DUS News - February 17, 2020
A third of the courses you’ll take to earn your degree at Penn State are General Education courses. This is because Gen Ed is a cornerstone of your university education, which is intended to prepare you to think, work, and contribute to a diverse and changing world. Gen Ed courses give you the opportunity to develop an important breadth of thinking skills, a well-rounded educational experience, and time to explore areas of potential interest. One of the most important things you can do is connect what you learn in General Education courses to your life experiences, your interests, and your larger goals.
To Do: Reflect on how you’ve used the opportunity General Education provides you and connected those experiences to other aspects of your life. Use the instructions on the Gen Ed website to identify what you’ve taken so far, and discuss with your adviser how you can best use the remaining courses to enhance your learning.
Last week's topic: How Do I Make Decisions?
If you have three final exams on one day OR three exams in consecutive periods you can file an Overload Conflict Exam Request Form if you are at University Park, Harrisburg, or Behrend campus. To submit the form, log in to LionPATH and navigate to the final Exam Schedule module on your main dashboard. Finally, click on the Overload Exams UP, ER, HB Only link. If you are at another campus, please contact your campus registrar. The University Registrar explains the Final Exam conflict procedure.
Don’t know when your exams are? You can find a tutorial on viewing your exam schedule in LionPATH on the Registrar's website. Look for “Exam Schedule” under Other academics.
- February 17–March 8
- Final Exam Conflict Filing Period - February 19 (Wed)
- DUS Group Advising Session - Standing Out
- Meet the HDFS Faculty Night - February 21–23
- THON - February 24 (Mon)
- Impact Fair - February 26 (Wed)
- DUS Group Advising Session - Improve Your Study Skills - March 8–14
- Spring Break
More events at dus.psu.edu/calendar.
With THON 2020 coming up this weekend, you may be wondering how to get involved with other leadership and service organizations at Penn State. Check out the DUS page on University-wide Involvement Opportunities for ideas and suggestions!
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 began on February 4 and will continue until all positions are filled.
The Student Engagement Network needs your help! The SEN is currently designing a new Student Engagement Portal and are holding several focus groups to identify and understand the perspectives of students as they approach the engaged learning aspect of their undergraduate careers. The SEN invites you to attend one of these events on either February 17 or 20 and provide input and feedback. The information you provide will help the Student Engagement portal design. Conversations will be recorded with your permission. Further details and example questions will be provided to those who schedule an interview time using the link below.
To schedule a time for the focus group, please visit: https://doodle.com/poll/kcc8cg5qxa6zm565
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.
Interested in HDFS? Come to the atrium in the HHD building on Wednesday, February 19, from 5:30–7:00 p.m. to meet with professors and teaching assistants from the major in a relaxed and casual setting. Ask questions, find out about research opportunities, and make connections that will help you in the future.
Free snacks available for those who attend.
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
Did you know there are many free opportunities to improve your overall health and wellness on campus? Listed below are just a few of the many resources available to you as a Penn State student. For more information on these resources or to learn about other events and activities, visit the Health & Wellness website.
Wellness Hour: Curious about your overall wellness? Stop in for 10-minute consultations with trained peer educators. You can discuss topics such as stress, sleep, physical activity, nutrition, and relationships. Consultations available from 4:00–5:00 p.m. in various locations in the residence halls. Check the website for specific locations.
Free Yoga every Tuesday (6:00–7:00 p.m. in 103 Findlay Commons) and Wednesday (5:15–6:15 p.m. in 107 Pasquerilla). No experience required. All are welcome.
Wellness Wednesdays: HealthWorks will lead a variety of interactive sessions that are designed to help improve your well-being. Every Wednesday from 4:00–4:45 p.m. in 20 IM Building. Activities listed on the website.
Thursday Wellness: Activities on certain Thursdays will be from 5:15–6:15 p.m. in 20 Intramural Building. Supplies and materials are provided. Activities are different every week and are listed on the website.
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.
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 defining research and discovering opportunities, learning about 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 may 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
Starting after Spring Break, a representative from the Business Career Center will hold drop-in hours in the Grange Building Lobby every Wednesday from 12:30–2:30 p.m. Stop by for tips on resumes, cover letters, career events, and resources. These opportunities will start on March 16 and go through April 27. No appointment needed. For assistance at other campuses, visit your campus career center.