We are nearly at the midway mark for the semester. This is the time when students have begun to settle into their routines and it’s easy to assume they don’t need assistance. However, now is the time when it’s more important than ever to check in with new and returning students to remind them of services and resources and to serve as a friendly face.
Our students look to us to help understand the dynamics of life on a college campus. We are role models for our students and the relationships they develop with us influence their experience at Idaho State. Many times I hear from students that the action of one individual is what helped them to
- persist when they thought they couldn’t
- find the help they needed
- know that they had a friend on campus
- felt like they were cared for
- felt like they mattered
You may have heard me speak about the concept of third place. Third place was coined by sociologist, Ray Oldenburg. It refers to the place where people spend time between home (first place) and work (second place). Third places embody locations where ideas are exchanged and relationships are built. The concept of third place has been adapted to businesses seeking better consumer relationships, and employers seeking more productive employees. At its heart, the concept of third place is about making connections. Connections to yourself, your community, and one another. I can think of no place more ripe for the development of third place than our campus.
Many staff in Student Affairs engage in third place behaviors every day. Helping students find and make connections and helping students navigate complex or confusing problems are all ways we build our third place community. As you progress through the next several weeks, I would like you to ask yourself what you are doing to develop a third place community for our students. When you interact with students are you doing so in a way which makes them feel connected to you, ISU, or their community? If not, what are some ways you can help make ISU the third place for our students. Commitment to ensuring student questions are answered, checking in with individuals who may be having a difficult time here or at home, or even smiling and saying hello to students provide excellent foundations for our third place community.
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ISU students take first and second runner up at the Miss Africa Idaho Scholarship Program
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On September 21, 2019, six contestants participated in the Miss Africa Idaho program. Among them were ISU students, Anna Mugongo and Ifunanyachukwu “Thelma” Anih, who took first and second runner up respectively. Miss Africa Idaho is a
cultural education scholarship program aimed at promoting the diverse African culture, providing education scholarship opportunities for young African women studying in the United States, and educating the general public of Africa's rich cultural heritage.
Anna participated in the program
to encourage and motivate young African students to keep going in school and life no matter how hard it gets. She came to America in 2010 and didn’t know how to read or write, but because of her support system, she is now a political science major planning to go to law school. Her passion is helping young people reach their full potential.
Ifunanyachukwu was born and raised in Nigeria, West Africa and spent most of her early education in Nigeria as well. She moved to Idaho from Nigeria in 2016 to further her education and is currently a Junior studying Business Management. Her first name Ifunanyachukwu means Love of God. She values her name and does her best to incorporate the meaning in her daily life. Thelma believes people should treat one another with love. Her goal in life is to own an academy that would teach performing arts in Nigeria.
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Ifunanyachukwu “Thelma” Anih
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Record numbers turn out for Family Weekend
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Another successful Family Weekend is in the books. This year there was an unprecedented response to the weekend and we were excited to welcome over 200 new and returning families. Families enjoyed the traditions of previous weekends including the dinner, tailgate, and football game.
In addition to these traditions, several new events were created to immerse families in the daily experiences of their student. Those events included SAB Bingo!, yoga with Health and Wellness, admission to Campus Recreation, open climb, and an alumni panel with a focus on student involvement.
We would like to thank our supporting colleagues and let them know how appreciative we are of the opportunities, programs, and staff they provided to help engage our families. Family Weekend had 500 people redeem vouchers to watch the Bengal victory over Portland State. It was an exciting way to cap off a weekend full of success!
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ISU to celebrate Indigenous Peoples Day
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During President Satterlee’s fall address, he spoke about how honored we are to be celebrating Indigenous Peoples Day for the first time at Idaho State. Student Affairs is proud to be working on this important effort as we come together to recognize this day. This day celebrates and honors Native Americans and celebrates their shared history and culture. We are humbled to live in a location which provides us such an amazing opportunity to interact, learn from, and celebrate the culture of Native Americans.
