Rimma Korchmit
As a graduate student in the Student Affairs Administration (SAA) master's program at MSU, I had the incredible opportunity to apply theory to real-world practice. This August, I joined the Spartan Undergraduate Experience Strategy (SUES) team as a practicum student, eager to learn about student success strategies, institutional initiatives, and strategic and taskforce work in the higher education context.
As part of the team, I joined collaborative efforts in several initiatives: creating a curriculum for the UGS201 class, conducting research to support updates to the Annotated Bibliography, and working with data to enhance outreach to campus partners. Being part of SUES helped me sharpen my skills in collaboration and strategic planning and allowed me to reflect on my practices as an entry-level professional in student affairs. This experience has been pivotal in shaping my professional interests and aspirations. As I look ahead to graduating from the SAA program, I am confident that the expertise and insights gained through my time with SUES will be invaluable in my future career.
Wasek Sazzad
As a strategic planning intern for the Spartan Undergraduate Experience Strategy under the Office of the Provost, I focused on advancing initiatives that support student success at MSU. I designed a comprehensive database questionnaire to gather and analyze data on campus-wide student success efforts. Collaborating with the Undergraduate Education Data Research team, I ensured the inclusivity of diverse stakeholder perspectives. These efforts will come together at the Spartan Undergraduate Student Success Summit 2025, where we will showcase innovative initiatives and explore new ways to improve student success.
Through the Campus Student Success Group (CSSG), I helped streamline campus-wide stakeholder opinions on key policies. I am supporting the Academic Standing Project, focusing on early interventions for students we identify as needing support to ensure a consistent response across the colleges. I was part of facilitating discussions on the Withdrawal Policy, leading to the replacement of punitive grades with W grades, fostering informed decision-making and reducing student stress. Additionally through CSSG, discussions covered the University Health and Wellbeing (UHW) policy, aligning it with the Okanagan Charter to promote health equity in campus life, as well as the transfer credit evaluation process and enhancements to the Spartan Compass and Navigator Programs, aimed at fostering a sense of belonging and ensuring smooth transitions for students.
I created a collaboration between ASMSU Red Cedar Log, TEDx MSU and the SUES unit to showcase student work through initiatives like Spartan Remix, Spartan Speaks and the First Gen Celebration. These efforts advance MSU’s 2030 goal of increasing undergraduate graduation rates to 86%, ensuring sustainable student success.
Mariam M. Turkey
As a current graduate student in the Public Health (MPH) master’s program at Michigan State University, I joined the Student Success Strategy team to advance initiatives that support undergraduate student success at MSU.
As a strategic planning intern for the Spartan Undergraduate Experience Strategy for the Office of Undergraduate Education, I joined collaborative efforts in several initiatives. I focused on providing classroom support for a UGS 201 course. As a teaching assistant for UGS 201, an undergraduate seminar, I developed lesson plans for in-person and online content. I presented on topics such as research methodologies, data analysis, and Sense of Belonging, one of the Five Areas of Student Success, while also providing student support. I conducted research to support updates to the Annotated Bibliography and created a glossary outline for the Annotated Bibliography. I collected data on future campus partnerships to enhance outreach. I assisted with Student Success Launch planning and coordination, an event in which campus partners are invited to participate in workshopping and discussions around the projects, policies, processes, and practices that can remove student barriers and support the five opportunity areas of the Spartan Undergraduate Experience Strategy: self-discovery of purpose, educational success, developing a sense of belonging, contributing to an empowered community and developing wellbeing. These efforts supported a campus-wide effort designed to fulfill MSU’s Student Success 2030 Strategic goal of raising graduate rates to 86% by closing our opportunity gaps for marginalized students on campus.
Reflecting on my time as an intern, I gained valuable insights into project management, communication and event coordination. I developed strong organizational and communication skills by supporting multiple projects aimed at enhancing student success. This role sharpened my ability to adapt to challenges, work effectively within a team, and ensure the timely completion of tasks, all of which have prepared me to excel in dynamic and impactful environments.