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Performing Arts Students Receive Valuable Career Advice from Professionals

Posted by Taylor Hayden

Bienen freshman Noah Becker and School of Communication sophomore Sam Shankman learned why you shouldn’t skip the many networking events Northwestern offers—if you go, you’ll come away motivated, informed, and better prepared for your career pursuits.

Six students from Jones Residential College for Fine and Performing Arts and one student from the Communications Residential College sat down with NU alumni at Adventure Stage Chicago and Lookingglass Theatre during a Dec. 5 Theatre Trek to get career advice.

The trek, a first-of-its-kind collaboration between Residential Services and Northwestern Career Advancement, took advantage of NU’s proximity to Chicago and its renowned theatre institutions, and the well-connected alumni there who want to be resources for NU students.

At Adventure Stage Chicago, students had a Q&A session with Producing Artistic Director and founder Tom Arvetis (NU Theatre ‘96) and a group of company members after a brief tour of its home in the Vittum Theater.

Becker, a jazz studies major and alto sax player, said he went on the trek because he wants to have a variety of arts careers—performance, audio engineering, composing and more—and he knew the professionals at the theatres would have valuable advice.

“I wanted to know, ‘What for me, at 19, can put me in the best possible position to have those options?’” Becker said.

Arvetis and other members spoke to students about how different skills, from business and administration to sound mixing, mesh with a career in performing arts. Students asked questions about artistic differences and how to navigate them, balancing a career and personal life, and how the performers found their niche.

“They talked about the misconception that they do a variety of things—directing, acting, funding—and then they settle somewhere,” Becker said. “It was encouraging to hear that doesn’t have to be the case–that they’re supporting themselves even if they’re part-time or full-time or wearing many different hats.”

Arvetis hosted the trek because he recognized how critical it is “to remember where one came from and remember what it was like to be where those students are now.” He hoped the trek would “give them an encouraging message of possibility, commitment and courage” in the face of the daunting post-graduation career search.

“For many (like myself), it’s the first time our priorities are not pre-defined. We have to name our priorities ourselves. And without guidance or mentorship, we can pretty quickly get lost, take unnecessary detours, get discouraged, etc,” Arvetis said. “It’s important to provide positive examples that inspire younger folks to hang in there, be brave and keep their eyes on the prize.”

Artistic Director and Northwestern Alumnus Andy White greeted students at Lookingglass Theatre, where he also did Q&A with students and reminisced about the makings of “Lookingglass Alice”, the company’s original production inspired by Lewis Caroll’s classic “Through the Looking-Glass, and What Alice Found There”.

Shankman, the artistic director of Jones, said it was inspiring to hear White speak about how he and other NU students put on the first Lookingglass Alice production in Northwestern’s very own Jones Great Room.

“Going on the trek, hearing about the humble beginnings of Lookingglass Theatre Company,” Shankman said, “just made that world seem so much more within arm’s reach.”

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Why I Became an Off-Campus Ambassador

Posted by Taylor Hayden

I moved off campus my sophomore year, and while I’m glad I did, there were definitely things I wish I had known before moving all of my furniture, clothes, and dishes up those three flights of stairs to apartment A3. We called it “The Menagerie,” and what a fitting title. Our apartment was a bit of a zoo—a classy zoo—but a zoo nonetheless.

I didn’t think about discussing rules and chores with any of my future roommates before signing the lease. We talked about rent and bills, who would pay what and who was in charge, but we never got around to discussing our ideal living situation.

And I didn’t really think about it as a problem. I knew my future roommates were awesome people. They are all smart, funny, incredibly talented, and kind people. But we weren’t all good roommates.

A few months in, I regretted never having discussed ground rules. Dishes piled up in our sink, the floor was dirty and grimy. Instead of talking to my roommates about it, I (passive aggressively) went ahead and cleaned things myself, getting more aggravated each time.

My sophomore year I lost a few friends just by living with them. I’ve heard the same story from other people too. The friend you stay up until two in the morning writing papers with in your dorm turns into the roommate you stay up until two in the morning complaining about.

