Grand Valley: College of Liberal Arts and Sciences Spotlights

Elaine Videan, '97

Dr. Elaine Videan, '97, was honored as a College of Liberal Arts and Sciences Distinguished Alumni-in-Residence during Homecoming 2009.

Videan has traveled far since receiving a B.S. in biology from GVSU in 1997, including to Central America and east Africa. After graduation, she entered Miami University of Ohio where she earned both master's (2000) and doctorate (2005) degrees in zoology with a focus on primatology.

Videan has worked with and studied a variety of primate species including howler monkeys, macaques and chimpanzees. She has conducted field work on howler monkeys in Nicaragua and studied chimpanzees in Tanzania. Her true passion, however, is captive primate research.

While pursuing her graduate degrees, she worked and conducted research at the University of Texas M.D. Anderson Keeling Center for Comparative Medicine and Research, the Southwest National Primate Research Center, and the Primate Foundation of Arizona. For the past two years, Videan has worked at the Alamogordo Primate Facility on Holloman Air Force Base in New Mexico. She holds a variety of management and administrative duties at Alamogordo including, regulatory compliance, quality assurance, program development, and coordination of the facility's Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee. She continues to be active in both behavioral and clinical primate research and has produced over 20 peer-reviewed publications. Videan believes passionately in the human care and use of primates in biomedical research and is working at both the local and national level to ensure the continued availability of primates for biological research aimed at improving human health.

Added November 2009

Troy Hardy, '95

Multi-Emmy nominated music editor, composer, and guitarist, Troy Hardy, '95, will receive the 2009 Distinguished Alumnus Award during the winter commencement ceremony on December 12. Hardy earned a Bachelor of Arts in Music from GVSU in 1995 and is owner of Los Angeles-based Meltro Music. He has completed work as a music editor on over 250 television episodes, including Entourage, CSI, The West Wing, Huff, My Name is Earl and Grey's Anatomy. Hardy also boasts an impressive list of composition credits, having scored original songs for a multitude of television shows and movie trailers. The accomplished guitarist can be heard playing on the main title theme for TLC's Little People, Big World, and has played with many established Los Angeles artists and Grammy winning songwriters. He has received four Emmy Award nominations for Outstanding Sound Editing for a Series and earned Motion Picture Sound Editors Golden Reel nominations in 2008 and 2009 for Best Sound Editing.

Added December 2009

Stabler of History Awarded Fulbright

Scott Stabler, Assistant Professor of History, has been awarded a Fulbright for his work in Ghana. Scott explains that the award will allow him "to study and teach at the University of Cape Coast in Ghana, Africa for the winter 2011 semester. I will be teaching in both the College of Education and for the History Department. My research will involve studying how schools in Ghana teach the African slave trade to the Americas as Ghana formed a major locale for the export of slaves." The College congratulates Scott on this wonderful achievement.

Classics professor selected for teaching excellence award

Peter Anderson, associate professor of Classics, received a Collegiate Teaching Excellence Award at the American Philological Association Annual Meeting in San Antonio, Texas, on January 8. The APA is the principal learned society in North America for the study of ancient Greek and Roman languages, literatures, and civilizations. The association noted that Anderson has inspired his students, his colleagues, and the larger Classics community through his commitment to innovative teaching and to fostering intellect. A scholar of Seneca the Younger and Martial, Anderson brings to his classes the best qualities of each author: philosophical and contemplative thought together with wit and literary knowledge. Charles Pazdernik, department chair, praised Anderson for his insight as well as the grace with which he delivers it. "He has become an object of fascination for his students and the subject of a Facebook page dedicated to his quips and classroom exploits without seeking to foster a cult of personality or playing to the crowd," he said. In 2009, Anderson received Grand Valley's Pew Teaching Excellence Award, and was the Margo Tytus Visiting Fellow at the University of Cincinnati. He has published several articles on teaching Latin, and is the author of a report on state standards for Latin teaching for the Michigan Department of Education, and criteria and items for the statewide Latin certification exam.

