News
Campus Recreation Celebrates Accomplishments, Recognizes Students
April 26, 2018
Campus Recreation held its annual Staff Appreciation Banquet on Friday, April 20. The banquet recognized the hard work of the student staff during the past year and celebrated the accomplishments and highlights of an outstanding 2017-18 school year. Hosted in the Kirkhof Center, this event was an opportunity for student employees from each program area to interact and celebrate with their Campus Rec peers one last time before commencement.
Campus Recreation employs over 120 students across all its program areas, which include administrative and marketing, The Bike Shop, The Climbing Center, club sports, fitness and wellness services, group exercise, intramural sports, outdoor adventures trip leaders and swim instructors.
“Student employees are Campus Recreation,” said Kate Harmon, Director of Campus Recreation. “We provide opportunities for our students to grow in many ways, including leadership, communication and problem solving. In turn, they lead our recreation programs by mentoring fellow students, delivering events and services and inspiring participation.”
Campus Recreation also celebrated the many accomplishments and highlights from throughout the year during the event, all of which were made possible by the student employees. Some highlights from 2017-18 shared during the banquet included:
- 4,076 unique visitors to the Climbing Center
- 1,100 attendees at Rec Fest in August
- 300 runners at the Family Weekend 5k in September
- 1,997 Group Exercise passes sold
- 1,288 service appointments
- 1,743 Injury Care Clinic visits
- Campus Recreation has the fourth largest club sports program in the nation, with 55 clubs
- The Gymnastics Club won their first national championship in April
- Men’s Division 3 Club Ice Hockey raised more than $7,000 at their Hockey Fights Cancer event in January
- Intramural Sports had 3,713 unique participants, who played in 2,260 games and played 29,675 times
“Recreational opportunities like these provide students the chance to engage and connect with other students. Physical activity has many benefits to students, and our programs, facilities and services support both the physical and mental well-being of GVSU students,” Harmon stated.
Graduating senior staff, whether they worked one semester or eight, were recognized for their dedication and commitment to the department during their time at GVSU. The list of those seniors and their program area is below.
Fitness and Wellness
- Claire Amin
- Emma Ammond
- Melissa Dong-Dobson
- Spencer Dupon
- Hailey Grim
- Joshua Hocquard
- Shelbi Imo
- Ally Kaza
- Samantha Martin
- Leigha McDaniel
- Connor Montgomery
- Kali Phillips
- Julia Rauch
- Arianna Stark-Norton
- Tess Swastek
- Nicole Tousignant
- Paula Tupper
- Selah Walker
Intramural & Club Sports
- Julia Bennett
- Evan Fedewa
- Mitch Hanmer
- Alex Pastor
- Courtney Schaber
- Karlee Tykosky
- Alex Warner
Marketing
- Kaitlyn Allison
Outdoor Adventures
- Sean Foster
- Blake Loudermilk
- Patrick McGettigan
- Bennett Slavsky
- Noah Verellen
Swim Instructors
- Marie Bourke
Campus Recreation also awarded their annual department awards to recognize the outstanding work of individual students from each area, as well as the Director’s Award, which is presented to the top student employee in the department. “Our students help shape the GVSU community each and every day – reaching further than simply the walls of our department office,” Harmon added. See the 2017-18 Award Winners listed below.
- Director’s Award: Julia Bennett
- Fitness & Wellness Employee of the Year: Connor Montgomery
- Marketing & Administrative Employee of the Year: Hannah Stoliker
- Outdoor Adventures Employee of the Year: Dharma Styx
- Sports Programs Employee of the Year: Karlee Tykosky
Campus Recreation encourages all students, faculty, and staff to Get Involved, Be Active, and Live Healthy. For more information, visit gvsu.edu/rec. Follow us on social media @GVSURecreation and @GVSUClubSports.