That exact issue is why I applied to be an Off-Campus Ambassador. We use our insight to help students prepare for the move and stay connected with the community through quarterly social events. Don’t get me wrong, moving off campus is exciting. It is awesome and fun, and I live really well with my current roommates—so it is possible! But like every other part of growing up, there are certain aspects of living off campus that can be really difficult. Luckily, Northwestern has a great resource to help plan for the bumps in the road and make them easier to navigate.

The newly redesigned Off-Campus Life website has everything you need to know about finding a place to live and how to handle all the new responsibilities that come with that. The site has answers to important, frequently asked questions, like things to ask your landlord before you sign your lease, and your rights as a tenant in Evanston or Chicago.

‘Cats, there are people here who have your back, myself included. After I graduate, I will probably still use the roommate checklist I got off the Off-Campus Life website because the conversations it prompted made it possible for me to live with my roommates as my friends too.

Emily Wills is a senior in Northwestern University’s School of Communications. Emily has been an Off-Campus Ambassador since the fall of 2013.

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Northwestern Celebrates Black History Month

Posted by Taylor Hayden

When I was younger my family and I were a part of a community of Black families in Milwaukee. Every few months we would go on camping trips together to bond with one another. We had meetings where we learned about our history, culture, traditions, and important life skills in relation to those things. In my high school history class, we learned a more accurate and whole-sided lesson about the Civil Rights Movement that didn’t just teach about Martin Luther King Jr and Rosa Parks. When I came to Northwestern, I realized the majority of people did not have that same privilege growing up. It is rare in this society that we have the chance to explore, learn, and discuss our culture and history, and what it all means for Black people today.

Black History Month carves out a time and space for us to do this. This month, we have the opportunity to explore, celebrate, and learn about Black culture through a variety of events offered on campus. Some highlights include:

  • February 18th– Northwestern Women’s Center is sponsoring Dinner with Dynamo, a chance for 15 students to have dinner with Alumna Dorothy Tucker, a reporter for CBS 2 Chicago who has received nine local Emmys.
  • February 19th– The Gender and Sexuality Resource Center and African American Student Affairs will be screening “Still Around”, a documentary about stories of people with HIV/AIDS, with a discussion afterwards. Dinner will be provided.
  • February 21st– The African Students Association will be hosting their annual culture show, Jabulani, which celebrates different African cultures while providing some fashion, music, and free food.
  • February 23rd– Miss Black Wisconsin USA 2015, African American Student Affairs, and Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, Inc. will host a panel and discussion about the representation of Black women in contemporary film and television. The discussion will explore the effects of this representation on how Black women view themselves, and how society views them from a variety of viewpoints.

I hope that you will take the time to attend these and other events taking place throughout the month. I also hope that you will reflect on how our history and culture shapes the lives of Black, African, African American, and Afro Caribbean people today. Although we should be celebrating Black culture and history all year round, Black History Month is a time when we make sure to do so.

Angellic A. Ross is a junior in the School of Communication. She is a student employee for African American Student Affairs.

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Categories: Community, Inclusion

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Senior Woman’s Service Award from the Alumnae of Northwestern University

Posted by Taylor Hayden

The Alumnae of Northwestern University has begun its annual search for a female, senior candidate who displays collaboration, initiative, innovation, inspiration and leadership in the community to present the $2,500 Senior Woman’s Service Award.

With volunteerism a motivating factor behind The Alumnae of Northwestern University, the idea of honoring a senior woman who has made a noteworthy volunteer contribution as part of the University community was proposed by the Alumnae Board in 2001. Each year since then, undergraduate senior women have submitted their resumes to the Center for Student Involvement (CSI), to be reviewed by a committee of the Alumnae Board for consideration.

“Previous recipients have been involved across campus through student organizations, sororities, academic departments, and independent study,” CSI Student Community Service Coordinator Andrea Bell said.

