Welcome back to the Beach!
Dear SI Campus Partners,
Happy New Year! We hope that you had a wonderful Fall 2019 and the start of Spring 2020 is going smoothly. It is hard to believe that we are already starting another semester, but we are excited to welcome back our students and get back to work.
Fall 2019 focused greatly on cultivating a culture of appreciation and community. The SI Team emphasized the need to build stronger partnerships with faculty, re-established International SI Leader Appreciation Week, and encouraged community building within the staff. Spring 2020 will build upon these efforts and promote more relationship-building and professional development among the SI Leaders!
As always, thank you for your ongoing support of SI! We look forward to working with you this semester as we continue helping students achieve their goals. Please know that the SI Office is always open if you ever want to check-in and catch up!
Sincerely,
Lyndsay, Timurhan, and Lori Joy
SI Re-Establishes SI Leader Appreciation Week
Every Fall term, SI programs at colleges around the world celebrate SI Leader Appreciation Week, an official event created by the International Center of SI at the University of Missouri, Kansas City. This provides SI programs and their campus communities an opportunity to show their appreciation for the student SI Leaders and the impact they have on students’ development and success.
CSULB’s SI program observed SI Leader Appreciation week during the week of October 28 - November 1, 2019. The week featured multiple opportunities to celebrate the SI Leader and their work on campus. Faculty partners were encouraged to spotlight their SI Leaders during lecture, and The Learning Center staff handed out small treats with messages of appreciation (e.g. the picture to the right illustrates the SI Coordinators giving a SI Leader a bag of cookies with a sticker calling them a "smart cookie!") Students, staff, and faculty visiting The Learning Center were also encouraged to leave post-it notes of affirmations, positive thoughts, and inspiration on an "Appreciation Station" housed at the center's Front Desk. Further, the SI Coordinators collected positive feedback and words of appreciation from students enrolled in SI, inserted them into fortune cookies, and delivered them to SI Leaders throughout the week (see below).
Based on survey feedback from SI Leaders in Fall 2019, 97% of SI Leaders indicated that they believed SI Leader Appreciation week helped them feel valued on campus and cultivated a sense of belonging in SI.
You can see what CSULB and other campuses have done to celebrate the SI Leaders by searching #silappreciationweek on Instagram.
Community Building in SI
Everybody that works in higher education recognizes the impact a sense of belonging can have on students’ retention, satisfaction, and overall success in the university. In Fall 2019, the SI Team applied this concept to the professional development and interactions of its student SI Leader team.
Every semester, all SI Leaders are organized into cohorts (aka “Houses”) led by a SI Mentor. In Fall 2019, the SI program introduced a competition-based format, where every House competed with each other throughout the semester. All houses earned points for meeting deadlines, participating in campus events, spending time with each other outside of work, and making a positive impact on CSULB and the greater community! Each house chose a name based on a real or mythical marine animal to reflect CSULB’s “Beach” moniker, such as “Calamari,” “Sirens,” “Hydrasharks,” “Sea Bears,” “Kraken,” “Narwhals,” and “Michael Phelps.” This semester-long competition encouraged multiple opportunities for the SI Leaders to build rapport with their peers, develop relationships with their SI Mentor, and feel an overall sense of community on campus.
In an end-of-semester survey sent to the SI Leaders about their experience working for the program, 95% of SI Leaders indicated that being part of a Mentor House helped create a sense of community. 80% of SI Leaders felt encouraged to continue building relationships with their peers outside of mandated SI activities – despite being busy with class, work, and other commitments. One SI Leader communicated that they “actually got to know my mentor group! All of the meetings, training, and hangouts really helped us get along thus building a friendly community in which I feel comfortable in.” Another SI Leader shared that they “having a sense of community gave me mental fortitude and an avenue for stress relief. My peers gave me great advice and challenged me to be a better SI Leader.” Below are a few pictures illustrating the SI Leaders spending quality time with each other outside of mandated SI activities!
SI Celebrates the End of Fall 2019
SI hosted its end-of-Fall celebration on Friday, December 6, 2019. The SI Mentors, in collaboration with the SI Coordinators, planned and hosted a holiday-themed event to celebrate the SI Leaders’ success and work throughout Fall 2019.
