February 26 – March 4, 2018

Events:
1. WEEKLY WALK-IN SERVICES IN THE GLC – last updated 1/22/18
2. WRITING STRATEGIES CONSULTATIONS
3. SAVE THE DATE-IN CELEBRATION OF YOU
4. “A SCIENCE COMEDIAN’S GUIDE TO COMMUNICATING SCIENCE”
5. AN EVENING OF HUMOR WITH SCIENCE COMEDIAN BRIAN MALOW
6. GRAD MINDFULNESS
7. ASK THE ACADEMY: ASSISTIVE TECHNOLOGY
8. INTERVARSITY GRAD CHRISTIAN FELLOWSHIP SMALL GROUP BIBLE STUDIES
9. WOMEN’S ALLIANCE ANTI-ACADEMIC BULLYING CONVERSATION WITH DEAN DEPAUW
10. CONVERSATIONAL ENGLISH PRACTICE FOR GRADS
11. GLC CAFÉ – WEDNESDAY EDITION
12. ADHD INTEREST MEETING FOR GRADS
13. FLAMENCO AND SPANISH TRADITIONAL DANCE
14. GRADUATE STUDENT BIBLE STUDY
15. GLC CAFÉ
16. VINYASA YOGA WITH JOE SCAPARCI
17. GRADUATE AND FACULTY READING GROUP
18. KIDS’ NIGHT OUT (REGISTRATION NOW REQUIRED)

Administrative Announcements:
19A. CITIZEN SCHOLAR ENGAGEMENT – APPLICATIONS OPEN NOW – 1st posting
19. CALL FOR PARTICIPANTS – WE’RE OUR COMMUNITY GDS PROJECT- 1st posting
20. SIGN UP FOR A COOKING CLASS: VT RECREATIONAL SPORTS WELLNESS – 1st posting
21. COMMUNITY CHANGE CALL FOR PAPERS – 1st posting
22. GSA GRADUATE RESEARCH DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM (GRDP) – 3rd posting

Jobs:
23. 2018-2019 GLC FELLOW POSITION OPENINGS -1st posting
24. CLASSROOM AIDE FOR LITTLE HOKIE HANGOUT – 2nd posting
25. UNPAID STUDENT INTERNSHIPS AT THE EXECUTIVE OFFICE OF THE PRESIDENT – 2nd posting

Volunteers and research participants sought:
26. VOLUNTEERS NEED FOR MINDFULNESS-BASED STRESS REDUCTION STUDY – 3rd posting

Upcoming events:
— BLACKSBURG ARUNA RUN – 1st Posting

Events
1. WEEKLY WALK-IN SERVICES IN THE GLC – last updated 1/22/2018
– Career Advising: Wednesday, 2:00-5:00pm, Info kiosk in lobby
– Ask the Academy: AssistiveTechnology: Tuesday and Wednesday, Torg 1180, 4:00-6:00pm
– Cook Counseling: Thursdays and Fridays, 1:00-5:00pm, Green Room
– Graduate School hours: MTThF 8:00-5:00pm, W 9:30-5:00
– Immigration advising hours: MWF 1:00-4:00pm, TTh 9:00am-12:00pm Room 120
– Writing assistance: reserve appointment at https://www.lib.vt.edu/spaces/writing-center.html

2. WRITING STRATEGIES CONSULTATIONS
Every Monday, 10:30am-12:00pm, GLC Room A
Sign up through the Writing Center website https://www.lib.vt.edu/spaces/writing-center.html to talk about the dissertation or thesis writing process with coach, Prabin Lama (himself graduating this spring with a PhD in Rhetoric & Composition), who can help you with multiple topics– from setting an agenda (writing planning and preparation), to building a support system through writing groups and writing center services, to diagnosing and working towards managing writing difficulties. You are limited to two 1.5-hr (or shorter) appointments with Prabin per semester, (although you can always make a follow-up appointment with him in the Writing Center).

3.  IN CELEBRATION OF YOU
Monday, Feb 26, 12:00pm-1:00pm, Graduate Life Center, Multipurpose Room
Join the Graduate School Office for Recruitment, Diversity and Inclusion (ORDI) & The Black Graduate Student Organization (BGSO) for lunch. This event is in honor of Black History Month and to celebrate the accomplishments of Black Graduate Students at Virginia Tech. Come connect with faculty, staff and students while enjoying some delicious free food! Please RSVP by Wednesday, February 21st through this link: https://virginiatech.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_bKJChDsBv6CYK3P. All are welcome to attend! Questions? Contact Luisa at luisab93@vt.edu or Bryan at whitebr1@vt.edu.

