The SGSA Newsletter
December 2009
SOLES Graduate Student Association
In This Issue
Happy Holidays from SGSA!
• SGSA’s President Greeting • Service Opportunity • Holiday Harbor Cruise Photos • Student/Faculty Highlights
Greetings SOLES Community! Lauren Johnson, SGSA President It seems as if it were yesterday when I wished all of you the best of luck for the semester and now I am happy to say that we’ve made it! I hope that throughout the papers, projects, and exams that you have obtained a new source of knowledge that prepares you to go forward in professional and personal pursuits. The SGSA Team would like to thank all students, faculty, and staff who have supported our efforts this semester. We are looking forward to hosting new social, academic, and professional
opportunities in the spring. For those of us traveling this winter break, be safe and as Mary Ann Radmacher has written, ―may your walls know joy, may every room hold laughter, and every window open to great possibility.‖
• Pecuniary Ponderings PLUS MUCH MORE!
“Thank you for reading.”
Happy Holidays and see you all in the New Year!
Be well, Lauren
Service Opportunity
can also include family portraits, or photographs from family vacations. http://www.sandiego.edu/mlk Think about what you would tell your The Center for Community Servicefamily you could see Learning encourages all graduate If you areand not friends able toif participate in the students to join Team USD as we march MLK them. Parade and Day of Service in in the 2010 San Diego Martin Luther January, we encourage you to come by King, Jr. Parade on Saturday, January our office in the spring to discover new 16, 2010 near Petco Park at 10 a.m. ways to connect to the community through a variety of service programs. Transportation is provided. Participants Visit us in the Center for Awareness, can meet at 8:45 a.m. in front of the Service and Action (CASA) in the Hahn Hahn University Center or at 9:15 a.m. University Center, Room 113 or look for in the staging area at Tailgate Park updates on our website at (13th and Imperial Avenue). A service http://www.sandiego.edu/csl/casa/. project will be held at Bayside Community Center following the parade. Lunch will be provided. FREE T- --The Center for Community Service Learning SHIRTS TO ALL WALKERS. To participate, please register online at: December 2009 ● First Edition, Issue 2 ● SOLES Graduate Student Association
THANK YOU FOR MAKING OUR SGSA HOLIDAY HARBOR CRUISE PARTY A SUCCESS!
SGSA’s Holiday Harbor Cruise was open to all SOLES students, faculty, administrators and staff. The party took place on Saturday, December 5th located at in San Diego Bay. We couldn’t have done it without your support! Thank you again! --SGSA and the Special Events Committee
Student and Faculty Highlights Name: Pam Flagg Program: M.Ed. in Literacy, Culture & TESOL Year: 2nd Hometown: Sutton, Massachusetts Undergraduate: Boston College, Mathematics and Secondary Education About: I am about to start my fourth and final semester of my Masters program here at USD. Originally from a small town in central Massachusetts, I moved to San Diego three months after finishing my undergraduate degree at Boston College. My primary career aspiration is to teach high school math. The graduate work I am doing in the Literacy, Culture & TESOL program is preparing me to do just that, to be a capable and skilled math teacher to English learners in diverse high school settings. While attending classes full-time, I work twenty hours/week on campus as a Graduate Student Worker in the Career Services office. In addition to this, I am serving in my second year as a Resident Assistant in one of USD’s residence halls. Working on campus and having my position as an RA have both really helped me become more integrating into the USD community and to become familiar with the campus culture. During my time at USD, I have also had the opportunity to become involved in planning the Grad/Law service trips to Tijuana that are run one time per month through University Ministry. Over this Intersession, I will travel to El Salvador with a group of nine other USD graduate students to spend nine days living with and learning from the people of El Salvador. One thing I like about SOLES: The attention you receive and personal relationships that you are able to develop with faculty in the SOLES community. SOLES really does provides its students with a small-school feel in a medium-sized university. In the one and a half years that I have been at USD, I have gotten to know my professors and the L&T community very well. It has made me feel even more at home at a university – and in a city! – that I did not know at all before moving here last summer. Name & Department: Dr. Ian Martin, Assistant Professor in the Counseling Program and Associate Director of the Center for Student Support Systems (CS3) Specialization: School Counseling Hometown: Grass Valley, CA Education: BA: Loyola Marymount University, Los Angeles, CA; MA: Lewis and Clark College, Portland, OR; EdD: University of Massachusetts, Amherst, MA
Dr, Martin (left) featured here with his wife and two children.