News & Informations Services

Mary Tejeda and the Bright Lights of NYC

Mary Tejeda (Theatre, 08) has been really busy promoting a season of new plays as the Educational/Outreach intern at Premiere Stages outside of New York City.

Her work there also included marketing/PR and being the house manager for productions. She ran playwriting camps for middle and high schooler students, and also got to sit in on the Equity auditions in NYC for the show "Any Other Name" by George Brant.

Most recently, she has spent the year at Performance Network Theatre in Michigan as an apprentice, working both in the office and backstage for the season.

Math Major wins prestigious Ernest F. Hollings Scholarship

Kate Coveney, Applied Mathematics major and a student in the Frederik Meijer Honors College has been awarded a prestigious Ernest F. Hollings Scholarship. She is one of 72 recipients selected nationally. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Ernest F. Hollings Scholarship Program is designed to increase undergraduate training in oceanic and atmospheric science, research, technology and education and foster multidisciplinary training opportunities; increase public understanding and support for stewardship of the ocean and atmosphere and improve environmental literacy; recruit and prepare students for public service careers with NOAA and other natural resource and science agencies at the federal, state and local levels of government; and recruit and prepare students for careers as teachers and educators in oceanic and atmospheric science and to improve scientific and environmental education in the United States. Coveney was awarded an $8,000 award for the next two years plus $6,500 during the summer while she completes a 10-week, full-time internship position during the summer at a NOAA facility. The internship provides Scholars with ¿hands-on¿/practical educational training experience in NOAA-related science, research, technology, policy, management, and education activities. The award also includes travel funds to attend a mandatory Hollings Scholarship Program orientation, conferences where Coveney will present a paper or poster, and a housing allowance. To learn more about the Hollings Scholarship, visit http://www.oesd.noaa.gov/Hollings_info.html . Interested students should contact Amanda Cuevas, director of the GVSU Office of Fellowships located in the Frederik Meijer Honors College at cuevasam@gvsu.edu or 331-3219 for eligibility and application information.

Alumni Career Panel 2011 Follows Passion

Facilitated by Tim Bulson (masters in Health Communications '09 and president of the CLAS Alumni Chapter), five panelists discussed the paths their educations and careers had taken for an audience of students (and the video camera). In each case, their educational roads had been varied and their careers sometimes unforeseen, but the value of their liberal arts education was clear. The panelists were: Heather Allegrina-Bowe: '95, BA in Philosophy (Business Operations Manager for Travel leaders Corporate) Michael Messner, '95 & '00; MSE, BS in Biology (Dir. of Student Academic Success Center at GVSU), Lindsay Patton-Carson; BS in Journalism, minor in Spanish (Managing Editor at Revue Magazine), Meahgan Pear '07; BA in Writing, minor in Ad/PR (Dir. of Marketing & Communications for Girl Scouts of Michigan Shore to Shore) , Patrick Johnson, Jr. '09, BS in Liberal Studies (Branch Manager for United Federal Credit Union) Sponsored by Career Services, the CLAS Alumni Chapter and the College of Liberal Arts & Sciences.

Mary Epps, '05

With the lead up to the original February 17, 2009 deadline for the conversion of nationwide television broadcast signals to digital, it has been nearly impossible to avoid the onslaught of media coverage regarding the switch. In Michigan, much of the thanks for this broad awareness can be credited to Mary Epps, '05, DTV project coordinator for the Michigan Association of Broadcasters in Lansing, MI.

Epps was hired by MAB in June of 2008 as DTV project assistant. After just a few short months, she was named project coordinator for the state, providing support and DTV-related communications to the organization's over 300 member stations. One of her main goals has been to help broadcasters around the state in informing and preparing the general population for the conversion through public service announcements and other means.

"We achieved 100 percent awareness of the transition according to a recent Michigan State University poll," she explains - a tremendous accomplishment, especially in light of the fact that the U.S. House of Representatives last week passed legislation postponing the conversion deadline to June 12, 2009 amid concerns that millions of households in the nation were still not prepared.

