Month: August 2021

Mason’s Potomac Environmental Research and Education Center’s (PEREC) Field Interpreter team is recruiting students to join their team in delivering award-winning Watershed Education Programs in local parks.  Mason students will engage 7th graders in Chesapeake Bay related activities including collecting and identifying stream organisms, testing water quality-chemistry, assessing biodiversity, watershed and habitat characteristics at Burke Lake, and Lake Accotink in Springfield.  This is a tremendous way to enhance science communication skills while working with with a fun team. Training is provided, background checks required.

Work Hours: Weekdays mid- Sept. – Oct. 8:30am – 1:30pm, students work on days they are available.

Qualifications:

Must have at least 1 weekday available (more preferred) from 8:30am-1:30pm.

Interest in engaging youth in hands-on, outdoor environmental activities 

Environmental Enthusiam

Students must provide transportation to local parks. Carpooling is encouraged.

Grads: $15/hr

Undergrads $13/hr

PROGRAM ORIENTATION on Zoom

Tues. Sept. 7th 1pm OR  Tues. Sept. 7th 4:30pm

FIELD TRAINING: Friday Sept. 10th. 8:00am -12:00pm Burke Lake Marina. 7315 Ox Rd, Fairfax Station, VA 22039

For the Orientation Zoom Link:  Email Program Manager Matt Helfinstein [email protected] and Dr. Smith  [email protected] 

Any questions, please email Matt Helfinstein and Dr. Smith.

If you know the days that you will have available please email us those as well.  Matt will follow up with questions.  

What is enrichment?

Enrichment extends a student’s education beyond the classroom. It encompasses a variety of engagement opportunities that focus on developing the whole student. Examples include: participating in activities and organizations; reflecting on health and wellbeing; engaging in writing and research; sharing knowledge in new communities and cultures; establishing leadership skills and abilities; proactively preparing for the future; developing relationships with peers and mentors; and much, much more. If you’re involved at Mason in a way that helps you grow personally, academically, and professionally – and it’s not just during class – you’re most likely engaging in enrichment. 

Why does it matter? 

Enrichment is the free throw after a two-pointer. It’s the “and some” that seems optional and maybe even inconsequential but could ultimately cost you or save you the game. Enrichment helps students gain self- and cultural awareness; build a support network; increase and apply knowledge, skills, and abilities; and develop a sense of belonging in the college and community. Students who are plugged in and connected know when and with whom to celebrate, as well as when and where to reach out for support. This ultimately aids in persistence to graduation. 

How to enrich your experience: 

• We (the CEHD Student Success Team) host activities and events. Attend them.  

Remember the popcorn I mentioned earlier? It’ll be available during our Suite 2200 Open House on Monday, August 30. We guarantee it’ll be delicious, but more importantly, it will encourage people to linger near the suite, which gives students like you a chance to connect with faculty, staff, and fellow students. Social enrichment at its best. Learn more here.

• We oversee CEHD Clubs and Organizations. Join one.  

There are over 400 student organizations at Mason, and our office oversees close to 10 in CEHD alone. Chances are at least one of those organizations will align with your academic or personal interests. Join one and build up your support network. Check out the CEHD student organizations here. Discover other student organizations at Mason’s Get Connected fair happening in-person on 9/1 and virtually on 9/2. Learn more here. 

• We provide opportunities to strengthen and develop your skills. Participate in them. 

Throughout the year our office offers numerous opportunities to further your skills in reading, writing, research, time management, etc. These opportunities come in the form of events (Writer’s Retreats and research symposiums), guides (like this Time Management Toolkit), and campus partnerships (like encouraging students to attend Learning Service’s upcoming workshop on How to Focus Better). Take advantage of them now – it pays to be proactive! 

Enrichment opportunities extend well beyond the suggestions listed above, but for the sake of your time, we’ll pause there for now. Enjoy the fall ‘21 semester, CEHD students, and don’t forget to Be Engaged!  

Be informed. Be Engaged. Be Present.

The Student Success Formula

Five years ago, I interviewed for the inaugural CEHD Director of Student Success position. As part of my interview process, I was asked to prepare a job talk on current trends in student affairs and a sample welcome message that I would deliver at a new, undergraduate transfer student orientation. I knew that preparing the job talk would take some time since I needed to research current trends and think about a succinct way to deliver the presentation; but, on the other hand, I knew that crafting the welcome message was going to be a cakewalk! 

Two years prior, I was fresh out of doctoral studies at Illinois and had relocated to Ohio to assume a full-time student success position working with exploratory/undeclared students, new transfer students, and students who were not in good academic standing. Retention and graduation rates were pretty abysmal to be frank, and I was given the tall order to develop approaches and initiatives to improve those rates. Rather than assume that the students were not academically prepared for college or were unmotivated to earn a degree, as too often folks do in their instant analysis, I sought to understand their lived experiences and how they connected (or didn’t connect) to the university, including its structures, policies, resources, services, personnel, and academic programs. I quickly learned that students were not in sync with the university and vice versa. 

I was lucky to have had my undergraduate experience at a nurturing Historically Black College and University (HBCU) in Louisiana. Though we had limited resources, we had highly supportive and engaged faculty, staff, upperclassmen, and alumni who showed us the way; they synced us to the university. I’ll never forget running into my mathematics department chair, Dr. Meyinsse, on “the strip” in between classes after returning from summer break following completion of my freshman year. He asked, “Berry, what did you do this summer?” I replied with glee, “I went home and got plenty of rest, hung out with my friends, and caught up on my favorite tv shows!” “And what else?” he asked. “That was it! It was great!” I responded. He leaned in towards me with direct eye contact, like only a parent could, and said, “make that your last summer at home just resting and hanging out. Berry, you need to be in a summer program and involved in activities preparing for life after undergrad.” Admittedly, I was a bit confused because as a first-generation college student, I thought taking the right classes was all that I needed to focus on to earn my degree and obtain a job offer or a graduate admissions letter.  

