Articles by Matthew Makowski
Fall Arts Celebration to offer free events of art, music, dance, poetry and more
Acrobatic dancers flying through the air, reflections on resegregation, holiday music from France, a collection of Middle Eastern artifacts 50 years in making, and much more will dazzle audiences during this year's Fall Arts Celebration. For the past 13 years, audiences have experienced a series of six free events each fall, including an art exhibition, academic lecture, holiday celebration and showcases of dance, music and poetry. These events are meant as gifts to the West Michigan community, which has supported the growth
Aug 15, 2017
Free concerts planned in conjunction with String Leadership Camp
More than 20 local high school students with experience playing string instruments will visit Grand Valley State University for the opportunity to learn from and perform with Grand Valley students, faculty and industry professionals during String Leadership Camp. A series of free concerts will take place in conjunction with the camp, August 14-16.
Aug 11, 2017
Laker contributes to affordable housing projects in New York City
Spencer Wejrowski, a senior majoring in geography and sustainable planning, spent his summer in New York City, aiding the Department of City Planning in its initiatives to provide more affordable housing to city residents. He assisted the department's North Shore team of the Staten Island borough office with land use applications and large planning initiatives. One of these initiatives included the Bay Street Corridor Neighborhood Plan, one of the many planning initiatives to create affordable housing citywide as a result of
Aug 7, 2017
Professor spends 45 days in NASA simulated space mission
Tim Evans, associate professor of biology, spent 45 days inside HERA, a mock spaceship located at NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas. Working 19-hour days performing a variety of scheduled tasks, including virtual reality missions to the surface of an asteroid, NASA researchers will use the information gathered during this simulation to help prepare for possible future explorations to Mars, asteroids and the moon.
Aug 4, 2017
23rd annual Summer Film, "For the Birds," wraps production
The 23rd annual Summer Film Project wrapped production on July 28 after two weeks of filming at various locations around West Michigan. Since 1994, the Summer Film Project has provided students with the opportunity to work alongside industry professionals while producing a feature length film. This year's crew consisted of more than 25 Grand Valley students, faculty, and professionals along with six professional actors from Los Angeles, Detroit, Chicago, and West Michigan. This year's screenplay was written by James Sturtrid
Aug 1, 2017
Great granddaughter of famous artist to perform during GVSU celebration
Grand Valley owns the largest known single public collection of art work and papers by artist Mathias J. Alten. During a special musical event celebrating Alten's legacy, his great granddaughter, Linda Boozer-Vasilaki, will perform using his more than 100-year-old violin while surrounded by his art. "Alten Afternoon: A Musical Celebration of Mathias J. Alten" will take place on July 29
Jul 24, 2017
sHaPe Camp introduces local teens to health professions
Teenagers in West Michigan worked with radiation beams, and 3-D imaging and medical laboratory equipment as they explored careers in the health professions field during Grand Valley's Summer Health Activities and Professions Exploration (sHaPe) Camp. The camp, designed for students entering eighth or ninth grade, took place July 17-20 at the Cook-DeVos Center for Health Sciences, located on the Medical Mile on Michigan Street in downtown Grand Rapids.
Jul 24, 2017
Grand Valley's university carillonneur named president of national guild
Julianne Vanden Wyngaard, university carillonneur at Grand Valley, has been named president of The Guild of Carillonneurs in North America. She has served as the principal performer and teacher on Grand Valleyýs Cook Carillon Tower since its dedication in 1994 on the Allendale Campus.
Jul 14, 2017
Student uses digital media skills to promote elephant sanctuary
Spencer Rohatynski, a senior majoring in public relations and multimedia journalism, spent five weeks serving as the digital media coordinator at the Kindred Spirit Elephant Sanctuary, which is located in the Ban Na Klang Village in northern Thailand. During his internship, Rohatynski created a social media promotional video for the sanctuarym taught English to young children in the villageýs school and participated in village chores.
Jul 7, 2017
Students place in top 5 at national advertising competition
A team of 19 Grand Valley students recently bested more than 160 collegiate teams from around the U.S. to place in the top 5 in the American Advertising Federation's National Student Advertising Competition. The series of three individual competitions which took place over the course of three months culminated at the AAF's ADMERICA national convention in June. During the final round of the competition, Grand Valley's NSAC team placed 4th among the eight finalists.
Jul 6, 2017