Continued on next page…
Dr. Ian Martin continued… Unsolicited Deep Thoughts: I am wrapping up my first semester here at USD. It has been a whirlwind, but can easily be summed up as one of the greatest experiences of my life. Little did I know ten years ago, when I made my decision to pursue a career in school counseling, that it would have such an impact on my life. I believe that finding a career that could accentuate and appreciate my individual strengths (something that had previously been challenging to locate in other academic settings) inspired me to finally pour myself into my work and not hold back. I think that for many of us graduate school offers an opportunity to go beyond being a student that just figures out how to pass a class or organize a workload—it offers an opportunity to connect more personally with a subject or future profession. These personal connections can easily become the foundation of a life’s work. Teaching in the Counseling Program and working closely with future school counselors is a dream come true, a dream that I never really saw coming. Interests: My professional interests include conducting research within the areas of policy, leadership, evaluation and curriculum design within school counseling and/or other areas of education. Furthermore, I believe that centers (such as CS3) are hubs of energy and I am excited and thankful to be involved with such a dynamic place. My personal interests include being far away from New England winters, surfing, mountain biking, cooking, traveling and enjoying life with my family (Tasha, Soren [4], Tor [2] and our dog Yuba). Thoughts on SGSA: I believe organizations like SGSA are crucially important to the development of all graduate students (whether straight out of undergrad or returning for a PhD). Several factors contribute to this belief: 1) they create structures that allow students to move beyond their specializations and learn about other students that are equally passionate about their learning, 2) they provide opportunities to meet new people (students and faculty) in more relaxed settings, and 3) they offer great opportunities for collaborative leadership and student advocacy.
MEET THE SGSA COMMUNICATIONS COMMITTEE! What’s your favorite holiday movie?
Khalia Ii National Lampoons Christmas Vacation and This Christmas
Christine Killoran Love Actually
Megan Grady The Holiday and The Santa Clause Trilogy Love Actually Please contact Khalia Ii at kii-10@sandiego.edu if you’re interested in joining the SGSA Comm’ Committee!
Pecuniary Ponderings… from the desk of the SGSA Financial Director Holiday Edition!
This Month’s Festive Frugal Findings Inexpensive, last-minute, and do-it-yourself gift ideas: Just in time for your last-minute gift giving needs your SGSA Financial Director is here to help. Here are some great, inexpensive gift ideas that you can buy, make or put together in almost no time—because that’s about all that’s left before the holidays! Gift Baskets: …For the Movie Lover
Pick up a movie rental gift card, a DVD you know they’re dying to see, or pair of tickets to a local theatre (remember: discount tickets are available at the USD Box Office!). Throw in some candy & popcorn and it’s an instant night at the theatre. Big spenders may also want to consider giving the gift of Netflix!
…For the Coffee or Tea Drinker
Fill an oversized mug with an assortment of tasty teas, small samples of coffee, or whole unground coffee beans. You could also include honey sticks (for tea) or flavored coffee add-ins, a fun spoon for stirring, and some biscotti cookies for munching.