4.  “A SCIENCE COMEDIAN’S GUIDE TO COMMUNICATING SCIENCE”
Monday, Feb 26, 2:00pm, Virginia-Maryland College of Veterinary Medicine, VetMed Commons
Brian Malow draws on two decades as a stand-up comedian to help scientists communicate better with general audiences. Grad student Carrie Kroehler invites you to a presentation that promises both to amuse and to educate. Brian will offer advice on a range of topics including stage presence, connecting with audiences, using analogies, and abusing PowerPoint. Malow has presented on this topic for the National Science Foundation, the American Association for the Advancement of Science, the California Academy of Sciences, the University of Michigan, and many other organizations and universities.

5. AN EVENING OF HUMOR WITH SCIENCE COMEDIAN BRIAN MALOW
Monday, Feb 26, 7:30pm, Moss Arts Center, Anne and Ellen Fife Theatre
Grad student Carrie Kroehler invites you to “An Evening of Humor with Science Comedian Brian Malow.” will Malow shares two decades’ worth of experience in making both scientists and non-scientists laugh–and appreciate science. Free and open to the public. For more information, go to https://communicatingscience.isce.vt.edu/Announcements.html.

6. GRAD MINDFULNESS
Every Tuesday, 11:00-11:30am, 5071 Derring Hall
Meets every Tuesday (change from last semester.) At each meeting there will be a short guided mindfulness exercise followed by time to practice on your own. You don’t need to stay for the whole time. Feel free to just drop in, just take care to not disturb others.  Here is a link to a cool free mindfulness app: https://app.stopbreathethink.org/. Email lashley@vt.edu with any questions.

7. ASK THE ACADEMY: ASSISTIVE TECHNOLOGY
Tuesday Feb 27 and Wednesday Feb 28th, 4:00-6:00pm, TORG 1180,
This week VTGrATE will hold its GTA walk-in advising hours in the Assistive Technology office in TORG 1180. Drop by to chat with VTGrATE fellows and Assistive Technology employees to learn about and interact with the different types of assistive technologies such as screen readers, speech recognition software, note-taking software and more that are made available to students and employees. Regular VTGrATE walk-in advising will resume in GLC Room A on Mar 6 and 7.

8. INTERVARSITY GRAD CHRISTIAN FELLOWSHIP SMALL GROUP BIBLE STUDIES
Every Tuesday & Wednesday – various locations
Our small group Bible studies meet in grad students’ homes. Get connected with a group of friends on a journey of faith through grad school! See a list of current groups: http://gcfvt.wordpress.com/small-groups/ or contact Robert Howe (robahowe@gmail.com) for more information.

9. WOMEN’S ALLIANCE ANTI-ACADEMIC BULLYING CONVERSATION WITH DEAN DEPAUW
Wednesday, February 28 from 12-1:30pm in GLC Room B
Come join a discussion with graduate Dean DePauw about the new disrupting academic bullying initiative. Faculty, grads, and all are welcome to come engage in this discussion about how we can best be allies for other females. Snacks/coffee will be provided…bring $1 to contribute to goodies.

10. CONVERSATIONAL ENGLISH PRACTICE FOR GRADS
Every Wednesday and Friday, 2:30-3:30pm, GLC Room D (or Room A on some dates)
On Wednesdays and Fridays, community volunteers will help you practice conversational English in a group setting. Discussions include American Culture on Wednesdays and the news on Fridays.  Whether just learning English or wanting to practice with Native speakers, all levels of English are welcome. For more information (and to sign up), see Writing Center website:  https://www.lib.vt.edu/spaces/writing-center.html or contact Fred (eichelman@gmail.com).

11. GLC CAFÉ – WEDNESDAY EDITION
Wednesday, Feb 28, 3:30-5:00 pm, GLC Reading Room
Enjoy free coffee, tea, and cookies in the company of fellow grad students and Grad School staff; network, socialize, relax! Bring your own mug if you can.

12. ADHD INTEREST MEETING FOR GRADS
Wednesday, Feb 28, 4:30-5:30pm, GLC Room C
Attention-deficit and hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a chronic neurological disorder that causes a person to have difficulties in attention and focus. Graduate students are especially affected by ADHD and other learning disabilities as they are not only students but adults and professionals with many responsibilities. Support from the university is crucial to help graduate students with ADHD and other learning disabilities succeed in grad school. If you think you have faced challenges in grad school related to learning disabilities and feel like you did not find the support you needed, we would like to hear from you.  This interest meeting provides a forum for your concerns and suggestions about actions that could be taken to improve resources that may be helpful for graduate students with a learning disability or to better prepare TAs on how to deal with students with disabilities. If you have questions or are interested but cannot attend, contact Tamara Guimarães, tgbucalo@vt.edu, 540-808-3293.

