5 immersive experiences we saw at the Reach Higher Celebration

Grand Valley's celebration of the progress of its Reach Higher 2025 initiative featured GVx talks and immersive showcases highlighting university projects as it strives to continue leading in the higher education space.

The showcases emphasized GVSU's Reach Higher commitments of an empowered educational experience, a lifetime of learning and a culture of educational equity.

Here are five of the innovative projects and initiatives on display. 

Related : Reach Higher Celebration spotlights GVSU's innovation in Michigan

Members of GVSU's Modern Languages and Literatures Department presented their solution to creating equitable opportunities for students to speak with native speakers of their language of study.

The most common way for students to gain experience conversing with native speakers is to study abroad. However, not every student can afford to study in a foreign country.

Through virtual reality experiences, the Modern Languages and Literatures team has been able to bridge that gap for students, providing them with immersive and interactive programs to speak with native language speakers. The programs offer activities for students to practice many forms of conversation, including ordering food or figuring out how to navigate through a public space.

Another activity allows students to traverse foreign towns and cities through the VR headset. Students may be tasked by their faculty members to find different types of businesses or community spaces through these experiences.

“We're trying to take technology and see where we can meet students where they are, whether that is financial constraints or they just need to get that speaking practice,” said Christopher Cirefice, assistant language resource center coordinator at GVSU.

Cirefice said student response has been positive, and the department is aiming to integrate the VR experiences into more courses.

GVSU's Seidman College of Business is developing a VR experience integrating artificial intelligence into practice for job interviews.

The program places students in a virtual interview with an AI avatar asking them questions. Students receive real-time feedback on their performance, including information on how well they answered the questions and a count of the number of filler words they used in their answers.

“You're looking at an avatar, but with how responsive it is and how accurate it is, you really feel like you’re in an actual interview,” said Allison Potts, a human resource management student at Grand Valley.

Potts said the avatar will change its behavior based on each individual interview. If an answer takes to long, the avatar begins to act disinterested, providing students with a visual cue to how they are performing.

Engineering student Eric Braun showcased a robotic arm that his group takes to K-8 classrooms to introduce young learners to STEM.

Wires are attached to the arms of a user. By flexing different muscle groups, signals are sent through the wires to the robotic arm, allowing the user to manipulate it. The robotic arm can be bent at the elbow and turned and rotated at the shoulder joint.

Braun said young students can use the technology as well, allowing them to see STEM in action in an interactive way.

Biology students Ava Whitlock and Brody Glei presented their projects on surveying rattlesnakes and deer in West Michigan.

To survey the rattlesnakes, their team would take a drone equipped with a thermal camera and fly it over their survey area during a sunny period when the rattlesnakes would most likely be out. With the thermal camera, they were able to identify the rattlesnakes and discern them from other wildlife in the area for their survey.

Glei worked with Kent County and the Kent County Road Commission to create best management practices for deer in the county. His work included surveying the area for the deer population as well as conversing with the public to get an idea of their thoughts and concerns regarding deer in the county. 

“With management and research, we can put geopopulations at a level that are more manageable and more tolerable in urban settings,” Glei said.

GVSU's Muskegon Innovation Hub team discussed its business accelerator program, Elevate West, which is available to any entrepreneur or business owner in the West Michigan region.

The program helps entrepreneurs develop their ideas, including education on distribution, messaging, marketing and capturing revenue.

“The idea is we walk them through their business model canvas,” said Tom Hopper, associate director at the Muskegon Innovation Hub. “So they better understand who their customers are, what problems their customers have, what their solution is and how that fits into their customers' needs.”

The hub offers a four-hour course, a 12-hour course and a 40-hour course. At the end of their instruction, entrepreneurs have the opportunity to participate in a business pitch competition where the winner receives a cash prize to help develop their business.