Laker Kickoff celebrates new year with spirited welcome for students

After a longtime tradition - the class photo for first-year students on the football field - that is now part of the new tradition, all Lakers spread out through the Valley Campus to sample fare from many different food trucks and participate in a wide range of activities.

Those activities included a foam pit, tables for various Grand Valley departments and organizations, from Mathematics - which offered an interactive puzzle for students - to Multicultural Affairs to Esports. There also were dance lessons, caricature artists, lawn games like corn hole and Kan Jam.

Roommates Camille Quenioux and Karlee Nigg, first-year students who met online before coming to Grand Valley, tried the dance lessons.

Nigg, an English major: "It was fun. I love dancing."

Said Quenioux, who is pursuing pre-nursing studies: "I'm new to dancing. It was pretty humbling."

The night ended with a fireworks and drone show.