The Milton E. Ford LGBT Resource Center is home to a variety of resources, events, and clubs. Open from 9-6 p.m. from Monday through Friday and located on the first floor of Kirkhof, “The Center” isn’t just a physical space where people can hang out between classes, but it’s considered what Assistant Director DeAn “D” Hollowell calls “a home away from home.”

D’s first experience with the center started in high school. “I was doing a final project in my senior year about LGBTQ homelessness and I wanted someone in the community who was a professional to come through and speak to my class,” they said. “The person who came was actually a student worker at the LGBT Center at the time.” After transferring from Calvin to GVSU, D began working at the LGBT Center as a front desk worker and then as a Social Justice Educator and Coordinator in Inclusion and Equity before they were hired as the Assistant Director of the LGBT Resource Center in October 2022. 

The LGBT Center provides a wide variety of resources like the Mads Terpstra library located in the center featuring a variety of books centering around queer people and their experiences as well as helping students request a name change in Grand Valley’s system. The staff at the Center can assist with it all. 

Some other resources that the center offers are Queer Connections – a mentorship program where an out LGBT staff member serves as a mentor for a queer GVSU student and Open Door Discussions – INT 100/201 approved student-led talks where student workers at the center present on LGBT related topics. 

One of the main resources that the LGBT Center offers is the weekly student-led identity-based clubs. The LGBT Center is home to seven: Colors of Pride, First Year Queer Alliance, T2, Bi-Furious, Ace of Clubs, NeuroQueers, and General Queer Alliance. For anyone new to GVSU, First Year Queer is a great way to get involved during your first year, so if you’re a first-year student, D says, “feel free to stop by.” 

The center also hosts a variety of events. D has three favorites: QueerPOOLooza, a semesterly Queer and Trans Pool party, Wear The Rainbow, a community clothing drive where people have access to gender-affirming clothing, and Lavender Graduation, an optional, additional graduation ceremony to honor students in the LGBT community. 

D says that for a lot of people, the LGBT Resource Center is “Just ‘The Center.’ Period.” A lot of the students who come into the resource center use it as a hub of self-exploration, comfort, and care. “Seeing students that visit the center grow and change is the most rewarding part,” says D. 

If you’re looking to get involved or explore resources, stop by the LGBT Resource Center.