He gathered my whole life in an instance! He was the lifeline that I didn’t know I needed. I spent a lot of time with Dr. Meyinsse, and others at the university, who instilled in me the expectation to “stay in the know” and encouraged me to become a Ronald E. McNair Scholar; attend and present at research conferences; go to sporting and social events at the school; serve in leadership roles in various clubs and organizations; get involved in student government; join the honors program; and form study and peer support groups. I even became a student ambassador and led campus tours for prospective students and their families and spoke at admissions events. I probably over did it, but I was fully plugged in to the university, highly engaged, and simply having the time of my life. Oh, and I got admitted to and enrolled in the doctoral program at Illinois immediately following completion of undergraduate studies! 

Unfortunately, I wasn’t witnessing this motivation, engagement, or sentiment in my students in Ohio. However, I quickly realized that what they needed was a Dr. Meyinsse, so I became him for them.  

I knew that if I could encourage them to plug in to the university by staying abreast of policies and deadlines; checking and responding to their emails in a timely fashion; and reviewing their degree audits and course syllabi regularly that they would be in a better position for success. So many of them were missing assignments, advising appointments, and opportunities to appeal decisions because they were disconnected. They had no clue what was going on at the university!  

I knew that if I could get them to see beyond the degree audit and realize what it would take to be a competitive applicant with a diversified portfolio of experiences to land a job in their field or admission to an advanced degree program that they would then see the value in being engaged inside and outside of the classroom.  

I knew that if I could get them to think about their areas of academic, professional, and personal strength and challenge and identify associated resources to aid in their development then they would want to explore all that the university has to offer to support their matriculation and wellbeing. 

So, whenever my students would ask, “Dr. B., what I need to do to successfully make it through?” I always channeled my inner Dr. Meyinsse, “Be informed; Be engaged; and Be present—both inside and outside of the classroom; that’s the formula for optimal student success.” Dr. Meyinsse didn’t use those exact words, but it captures the spirit of his words and what I took away from our conversations and ultimately simplified to make shareable and actionable.  

Fortunately, I didn’t just leave that message with my students in Ohio. I brought it with me in my new transfer student orientation welcome message for my interview at Mason and have shared it countless times with students, faculty, and staff ever since.  

You’ve seen the student success formula on our swag. You’ve heard it in our presentations. We’ve even plastered it on the main wall in the CEHD Student Success Center. We’ve fully embraced it, and I urge you to do the same…because Dr. Meyinsse said so. 

Borrowing from the lyrics of iconic American rapper and entrepreneur (and Beyonce’s husband), Jay Z’s hit song “Public Service Announcement,”  ALLOW US TO REINTRODUCE OURSELVES: We are the CEHD Student Success Team, and we are located in the newly designed CEHD Student Success Center in suite 2200 Thompson Hall on the Fairfax campus. 

For those of you who have been around the college for a while, “Student Success Team” and “Student Success Center” may sound like fairly new concepts. However, if you’re familiar with Student and Academic Affairs, aka SAA, then there’s no breaking news here!  

Our mission is still the same: 

We support the teaching, scholarship, and service missions of the College by onboarding new students, facilitating enrollment and retention, addressing barriers to success, adjudicating appeals and grievances, awarding scholarships, coordinating enrichment activities and celebratory events, such as the student research symposium and graduation, and providing a broad range of informational, advising, professional development, financial, and support resources.   

Join us on Monday, August 30 from 1:00 pm – 3:00 pm or Tuesday, August 31 from 9:00 am – 11:00 am for our official CEHD Student Success Center “Open House”. Stop by to grab a treat and some swag; check out the space; and share a few hellos and air hugs.  

We are still in a pandemic, so all COVID 19 protocols will be in effect in accordance with state, local, and Mason policies.   

Learn more about the CEHD Student Success Center at https://cehd.gmu.edu/saa/student-success-center/.  

1. You can never have too many face masks! For those who are going to be on campus: bring a mask. Have one in your car and an extra in your bag – oh, and don’t forget to have one on your face, covering your nose and mouth! There is a campus-wide, indoor mask mandate from President Washington that must be followed regardless of vaccination status. We wouldn’t want you to be turned away from a class or an appointment because you forgot a mask! 
2. Plan to plan! Start putting your planner together now. Whether you prefer a printed or digital calendar, go ahead and jot down your assignments from your course syllabi and important dates and deadlines. These things sneak up on you fast! 
3. Make studying a habit! Treat it like a job with a regular schedule. Don’t risk termination because you were a “No call, No show” to your own study session! 
4. Grad students, touch base with your advisor and committee members! They’ve missed you and can’t wait to hear about your plans for productivity this semester. They can help you stay on schedule for completing courses, portfolios, dissertations, and theses. Plus, they are a valuable source for information on your industry so it can only help to have a good relationship with them! 
5. Don’t forget to eat! Plan your meals and snack breaks in advance. “Hangry” isn’t cute or cool and buying out gets expensive. Get groceries and prepare meals ahead of time so you and your wallet can stay full. 
6. Pencil in some personal time. You have to be well to do well! Schedule some downtime now so that you have something to look forward to when you’re feeling overwhelmed. It’ll help you stay on track during the tough times and experience less guilt when you finally do allow yourself to take a break.

These are just a few tips that can help make your transition a little smoother and lower the stress of coming to campus!