At the heart of the bill delaying the switch were concerns regarding the U.S. Commerce Department's coupon program, which offers households coupons to defray the cost of purchasing a digital TV converter box. By the end of 2008, all funds for the coupon program had been allocated. Consumers using an antennae or rabbit ears to view broadcast networks and requesting coupons were put on a waiting list. The coupons expire 90 days after issuance and if unused, the designated money is returned to the treasury and additional coupons can then be issued. The hope with the extension is to allow more time for consumers to redeem these coupons.

"With the extension of the transition deadline, I will continue in my capacity to support our members and to educate the public on all things DTV. Our message to the general public will continue to be, 'Get prepared now. Don't wait to make the transition until June.' There is concern that there might be limited availability of converter boxes in the months to come," says Epps.

Epps earned a B.S. in advertising and public relations from Grand Valley State University in 2005, and went to work as a communications assistant for the Michigan Department of Transportation. She then worked for the Coldwater Daily Reporter before taking her current position.

She credits Grand Valley and connections made through the institution in helping prepare her for her role. "Michael Walenta [general manager of WGVU-TV] was an excellent resource for me regarding all things DTV," says Epps, who looks forward to continuing on at MAB after the conversion is complete to focus on event communications and assistance with legislative issues.

The position will bring her back to Grand Rapids March 9-11 for the Great Lakes Broadcasting Conference. GVSU broadcasting, engineering and communications students and professionals are encouraged to attend this career fair and great networking opportunity.

Added February 2009

Supporting Excellence at Grand Valley

Our Spotlights feature faculty, students and alumni who have made wonderful contributions to our world. Everyone can participate in this excellence by supporting a scholarship, the CLAS Fund for Excellence, our new library, the William James Fund or any of the other hundreds of funds specifically targetted to make a difference in educational opportunities at GVSU. Visit http://www.gvsu.edu/giving/ today!

Kevin Michael Schmitz, '06

Kevin Michael Schmitz, '06, is a professional advertising and editorial fashion photographer in Los Angeles and New York. He is the principle/founder of Kevin Michael Schmitz Photography, specializing in location lighting, digital imaging and large scale production. Kevin Michael photographs magazine spreads, fashion lookbooks, advertising campaigns, fine art pieces, documentary spreads, album covers, and is branching into celebrity fashion photography. His high-profile work has been published in eight national and international magazines within the past year.

After receiving a bachelor of science in photography from Grand Valley State University, Kevin Michael Schmitz pursued a master of fine arts in photography at the Academy of Art University in San Francisco. Upon moving to Manhattan Beach, California, he began his advertising photography business full-time. He employs six photography interns whom he mentors about the business of photography and advanced lighting techniques. As an educator, he guest lectures at photography and fashion workshops in Los Angeles.

Kevin Michael has taken his photographic thesis from GVSU entitled Alchemy of a Dream, to an entirely new level. As dreams have a unique way of transforming our unconscious into a limitless reality, photographs can trigger deep unconscious memories. Each fine art fashion piece is photographed as a multi-image composition of an archetypal figure meshed into a black & white negative background. This new style of fine art and fashion digital montage encompasses an ethereal feel that is represented by an inverse dreamscape of the collective unconscious.

In January of 2009, Kevin Michael Schmitz traveled throughout Israel during the war in Gaza. He photographed and authored documentary magazine editorials published in the United States and Europe. The project entitled ISRAEL: A Culture at War documents the people and Holy Land of Israel and the West Bank during a time of war. These gripping images and articles tell the perspective of the people living within the conflict.

Kevin Michael Schmitz is an active member of numerous professional organizations and holds an impressive list of clients. He plans to begin working as an adjunct professor of photography in Los Angeles this year to educate the future of the photographic industry in Southern California.

"I am deeply honored to have been nominated for the GVSU Young Alumni Award. Grand Valley truly prepared me for the world in so many ways, and I am excited to be living my dream as a professional advertising photographer."

www.KevinSchmitz.com

Added September 2009

Luan Nguyen, Success Writ Large

Luan Nguyen came to GVSU to study hard, but he could not foresee that his efforts would be displayed in a very large format over Highway 131. This recent alumnus, about to start his graduate studies at Nortre Dame, is featured on a GVSU billboard advertising our strength in student research. ( Look for "Real World Research" as you travel southbound 131 just south of the Wealthy Street interchange).

