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Volume 68 | December 2020
OGA Newsletter
an image of a globe
The Office of Global Activities (OGA) is dedicated to connecting MSW students to international social work opportunities through fundingspecial programs, academic resources, internationalized curriculum, and arranging faculty and student exchanges at partner institutions.
End of Term Wrap-Up and Self-Care
Good luck with finals!
OGA wishes you much luck with your semester wrap-up! To our students who are finishing their final semester before receiving their MSW, congratulations on all your hard work!

Below we've complied various resources related to self-care as you finish a busy and zoom-filled the semester.


Virtual Events
Deadline: Friday, December 11
Brief Description: The semester-long challenge for Winter 2021 is a supported, open-ended opportunity for undergraduate and graduate students from all programs to join interdisciplinary teams to design projects motivated by the core DEI values of the University and its community. Students can join as individuals and then form interdisciplinary teams through the challenge process to take on the semester-long challenge. Taking forward the core DEI values of the University and its community, teams will design the future, asking: 
  • How would you envision the world you want to build?
  • What issue do you want to resolve?
  • What societal impact do you want to make?
Deadline: Tuesday, December 15 at 5pm EST
Brief Description: The Foreign Language and Area Studies (FLAS) Fellowship provides tuition and stipend to students studying designated foreign languages in combination with area studies or international aspects of professional studies. The priority is to encourage the study of less commonly taught modern languages including; Arabic, Armenian, Bengali, Bosnian, Chinese, Croatian, Czech, Filipino, Hebrew, Hindi, Indonesian, Japanese, Korean, Nahuatl, Persian, Polish, Portuguese, Punjabi, Quechua, Russian, Serbian, Tamil, Thai, Turkish, Ukrainian, Urdu, Uyghur, Uzbek, Vietnamese, Yiddish, Yoruba.  Deadline is January 15 (more information can be found under the grant opportunities section). 
Date: Friday December 18, at 6:00 pm EST
Brief Description: As we enter the final month of the year and the semester, with so much happening around us, we thought it might be a good time to reconnect over a Virtual Happy Hour with our RPCV Community. Please feel free to wear your favorite garb from your host country! Also, if you have a picture of a special place or special moment from your service, have it ready to showcase as a backdrop for our virtual cheers (along with a story!). Get ready for some special Peace Corps Trivia as well! 
Date: Friday December 18
Brief Description: The Asian & Pacific Islander (A&PI) Graduation Celebration Committee needs YOUR feedback! We are looking for community input on the title of our celebration to make sure it is representative and inclusive of our graduates. 

Please see the following website for information about graduation celebrations: https://oami.umich.edu/celebrations/ Email Chandani Wiersba, cwiersba@umich.edu, with any questions.
Professional Opportunities
Deadline: Monday, December 14, 2020 11:59 PM EST
Brief Description: The Council of Global Student Organizations (CGSO) is excited to announce that applications are open for student Leadership Board members. Undergraduate and graduate students with an interest in engaged learning, international education, and student organization leadership are encouraged to apply for this professional development opportunity. The CGSO exists to connect U-M student organizations that travel internationally in order to network, learn best practices, and access resources. The CGSO Leadership Board (e-board) includes professional staff and student volunteers, who shape the goals and guide the activities of the organization. This is a unique professional development opportunity that provides valuable leadership experience, applying best practices in cross-functional international travel-related student organizations. Email contact-cgso@umich.edu with any questions.
Deadline: Friday, January 22
Brief Description: Interested in applying your Japanese studies to a career? The Japan Internship Initiative connects U-M students with Japanese organizations and companies for summer internships. LSA Japanese Studies' partner institutions range from local organizations affiliated with Japan, to Japan-based organizations led by U-M affiliates and alumni. To get started, contact us at cjs.internships@umich.edu.
Grant Opportunities
Deadline: Rolling
Brief Description: This fund is intended to help departments and student organizations recognize the diversity of the international student population through special events and programming. We are looking to fund creative and collaborative programming that will address the following goals:
  • To elevate the voices of the international student population at the University of Michigan.
  • To provide programming to support international students.
  • To hold events or offer initiatives of particular interest to the international student population, at large or subsets of it (cultural, vocational, etc).
The application process is currently rolling. Departments and organizations are encouraged to apply at least 14 days in advance of their planned event.
Deadline: Friday, January 15
Brief Description: The Foreign Language and Area Studies (FLAS) Fellowship provides tuition and stipend to students studying designated foreign languages in combination with area studies or international aspects of professional studies. The amount of funding and number of awards are contingent upon annual US/ED program approval, federal regulations, as well as continued congressional funding, all of which may change from year to year.
The priority is to encourage the study of less commonly taught modern languages including; Arabic, Armenian, Bengali, Bosnian, Chinese, Croatian, Czech, Filipino, Hebrew, Hindi, Indonesian, Japanese, Korean, Nahuatl, Persian, Polish, Portuguese, Punjabi, Quechua, Russian, Serbian, Tamil, Thai, Turkish, Ukrainian, Urdu, Uyghur, Uzbek, Vietnamese, Yiddish, Yoruba.  

