Tower Guard, a sophomore student volunteer organization, celebrates their success of another year of service and community building. Tower Guard's vice president, Sakari Wilcox, summarizes their year and the memories they made together.
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Sabrina Seldon, Tower Guard PR Chair
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On the morning of Saturday, March 25 hundreds gathered outside the Michigan State University auditorium despite the rainy, cold weather. Community members, faculty and students came out to support the Resource Center for Persons with Disabilities (RCPD) which serves nearly 3,000 spartans.
Spartan Ties is a fun, interactive weekly meet-up hosted by MSU’s Tower Guard student volunteers in partnership with the RCPD, providing an opportunity for students registered with the RCPD to meet new friends and try new things. No specialists, no advisors, just students! Events will cover a range of topics and locations, such as meals, casual conversation, and stress reduction.
On January 19, 2023, just as the new semester started, Tower Guard announced a new event for RCPD students called “Syllabuster.” This event was created for RCPD students to help break down the new semester's class syllabi and help set students up for a successful semester. This event was hosted at the MSU main library in the evening and welcomed any students. There were a few Tower Guard members there to help assist in any way.
Spartan Ties is a fun, interactive weekly meet-up hosted by MSU’s Tower Guard student volunteers in partnership with the RCPD, providing an opportunity for students registered with the RCPD to meet new friends and try new things. No specialists, no advisors, just students! Events will cover a range of topics and locations, such as meals, casual conversation, and stress reduction.
Spartan Study is back! Join Tower Guard for study sessions both in-person and via Zoom. In-person sessions will be in the Main Library room E118. Please see the below schedule for more information:
Announcing Spartan Study sessions for Fall 2022 This is an opportunity for RCPD students to find tutoring and study assistance with their classes from other MSU students in a peer-educator/study group format. Hosted by members of MSU's Tower Guard honor society, these weekly study sessions will cover various commonly requested subjects, outlined below.
Tower Guard held its May’s Morning Sing induction ceremony on April 8, 2022, at the MSU Union. Anna Lehr, 2021-2022 Tower Guard Vice President, coordinated the event under the guidance of Liz Fuller, Former RCPD Leadership Development Ability Access Specialist and previous lead Tower Guard advisor.
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.
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.