Anna Radoff, the 2014 recipient of the award, made her mark on Northwestern in a number of ways. As an executive co-chair of Dance Marathon, she implemented two new programs during the record $1.3 million year. The first program assisted low-income students with fund registration fees and taught fundraising skills, while the second paired a child from the main charity beneficiary, Team Joseph, to a team of dancers to motivate participants and make the weekend more meaningful.

Radoff also held a philanthropy chairmanship in her sorority, and helped found the Northwestern University chapter of Oxfam, the international human rights and relief organization. Now working with Teach for America Chicago, Radoff said her job on the South Side teaching twenty preschool students is the hardest job she’s ever had, but the most rewarding.

“Each day we start with the same cheer, “We are leaders. We matter. We can do anything,” Radoff said. “I hope that if they only learn one thing this year, it is that they are important and they can make a difference in the world; a belief I learned through service at Northwestern.”

The application deadline is February 6. The Senior Award will be presented at the Alumnae Annual Meeting and Luncheon May 18, 2015.

Applications are due by email or in hard copy February 6, 2015 to Andrea Bell in the Center for Student Involvement (Andrea-Bell@northwestern.edu).

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Doing my PArt to Welcome Wildcats

Posted by Taylor Hayden

I hate asking for help.

I, like many Northwestern students, have always prided myself on my independence, for better or worse. I taught myself how to ride a bike, sans training wheels, and refused Band-Aids for the numerous cuts or scrapes incurred from my less-than-coordinated riding. I survived without any help and thus, my adolescent mantra was born.

When I began as a freshman at Northwestern in September 2012, I expected things to be much the same. But, of course, they weren’t. Almost immediately I was overwhelmed with the breadth of opportunities available, the rigorous coursework, and, most overwhelmingly, how accomplished my fellow students seemed to be. And, because I hated asking for help, I felt alone through all of it, even though help is something I could have desperately used. There was nobody I felt comfortable enough with to burden with my problems, so I kept on plugging along day after day, hiding my anxiety with the smile I memorized how to manufacture.

As February rolled around and I had worn in my Northwestern training wheels, there was no doubt in my mind that I wanted to apply to be a Peer Adviser. I knew it would be a time commitment, but if I could be the hand to reach out to students who had had a rough time transitioning much like I did, then the entire experience would be worth it.

My first year as a Peer Adviser was charmed to say the least; I had the opportunity to usher in eight new theatre students to Northwestern, meet inspiring Northwestern students from the incredible Wildcat Welcome community, and feel more connected to the university than I could have ever imagined. You can read about my first year here in a blogpost I wrote soon after WW ’13, where I gush about the people, community, and experiences that made my first year so wonderful. It was so good, in fact, that I questioned whether or not I wanted to reapply; what if my second year paled in comparison?

Could a second year ever come close?

This somewhat illogical reasoning is something I hear often from past Peer Advisers, but the reason I decided to reapply is what sets PAs apart from the rest of the university and is something we often talk about in the New Student and Family Programs office–that Peer Advisers are all united under a desire to help others. I couldn’t guarantee my second time around would be the blissful experience it had been the first time, but I could be sure that by being a Peer Adviser again I could make a difference in the first year of at least one new student and that alone compelled me to apply once more.

Of course, my second year as a Peer Adviser absolutely did measure up to my first year; in spring training, returners are encouraged to share their past experiences with new Peer Advisers, allowing the new PAs to learn from both my mistakes and triumphs. In training, I met an entirely new set of NU students than I had met my first year around, while also maintaining the close relationships I had established one year prior. And from the first year to the second I had become an impeccably better Peer Adviser, having had more life experience to color my mentorship and more focus on my students than myself.

By the end of Wildcat Welcome, I was tired beyond belief, but also so proud of both my PA group–nine new students I genuinely cannot imagine Northwestern without–as well as the remarkable Peer Adviser community I stood in. Applying to the Wildcat Welcome Board of Directors is something I had thought about since I had first been chosen to be a Peer Adviser; the Board is instrumental in creating the spirit that I had so appreciated in my two years as a Peer Adviser. That pursuit felt like the ultimate way to give back to a community that had given me so much and an incredible opportunity to become even more connected to Northwestern as a whole; it’s easy as a junior to reach a point of staleness, but Wildcat Welcome with all its energy, positivity, and laughter has continually revitalized my appreciation and adoration for this university every year.

