Four leading female college students will join eight outstanding female leaders in being honored as "Great Women of the Great Lakes Bay Region." Rachel Church of Northwood University, Jeri Gravlin of Delta College, Amanda Helton of Saginaw Valley State University, and Stefanie Turner of Central Michigan University were each nominated by their respective institutions to receive the award.

The Graff Chevrolet dealership in Bay City and Saginaw Valley State University Athletics created the "Great Women" program to draw attention to local women for their extraordinary commitment of time, talent and experience in a meaningful way to advancing the quality of life in Bay, Isabella, Midland and Saginaw counties.

Church serves as captain of the Northwood women’s basketball team. Now in her fifth year on the team, she was injured during hersophomore year, but worked hard to return to the team and emerged as a leader. Church is the co-vice president of Northwood's Student-Athlete Advisory Committee. A native of Midland, she volunteers her time to help young children in elementary schools learn to read.

Gravlin founded the Delta College Peace Club, which seeks to affect positive change by joining communities in an active, nonviolent manner. She also serves as a student orientation leader at Delta and is a photographer for the Delta Collegiate newspaper. A native of Linwood, Gravlin is coordinating an art exhibit at Studio 23 that will feature art by Delta students. 

Helton is a member of two of SVSU organizations that work toward improved understanding of the LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender) community. Very active on campus, she has been a member of SVSU’s Criminal Justice Society since 2008. Helton also is the co-creator of the biannual personal hygiene drive for Hearth Home of Saginaw and for the annual charity drag show for AIDS Walk at SVSU. A native of Westland, Helton also serves on SVSU's Program Board, a student-run organization that plans and organizes student events and programming.

Turner is captain of CMU’s women’s soccer team and is the soccer representative for CMU's Student Athlete Advisory Committee. Turner has won a number awards during the past two seasons for her performance, including being named to the CoSIDA/Capitol One Academic All-American third team and All-MAC first team. A native of Livonia, Turner also has worked with adolescents ages 3 to 18, teaching soccer.

The Great Women of the Great Lakes Bay Region will receive their awards Thursday, Feb. 21. The eight professional honorees were announced previously. Their profiles are available online at www.svsucardinals.com/gwglbr.

Presented by Graff Chevrolet of Bay City, The Great Women of the Great Lakes Bay Region award is sponsored by General Motors, Enterprise Rent-A-Car, Residence Inn and Spring Hill Suites of Saginaw, and hosted by SVSU Athletics.

To register for the awards ceremony or for more information, contact Angela Pohl at gwglbr@svsu.edu or (989) 964-7311.