Background of Tour - How It All Began

The Imagine More Student Life Bus Tour started in the Spring Semester of the 2006-2007 academic year at Ferris State University. Dr. Daniel Burcham, Vice President of Student Affairs at Ferris State University and Matthew C. Chaney, M.Ed., Interim Director the Office of Minority Student Affairs, discussed creating unique initiatives that would assist in creating access and awareness to minority students about college and specifically Ferris State University. From that meeting came the vision by Mr. Chaney to create an initiative that was FSU student-based and FSU student-presented, hence the creation of the Imagine More Student Life Bus Tour.

The Imagine More Student Life Bus Tour grew to be an initiative undertaken by the Office of Minority Student Affairs (now Office of Multicultural Student Services). Mr. Chaney and the OMA staff arranged a plan to canvass Southeastern Michigan schools. OMA reached out to minority student organizations to participate in the initiative, and rehearsed with the organizations to create dynamic presentations aimed at highlighting Ferris State.

During the first year of the initiative, FSU visited the following schools

1. Saginaw Buena Vista High School
2. Saginaw Arthur Hill High School
3. Flint Northern High School
4. Flint Central High School
5. Detroit Southwestern H. S.
6. Detroit King H. S.

During the second year of the initiative, FSU visited Western Michigan and the following schools

1. Muskegon Heights High School
2. Muskegon High School
3. Grand Rapids City High School
4. Grand Rapids Ottawa Hills High School
5. Kalamazoo Central High School
6. Benton Harbor Academy
   
   

During the third year of the initiative, FSU visited several schools in Lansing, Flint and Detroit

1. Lansing Eastern High School
2. Flint Northern High School
3. Flint Northwestern Academy
4. Detroit Kettering High School
5. Detroit Pershing High School
6. Detroit Mumford High School
7. Detroit Consortium Academy (FSU Charter School)