BVU, Lakeshore Center at Okoboji Establish Strategic Partnership
Through a collaboration with Buena Vista University, Lakeshore Center at Okoboji offers additional opportunities and educational benefits for its employees and their eligible family members.
Buena Vista University (BVU) and Lakeshore Center at Okoboji have formed a Strategic Partnership, providing new opportunities to strengthen their communities and the people they serve.
This partnership allows for employees of Lakeshore Center at Okoboji, as well as eligible family members of full-time employees, to receive grant funding to lower the overall cost of education while enrolled in classes at BVU’s Storm Lake campus. Partner grant funding also lowers the cost per credit hour for students enrolled in BVU’s convenient online/hybrid undergraduate programs or the organizational leadership graduate program.
“This Strategic Partnership with Buena Vista University opens up exciting possibilities to us,” says Lakeshore Center at Okoboji Executive Director Sara Sutter. “We are thrilled to have the opportunity to recruit and reward an excellent quality of summer staff. BVU has a wonderful reputation, and we are hoping to find students whose work ethic, core values, and zest for life match our mission, too.”
“We view this collaboration as an extension of our mission to seek wisdom as we serve Christ by tending to the needs of the community around us.”
Lakeshore Center at Okoboji Executive Director Sara Sutter
Based in Wahpeton along the shores of West Lake Okoboji, Lakeshore Center at Okoboji offers a secluded, natural setting for individuals of all ages to connect with each other and with God. The organization—which is a ministry of the Presbyterian church—traces its beginnings back to the 1950s when it initially acted as a children’s summer camp. Lakeshore Center at Okoboji became a year-round facility with the addition of a lodge, which features a recreation room, meeting rooms, and private, hotel-style rooms with private baths, in 2009. While campers still descend to the secluded space during summer months, Lakeshore Center at Okoboji also hosts programmed retreats for pastors, ministry leaders, and hobby groups throughout the year and is available for special events, such as weddings, family reunions, and group gatherings.
“We view this collaboration as an extension of our mission to seek wisdom as we serve Christ by tending to the needs of the community around us,” says Sutter. “Education is a valuable resource that helps us recognize and meet the needs of our context. Our employees who take advantage of the financial incentive to pursue more education with BVU will certainly grow from that pursuit.”
“Being an alum, I am excited to be sharing this opportunity with current and future BVU students,” says Lakeshore Center at Okoboji Program Director Serena Lynch, who received her bachelor’s degree in human services and psychology in 2015 after taking advantage of BVU’s two-year seamless transfer partnership agreement with Iowa Lakes Community College in Estherville. “The thing I love about BVU is that they offer a variety of fields on the Storm Lake campus, online, and through hybrid programs. The flexibility allowed me to work full time at a juvenile youth shelter near my hometown while taking classes at night. I received my first ‘big girl’ job in my field of study very shortly after receiving my degree. Fast forward to now, I am the program director at Lakeshore Center and am looking forward to working with you this summer.”
BVU has long enjoyed strong educational ties in and around Emmetsburg, Estherville, and Spencer, home to Iowa Lakes Community College, campuses that have collaborated with BVU for decades. Students enrolled in a program through Iowa Lakes can seamlessly transfer their credits toward their bachelor’s degree at BVU. Students receive personalized support including admissions and enrollment counseling and academic advising right in Emmetsburg, Estherville, and Spencer through BVU’s office on the Iowa Lakes campuses.
“Buena Vista University is excited to partner with Lakeshore Center at Okoboji through our Strategic Partnership initiative,” says BVU Director of Strategic Partnerships Laura Todd. “Access to quality, affordable education opens many opportunities for individuals, which strengthens the communities we serve.”
For more information about BVU’s Strategic Partnerships and partner opportunities, please visit the BVU website at bvu.edu/strategic-partnerships or contact Strategic Partnerships at StrategicPartnerships@bvu.edu.