906 Day

Student Success Stories

Michelle came to LSSU after starting her college career at a private 4-year college closer to her home in downstate MI. At her previous college she did not experience the academic success that she had wanted to, partly due to being too close to home. Her family was her main connection, and she was not able to explore her own academic pursuits and interests. Upon entering the Anchor Advantage Program, Michelle connected with her Anchor Advantage Advisor who worked with her and connected her to campus resources such as tutoring and the counseling center. After meeting weekly with her Anchor Advantage Advisor she started to build her self-confidence enough to be able to ask questions in class as well as speaking with her professors after class. Midway through her first semester, she even started her own study group for her math class with fellow students who also attended the lecture.

As her confidence in her academic abilities grew, Michelle started to realize that college WAS a place that she could succeed. Her self-esteem grew and by the end of her first semester she had joined two student groups, one for her major (business) and another for pure pleasure (skating club.) She started to partake in student activities such a field trips and her grades reflected the new Michelle. She finished her first semester with a 2.6 GPA. Her second semester was even better and she reached out to other students to help develop a new student club!

Michelle is still a student at LSSU and is progressing toward her degree and has been in good academic standing since!

Michelle shared these thoughts about the importance of the Anchor Advantage Program. “My Anchor Advisor helped me to build a support network through tutors and study groups. He helped me to better connect with my professors and other faculty.” She continued, “Being able to have a safe place where I could share my concerns, fears and successes was very helpful – it was nice to know that Lake State supported my academic growth and gave me the chance to show I could be successful.”

Pat is a student from out of state. After having failed his classes at a community college in his home state, he transferred to LSSU where he was admitted into the Anchor Advantage Program.  Through working with his Anchor Advantage Advisor on a weekly basis, Pat was able to prove that he is indeed capable of quality academic work.  Pat is now in his second year at LSSU and is on a path towards college completion.

While Pat initially came to LSSU for a specific program, he has become increasingly interested in expanding his horizons while he is in college.  General education classes have opened up doors for new ways of looking at the world and he is considering adding a second major of philosophy after taking Professor Swedene’s Intro to Philosophy course.

Pat’s Anchor Advantage Advisor worked with him to make connections wherever he could and Pat came to know all of his faculty well and took advantage of their office hours.  He became engaged in student clubs and even became an officer of one of them.

Thanks to the Anchor Advantage Program, Pat was given a chance to show that he had the skills and more importantly the drive to become a successful college student and give back to the campus.  While not all students entering the Anchor Advantage program will be successful, it is the trust and connections built with these students that when you see them fulfill their potential and develop a positive growth mindset that you see that this program is giving students an opportunity to change their life trajectory.