13. FLAMENCO AND SPANISH TRADITIONAL DANCE
Every Wednesday, 6:45pm – 8pm, Williams Hall 120
Closed to registration for this semester.

14. GRADUATE STUDENT BIBLE STUDY
Every Thursday, 12:20-1:30pm, GLC Room D
Grad Student Bible Study (hosted by Grace Covenant Presbyterian Church): Interested in a little break in your week for some time in God’s Word and discussion over lunch? Come join Grace Covenant’s Bible study where we are studying the story of Joseph from Genesis, seeing God’s providence working in this world as well as gospel-change working in our lives. It is a casual study, so come late if you need to, leave early if you need to, and feel free to bring your lunch. If you have questions or want more information, email Taylor Rollo taylor@gracecovenantpca.org.

15. GLC CAFÉ
Thursday, Feb 22, 3:30-5:00 pm, GLC Reading Room
Enjoy free coffee, tea, and cookies in the company of fellow grad students and Grad School staff; network, socialize, relax! Bring your own mug if you can.

16. VINYASA YOGA WITH JOE SCAPARCI
Every Thursday, 5:30pm-6:15pm, Graduate Life Center, Health & Wellness Room (Rm G). El Centro, Virginia Tech’s Hispanic & Latino Cultural Center, invites you to join Joe, a 200-hour Yoga Alliance Certified Instructor, to relax with some yoga! No experience or yoga mat needed. Free and open all graduate students. Questions? Contact Veronica at vmontes@vt.edu.

17. GRADUATE AND FACULTY READING GROUP
Thursday, Mar 1, 6:00pm-7:00pm, GLC Room F
(Re-occurring event every Thursday through Apr 5)
After research and teaching, after service and committees, do you also have to educate your colleagues about race, gender, and class? Do you find yourself serving as the “diversity expert” for your department? Come share, learn, and build community with the Graduate and Faculty Reading Group to discuss “Third Shift” labor by women of color in the academy using Shifting: The Double Lives of Black Women in America as a reading guide. All are welcome! If you are interested in joining, contact Cherice Hughes-Oliver at cnh4ph@vt.edu for more details.

18. KIDS’ NIGHT OUT (REGISTRATION NOW REQUIRED)
Every Thursday, VT Women’s Center, 206 Washington Street, B’burg
Please note newly revised hours: 6:30-8:30.
Go to “Doodle Poll” at https://doodle.com/poll/5bw7uqvcqc4rrsdz (poll links change weekly) to preregister your child(ren) on a first come basis. KNO is an evening of fun for kids aged 2-12 (kids should be toilet trained) and takes place at the. Park in the back and come up the stairs at the back of the parking lot.

Administrative Announcements
19A. CITIZEN SCHOLAR ENGAGEMENT – APPLICATIONS OPEN NOW – 1st posting
Have you used your research to benefit society in any way? Are you currently working, or have worked on a project in the past year, that has community impact, either locally or globally? If so, consider applying for the Citizen Scholar Engagement Recognition. If not, consider designing a Citizen Scholar Project so your efforts can be recognized next year! Program requirements are described on the CSE website: http://graduateschool.vt.edu/transformative-graduate-education-experience/citizen-scholar-engagement/program-requirements.html. Applications are due 5:00 p.m. on Monday, March 12, 2018. For more information and to apply, email Helen Kamandhari at helen74@vt.edu.

19. CALL FOR PARTICIPANTS – WE’RE OUR COMMUNITY GDS PROJECT– 1st posting
Participants are needed for a Diversity Scholar Project focusing on making graduate students more susceptible/better able to work on modern, diversifying teams.  The purpose of this program is to give participants a foundation for integrating into teams and being effective team members in academic or industry environments.  The We’re Our Community program provides the opportunity to learn about different people’s backgrounds and how it affects team-based work.  Any information gained will be used for internal purposes only and will remain confidential.  Consent will be requested in the event the information may be used beyond the GDS project. Questions? Contact Matthew Ferby at matthsf@vt.edu.

20. SIGN UP FOR A COOKING CLASS: VT RECREATIONAL SPORTS WELLNESS – 1st posting
Grad student Aubrey Stephenson invites you to Sign up for a cooking class through VT Recreational Sports Wellness and learn easy and healthy recipes to try at home! Everyone gets to help cook at these classes and then we will try all the recipes we make. More information about the dates, time and prices can be found here! We have more classes left this semester. Sign up quickly, spots are limited. Please contact Shelly Rasnick, Wellness Coordinator at rasnicks@vt.edu or 540-231-0620 with any questions.