Lethaniel Loley -Coordinator of the Native American Student Center has been coordinating a full day of events. We encourage everyone to participate and take advantage of the chance to learn from and celebrate this incredible
culture. See below for a full schedule of events.
Monday, October 14, 2019
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7:30-8 am, Quad
9am-4 pm, Pond Student Union
9-9:30 am, Pond Student Union Ballroom
9:30-11 am, Pond Student Union Ballroom
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11 am-1 pm, Quad
1-2 pm, Pond Student Union
2-3 pm, Pond Student Union
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This month’s spotlight focuses on an employee who has only been in her current role for a few months, but she has been a fixture of passion and commitment on the ISU campus for much longer. Student Affairs is pleased to highlight Alma Jam, Program Manager of the Diversity Resource Center located under the Office of Equity and Inclusion.
What do you do on campus?
Provide and support diversity-focused programming, workshops and events for students, faculty, staff and community members of ISU and Pocatello.
How long have your worked for ISU?
I feel as though I've been working at ISU all my life. However, I've been in this role as the Program Manager of the DRC for exactly 3 months now. In the past, I worked for TRIO Services serving as an adviser for the TRIO Education Opportunity Centers (EOC) program in Twin Falls and TRIO McNair Scholars program in Pocatello for a duration of about 2.5 years. Before that, I worked as a research and teaching assistant for the Sociology department for about 2 years.
What has been your favorite ISU experience? I can't pick one favorite experience but if I had to choose, it is (and always will be) the end of a shift of a productive day.
What do you like to do in your spare time? In my spare time, I eat, fellowship with my loved ones, go on little adventures and work on the hobbies and projects that fulfill my passion and purpose.
If you could do or be anything for a day what would you choose? An octopus. I'll be a lot more productive if I had eight hands and a huge brain.
What is your favorite thing about your department? The Diversity Resource Center's space. I'm in love with the fact that half the center is covered with windows and appreciate the amount of natural light that greets me when I'm there.
Who is your leadership inspiration and why? My Father -Dr. Martin Jam! He is quite a visionary as well as the happiest, and most humble being I've ever met in my life.
What is something people might be surprised to know about you? I know where everything is in WinCo.
What are you most excited or passionate about? Eradicating human trafficking.
What would you like people to know about you? Among all things, the relationship I have with my Creator is the most important aspect of my life.
What is currently your favorite show on Netflix? I'm currently searching for a show but the last series I enjoyed on Netflix was "Explained."
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Free office ergonomic assessment - Pocatello only
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Graduate students in the Occupational Therapy program are offering free office ergonomic assessments for faculty and staff on the Pocatello campus. This is your chance to see how well your work station fits your body and whether changes might help you get rid of nagging back or neck aches or hand numbness problems.
Assessments are done under the supervision of a licensed occupational therapist in partial fulfillment of course requirements for the Master of Occupational Therapy degree. Unfortunately, we are limited to accepting only nine people for assessments this term, so contact us soon.
To sign up, please e-mail Dr. Ted Peterson at
petetheo@isu.edu
. For further information, call Dr. Peterson at extension 4631.
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HAPPENING IN STUDENT AFFAIRS
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Kyle Peck has been hired as an Admissions Advisor. He will be covering the local high schools and the Southeast South region, as well as Wyoming.
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EVENTS
Spirit Saturday will be held on Saturday, October 12th in conjunction with Homecoming. We invite high school students to come enjoy a game day with the Bengals!
Experience ISU will be held on Friday, October 25th. We invite high school seniors to come to campus for a preview day. We appreciate all the help from departments across campus. We are looking for volunteers to help with this event. If you are able to volunteer, please contact Amanda Bullock at guntama2@isu.edu or x1211.
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EVENTS
The Career Center will host a resume roundup for COSE on October 8 to prep for the STEM fair.
ISU STEM Career Fair 2019 - Wednesday, October 9, 9:00 am - 1:00 pm, Wood River Room.
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