The party featured a White-Elephant Novelty Sock Exchange, an Ugly Sweater Contest, a Photo Booth, and holiday-themed party games. The entire evening was one last-hurrah to share laughs and spend time as a work family. The SI Coordinators also awarded the House Belt to House Calamari, the winner of the very first SI House Competition (below)!
The highlight of the event was celebrating 6 SI Leaders who have went above and beyond their job duties and made a recognizable impact on their students, their peers, and the SI program as a whole. As a result, the SI Coordinators recognized the following SI Leaders:
Wyneth Tingabngab was awarded the SI Leader of the Semester award. This award recognizes an SI Leader's overall exemplary performance in the position. Wyneth facilitated amazing SI sessions, modeled positive SI Leader behavior, served as a resource to peers, and was an overall positive presence in the program!
Jake Beadles was awarded Most Innovative SI Leader. This award is given to the SI Leader who finds new and creative ways to engage their students. For example, Jake has created new activities that were previously not in the SI Manual, and many SI Leaders adapted Jake's ideas for their own SI sessions!
Wendolyn Lopez was awarded Most Professional Growth in SI. This award recognizes a SI Leader's professional and leadership development throughout the semester. Wendolyn worked extremely hard to build relationships with faculty, seek feedback, and experiment with her SI sessions, which transformed her into a powerful leader in the classroom!
Lyndsay Earns CSULB's Employee of the Month
In November 2019, CSULB recognized Lyndsay as Employee of the Month! This recognition is an opportunity for our entire campus community to acknowledge Lyndsay’s outstanding service and contributions to CSULB’s students. President Conoley hosted a small ceremony where she presented Lyndsay CSULB swag and re-named the Friendship Walk in Lyndsay's honor. President Conoley described Lyndsay as someone who “has demonstrated two key university values: building a culture of compassion, creativity, and innovation AND serving the public good. Lyndsay has been a mentor, role model, and fierce advocate for our students in the Supplemental Instruction program.”
Lyndsay's nominator also praised her “daily dedication to develop and create a sense of community and belonging with all the students and staff connected to SI. She constantly ensures that any discussion, decision, or change needs to answer ‘how will this affect/impact/help’ the students we serve… she always directs our focus back to what will ultimately work best for how we develop our students.”
Lyndsay also makes time to support her colleagues and is “always willing to share her experience, provide guidance, and connect us to resources whenever we approach her. In meetings, whether it's with students or fellow staff, she ensures that everyone's voice is heard and valued, and has no trouble acknowledging if somebody has a better idea.”
This award is well-deserved, and the SI program is ecstatic that Lyndsay has earned this distinction after 10 years of service to CSULB’s students.
SI at a Glance: Spring 2020
Meet the Spring 2020 SI Team!
This semester, the SI team is composed of 36 SI Leaders, a group of experienced, stand-out students, who will be sharing their knowledge and helping their peers develop into independent, life-long learners! The SI Program welcomed back 24 returning (including 6 SI Mentors) and hired 12 new SI Leaders.
SI’s student staff participated in a week-long Orientation from January 14 – January 17, where everybody reviewed the background of SI and best practices for providing peer-to-peer academic support. A few of the training topics included:
- Setting goals and expectations
- Fostering collaborative learning
- Conducting the SI Session and adapting feedback for improvement
- Developing effective college readiness skills
- Practicing professionalism and communicatation
- Preparing for emergency situations
- Identifying CSULB resources and policies
The SI Coordinators again focused on ensuring that the week-long training emphasized building a community with peers across the program! All houses had an opportunity to build rapport with their peers, develop relationships with their SI Mentor, and create a sense of belonging within the program. Further, this semester's theme is "Disney," and every house chose a name based on a Disney Character. All Mentor Houses will again compete and earn points by meeting deadlines, participating in campus events, spending time with each other, and making a positive impact on the academic, professional, and social fabric of CSULB!
Fall 2019 SI Leader Spotlights
Last semester, many of the SI Leaders put in extra time and effort outside of their academics to develop their professional careers and make positive impacts on their communities. Below are just a few highlights the SI Leaders shared from last Fall!
Antoniette had a busy Fall 2019! Antoniette is currently the Director of CSULB's chapter of Camp Kesem, an organization that provides a summer camp and enrichment activities for students who have parents with cancer.