With his research mentor Professor George McBane, Luan had the opportunity to do cutting edge Physical Chemistry research and present at conferences. He was also selected as an Ott Scholar by the Chemistry Department. Professor Laurie Witucki also mentored Luan over the last two years through the S-STEM program.

Luan is proud of his alma mater. He says, "One’s potential will be hidden without exposure to the right opportunity. Grand Valley State University had provided me with many great opportunities so that I know what I am capable of doing and will be able to do what I wish. Go Lakers !!! "

Leslie Perales, '07

Leslie Perales, '07, has been named the editor of The Observer newspaper in Herndon, Va. She is now responsible for all editorial content in the company's print and digital publications.

Perales said she first became interested in journalism in high school but was also involved in photography and other types of media production. She intended to major in photography or graphic design, but picked journalism because it allowed her to incorporate those other skills.

"I'm really glad I stuck with journalism because it's a career that allows me to implement my photography and other media skills along with writing," she said. "At the Observer I have been a writer, photographer, videographer, and social networker, managing our Twitter, YouTube and Facebook accounts, as well as managing our Web site."

Perales graduated in 2007 with a degree in journalism. She also gained crucial experience outside the classroom, working at the Lanthorn, where she was a writer, copy editor, news editor and editor in chief.

"Some of my most memorable moments from Grand Valley were the many long days and nights I spent at the Lanthorn, with my fellow journalism and writing classmates," Perales said. "Nearly every experience I had there has helped further my career. My time at the Lanthorn really helped prepare me as a professional for the role that I'm playing now at the Observer."

Perales rose quickly at The Observer, where she started in January 2008 as a general assignment reporter covering community of Reston, Va. Perales soon took on the additional responsibility of covering Herndon and for planning the newspaper's coverage each week.

"Leslie has shown a great ability to understand how important local news is to our readership," said Observer Publisher Christopher L. Moore. "She is passionate about journalism, and compassionate about the people we serve."

Added March 2010

Derek Bailey, '95 & '98

Derek Bailey was appointed as a member of the National Advisory Council on Indian Education by President Barack Obama. Bailey earned two degrees from Grand Valley: a bachelor's degree in psychology in 1995 and a master's degree in social work in 1998.

Bailey was sworn in as tribal chairman of the Grand Traverse Band of Ottawa and Chippewa Indians in December 2008. He is the fifth chairman since the Grand Traverse Band was federally reaffirmed in 1980 and the youngest in the tribe's history. Bailey is currently the chairman of the Inter-Tribal Council of Michigan and also serves as chairman of the Chippewa/Ottawa Resource Authority.

"I am honored to represent the Grand Traverse Band on so many different levels," said Bailey, "for Northern Michigan, the state, and the Midwest regions of tribal nations. I am proud of the education I received at Grand Valley and it will complement the work I do at the national level."

While at Grand Valley, Bailey was president of the Native American Student Association, an organization that engages the community through programs that share Native American culture. He said he will never forget getting the phone call from the White House about his appointment.

"The woman told me that the president had signed off on my presidential nomination. I asked her if she could please repeat that and she thought she misspoke," Bailey recalled. "I told her I just wanted to hear the words one more time."

Bailey said he looks forward to serving on the council and sharing his passion for education. "It is important that educational opportunities are accessible for all. We know that with individual success comes state and national success," he said. "I look forward to progressing our tribal nation forward."

Added July 2010

Megan Ward, '06

Few people land the job they dreamed of having in college, and even fewer realize that dream just a few years after graduating. Megan Ward, '06, made the decision her sophomore year while working for GVSU's Fred Meijer Center for Writing that she someday wanted to direct a center of her own. At the young age of 23, Ward is now Writing Center Director at Northwestern Michigan College.

Her Grand Valley experience was invaluable in helping her accomplish this goal, and she counts her time at the Meijer Center for Writing as one of the best aspects of her undergraduate education. "I found my niche, and met a group of friends with personalities and interests similar to my own," says Ward. It was with some of these friends and writing faculty member John Lestat, that she co-founded the student organization, Writers'Club, a creative writing group on campus. "I received excellent support from the faculty in both the English and Writing Departments, who all provided ample opportunities to go above and beyond and explore our own ideas."

