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For many people who attended college, they look back on those years fondly — a time when they became adults, pursued their passions, met people from all walks of life, were exposed to new experiences and new cultures that expanded their world views, found a community and made lifelong friends and gained the knowledge and skills that would set them up for the rest of their lives.
What sometimes gets forgotten in their rose-tinted nostalgia is how jarring the transition can be from being around the family, friends and community that they grew up with every day to being dropped into an unfamiliar environment, far from home and without in-person access to their support system. That is why WKKF partnered with Grand Valley State University (GVSU) and the Battle Creek Public Schools (BCPS) Bearcat Advantage scholarship to create a special orientation program for scholarship recipients attending GVSU as incoming freshmen — to help become a support system away from home and help make the transition from high school to college as smooth as possible.
Launched in 2023, the Bearcat Advantage is a scholarship funded by WKKF that covers up to 100% of tuition and fees at eligible four-year public and private colleges and universities across Michigan, including GVSU, as well as eligible Historically Black Colleges and Universities across the country for the next generation of BCPS graduates. In just the scholarship’s second year, there are now 19 Bearcat Advantage recipients attending GVSU, including 15 incoming freshmen.
“This is the first year that we’re offering the orientation program,” said Estefany Paniagua-Pardo, lead career navigator for the Pipeline Bearcat Advantage Program at GVSU. “It’s really to help students transition onto campus — that way, they already have a sense of community, a sense of resources and support structures before their first day of classes to help bridge the gap and really initiate success.”
Move-in day for the fall 2024 semester was on August 19, one week before classes started. Throughout that week, the GVSU team organized a series of activities to help the scholarship recipients get acclimated to life on campus. To kick things off, students enjoyed their first breakfast at the dining hall and were introduced to the GVSU-Bearcat Advantage program staff, who gave an overview of the program, scholarship requirements and student expectations. Over the next three days, the orientation itinerary included a poetry workshop designed to help the students get to know each other better, a self-care workshop led by the GVSU counseling center, other workshops on topics such as financial aid, a campus tour and a shopping spree at the student store to pick up their books and GVSU Laker gear.
“To make the most of the financial aid that BCPS graduates receive in college, they also need other supports — mentorship, community, guidance and people in their corner,” said Megan Russell Johnson, program officer at WKKF. “The combination of these supports has the potential to change the lives of a generation of young people in Battle Creek.”
Beyond orientation week, the Bearcat Advantage Program will be a constant resource for students throughout their college journey.
“The team that is supporting the Bearcat Advantage students provides advising that will last the entire year,” said Mei Mah, principal investigator of the W.K. Kellogg Foundation, Battle Creek Public Schools and Grand Valley State University Transformation Project. “We have created a whole series of programs to help them investigate things like financial literacy, creating a resume and a cover letter, and other extracurricular activities; to help them navigate academic or social challenges; and to just be there for them.”
As part of the holistic program, GVSU also offers a Mentorship Program, which pairs returning GVSU/BCPS Pipeline Scholars and Bearcat Advantage students as volunteer peer mentors with new incoming students from BCPS.
“Literally, I don’t fully have the words to voice just how supported I felt,” said Marshall Murdock, now a sophomore at GVSU, about supports from the GVSU-Bearcat Advantage program staff. “My mentor second semester was incredible.”
The new orientation program is already a hit with the brand-new batch of Lakers from BCPS like Dynise Anderson, who may not have been able to pursue college without the Bearcat Advantage and who are already creating fond memories for the future: “I’ve only been here three days, but they’ve probably been some of the best days of my life so far.”
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