Commencement stories: Graduates reflect on their time as Lakers

Natalie Thang chose to attend Grand Valley because she wanted to stay close to home in Kentwood, where she is the primary caregiver for her younger brother. She applied to GVSU through the Lifelong Educational Attainment for Determined Students (LEADS) program.

LEADS gave Thang the flexibility she needed to succeed in her courses while maintaining proper care for her brother. That flexibility was something she learned to seek out in her other commitments while at Grand Valley, in particular while part of the GVSU Rowing Team.

Thang will graduate with a degree in integrative studies, which she said will help with her full-time job at TRIO Townhomes, where she began working during her first year at Grand Valley.

"Working in housing, I know that I'm going to be working in teams. To get things done, you need to be able to communicate with other people and work with each other efficiently," Thang said. "That's what integrative studies offers."

Thang said she has already seen a change in the way she manages and works in her current position by applying her undergraduate studies to her work.

Thang's time at TRIO Townhomes has done more than provide her with a workplace to apply her studies. One of Thang's co-workers, McKenzie Sandel, served as the president of the GVSU Rowing Team, and she set out to recruit Thang to join the team. Sandel is now the varsity women's Rowing Team coach.

"Throughout my time working there, she had been adamant that I go in and try," said Thang, who joined the rowing team in the winter of 2024.

It was not an easy transition for Thang to spread her responsibilities across being a full-time student, full-time employee and rower. Add her role as caregiver for her younger brother, and the transition became a struggle. Thang was persistent. She saw herself struggling in the classroom and reached out for help.

"I exhausted a lot of Grand Valley's resources," she said. "My counselor was amazing in helping me navigate this."

Thang reached out to the academic chair of the rowing team and was put in touch with the resources she needed to get back on track. She found a fellow rower in the same major and began studying with them. She signed up for tutoring, and she communicated with her coach for flexibility with attending to her brother's needs. Through these efforts, Thang found the balance she needed.

"Club sports offer a lot to help with your academics, so it really wasn't a problem balancing school, work and rowing after I found those resources," she said.

This past season, Thang served as the rowing team's academic chair, helping connect her teammates with gaining access to the same resources she found helpful as a student athlete.

It is no surprise that what Thang will miss most about Grand Valley is her time with the rowing team. Through GVSU rowing, Thang said she saw an increase in her persistence, work ethic and motivation. She is going to miss cheering on her teammates to beat their personal bests and the relationships she built with the team.

Thang is grateful for Coach Sandel's persistence in getting her to join the team.

"I may not have had four years, but I had this year," Thang said. "And that's changed me as a person."

- By Thomas Chavez