After graduating magna cum laude from GVSU in 2006 with bachelor's degrees in writing and English, she earned a master's degree in rhetoric and composition at Miami University of Ohio in 2008. A key influence for Ward has been Meijer Center for Writing Director Ellen Schendel, who assisted her in narrowing down graduate school options to top programs, and connecting her with individuals who attended various programs across the nation. "Ellen's mentorship allowed me to more fully understand what it meant to be a professional in the field, before actually entering it. Through working with her, I was able to see what the job would be like and how to be successful in the field of writing centers and composition."

Her graduate experience was a trial as she struggled with competitive classmates, but she survived only to face the challenge of landing a job in her field. She applied for jobs spanning the country, but the one she landed brought her unexpectedly back to Michigan. "My goal was to use the opportunity of job searching to move somewhere else in the country that I hadn't lived in yet. It seemed like the perfect timing. However, with the job market like it is, I ultimately had to choose based on which job fit me the best, and that happened to be in Traverse City."

Megan found the perfect career fit at Northwestern Michigan College, a publicly funded community college serving the Grand Traverse region. "I enjoy the smaller atmosphere, as there seems to be a large deal of collaboration happening across campus. I'm also seeing students extremely engaged in the material and eager to learn."

Her primary responsibility is managing the writing center within the communications department of NMC. In addition, she manages a reading tutor program, where college students are placed into local elementary schools, as well as a teaching assistant program in conjunction with basic writing classes. She oversees 20 students in the writing center and another 10 students in the reading tutor program. "My employees are the main reason I love this job so much. They are amazingly engaged, intelligent, and interested both in their jobs and in academia. Every day is a new experience and I'm incredibly thankful to have such a motivated and resourceful staff."

Another aspect of working in academia which appeals to Megan is the ability to continue conducting her own research within the field. Within writing center work, she is studying the idea of professionalism among student tutors in writing centers and how that affects them both as members of the profession and as students themselves. Another facet of her professional research is that of Lesbian, Gay, Bi-Sexual, and Transgender spirituality, and how rhetoric in the public sphere shapes the spiritual development of LGBT individuals.

Added May 2009

Steve Foote, '82

Steve Foote, `82, was named 2010 Middle School Teacher of the Year by the Kent County Education Association during their Annual Spring Awards Banquet on May 4, 2010. The KCEA represents over 7,000 teachers and other education professionals at 20 schools in Kent County, Michigan. He was one of four GVSU alumni honored at the ceremony.

Foote earned a Bachelor of Music Education from GVSU in 1982, and has been teaching ever since. He is currently the band director for Crestwood Middle School in the Kentwood Public School District, where he began in 1990.

He was nominated for the award by a colleague who commended his teaching excellence and the lasting impact he has on his students. "Steve Foote is a master teacher and expert music educator. He works very hard to ensure that every student he teaches is successful by making a personal connection with each one," cited nominator Jason Proctor, '01.

Foote was also recognized for his exponential impact on the education world through mentorship of future educators. He regularly takes on student teachers from Grand Valley who continue to seek his advice long into their own careers.

As evidence of his commitment to all students, as well as the respect he has gained from his peers, last year Foote was asked to transfer to another school within his district. A longtime colleague, Kristen Bielski, had entrusted him with her flourishing band program while she fought and unfortunately lost a battle with cancer. Foote accepted the award in tribute to Bielski and in gratitude for all those who have taught and supported him throughout his career, including wife Marcia (Beckwith) Foote, '78, and sons Chris, Eric and Nathan.

The family resides in Caledonia, Michigan.

Other GVSU alumni honorees include, Ami (Curtis) Taylor, '95, second grade teacher at Walker Station Elementary who was named Lower Elementary Teacher of the Year. Jerry Czarnecki, '97 & '01, math teacher at Kelloggsville High School, and Kristin Schutte, '99, English teacher at Lowell High School, shared the distinction of High School Teacher of the Year.

Added May 2010