The Michigan State University Tower Guard class of 2021-2022 continued the honorable legacy of the organization through their dedication towards benefitting the MSU Resource Center for Persons with Disabilities.
The Michigan State University Council of Students with Disabilities (CSD) recently hosted their 6th annual Adaptive Sports Day: Sports & Recreation for All Abilities on April 2, 2022 at Demonstration Hall.
Mandy Zuckerman, Tower Guard alumna from the class of 2020-2021, will be receiving the Resource Center for Persons with Disabilities 2022 Student Leadership and Service Award for her contributions towards making Beaumont Tower more accessible.
This year’s Tower Guard class took the opportunity to spread holiday cheer at Sparrow Hospital through hosting a donation drive for the pediatric patients who would be spending their holidays at the hospital.
Every year, Homecoming Court recognizes the brightest and most exemplary leaders of the senior class at Michigan State University. These students are hand-selected to represent the diverse student body at MSU through attending various events. The 2021 Court consisted of 10 students, two of which were Tower Guard alumni. Maddy Niblock, secretary of the Tower Guard Class of 2019-2020, and Eliot Haddad, general member of the Tower Guard class of 2019-2020, represented the prestige of Tower Guard through their time on Homecoming Court.
On September 7, 2021, Tower Guard held its annual May’s Morning Sing induction ceremony, welcoming the newest class of members to the organization. Ishaan Modi, 2020-2021 Tower Guard Vice President, and Tushya Mehta, 2020-2021 Tower Guard Secretary, coordinated this event under the guidance of Liz Fuller, RCPD Leadership Development Specialist and lead Tower Guard advisor.
Whenever one thinks of MSU’s Tower Guard, whether they are familiar with the organization or not, they immediately think of Beaumont Tower. This iconic monument on campus represents the legacy that Tower Guard, one of the oldest student organizations on campus, takes pride in. Mandy Zuckerman, member of the Tower Guard class of 2020-2021, realized that for an organization that represents accessibility and inclusivity, the space in which they meet, Beaumont Tower, is not accessible itself.
Shaw and Hannah are well-known names across the MSU campus, recognized for significant contributions in leadership at the University. Hannah Zimmerman, great-great granddaughter of May Shaw and eleventh MSU President Robert Shaw, and great granddaughter of his successor John Hannah, recently joined Liz Fuller (RCPD Leadership Development Specialist and Lead Tower Guard Advisor), Madeleine Russell (2020-2021 Tower Guard President), and Ishaan Modi (2020-2021 Tower Guard Vice President) for a meeting inside Beaumont Tower to discuss her upbringing and future endeavors while learning about her family legacy at MSU.
In 2020, Tower Guard members were introduced to Impact Teams, which serve as smaller focus groups within the larger membership. Each team is dedicated to a specific area of service to the RCPD, giving Tower Guard members the opportunity to understand the depth of disability services in a better light. One team that stood out this year in terms of their accomplishments was the Assistive Technologies Impact Team.
The Tower Guard Shamrock 5K Run-Walk-Roll is an annual fundraising event that takes place on or around St. Patrick’s Day. Despite pandemic challenges which prevented the Shamrock 5k from being in-person this year, Tower Guard, the second-year student honor society that supports the Resource Center for Persons with Disabilities (RCPD), conducted a successful event in a virtual setting. The proceeds help fund equipment and supplies needed to operate the resource center.
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Liz Fuller, Tower Guard Advisor
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April 22, 2021
Tower Guard service involves a variety of diverse activities, and now members also have the ability to join an Impact Team. Functioning as smaller “breakout” groups within the larger membership, these teams are dedicated to a singular purpose, providing participants with a chance to focus and gain expertise on an aspect of disability services.
Tower Guard’s advisors often hear from past members about how sad they are when their service year ends. They miss being a part of the group, working toward a shared vision and purpose. Each year, the outgoing class talks to the incoming class about how they wish they’d had the time to create a way for past and present Tower Guard members to come together. The Tower Guard service year is a big commitment, however – creating alternative format text, tutoring students with disabilities, advancing disability awareness, engaging in service events, organizing fundraisers and much more. The typical year doesn’t leave much time to dream up and organize a big undertaking like connecting with alumni.
If you’ve ever visited MSU’s campus on a beautiful spring day, you may have been lucky enough to wander past Beaumont Tower at just the right moment to hear the sound of the carillon being played. Nestled in the middle of North Campus, Beaumont Tower and its melodious bells have served as an MSU landmark since 1928. Over the years, the Tower has shadowed many historic events, serving as witness to everything from students demonstrating solidarity to sweethearts seeking sole devotion to one another.
Leadership is about more than just supervising others; it is about growth and elevation. Here at the RCPD, leadership means developing potential while helping students with disabilities reach their full goals. With this responsibility comes the accountability of analyzing, designing, developing, and delivering programs for organizational success, all of which Liz Fuller, the new Leadership Development Specialist, has and will continue to accomplish.
The Shamrock 5K Run-Walk-Roll is an annual event that takes place on St. Patrick’s Day Weekend. Facilitated by Tower Guard, the sophomore honor society that serves the Resource Center for Persons with Disabilities (RCPD), the Shamrock 5k has traditionally been the largest fundraising event the group holds for the RCPD each year.
The Spartan experience is unique to every individual. Celebrating Homecoming, strolls past Beaumont Tower, and the endless late-night studying all can result in lasting memories, but for most people, the most lasting memory of all is Commencement Day. This year’s unprecedented COVID-19 pandemic caused a dramatic shift in how graduation was handled, but even so, Jenna Kesh, a recent MSU Alumna, found that her time at RCPD was the most memorable piece of her Spartan experience.
Every spring, Tower Guard, one of MSU’s oldest active campus-based student organizations, selects an honorary group of students from the top 5 percent of the MSU freshman class to carry on the tradition of assisting the Resource Center for Persons with Disabilities (RCPD) in creating a more accessible environment for students with disabilities. These chosen students spend their sophomore year serving on Tower Guard before selecting the next year’s group and passing the torch.
Tower Guard is a sophomore student organization at Michigan State University (MSU) dedicated to serving the Resource Center for Persons with Disabilities (RCPD). Each year, approximately 80 sophomores, selected from the top 5% of the freshman class, carry on the tradition of academic excellence, leadership, outstanding character, and commitment to service. The 2019-2020 Tower Guard class continued to impress the Spartan community with their services. As many of the Tower Guard members balanced rigorous course loads, extracurriculars, part-time jobs, research, and so much more, they were always willing to set aside time to assist MSU students with disabilities.