Happy November! It is hard to believe that it is already November, and unbelievable that our freshmen are about to finish their first semester! The last day of classes is November 13^th and Final Exams will be over by the 24^th. It has been a new, but eventful and educational semester, and we hope all of our students enjoy some well-deserved time off during winter break.

Before the semester officially ends, we have one webinar left in the series. We will hear from Dr. Kelly Crace, Director of the Center for Mindfulness and Authentic Excellence, on November 12th at 7pm. Dr. Crace will talk about strategies for your student to finish the semester strong, and ways your student can mindfully recharge over winter break to prepare for the spring.

We wish all students the best of luck on their exams, and hope you get to enjoy lots of family time with your student over break.

There will be no December or January newsletter due to winter break, so we will be back in touch in February. On behalf of William & Mary, we wish you a happy and healthy New Year!

pfcleadership@wm.edu 

The Spring 2021 Academic Calendar has been recently announced. We recognize that this compressed semester has been very tough on your students, and want to provide your students a break next semester while minimizing travel due to ongoing COVID-19 concerns.

Rather than have a typical Spring Break, the adapted Spring 2021 Academic Calendar includes six Spring Break days scattered between the months of February and April.

W&M President Katherine A. Rowe announced today that the university will reset its process to determine long-term sustainability for W&M Athletics. As part of that reset, Rowe said, W&M men's athletics teams slated for reclassification will continue as Division I sports through at least 2021-22.

The decision comes after Interim Athletic Director Jeremy Martin's review of the September 3rd plan to discontinue seven Division I varsity sports by the end of the '20-'21 academic year. Moving forward, W&M athletics will conduct a gender equity review and explore alternative solutions leading to the development of a long-term financial plan.

Provost Agouris, Dean Donoghue Velleca, and Dean Zeman have announced the faculty-led Educational Policy Committee's decision to modify the Pass/Fail policy for the fall 2020 semester that applies to Arts & Sciences (A&S) classes only. All undergraduates may now take two A&S courses on a Pass/Fail basis.

Please encourage your student to reach out to their academic advisor with any questions or concerns.

If your student studied remotely for fall 2020 and are ready to come back to campus, we have room for them! Applications for campus housing is now open via the housing portal.

Students in classes of 2023 and 2024 are required to live on campus. And we’d love to have our Juniors and Seniors join us on campus as well.

The Counseling Center continues to offer supportive workshops and outreach groups for W&M students. The workshops and outreach groups offer support to students dealing with a wide variety of concerns that range from loneliness, isolation, and symptoms of depression to support for transfer students, graduate students, and students dealing with racial distress.

Please encourage students to seek support for themselves. They can reserve a spot for any of the outreach programming via http://bit.ly/WMCCSignUp

The extraordinary challenges of this semester have caused us to manage uncertainty, fear, upset and fatigue for an extended period. Health & Wellness at W&M is pleased to announce the launch of our new mental health & wellness podcast, Ways to Flourish. This will be an ongoing series of brief discussions on how to be mentally healthy and flourish through our current challenges. The podcast will strive to be relevant for the entire community of W&M students, staff, faculty, and families.

Tune into Ways to Flourish on Spotify and Apple Podcast or visit the virtual Health & Wellness website.

Student Assembly (the W&M student government) is gathering information from clubs, organizations and departments across campus to bring students a curated list of things to do and still maintain 6-feet-of-fun!

The website is updated weekly on Fridays and a message with the 6-feet-of-fun activities are sent to all students on Friday afternoons.

After a successful Transfer Appreciation Week, FYE is kicking off several events to promote community and connection for W&M students throughout the rest of the semester.

The events kicked off with a Zoom Trivia Night before the end of October. This will be followed by some events for distinctive student populations (First Generation Appreciation Week and Student Veterans recognized on Veterans Day) as well as other events for the greater student community, such as our upcoming Community of Thanks, Goodie Bags, Positivity Rocks, Hot Chocolate Bar, and Virtual Exam Break/Dance Party.

Is your student interested in studying abroad this summer for W&M credit? Applications for W&M’s faculty-led summer abroad programs and for Reves Summer Scholarships are open now and are due by Monday, February 1, 2021.

With opportunities at 20 locations around the globe, we have programs that will support their academic goals and fit your budget. Learn more at the WM Global Education Office website or contact wmabroad01@wm.edu for more information

Navigating college life is no walk in the park and being a William & Mary student in 2020 is no different.

Join experts from around campus as they discuss ways to decipher common college experiences with our Decipher Podcast.

Residence Life will open applications for student staff positions for the 2021-22 academic year on Monday, November 16. Applications will close on Sunday, January 31 at 11:59 PM. This includes applications for Resident Assistant roles.

To review position descriptions, please visit: https://www.wm.edu/offices/residencelife/employment/student/positions/index.php.

If you or your students have any questions please reach out to staffselection@wm.edu.

First Year Experience is hosting Get Back on Track Zoom sessions for first semester students who are needing encouragement and casual conversation with peers to help them regain focus and end this semester on a stronger footing. These sessions are taking place on Sunday’s at noon.

On October 20, William & Mary President Katherine A. Rowe led a virtual talk with the university's three new deans: Dean of the School of Education Rob Knoeppel, Dean of the Law School A. Benjamin Spencer and Dean of the Faculty of Arts & Sciences Maria Donoghue Velleca.

The group discussed student and faculty innovation, equity and inclusion, and their focus on creating civic-minded leaders, among other topics. The full talk is available to watch online.

Tune in to to hear from featured faculty members as they discuss their area of expertise, current research and findings, and student engagement. The final two programs include Fabrício Prado (history) and Tricia Vahle (physics).

All W&M parents, family and alumni are welcome to join.

Student Leadership Development’s No Title Needed initiative exists to encourage students to recognize and celebrate where leadership and contribution take place without reliance on position, title, or role. Leadership is a process amongst all members and through No Title Needed we work to elevate the concept that it is not about the role (or title) but always about working toward a shared goal together.

The Cohen Career Center will be offering Career Chats with parents and alumni the week of January 18. These will be one hour sessions where the professionals will speak about their career path and their current organization for about 30 minutes and the remainder will be an opportunity for students to ask questions.

If you are interested in participating in a Career Chat as a professional, please email Lisa Randolph at lrandolph@wm.edu. Students can access the Career Chat schedule and Zoom links through TribeCareers.

The Office of First Year Experience is beginning a program of remote student mentorship. This program involves student leaders, attuned to the needs of remote students, mentoring small groups for an additional layer of transition support and community.

The Parents Fund supports William & Mary students as they prepare themselves for their careers.

Your gift to the Parents Fund today will help us reach our goal of $1 million by June 30, 2021. 

This experience allowed me to put myself in the shoes of a doctor for a couple days. I found this to be super valuable as I get closer to entering the field because I had the opportunity to see and talk with an experienced physician about both the highs and the lows of the job. I feel like I now have a better framework for practicing medicine than I did before! -- Relena Turner ‘23, pictured above during her externship at Virginia Oncology Associates