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.
On a crisp spring morning toward the end of April, a large group gathers outside Beaumont Tower well before the dawn. They clasp hot cocoa in their hands and stomp their feet against the lingering winter chill, waiting together for the new year’s Tower Guard members to arrive.
Spartan Ties, a newly formed networking group that takes place at different dining halls on campus, gives students a way to make friends and not eat dinner alone.
There are many locations during the semester so that it can help accommodate students with busy schedules. There is a Facebook group that MSU students can join, which gives updates to times and to see who might be going to the dinner.
Every spring, a ceremony called May Morning Sing celebrates the induction of a new Tower Guard which consists of a select few of the top 5% of Michigan State’s freshman class.
The end of the year calls for holiday cheer, and Tower Guard students prepared for the mission. This fall semester wrapped up with a never-been-done-before fundraiser aimed to raise funds to create gift baskets for children at Sparrow Hospital, located in the Lansing community.
For the first time ever, in recognition with the importance of maximizing opportunity, Tower Guard members experienced the intensity of learning Braille this year when a Braille class was offered by the RCPD.
The members of the Tower Guard devote 120 hours of community service to the RCPD during their sophomore year and are comprised of the top 5% of their class.