Applying to be a Peer Adviser has come to be a defining decision for me and is something I truly can’t imagine my Northwestern experience without. I encourage anyone who has even briefly thought of applying to attend a Call-Out and submit an application. Thanks to my time as a Peer Adviser, I am no longer afraid to ask for help; in fact, I asked for help with writing this very post. Because, to me, asking for help no longer means giving up–it means connecting, caring, and maturing. I am no longer the little girl on her bike alone; now, I ride proudly with help from others to balance.

Click here to Apply to be a 2015 Peer Adviser (PA) or Family Ambassador (FA) by February 2, 2015.

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Seasons Change and So Does Norris

Posted by Taylor Hayden

While plans are well underway for a new university commons, Norris Center staff and administration have been busy making even more changes to accommodate all visitors.

In the past few months, Norris has seen these changes in the form of expansions, renovations, and new room set-ups.

Most recently, the Norris opened its second all gender restroom on the third floor next to the women’s restroom. The first all gender restroom was opened earlier in November on the second floor between the Louis Room and the Arch Room.

Starbucks Lounge also has received its fair share of changes, which now allow students to get more views of the lake. The Starbucks Lounge was expanded and has new furniture. A small meeting room has also been added next to the lounge. This new set-up is overall meant to offer students more collaborative experiences. Next to the lounge, the Big Ten Room received a renovation as well. With the current Kresge renovation project going on, Norris converted the Big Ten Room to a 40-seat classroom. Classes are already meeting there this quarter.

The Gender and Sexuality Resource Center received an expansion and renovation. The center now has new carpet, paint, and furniture. A reception and dinner to showcase the changes will be held February 13.

On the ground level, the food court now has speakers to add to the atmosphere. Norris and Northwestern Dining also recently extended the hours for International Dish as a dinner option.

Meetings in Norris are much more comfortable, too. Norris received over 1,000 new meeting rooms chairs in January that are lighter, easier to store, and, most importantly, very comfy. With the everyday feedback from students, Norris administration has been able to make these changes to meet student needs.

While changes have been made, Norris is staying true to its winter tradition. The Norris Ice Rink is back and will be open through mid-February for students, faculty, staff, and guests of the university community.

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What’s Next at Norris?

Posted by Taylor Hayden

Interview with Kelly Ann Schaefer, Norris University Center Executive Director

In the fall of 2019, Northwestern University is on track to have a new university center. The plan to build a new center is well underway and on schedule as the university prepares to break ground in 2017. In the meanwhile though, Norris University Center staff and administration is still actively working to serve the needs of students.

“We’re using the research we have for the new center to do what we can to improve our existing facilities,” said Kelly Ann Schaefer, the university center’s executive director.

In the past year, the Norris team has opened a new Subway, Dunkin’ Donuts, and Student Organization Resource Center (also known as the SOURCE). Norris Center also has been revamped with an all-gender restroom, an expanded Gender and Sexuality Resource Center, and layout changes in Starbucks and lounge area around the building.

Along with these changes, Norris University Center will continue to evolve this year with another all-gender bathroom that is going to be built on the third floor. After recommendations from the Undergraduate Budget Priorities Committee to add more study space, Norris will also be moving a wall in the Big Ten Room to make space for a 40-seat classroom. This will also allow for the expansion of the Starbucks lounge.

“We’re really trying to assess and meet the needs of our current students,” Schaefer said. “Whether that means more collaborative spaces or classrooms, we want to make sure to enhance everyone’s experience at Norris.”

While Schaefer recognizes that the existing Norris cannot make costly changes with a new center already on the way, she also says there are lots of ways to fix up the existing facilities in a way that maximizes services for students. Last year, Norris did just that with the opening of the Student Organization Resource Center. The resource center was created as a result of research conducted by architects and various stakeholders. Research showed that students wanted more collaborative spaces, so the center refurbished the third floor area with new paint, carpeting, and furniture.