21. COMMUNITY CHANGE CALL FOR PAPERS – 1st posting
Community Change’s second issue seeks to build upon the first issue and continue unpacking the notion of ‘community change’—its complexities, transformations, and challenges in recent decades of intensified economic, environmental, and political instabilities. It will critically interrogate responses to these processes and locate where change is (or is not) happening, why, and in what ways. It will also explore who is claiming authority to create community change and for what purposes. We call for scholarly articles (4,000-6,000 words), book reviews (1,000-1,500 words), multimedia, and artwork that examine the complexities of community change, probing whether this and related concepts are mobilized to achieve genuine, emancipatory transformation or to reinforce existing structures and relations of power or perhaps both. The deadline for submissions is March 12, 2018. Please email submissions to communitychange@vt.edu.

22. GSA GRADUATE RESEARCH DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM (GRDP) – 3rd posting
Do you have a research idea that deserves funding? The GSA Graduate Research Development Program (GRDP) provides research grant funds to support graduate research. PhD students may be awarded up to $1,000 and Master’s students up to $750 to support their projects. The application will open at 12:00am on February 21, and will close on March 2 at 11:59pm. To learn more, visit the GRDP page for the GSA website at bit.ly/GRDP-Spring2018. To access this year’s application materials, visit bit.ly/GRDP-Spring2018-materials. Questions? Contact GRDP Chair at gsaGRDP@gmail.com.

Jobs:
23. 2018-2019 GLC FELLOW POSITION OPENINGS -1st posting
Residence Life and the Graduate School are seeking motivated graduate students who are committed to building graduate community, for GLC Fellow positions for the 2018-19 academic year. An ideal candidate would have previous residence life and/or event planning experience, though it is not a requirement. Applicants must submit a formal cover letter, resume and letter of recommendation, and fully complete the following survey: https://virginiatech.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_bgxat6KH9aiIBwh Information about cover letter requirements is detailed in the survey and the full job description is at https://graduatelifecenter.vt.edu/residence-life-in-the-glc/Fellows.html Apply by midnight on Monday, Mar 12, 2018. Contact Lauren Surface at lkeister@vt.edu or Scott Steehler at steehler@vt.edu if you have questions.

24. CLASSROOM AIDE FOR LITTLE HOKIE HANGOUT – 2nd posting
Little Hokie Hangout is hiring Classroom Aides for Monday and Wednesday afternoons. Pay is $8/hr. Any interested students should email childcare@vt.edu immediately.

25. UNPAID STUDENT INTERNSHIPS AT THE EXECUTIVE OFFICE OF THE PRESIDENT – 2nd posting
The Office of Administration (OA) is currently seeking enthusiastic and dedicated students to serve as unpaid student interns to assist in the performance of its mission of providing support services for the Executive Office of the President (EOP). The EOP is comprised of The White House Office, Executive Residence, Office of the Vice President, Office of the United States Trade Representative, Office of Science and Technology Policy, Office of the National Drug Control Policy, Office of Management and Budget, Office of Administration, National Security Council, Council on Environmental Quality, and Council of Economic Advisers. The EOP is responsible for a multitude of tasks ranging from communicating the President’s Message to the American people, to promoting our trade interests abroad. Follow this link for possible opportunities: https://www.usajobs.gov/Search/?k=executive%20office%20of%20the%20president

Volunteers and research participants sought:
26. VOLUNTEERS NEED FOR MINDFULNESS-BASED STRESS REDUCTION STUDY – 3rd posting
The Psychology Department at Virginia Tech is currently conducting a research study examining a program designed improve health and well-being. The program is called Mindfulness-Based-Stress-Reduction (MBSR), and it involves an 8-week class on meditation and mindful movement techniques such as tai-chi and yoga.  This study will test the impact of MBSR on stress, emotion and attention functions, and on the physical factors that affect these processes. The purpose of this study is to find out if MBSR classes will decrease negative emotions, increase attention, decrease stress levels and boost your immune system. For more information:  www.scanlab.org/mbsr.pdf or email hokiemindfulness@gmail.com.

Upcoming events:
BLACKSBURG ARUNA RUN – 1st Posting
Saturday, Mar 24, 9:00am – 12:00 pm, Smithfield Road
Indian Students’ Association and CRU at Virginia Tech are organising a 5k Run, as a part of Aruna Project which is dedicated to freeing, employing and empowering women stuck in Sex Trafficking in India. Registrations are now live. First 120 registrants get Aruna T-shirts. All participants get a medal and a bag made by Aruna Women. Register before March 1, 2018 for early bird discount ($25) at: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/blacksburg-aruna-run-2018-registration-42469229609. For questions about the run, volunteering, or becoming a sponsor, contact at virginia.tech.isa@gmail.com or rebecca.lansford@cru.org