Alumni News Summer 2016
Community Outreach Week: uniting Lakers through service
Community Outreach Week is aimed at uniting Lakers around the globe through volunteer support and outreach to their communities in ways meaningful to each individual or group.
This award-winning week of service is a joint effort of the Alumni Association and the Community Service Learning Center.
To broaden the Laker Effect, all alumni clubs and chapters, students and faculty and staff members were encouraged to coordinate and/or participate in a community service project during March 19–26 in the name of Grand Valley.
3: Different countries served
16: Different states with projects
39: Volunteer groups
72: Outreach projects registered
1,100: Volunteers gave time and service
5,700: Service hours contributed
The largest group project was the Alumni Association Board at the Sugar Bush Festival, with 39 volunteers.
Palau connection remains strong
Grand Valley’s connection with the island country of Palau, in the western Pacific Ocean, started in the 1970s and remains strong, thanks largely to the country’s top official.
Tommy E. Remengesau Jr., president of Palau, graduated from Grand Valley in 1979 with a bachelor’s degree in criminal justice. His unofficial title is ambassador of Grand Valley.
Remengesau came to Grand Valley in 1975 through a federal exchange program between Micronesia and the university, as did Elbuchel Sadang, who now serves as the country’s minister of finance.
Palau gained independent status from Micronesia and became a republic in 1981.
Tommy E. Remengesau Jr., ’79, (second from left) is pictured with Donna and Jim Brooks, and President Thomas J. Haas.
In March, President Thomas J. Haas led a small Grand Valley delegation to Palau to present Remengesau with the Col. Ralph W. Hauenstein Fellowship medal, the university’s highest honor.
Mark Schaub, chief international officer, said more than 10 people from Palau have graduated from Grand Valley, and two students are currently enrolled. Schaub also traveled to Palau in March and gave presentations about Grand Valley to students from the country’s six high schools.
“There is one community college in Palau, and a handful of students from there have also enrolled in Grand Valley,” Schaub said.
Remengesau was the speaker at Grand Valley’s fall commencement ceremony in 2002.
Remengesau and Elbuchel Sadang joined international students from around the U.S. in Washington, D.C., in 1976.
Alumni events and activities
Power of 10 concludes
The celebration of President Haas’ 10 years of service concluded in June with alumni celebrations in Detroit and Grand Rapids. The year-long celebration visited cities on both coasts and provided alumni the opportunity to share with Haas what is important to them.
Chapters team to provide student support
Alumni representatives from the School of Public, Nonprofit and Health Administration, and the LGBT Alumni chapters joined forces in April to provide undergraduate and graduate students with a session focused on personal branding. Participants received professional headshots and heard a presentation on “Building Your Personal Brand: How to Market Yourself.”
Volunteer celebration, service award dinner
More than 110 alumni volunteers were saluted and thanked for their efforts during the 2015-2016 school year during an evening reception at the Eberhard Center on May 13. The evening also included the presentation of the Alumni Service Award to Bill Hudson, ’78, for his commitment and dedication to Grand Valley.
Pictured with Bill Hudson are his wife, Sue, and his mother.
