Eva said her visit to Grand Valley quickly cemented her future as a
Laker. She has thrived as an exercise science major and honors student.
She has been impressed by GVSU's personalized approach and how
academic experts helped steer her to a field of study that suits her,
working to help educate people on preventative health measures to
enhance wellness.
Eva is starting a job at University of Michigan Health West as
community outreach and wellness coordinator, an outgrowth of her
required internship through the exercise science program.
"I really felt like people saw me as Eva and saw my unique
journey on this campus and I didn't feel that on other campuses. I was
immediately all in," Eva said.
Like her daughter, Corinn started out on the Grand Valley campus
immediately after high school – the first in her family to go directly
from high school to college. It was the 1980s, and Grand Valley was
not yet a university, with a significantly smaller student population
and campus footprint, she said.
Her time as a Laker art student ended after one year and she
transferred to Michigan State. But Corinn said she struggled as a
first-generation student. "There was really no frame of reference
for that in my family, so I was kind of working my way through school
and figuring out how to fund it," she said.
Corinn said a job opportunity as a graphic artist seemed to be the
way for her to make ends meet, but she discovered options then for
completing a four-year degree while working during the day
"didn't really exist."
She moved on in her career, kept taking community college classes and
earned an associate degree. She also took adult learning classes at
MSU. She ended up on the administrative side of the art world,
including a stint as the executive director of the East Lansing Art
Festival. She worked for an arts organization in Ludington and is now
the clerk in the city's public works department.