Information Session:

For more details, please see the U-M FLAS Applicant Resources Page; go to the Languages & Levels section under each fellowship type.
Deadline: Friday, January 15
Funding: $5,000
Brief Description: The Center for Japanese Studies holds an annual fellowship competition during the winter term. The application deadline is January 15 each year for funding for summer of the same year. All fellowship application materials, including recommendations and transcripts, must be received in the CJS office by the deadline.
Emergency Funding
Please contact the SSW Office of Student Services (ssw.finaid@umich.edu) if you are in financial hardship due to COVID-19. OSS staff will assist you to find funding to support you.
If you are facing financial hardship due to COVID-19 or any other unforeseen situation, the Dean of Students Office stands ready to assist you. Students must contact the Dean of Students Office by phone (734-764-7420) or email (deanofstudents@umich.edu).
CEW+ is able to offer small emergency grants to current U-M Ann Arbor graduate students. These grants are for unexpected financial emergencies that threaten to derail degree progress including funding issues that are a result of COVID-19.
Resources
The University of North Carolina Office of Ethics and Policy. recently hosted a book talk with Dr. Yoosun Park, faculty at Smith College of Social Work, on her book and research titled:  Facilitating Injustice: The Complicity of Social Workers in the Forced Removal and Incarceration of Japanese Americans. Dr. Yoosun Park's book helps to understand the ways in which the Social Work profession has and continues to perpetuate racism.

Park’s scholarship, framed within the broad substantive area of immigration, pursues two overlapping lines of inquiry: social work’s history with immigrants and the issue of immigration.
Fall Term 2020 FAQs for New & Continuing Students
The International Center Fall 2020 FAQs for the International Center's COVID-19 Updates page. The webpage will be updated with new information as it becomes available. If you have other questions and concerns, please email the International Center at icenter@umich.edu.

"This document was initially directed at ways for how to turn fieldwork that was initially planned as using face-to-face methods into a more ‘hands-off’ mode. However, people have added useful material about ‘born digital’ research (content already generated on the internet by online interactions), which provides an alternative source of social research materials if researchers decide to go down that path."
A photo for CAPS' online anxiety workshop
This three session video workshop will focus on understanding anxiety, learning strategies to manage anxiety, and developing a plan to apply the strategies on a daily basis wherever you are during the Pandemic.
SSW has listed resources and information on this web page related to tuition costs, financial aid, employment, health insurance and general questions and support.
Global Impact: News Story of the Week
*All news stories presented are likely to include bias. Please be aware of this as you read the article. If interested, we encourage you to read further about the topic at your own discretion.

"A UK grandmother has become the first person in the world to be given the Pfizer Covid-19 jab as part of a mass vaccination programme.

Margaret Keenan, who turns 91 next week, said the injection she received at 06:31 GMT was the "best early birthday present".

It was the first of 800,000 doses of the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine that will be dispensed in the coming weeks. Up to four million more are expected by the end of the month..."
To find previous OGA Newsletter volumes, click the OGA Newsletter Archive .
Email ssw.oga@umich.edu if you have any questions.