramer
Two college students high five while playing an arcade game.
What was the first thing you did after your parents left on Move-In day? For best friends Will Edington, left, and JT Roethlisberger, it was to play a round on their Simpsons arcade game.
Image credit - Grace deBest
Track and field college students hide under the eaves to stay out of the rain.
Members of the GVSU Track and Field team, volunteering to help students during the first day of Valley Campus Move-In, seek shelter from a rainstorm.
Image credit - Macayla Cramer
Left, A row of police academy graduates in uniform sit in a row during their graduation ceremony. Right, a student unloads a basket of belongings from their car during move-in.
Left: After 17 weeks of training, the Grand Valley State University Police Academy's summer cadre celebrated graduation. The academy's 24 recruits, their instructors and their families filled the Louis Armstrong Theatre on August 26. Right: Amber Magusin, a junior transfer student studying occupational therapy, unloads belongings from her car as she moves into Secchia Hall on the City Campus. Magusin, from the Detroit area, is moving in with her older sister who is also a Grand Valley student.
Image credit - Simon Zwart, left; Kendra Stanley-Mills, right
As seen from a drone, students cast long shadows on a football field.
Students take part in the Laker Kickoff at Lubbers Stadium.
Image credit - Cory Morse
The sun hits the faces of a dance team with blue pom pons.
The Laker Dance Team performs during the start of Laker Kickoff in Lubbers Stadium.
Image credit - Kendra Stanley-Mills
College students sit in the grass to watch colorful fireworks.
Students watch the drone and fireworks show during Laker Kickoff on the Valley Campus.
Image credit - Cory Morse
College students sit in the grass to watch a drone show.
The Anchor Up hand sign is displayed in the sky during a drone show at Laker Kickoff.
Image credit - Cory Morse
Two college students pose for a photo with their faces smooshed together.
First-year psychology student Quinn Rypstra, left, and Riley Wheeler, first-year sonography student, pose for a photo in a photo booth at Laker Kickoff.
Image credit - Kendra Stanley-Mills
A college president speaks to a crowd during a university address.
President Philomena V. Mantella shares the university’s priorities and aspirations during the University Address in the Louis Armstrong Theatre August 19.
Image credit - Kendra Stanley-Mills
A student is silhouetted as they play a light-up ring toss game.
Junior exercise science student Quentin Henry plays a light-up ring toss game during Laker Kickoff.
Image credit - Kendra Stanley-Mills

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