Trista Shumway, Assistant Director of Programming and Communication, joined Grand Valley State University in July of 2021 and The Graduate School in February 2022. She earned her master’s degree in International Education from New York University, and her bachelor’s degree in English Literature from the University of North Dakota. 

Trista has a background in global education and diversity that she developed while teaching abroad in Ghana and Morocco. She also taught students from pre-K to college in the US and has been an international student herself in London and Paris. Her experience as both teacher and student give her a unique perspective that helps to guide her in supporting all students.

Trista is responsible for conducting market research in support of GVSU’s ability to offer new graduate programming, as well as expanding graduate faculty and graduate student engagement in curricular and co-curricular activities. She provides creative and strategic direction and project/content management for all Graduate School communications. In addition, Trista plans and facilitates special events and functions, including New Graduate Student Orientations, the Graduate School Celebrations, and the Graduate Showcase event. She also administrates the Michigan Intercollegiate Graduate Studies (MIGS) Program, reviewing applications from non-degree seeking graduate students, preparing and reviewing petitions for exceptions to university graduate education policies and leave of absence requests, and processing professional learning credit requests. Last, but not least, Trista supervises and manages the Graduate Assistants of The Graduate School. 

In addition to managing the programming and communication of The Graduate School, Trista is the Thesis and Dissertation Coordinator. She manages the 3-minute Thesis Competition, designing and facilitating the project, thesis, and dissertation workshops and other co-curricular activities. She also reviews all final thesis and dissertation documents for compliance with university policies, continuous enrollment requirements, and coordinating the approval and dissemination of all final documents. 

Beyond her daily work, Trista is passionate about inclusive education and community impact and in her free time, she loves to read, experiment with new recipes, and travel.

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