Students who have excelled in and out of the classroom will be recognized at the April 13 Student Awards Convocation.
The students who earned top university awards and those who earned an Excellence-in-a-Discipline award are listed on the Provost's Office website. Two top awardees are profiled below.
Annika Mattson did not know she wanted to pursue automotive engineering until right before starting at Grand Valley. While she grew up watching "Top Gear" and Formula One races with her dad, it was not until her senior year of high school that Mattson saw automotive engineering as a career path.
“I started watching F1 again, and I thought, ‘This is really cool, and this would be really cool to do and study,'” Mattson said.
At GVSU, Mattson quickly joined the Laker Racing Formula Society of Automotive Engineers ( SAE) team. As part of the team, Mattson had the opportunity to work with her peers, designing and constructing race cars for competitions.
Mattson wore a lot of hats with the team. She ran social media while also serving as the team’s aerodynamics and composites lead. In spring 2024, she was named the team’s president, taking on a new leadership role as the team constructed its "LR25" car, which competed at a Formula SAE event at the Michigan International Speedway.
While serving as team president, Mattson also began her co-op with Nissan Motor Corp. This series of internships saw Mattson work on materials engineering, powertrain performance and seat design.
Participating in her co-op on the east side of Michigan while serving as team president on the west side required Mattson to get creative. At times, she had to work with the Formula SAE team while she was away.
“It was a fun challenge to manage a team remotely,” she said.
Through the challenges and splitting her time on different sides of the state, Mattson said she is grateful to her professors, teammates and study group for supporting her and helping her find success.
Mattson said she would not be in a position to receive the Glenn A. Niemeyer Award, which is given to well-rounded students who demonstrate excellence in both the classroom and extra-curricular activities, without that support.
“It means a lot to me that all of that could end in a really prestigious award,” she said. “It kind of feels more for my community that helped lift me up than just me.”
After graduating, Mattson plans to attend Michigan Technological University to pursue a Ph.D. in mechanical engineering.
— Written by Thomas Chavez
As this year’s recipient of the Gayle R. Davis First Generation College Student Emerging Leader Award, Daylona Jackson feels a strong sense of responsibility to her family and community as a first-generation student.
“Being recognized for the award feels like it validates my efforts, and it tells me not to slow down,” Jackson said. “For me, being a first-generation college student pursuing higher education has meant tackling systems like FAFSA and applications, while also explaining it to family members who don't necessarily understand this.
“I'm learning information that I can teach my family, which is really special to me, and (the award) symbolizes how my impacts have affected my community.”
Originally a biology major at another university, Jackson took an environmental justice class that blended her love for science with the humanities, illuminating her future career trajectory. Transferring to Grand Valley, she found her educational pathway as an environmental and sustainability major.
“Environmental science focused on different things, like humanities, which I was really drawn to,” Jackson said.
“I want to address issues within my community and around the world, which environmental science offers. I want to put my energy into something that I’m passionate about and could see change in real time.”
Jackson said one of the most impactful aspects of her experience at Grand Valley has been the variety of teaching styles she has encountered in the classroom.
“What stands out most at Grand Valley is the diversity within teaching styles and mediums within classes, which I really appreciate,” Jackson said.
“What’s important to me is being able to communicate and teach others about my interests. Having that range of teaching styles has been helpful because people digest information in different ways.”
— Written by Brian Vernellis
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