Changes like these are also meant to help see what works for the future university center’s design. According to Schaefer, many of these changes are taking place now to ensure that the new center instills already proven practices.

As far as the plans for the new center, architects and administration have worked to collect information on people’s hopes for future services, programs, and facilities. With the help of 43 different focus groups, students with various interests in the university – from career services to sustainability to food – have helped the administration reach a consensus on changes that are important to the university at large.

“We want to know what works based on student demand,” Schaefer said. “We want Norris to continue evolving to meet every student’s needs, which is why everyday feedback is so important.”

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New Name Latest Enhancement to Career Advising

Posted by Taylor Hayden

Northwestern Career Advancement — formerly University Career Services — has a new name that reflects its focus on helping Northwestern University students through the career advancement process in a personal and optimal way.

The University has close to 20,000 students enrolled in hundreds of different majors, minors and other programs. Everything that NCA does, including innovative new enhancements put into place over the last year, is designed to help these highly talented and diverse students with a wide range of career goals.

In this edition of ‘CatChats, Mark Presnell, NCA executive director, and Alice Harra, NCA director of employer recruiting and engagement, discuss some of the cutting-edge new opportunities for career advancement for Northwestern students.

More highlights:

  • More than 18,000 jobs and internships were posted in the CareerCat online job and internship search system in the last year.
  • Alumni play a key role in the success of NCA by recruiting on campus, offering internships, mentoring and sponsoring other career-related activities.
  • Six months after graduation, more than 90 percent of Northwestern’s undergraduate Class of 2013 was employed full time, in graduate school or engaged in some other career-related experience – Fulbright Scholar, military service and more.
  • The enhancements were set in motion by Vice President for Student Affairs Patricia Telles-Irvin after listening to feedback from students, alumni, other members of the Northwestern community and employers.

‘CatChats is a series of audio podcasts that are casual conversations with people and personalities who make Northwestern one of the world’s diverse and dynamic universities.

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Gender & Sexuality Resource Center Celebrates Anniversary with Expansion

Posted by Taylor Hayden

By Brett Stachler

There have been many changes in the Gender and Sexuality Resource Center this summer. We have a new space, a new name and a new director on the way

During our 10-year anniversary celebration this past spring, we had an opportunity to reflect on and celebrate our journey at Northwestern. We were also able to plan for the opening of an all-gender restroom at Norris, expand our space and initiate a name change to celebrate all gender identities, expressions and sexual orientations.

At the university level, the first center focusing on gender identity/expression and sexual orientation was the University of Michigan’s then-named Human Sexualities Office in 1971. Since then, a number of gender and sexuality offices have emerged. Our history at NU mainly began in 2000, when the LGBT Support Network offered the Safe Space Ally Workshop. Later on, this group helped advocate for a LGBT resource center.

As a result of these efforts and with the support of Student Affairs, the LGBT Resource Center opened its doors on May 19, 2004, with two co-coordinators who worked six hours a week. In 2006, a part-time coordinator position opened at the resource later, which later became a full-time director position in 2012.

Our history has moved forward beside the history of the overall Queer and Trans* Movement. One of the larger shifts within the community has been the fluidity of how people identify their genders and sexual orientation. In an effort to create an inclusive environment, we recently changed our name to the Gender and Sexuality Resource Center (GSRC) to reflect this shift in how people identify.

The changes in our space at Norris also reflect our overall growth. We have doubled our size with an office reception space and student lounge that has a couch, meeting space and larger library.

At GSRC, we strive to encourage student learning, community engagement and cultural inclusion in everything we do. This year, our staff, in partnership with Norris staff, brainstormed a big way to reach out and advance our social justice goals at Student Affairs. Our solution was the all-gender restroom. This was our best idea at creating a private space that overcomes the binary definitions of gender identity. We now have a single-stall, all-gender restroom on the second floor of Norris and are working with Norris Facilities Management to bring another all-gender restroom to the third floor in winter 2015.

