Grand Valley State athletics will host a SEA of Change for social justice event Sunday, August 29. The event is directed at GVSU incoming freshman and transfer student-athletes. SEA, which stands for Supporting, Elevating and Activating, was derived after several meetings, surveys and action plan groups among GVSU student-athletes, coaches, ICA administration and outside groups. 
 
The purpose of the program is to provide incoming student-athletes with information which will assist them in their transition to Grand Valley State, specifically, with how GVSU would like its student-athletes to practice and embrace the values of diversity, equity and inclusion. 
 
Olympian Gwen Berry (Hammer Throw), a former student-athlete at SIU-Carbondale and Kenton Mack, a former Northern Michigan men's basketball student-athlete and the founder and President of Athletes Igniting Action, are the featured keynote speakers at the event. In addition, breakout sessions covering a significant number of social issues will complete the afternoon session. 
 
"We are excited to implement this programming into our athletics culture to assist and enhance our incoming student-athletes acclimation to GVSU," said GVSU Associate AD for Student Athlete Welfare and Development. "We have high expectations for our student-athlete development on and off the playing field, while also expanding our knowledge of social and cultural issues," added Moore. 
 
Grand Valley State was one of 41 Division II institutions selected to participate in the NCAA Inclusion Forum, "A Vision of Change: Empowering Voices and Rising to Action." The programming focused on five core areas of disability, international, LGBTQ, race/ethnicity and women. Participating institutions were required to identify a Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) related issues on their respective campuses that they could impact. 
 
SEA of Change committee members include: Walter Moore (GVSU Associate AD), Ali Thompson (volleyball), Judith Essemiah (women's track & field), Marlene Kowalski-Braun (Asst. VP for Inclusion & Student Support), Reynaldo Radlin (Asst. track & field coach), Callie Youngman (Asst. volleyball coach), Leah Short (Violence Prevention & Education Coordinator for the Gayle R. Davis Center for Women's & Gender Equity).