It’s great to have all of our HHD students back in Happy Valley!  I hope your first day of classes went well.  We’ve kicked off the year here with a great JumpStart program and the Dean’s Ice Cream Social yesterday was our first event in our new HHD Building.  I hope all of our new first-year, transfer and change-of-campus students got to meet some of their faculty, advisers, and fellow students. By the way, HHD has added a “Take Your Professor to Lunch (or Coffee or Ice Cream) Program”–check it out!

As your Associate Dean, I’ll try to blog about once a week on a topic that interests students, faculty, alumni and others. I’ll also post some information here about resources for students.

My topic today is student involvement.  My question for our HHD students this week is this: What can we do to help get more HHD students involved and help HHD student organization achieve their goals?

I hope you’ll share your thoughts in the comments. You can also tweet ideas to me @DennisG_Shea with #PSUHHD and join me for Twitter Office Hours (Tweet-OHs) Wednesday night at 9 PM.

One of the great experiences I’ve had as a faculty member is being involved in clubs and organizations with students.  Whether hosting alumni speakers, traveling with students to professional conferences, or just helping them develop their leadership, it’s always been a great experience.  I encourage all of our continuing and our newest students to find an organization and get involved–or start a new group that we don’t have here.

We’ve been working hard to help HHD student organizations expand their ability to support and represent students.  And we have some fantastic clubs and organizations in all of our departments.  I just want to plug one–our HHD Student Council.  This is our official college organization, and I am so impressed with the work they have done to turn our Student Council into a powerful group to support and represent HHD students.  I hope that you’ll consider attending their first meeting on Tuesday, Sept. 1, in 10 Henderson Building (I want to make sure all HHD students know that 10 Henderson is YOUR student center–open throughout the day, it’s a great place to relax, study, eat lunch, etc.  There are computers and a printer there for you to use)

Events

• Penn State Involvement Fair, Mon. – Thurs., Aug. 24 – 27, 11:00 AM-4:00 PM, HUB-Robeson Center
• 1st Annual Cigna Wellness BBQ, Fri., Aug 28th, 11am-2pm, Smeal College of Business lawn
• Fresh START Day of Service, Sat., Aug. 29, 8:30 AM-4:00 PM, Alumni Hall, HUB-Robeson Center
• HHD Student Council, Tues., Sept. 1, 6:30-8, 10 Henderson Building
• HHD Multicultural Student Welcome, Wed. Sept. 9, 5-6:30 PM, 10 Henderson
• Fall Career Days, Sept. 15-17, Bryce Jordan Center
• PSU Education Abroad Fair, Sept. 30, 11am-4pm, HUB-Alumni
• C.A.R.E. Fair, Oct. 7, 10am–1pm, HUB-Robeson. This career event is focused on employers in health and human services, park and recreation management, hospitality, public service, non-profit and volunteering realms.
• HHD Education Abroad Open House, Oct. 16, 3-5pm, HHD Building Commons
• HHD Parents and Families Ice Cream Social, Oct. 17, 1-3 PM, 10 Henderson

Resources and Opportunities

• HHD has some new resources for students! Career Services will have an onsite career counselor located in 9 Henderson Building on Friday mornings, right by our Student Center and Student Services Office.  Drop by Friday morning or call 865-2156 to make an appointment.  Penn State Career Services, of course, has lots of opportunities to get started on your career planning and seminars leading up to the Career Fair. We’ve been adding some more information on careers on the HHD web site, too. Later this semester, we will also have a librarian available in Henderson to assist students with projects and papers requiring library resources.
• Get your career network going! Volunteer your time to help with student registration and employer move-in and set-up for the 2015 Bryce Jordan Center Fall Career Days on September 15 -17 from 11:00 am to 4:00 pm, Bryce Jordan Center. To volunteer, go to http://studentaffairs.psu.edu/career/fairs/Fall/student/volunteer.shtml. Once on the site, you will click on https://www.engr.psu.edu/career/fcd-volunteer to select a 2-hour shift to help. Students who sign up for morning time slots will be deployed to help employers set up their booths. In the afternoon, students will assist with student check in on the Bryce Jordan Center concourse. Questions about volunteering can be addressed to Sherry Rice at careerfairs@sa.psu.edu
• Penn State can be a challenging place to master.  That’s why it’s important to take advantage of all the supports available to students.  Don’t forget about the following:
  • Our Student Services Center in HHD is a great place to start. Margaret Sebastianelli, Ro Nwranski, Sue Confer and Deb Houser are all there to help answer questions and point you in the right direction.  Call 865-2156 any time you need assistance.
  • Penn State Learning is your on campus tutoring center, providing help in  writing, public speaking, math, and more. The Undergraduate Speaking Center is another great place to work on your speaking skills.
  • The Multicultural Resource Center provides many groups and seminars for our diverse students.  Stop by their offices and get connected or visit Ms. Joyce Hopson-King in the HHD Diversity Enhancement Office (5 Henderson or 863-1291)
  • Adult learners, military veterans, and many more types of Penn State students can find peers for support!
  • Finally, if you need support in a medical or mental health crisis, make sure you know the numbers to call

In short, our faculty, staff, students, and alumni in HHD and throughout Penn State are here to help you succeed.