In November, Antoniette was invited to Camp Kesem's National Leadership Summit in Chicago and was selected to be 1 of 8 panelist speakers for the Founder's Panel. She spoke to all directors of new Kesem chapters to provide guidance, give feedback to common challenges, and share her experiences with the program. This opportunity led to her nomination to serve on the New Chapter Panel, where she collaborates with other directors to help new chapters grow.
Antoniette and CSULB's chapter of Camp Kesem also raised over $12,000 on #GivingTuesday, tripling the amount of money raised at that point in the previous year.
Danny had a paper published in an academic journal for the first time in October 2019! Danny, their mentor Benny LeMaster, and others published "Unlearning cisheteronormativity at intersections of difference: performing queer worldmaking through collaged relational autoethnography" in Text & Performance Quarterly. Scholars from ASU have already started citing and using the methodology outlined in this paper. Danny is proud to have produced a body of work that pertains to an aspect of the trans experience that is underrepresented and poorly understood in academic and popular discourse.
Gina served as a Concierge Intern for the Rose Bowl in Pasadena throughout Fall 2019. Gina assisted with all operations in the premium seating section, such as conducting guest check-in, addressing guest-related inquiries, and ensuring a positive experience for attendees.
Gina also accepted an internship at Kaiser Permanente of Downey in November 2019. She will be supporting staff in the ambulatory and outpatient department. These two experiences brings Gina one step closer to her dream of becoming a dynamic and communicative nursing director!
In October 2019, James James passed Exam FM (Financial Mathematics) for the Society of Actuary. This exam sees a 48% overall passing rate, and James dedicated over 300 hours preparing for this test. By passing Exam P (Probability) last year, James is now one step closer to his career goal of becoming an actuary upon graduation.
Julian was also busy throughout Fall 2019! He just accepted a 2nd internship with the Chevron Corporation. He will be returning on behalf of the Finance Development Program, a prestigious business program that helps build emerging leaders for the company. More than half of the executives in Chevron Corporation were in the Finance Development Program at some point in their growing career.
In October 2019, Julian led a team of 5 peers in a case-study competition hosted by Moss Adams, a large Accounting and Consulting Firm. Julian's team had to develop a mock case study that was submitted and judged by professionals that currently work for the firm. Julian's team placed 2nd out of 9 competing teams!
In November 2019, Julian and his colleague gave a presentation to 50 CSULB students informing them of different industries available to them as accountancy and finance majors. Julian and his colleague shared experiences from the private and public sectors, respectively, and fielded many different questions from students. Both Julian and his colleague were able to show students that they have multiple career options, and there is no "right" path to take in fulfilling their goals!
Kayla continued to develop her academic and professional career outside of SI. Last semester, Kayla, a Brotman Scholar, was selected to join CSULB's chapter of the National Society of Leadership and Success - an organization that helps students gain access to leadership development, scholarships, and awards. Students in Junior or Senior standing are invited to this organization if they have maintained a GPA of 3.0 or above.
Kayla also presented her research on Alzheimer's Disease at the annual Research Symposium for CNSM. The symposium is an opportunity for CNSM students to share their lab research to peers, faculty, and the greater CSULB community.
In addition to serving as a SI Mentor, Kayla also served as an Honors Peer Mentor. She oversaw a cohort of four, first-year students and helped them navigate their first semester at CSULB! Kayla has also helped them develop strategies for meeting all deadlines and requirements to help them stay in the Honors Program!
Kayla also volunteered with CSULB's Office of Sustainability for 12 weeks and conducted research for Green Certificate Programs, an effort that recognizes and encourages the implementation of green practices in departments and offices across campus. Kayla spent over a 100 hours researching programs at other universities and generating presentations proposing how CSULB can implement more sustainable practices on campus.
Last Fall, Maggie received the Raytheon Scholars scholarship through Scholarship America. This scholarship is awarded to students who have performed well on their academics, demonstrated leadership on campus, is active in school and community activities - all while overcoming personal hardships. This scholarship is a demonstration of Maggie's grit and determination in working towards her Nursing degree.