…For the Desperate Diner
Put together one or two boxes of pasta, your favorite pasta sauces, a container of parmesan cheese, a loaf of bread (if you know it will get eaten soon), some chocolates for desert, and an inexpensive bottle of wine (optional, of course). Eco-Friendly & Locally Grown Gifts:
For out-of-state recipients, you can put together a great gift with a few items from local grocery stores (like Baron’s in Point Loma), or from the ―Local Items‖ section found in most big chains. Consider a Julian pie (if you’re not traveling a great distance), Knott’s jam, or a bottle of Temecula Valley wine. Digital Magazineto Subscriptions: There are literally thousands of popular magazines available in a digital Adding pictures your newsletter format that is earth-friendly and every bit as informative as their print counterparts. Check out Barnes & Pictures of your family trips, special events, and every Noble.com for a listing. day life will bring your newsletter stories to life. Once Yelp.com features reviews of local you have chosen a picture, place it close to thestores with unique gifts. Check them out if you have some time to do a little shopping and are feeling adventurous. story. Be sure to place the caption of the image near
the image.
A Few Personal Favorites:
If you want to use clip art in your newsletter, you can find thousands of clip art images on Microsoft Office A favorite book that’s gently used with a brief note to the giftee on the inside cover. Include the year for Online that you can download and insert into your posterity—who knows where that book will be in 2143. newsletter.
The $1 bins at Target (just inside of the entrance of the Point Loma store) have some great gifts for kids, and
To change the pictures in this newsletter to your own, list. sometimes small finds for others on your click the And image you want to favorite change. for On the the Insert my personal crafty do-it-yourself-er: Homemade marble magnets! Visit menu, click Picture, and thenfor click Clip Art or From notmartha.com pictures and ―how-to’s‖ File. Locate the image you want and double-click it. The new image will be inserted into the existing text Happy Holidays, Everyone! Your SGSA Financial Director will be back in 2010 with more great box for easy positioning.
are kind to your wallet and good to your soul.
Tip: Text boxes that contain images or text often do not have borders showing, so it may not be apparent
ideas that
Upcoming Events and Dates to Remember Jan 4 Winter Intersession Begins January 8-9, 8 am - 3:30 pm Sixth Annual Nonprofit Governance Symposium Joan B. Kroc Institute for Peace & Justice January 13, 2010, 8 am - 9:30 am Nonprofit Leadership and Management Program Open House Joan B. Kroc Institute for Peace & Justice Free January 15, Last day to register for Spring without a late fee! January 18, Martin Luther King Jr. Day (no classes, offices closed) January 22, Last day of Intersession January 25, Spring Semester Begins January 28, All Faith Service February 11, 7:00 pm - 9:30 pm Portman Lecture (Lisa Sowle Cahill) Joan B. Kroc Institute for Peace & Justice Theatre Free Thursday, February 18, 4 - 7pm ELDA Spotlight on Education Series: Sir Ken Robinson
Are you a strong writer? Need a part-time job? Consider applying for a Graduate Assistant Position in the Writing Center! The Writing Center is currently seeking a graduate assistant to apply for a graduate assistant position for 20 hours a week, $11.00 per hour. If you are interested in applying, please stop by Founders Hall, 171A to speak Director, Captionwith describing picture orMargo graphic. Wilding. She can also be reached by phone at (619) 260-4144. Please note there will be a short orientation prior or during the Spring semester. Page 2
APPLY FOR A COUNCIL POSITION ON SGSA! SGSA is currently seeking a Graduate Student Council Representative and a Learning and Teach Representative for this upcoming Spring semester. If you are interested please submit your application electronically to Megan Grady at mgrady@sandiego.edu. Applications have been sent electronically via listserv and will be on the SGSA website soon.
Applications are due January 4th 2010 at 5pm.
Not interested in a council position on SGSA? Consider joining one of our exciting committee’s: Communications Special Events Finance Contact Khalia Ii if interested in joining a committee, kii-
Season’s greetings! This newsletter is brought to you by Khalia Ii, Communications Director and the SGSA Communications Committee. If you are interested in being featured in future newsletters or have any questions or comments please contact Khalia Ii at kii10@sandiego.edu. Have a great holiday season! --Khalia Ii, Communications Director
10@sandiego.edu