University Life at Mason

Get started on your job or internship search BEFORE the hectic semester begins with the Two-Day Job Search Jump Start on Aug. 27-28. Career Services is offering eight useful “how to” workshops:

Also learn about the resources available at Career Services including career counselors, the Career Library, PatriotJobWeb, online training, Cooperative on-campus interviews, the Job Fair,  Co-ops, internships, and more! See http://careers.gmu.edu/

New international students are now arriving on campus, and they will find Gil Del Rosario at the Welcome Center in Student Union I with a friendly face and helpful information.  International Programs and Services created the center to help ease the transition students face adjusting to both a new country and the university environment.

The Welcome Center opened this week and is available daily, 9-5. International students need to start here to process their documents and get information about academic and immigration policies. But they often have questions about practical matters such as housing, transportation, banking, health insurance, and more, and that’s where having the Welcome Center is so important. Spouses and parents of the students also are welcome.Del Rosario is a Mason student in Education Leadership.

The center has proven to be a “win-win” situation for the department because it allows the professional staff to spend their time doing what they do best–advising students. OIPS director Judith Green says that many students arrive at their office with suitcases in tow, and now they find a fellow student who is waiting to greet them. “That welcome to Mason stays with incoming students forever.”

Safe Zone training helps create a safer, more welcoming and inclusive campus environment, promotes awareness and understanding about sexual orientation and gender identity, and provides a way for allies–supportive students, faculty, and staff–to visibly indicate that they are safe contacts for LGBTQ people at Mason.

Why is that important? It’s well documented that many LGBTQ students face significant stressors and hostile environments with the potential to place their mental and physical health, and their success in college, in jeopardy.

LGBTQ Resources offers a two-day training before the start of the semester on Friday, August 14, from 9:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. See the website for more information, lgbtq.gmu.edu, and email Director Ric chollar to register, rchollar@gmu.edu.

New Mason students are about to embark on the journey of their college careers as Patriots!  Events kick off on Thursday Aug. 27 and continue during the first two weeks of the semester. Welcome to Mason Nation. Check out The Preamble at welcomeweek.gmu.edu.

As part of HIV Awareness Week and to commemorate World AIDS Day on December 1st, a BIG section of the AIDS Memorial Quilt will be displayed at Mason. To make a special request for a specific quilt piece, please visit http://aidsquilt.org/view.htm and click on “search the quilt.”

Submit the quilt panel number by July 31 to Danielle Lapierre, Alcohol, Drug, and Health Education. Requests aren’t guaranteed but Lapierre says the sooner we get the info, the sooner the request can be made. Anyone in the Mason or surrounding community can make a request, so feel free share this information with others.

If you would like to help in the fight against HIV/AIDS in the Mason and extended community during HIV Awareness Week or throughout the year, contact Lapierre at 3-3690 or email dlapierr@gmu.edu.

Students, faculty, and staff can meet with at least 20 property representatives with
rental units across the area on Thursday, July 16, 2-6 p.m., in the JC Atrium.

Get a head start on your housing search at the Mason Off-Campus Housing website, http://och.gmu.edu. You’ll also find roommate matching and even property for sale.

Admission is free and there’s no fee for the service. The fair includes light refreshments and giveaways. Click here for the flier. This is the last Off-Campus Housing Fair before the fall semester, so take advantage of this great resource!

Sponsored by University Life.

Academic departments planning for the start of the fall semester can apply for University Life funding for Welcome to Mason Nation (Welcome Week Events) during the first two weeks of the fall semester.

A limited amount of funding is available for Academic Receptions that take place between August 31–the first day of class–and September 11. Academic departments interested in applying for funding must complete a funding request, schedule a location for their reception through Events Management, and create their own publicity and evaluation of the event. The deadline to apply for funding is July 20.

Click here for the application form. Contact Dennis Hicks at dhicks6@gmu.edu or call 703-993-2909.

Here’s info on the upcoming University Life meeting dates:

• The next University Life all-staff meeting is Wed., Aug. 5, 9-10:30 a.m., SUB I. University Life is a member of the Student Affairs Leadership Council, a national organization (located in DC) that assesses and analyzes student affairs practices and strategies at universities nationwide.  Dr. Perri Strawn will be with us on the 5th to present to us about the ways member organizations -our division and individual units- can use the council.  She will also present some information from the council’s latest report, “The Data-Driven Student Affairs Enterprise: Demonstrating our Value in an Era of Uncertain Funding.”
• The all-staff RETREAT is Wed., August 12 at Meadowlark Botanical Gardens. Look for additional information in future blogs.

–From Michael Galvin

Enjoy a 30-second snapshot video of the student org bench painting tradition this year on your ning at http://ulstaff.ning.com/.  If you need an invite to the ning, write Michael at mgalvin@gmu.edu