Maggie also spent her weekends volunteering in her community. Every Saturday, she Maggie volunteers at Anaheim Regional Medical Center. She is currently working on a project where her group provides free clothes to any homeless who visit the center. Maggie's project was to create a service that combines emergency services and social work for disadvantaged community members.
Every Sunday, Maggie volunteers for a Buddhist youth group to teach children about Buddhism. This opportunity allows Maggie to introduce and practice new, collaborative learning activities to the children. This experience has helped Maggie develop her communication skills with local youth as well as enriching their lives!
Stephanie, one of our graduating Seniors, saw a lot of academic and professional growth. In early Fall, she was awarded the Sally Casanova Pre-Doctoral Fellowship. She is one of 75 out of a total of 263 applicants who will receive research opportunities and mentorship that will assist in her pursuit of a doctorate program after her time at CSULB!
Stephanie also received multiple scholarships. She first earned 2019 Robert H. Henderson Memorial Scholarship, a scholarship offered by the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry. This scholarship empowered Stephanie to continue conducting research during the Fall 2019 semester. She also earned a scholarship from the Initiative for Maximizing Student Development (located at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill), which works to increase the number of students from historically underrepresented populations in the biomedical industry.
In November, In November 2019, Stephanie co-authored a paper that was published in the journal for the Federation of European Biochemical Societies (FEBS), which promotes the publication of research in the molecular life sciences.
In December, Stephanie earned an opportunity to present her cancer biology research at the annual meeting for the American Society for Cell Biology in Washington D.C. Ultimately, she hopes her research will contribute to a better understanding of cancer biology and lead to identification of a target drug that could help curb cancer cell viability.
Lastly, Stephanie graduated with Magna Cum Laude with Honors in Chemistry last semester. SI will miss her greatly!
Wendolyn was selected to receive the Mentored Excellence Toward Research and Industry Careers (METRIC) scholarship, which is awarded to academically talented students from underrepresented communities. Wendolyn is recognized as one of the future scientific leaders in their community and will receive faculty mentorship and opportunities to showcase her academic excellence.
In September 2019, Wendolyn participated in the 12th annual Women in Mathematics in Southern California symposium at CSU Channel Islands. Under the mentorship of Dr. Jen Mei-Chung, Wendolyn and four other mathematics students had the opportunity to network with women mathematicians, learn about their current research, and explore issues and challenges surrounding being a woman in mathematics.
Will, one of our other graduating seniors, also saw tremendous professional and academic growth last semester.
In early Fall, Will had his first article, titled "The HAC1 histone acetyltransferase promotes leaf senescence and regulates the expression of ERF022," published in Plant Direct (Volume 3, Issue 8), an open access, sound science journal focusing on plant sciences.
He was also accepted to present his poster at the 2019 Annual Biomedical Research Conference for Minority Students (ABRCMS) at Anaheim in November 2019. Will researched how genetics may explain why flowers that flower early tend to age and die early. His research is a step towards figuring how to delay aging and death with these kinds of plants.
In November 2019, Will presented his most current research at the Annual Biomedical Research Conference for Minority Students, an event for one of the largest communities of underrepresented minorities in STEM fields, in Anaheim, CA. Will showcased his research on identifying genes that control plant size and the rate of plant deaths.
In addition to research and applying for doctorate programs, Will visits local high schools to talk about his work at CSULB to motivate students to pursue a degree and career in STEM research.
Yusa, another graduating senior and SI Mentor, worked hard to develop her professional career and leave a legacy with SI. Yusa earned her state credential in speech-languaged pathology through her internship at a local elemental school. This internship provided her the opportunity to work with students with moderate-to-severe disabilities and helped them increase their access to academic curriculum and literacy.
Yusa forged a new relationship between SI and the School of Nursing Program by creating an opportunity for nursing students to serve as guest speakers on topics related to college students' health, including stress management, risks of alcohol consumption, and more. Yusa also took the initiative to create a new section in the SI manual reflecting the presentations the Nursing students plan to give!
SI also saw multiple SI Leaders accepted into CSULB's prestigious and competitive School of Nursing Program for Spring 2020. The nursing program is extremely competitive, and only admits 70-80 students out of hundreds of applicants every year. Congratulations to Kathleen, Peyton, and Wyneth on moving on to the next chapter of their journey!