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GVSU in photos, February 2024: Black History Month celebrations, Laker silhouettes and music, theater and dance performances

BY Amanda Pitts
Image credit - Top image by Amanda Pitts

Mar 1, 2024
A portrait of of an academic advisor wearing a black jacket and smiling at the camera.
Left: Cassonya Carter is a senior academic advisor for the Kirkhof College of Nursing. Carter will soon celebrate her 30th year of service at Grand Valley. Right: Brittlyn Keller takes a few minutes for herself before getting back to studying in the Haas Center for the Performing Arts February 7. Keller, a music education major, said she's lucky to have all her classes in her favorite building on campus. "I spend all of my time in this building," she said. "This is the spot. It's just so great."
Image credit - Left: Amanda Pitts, Right: Kendra Stanley-Mills
A college student is reflected in a mirror as she paints.
Molly Tank paints in a Calder Art Center studio space as she works on oil paintings for her senior show coming up in March. "Nature is my big inspiration, being from Up North." she said. Tank, of Traverse City, is a BFA major with a minor in environmental sustainability studies.
Image credit - Kendra Stanley-Mills
A city skyline is reflected in a glass storefront.
There's a new Laker Store location opening in downtown Grand Rapids soon.
Image credit - Amanda Pitts
A couple snuggles in a teal hammock while laughing together.
Joshua Johnson and Darci Stailey hammock together in the Arboretum on an unseasonably warm, record-breaking February 27th. The two, who met in class at GVSU, were celebrating four months as a couple.
Image credit - Kendra Stanley-Mills
A hockey player in blue consoles his teammate after losing the game.
A teammate consoles senior forward for the Grand Valley Men's Division I Hockey Club, Shane Haggerty, after losing against rival Davenport University in the first round of playoffs at their home ice arena, Griff's Georgetown, on February 15.
Image credit - Macayla Cramer
Two small children play with toy cars while watching an event in an arena.
Evan Wrenn and Andrew Wrenn (sons of Sarah and John Wrenn), look on as their grandpa Thomas J. Haas speaks at the podium February 24 during a basketball court naming ceremony in his honor.
Image credit - Amanda Pitts
A university president wearing blue claps as a basketball court named after a former university president, pictured holding hands with his wife, is unveiled.
Grand Valley celebrated the legacy of President Emeritus Thomas J. Haas on February 24 with a ceremony naming the basketball court at the GVSU Fieldhouse Arena in his honor. "I am so grateful for being called here to service with this university with so many fine people along the way, with all our current and past students and all those alumni who are out there changing the world in a better way." Haas said.
Image credit - Amanda Pitts
A student working on their laptop is silhouetted against a window in an academic building.
A student studies February 23 in the DeVos Center for Interprofessional Health overlooking Finkelstein Hall on the Health Campus.
Image credit - Amanda Pitts
A row of college students work intently on their computers.
Students compete in a Cybersecurity Capture the Flag event on February 10 in Mackinac Hall.
Image credit - Amanda Pitts
Two children laugh together in an elementary school classroom.
Students in Yasmin Alemayehu's class at Valley View Elementary laugh during an assignment. Alemayehu is doing her ESL Elementary Internship at Battle Creek Public Schools.
Image credit - Amanda Pitts
A black and white photo of a college campus.
A sunny February 21 cast light and shadows across the Pew Grand Rapids Campus.
Image credit - Kendra Stanley-Mills
A cello player is silhouetted against a window with greenhouses in the background.
New Music Ensemble member Levi Smith is silhouetted in front of the greenhouses of Frederik Meijer Gardens & Sculpture Park during "Utopia: A Music and Dance Ambient Experience" February 25.
Image credit - Kendra Stanley-Mills
Dancers are silhouetted in an entrance to a room with face sculptures on the wall.
Students from Grand Valley's New Music Ensemble and the Dance Company greeted visitors to Frederik Meijer Gardens & Sculpture Park with performances inspired by the sculpture "Utopia" by artist Jaume Plensa. The sculpture is in the Garden Pavilion in the Welcome Center.
Image credit - Kendra Stanley-Mills
College dancers perform a modern dance routine wearing all white.
GVSU Dance Company's Emily Shay, left, and Julian McKenzie, right, help lower dancer Laina Stanton, center, to the ground during the performance.
Image credit - Kendra Stanley-Mills
A college theater student performs while holding a hand to their heart.
Left: Senior Jared Hogan's favorite part of the play "The Birds" is scene 8, which transitions from everyone singing "Happy Birthday" to people slowly opening up about their trauma. Based on Daphne du Maurier's short story (also the basis for Hitchcock's film), "The Birds" provides a close look at human relationships in the face of a societal collapse. Right: A person makes their way down the stairs of Au Sable Hall on February 5.
Image credit - Left: Lauren Seymour, Right: Kendra Stanley-Mills
A person uses loppers to prune a tree.
Grounds maintenance specialist and certified arborist, Evan Hartman, works on pruning an American holly tree while doing yearly maintenance in the Arboretum on the Allendale Campus February 5.
Image credit - Kendra Stanley-Mills
A room full of college students and participants clap and laugh together.
During Grand Valley's second National TRIO Day celebration February 22, participants attended breakout sessions, listened to a panel of high school and college students and had a dance party.
Image credit - Amanda Pitts
A college student dances in a large group during a black student organization showcase.
Sixteen different Black and Afro-led student organizations took part in GVSU's "Blackout: Black Student Organization Showcase." The event was just one of several events being put on by Grand Valley's Office of Multicultural Affairs to celebrate Black History Month.
Image credit - Amanda Pitts
A carillon tower is silhouetted against a cloudy blue and golden sunrise.
The Cook Carillon Tower is silhouetted against a cloudy sunrise February 13.
Image credit - Kendra Stanley-Mills
As seen from above, students sit at tables enjoying lunch along a blue pond.
Students enjoy lunch along Zumberge Pond during an unseasonably warm February 27th with temperatures reaching into the 70s.
Image credit - Kendra Stanley-Mills
Two college students high-five during a quiz bowl challenge.
Participants at the 'For the Culture Quiz Bowl' share a high-five during the February 27 event in the Kirkhof Center.
Image credit - Lauren Seymour
A person sits at a table smiling with others.
Student T4 scholars and community mentors are paired together for networking and career discussions at the Build What We Dream event February 23.
Image credit - Amanda Pitts

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