DUS News - February 10, 2020
Everyone has a decision-making style as well as a decision-making strategy that they tend to follow. Is your style spontaneous, or do you collect all the information available and weigh the pros and cons? Is your strategy to follow your gut instinct, or is your strategy to plan carefully? Your style and the strategies you use as you explore majors will affect how certain you are of your academic goals.
To Do: Read and do the exercises in the Decision-Making Style and Strategy and Major Certainty documents. Bring them with you to your next advising appointment for an in-depth conversation about your decision making and major certainty.
Last week's topic: How Do Majors Relate to Careers?
Next week's topic: How Can Gen Ed Courses Enhance My Education?
You can schedule an appointment with your DUS Adviser (at University Park and at some Campus Locations) online via Starfish (starfish.psu.edu). To do this, log into Starfish and click the "My Success Network" icon on your Home page to display your personalized network. This channel lists the people and resources that are available to assist you, including your assigned DUS Academic Adviser. If online scheduling is enabled, you will see a link to make an appointment (if not, you can always contact your adviser or your Advising Office directly). For more information or step-by-step instructions, please visit: https://sites.psu.edu/starfishinfo/user-roles/student-users/#appointment
- February 12 (Wed)
- DUS Group Advising Session - Improve Your Study Skills
- DUS Group Advising Session - Exploration Workshop - February 19 (Wed)
- DUS Group Advising Session - Standing Out - February 24 (Mon)
- Impact Fair - March 8-14
- Spring Break
More events at dus.psu.edu/calendar.
Are you considering law school? If so, you may know that law schools do not have any preferred majors or require any pre-requisite courses. DUS students interested in law school should work closely with their advisers to find a major that is a good fit for their strengths and interests that will help them build strong reading, writing, and critical thinking skills.
Pre-Law Advising is housed in DUS and has resources available to all students who are interested in law school. Start learning more about law school and how to prepare by attending a Pre-Law Orientation Session. To find out about other law-related events across the University, sign up for the Pre-Law Advising Listserv.
If you’re looking for a great way to gain leadership experience this summer, check out the DUS NSO Peer Adviser position. The DUS NSO Peer Adviser team will play an important role in helping to promote a positive awareness of the exploratory educational experience and well-informed decision making before entering colleges/majors. To learn more about the role, visit https://dus.psu.edu/dus-nso-peer-adviser, or apply via the Penn State jobs website at https://psu.jobs/job/92687.
Questions can be directed to Tanja St. Pierre at txs181@psu.edu or Rebekka Kuhn at rcs5081@psu.edu.
Review of applications will begin on February 4.
The Presidential Leadership Academy (PLA) is seeking 30 inquisitive, diverse, and hard-working first-year students to join in the legacy of many successful and ambitious student leaders. Some benefits to joining the program include critical thinking classes led by President Barron, access to research and travel funding, and fully funded field trips to cities like Los Angeles, Washington D.C., Nashville, and more. Applications are due February 14 by midnight. To learn more, go to https://academy.psu.edu/prospective/. For questions email kms836@psu.edu or mif3@psu.edu.
Penn State Learning and ENGL 250: Peer Tutoring in Writing are seeking 15 students who would be interested in sharing their personal stories of discovery and success with the Penn State community. Student narratives will be workshopped with writing tutors in training and then published in Penn State’s Short Edition dispensers. Submissions should be under 8,000 characters and will be added to the dispenser located in the Grange Building after workshopping. Interested students would commit to three writing consultations with their ENGL 250 partner at the Undergraduate Writing Center in 220 Boucke Building. The first session will focus on brainstorming, the second on reviewing and discussing a rough draft, and the third on reviewing the final draft for a public audience. These consultations would take place between February and early April; times would be chosen based on what works best for the student and writing tutor.
In partnership with the Division of Undergraduate Studies and the Penn State Libraries, the project aims to showcase student stories focused on discovery, exploration, and overcoming and/or working through adversity. Specifically, we are looking for students who are willing to share a piece of their Penn State journey with the many community members who visit the Grange Building on a daily basis. Tutors will work with students to develop narratives that illustrate the challenges, discoveries, and passions that are ultimately shaping their education.
To learn more or to nominate a student a student, contact Beth Parfitt (eep112@psu.edu), the ENGL 250 course instructor.
An all-in-one mobile app is now available to help you connect and discover Penn State. The app, named Penn State Go, is the product of a University-wide initiative to improve the student experience through increased access to key resources. The app provides on-the-go, single sign-on access to key resources, including Canvas, Penn State email, shuttle bus tracking, campus maps, LionPATH, LionCash+, library services, and Starfish.
Learn more or download the app by visiting the Penn State Go website.
First-year students at University Park: Do you want to develop leadership skills while helping other exploratory students find their niche in college? Do you want to give back to the DUS community while gaining public speaking skills? You may want to learn more about the DUS Leadership Council. To be invited to apply for the Leadership Council, you must be nominated by your academic adviser no later than March 2. Make an appointment with your adviser before this date to learn more about the opportunity and to ask to be formally nominated.
Eligibility requirements and more information can be found on the DUS website: https://dus.psu.edu/dus-leadership-council
How can you better monitor your learning so that you don't waste time and effort on ineffective study strategies? This workshop presents research-based evidence that metacognition (awareness of how you learn and the predictable effects of the related choices you make) can help you successfully transition to the demands of college-level courses as well as the flexibility of setting your own schedule.
Sign up for a study smarter workshop to learn more at http://bit.ly/studysmarterworkshop
Upcoming Study Smarter Workshops (all located in 220A Boucke):
- Monday, March 2, 2:30–4:30 p.m.
- Tuesday, March 3, 1:30–3:30 p.m.
- Thursday, March 5, 2:30–4:30 p.m.
- Wednesday, March 18, 2:30–4:30 p.m.
- Wednesday, March 18, 4:30–6:30 p.m.
- Thursday, March 19, 10:00 a.m.–12:00 p.m.
DUS will be holding Group Advising Sessions throughout the semester as a way to discuss popular advising topics with groups of students. These sessions are open to all DUS students and will help you to learn more about the topic and to ask questions in a friendly, open environment. For more information on each session, including dates and times, visit https://dus.psu.edu/group-advising. All sessions are held in the Grange Building Lobby, unless otherwise listed on the website.
Topics include:
- Tools for Success: Starting the Semester off Strong
- Improve Your Study Skills
- Exploration Workshop
- Standing Out: Choosing Minors & Involvement Opportunities
- Interested in Smeal?
- What Gen Eds Do I Need?
- DUS Students and Study Abroad
Interested in doing undergraduate research but not sure where to start? Students looking to learn more about how to become involved in research as undergraduates are encouraged to attend workshops organized by University Libraries and the University Fellowships Office.
The workshops cover everything undergraduate students need to know, including how to define research and discover opportunities, research ethics and emotional intelligence, designing an effective research poster, and preparing to present at the Undergraduate Exhibition.
Research opportunities are available for undergraduates in all fields of study. While inquiry in the social sciences may look different from the arts, which look different from engineering, the process of discovery and asking questions is similar across the disciplines. Previous experience with research is not required to participate in the workshops.
For a full list of research and fellowship opportunities, visit https://ufo.psu.edu/calendar/list