Despite all of our changes, we still have a long way to go. Devin Moss, the former Resource Center Director, noted, “This progress has allowed for us to break out of the mold of yester-year to create a space that speaks to our most humanly core of affirmation and love. The Gender and Sexuality Resource Center, as I envision it, seeks to be the space where social justice education inspires innovation for inter- and intra-cultural progress toward community development.”

As the Gender and Sexuality Resource Center (GSRC) begins to finalize its search for a new director, we continue to look forward by asking ourselves three questions: How are we helping students enrich their experiences by including all voices and narratives? How can we continue to use social justice and intercultural education to educate the Northwestern community on the lives of Queer and Trans* people to develop better allies? How do we engage multiple communities of students, faculty and alumni to affirm, celebrate and develop all gender identities, expressions and sexual orientations?

In this last moment, we wish to thank all students, staff, faculty and alumni members for their contributions in creating a better Northwestern for all our Queer and Trans* members. Indeed, as Margaret Mead said, “Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it’s the only thing that ever has.”

Brett Stachler is a graduate assistant at the Gender and Sexuality Resource Center at Northwestern University.

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Creating a Culture of Caring: It’s On Us

Posted by Taylor Hayden

Less than four years ago, the Center for Awareness, Response, and Education (CARE) did not exist. Each year since its creation, CARE has grown and found new ways to better serve students who have experienced sexual violence.

This year is no different.

CARE, now an integrated part of the Northwestern community, was created with funds the university received in 2011. The funds came from a three-year grant that the university received from the Department of Justice’s Office on Violence against Women.

This year, NU has been awarded the same grant to support more services for survivors of sexual violence and awareness programs for the community.

The $300,000 grant, Campus Program Grant to Reduce Domestic Violence, Dating Violence, Sexual Assault, and Stalking, can be renewed every three years and is meant to help strengthen existing campus programs with new initiatives.

Now that the university has established CARE, the grant money will mainly go towards creating new positions that the university feels will only further help make a difference in the campus culture and start a dialogue.

During the academic year, CARE will hire a Coordinator of Men’s Engagement and Campus Inclusion and Community will hire a Step Up NU graduate assistant, and four undergraduate student workers. The coordinator will focus on creating and implementing comprehensive prevention efforts focusing on men’s engagement, while advising Men Against Rape and Sexual Assault (MARS) and offering more survivor advocacy services. One student worker will work in CARE, and the other three will work within Student Affairs Marketing for campaign design and videography.

Although most of the money really goes into hiring staff, the grant program goals and objectives each are tailored to broadening campus and community engagement, offering effective intervention, and altogether reducing cases of sexual assault and other violence.

“We have a new definition for sexual misconduct that will make a difference in campus culture,” Lisa Currie, director of Health Promotion and Wellness, said. “It’s really an exciting time to be in the field and see what’s happening on a national level.”

Before renewing the grant, university officials had to go through an application process that would showcase the school’s depth of commitment to the cause. Although the Department of Justice doesn’t specifically address why they select certain schools for the grant, Currie believes they are looking to build upon success.

This year, two task forces are being created to go underneath and continue improving upon the work CARE is doing. The task forces, which are in collaboration with Multicultural Student Affairs and the Gender and Sexuality Resource Center, will work to improve outreach and services for Black and LGBTQ students.

“We have seen success in our programs, but we want to assess where we can improve and go from there,” Currie said.

Currie, who has been in the field for almost 20 years, also mentioned how students are becoming more of a driving force in changing the dialogue on sexual assault.

Just this year, the White House launched the It’s On Us campaign, which is meant to support bystander intervention. While the university is giving students the tools to learn how to effectively intervene and help prevent and respond to sexual assault, it is students who are following through with it.

“Our programs are the vehicle to do it by, but many campus efforts are now student-driven,” Currie said. “From ASG to Athletics, there’s a lot that has been happening and is in the works.”

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