After so many in-person events were canceled due to the pandemic, Alex Priebe came up with the idea to coordinate a cornhole tournament on campus. “I missed those opportunities to connect with colleagues from across campus over fun, shared activities, especially outside in the summer,” he said. “At the same time, I was working in Brooks College and we had just created our own custom cornhole boards. My teammate, Aubrey Dull, and I had the idea to start the GVSU Cornhole Tournament as a fun, safe way to bring folks together to build community and connection across campus.”

Once the tournament was in motion, Priebe received support from all over the university. “The Web Team gave us a URL and space to create a webpage. The Human Resources office helped us with organization, communications, and their student designer created graphics. Event Services helped with the location and supplies. Athletics lent us their cornhole boards, as did many colleagues from across campus,” Priebe said. “It was a campus-wide team effort and so fun to see it come together to make something new happen. The best part was hanging out with colleagues from across campus, meeting new faculty and staff members, laughing, sweating (it was nearly 90 degrees that day!) and playing a backyard game together.”

The way the tournament came together nicely illustrates Priebe’s experience at GVSU, which he says is all about the wonderful people and supportive community we have here. In both roles he has worked at on campus, Priebe said, “I’ve felt so supported, encouraged, and cared for. And beyond my team, whenever I reach out to another department for help, someone is always there to show me the way and share their knowledge and resources. If that weren’t true, there’s no way we could have pulled off the Cornhole Tournament. The longer I’m here, the more people I get to know, the more grateful I am to be a Laker. GVSU is such a special place, and I feel lucky to get work here each day.”

Learn more about the second GVSU Cornhole Tournament, taking place on May 19. The first 16 teams are already filled up. Join the waitlist so we can expand the tournament!

Join us at the GVSU Farmers Market returning on June 8, 2022! Opening day will bring:

The second annual 2 Mile Fun Run/Walk with GVPD will be kicking off this year's Farmers Market. All faculty, staff and family members at all fitness levels are invited to participate. Grab a colleague or your whole department to join in on the fun!

Noelia Guerra Siriamphone, HR Generalist, is the HR liaison for the Division of Student Affairs and select areas within the Division of Academic Affairs. Her primary duty is to serve as the central contact for employees and university leadership in these areas. She is also responsible for communication and implementation of HR initiatives and is an expert of principles and practices of Human Resources at GVSU.

Noelia holds a bachelor’s degree from Aquinas College in International Business and a certificate from Grand Valley State University in Intercultural Communications. In her spare time, she values her time with her family and friends while enjoying the great outdoors.

We know that one of the most pressing issues facing higher education today is recruitment and retention. CUPA-HR is conducting a survey of higher education employees to better understand why they may or may not be thinking of looking for employment opportunities elsewhere. The survey takes around 10 minutes to complete, and all responses are completely confidential.