Run-down of the 10/1/09 Grad Student Council meeting

We had a spirited meeting last week and the pitcher of Steel Rail had nothing to do with it. Here's a look at what we discussed. Email me with any questions or comments.

1. The most important item on the agenda was discussing ways to reach out to the undergraduate community to provide guidance to students interested in pursuing volunteer opportunities, internships and careers in Natural Resources field. Patty, President of the Wildlife Society, joined us to plan some collaborative events this Fall. Here's what we're organizing:
-Nov. 12th, Graduate students and some faculty will present a "Natural Resources Job/Internship Workshop" to help undergrads prepare for, apply for and land their dream job. Topics will include:
1) Faculty presentation: Encouraging undergraduate student involvement in research opportunities, promoting relevant coursework within the department (etc.) that they should consider to make themselves better candidates for positions (and in preparation for a degree or otherwise) and a
2) Grad Student presentation: Current volunteer opportunities in labs within the department
3) Grad Student presentation: Websites, job-postings, places to look for research opportunities (and WHEN to apply)
4) Grad Student presentation: Resumé structuring, do's and don'ts
5) Grad Student presentation: Cover letter content and structuring, tips
6) Grad Student presentation: Job interview etiquette (preparation, common questions, follow-up)
- We'll have 2 follow-up workshops after this presentation where undergrads can come in with job postings, resumes, and cover letters to get feedback and advice from grad students.

2. Welcome (back) Picnic recap. Consensus is that the event was a success! We have a lot of leftover hotdogs in the Holdsworth mail room freezer and we're going to have a Fall bbq in conjunction with a UMass sporting event. Any suggestions? Soccer, football, hockey?

3. Blog update. Positive feedback on the blog. Email photos, postings, calendar events to umassnrcgrads@gmail.com.

4. Bulletin Board on 3rd floor Holdsworth. We're going to keep photos up on this board and we would like photos (preferrably Glamour Shots) of ALL NEW GRAD STUDENTS. Please email them to umassnrcgrads@gmail.com and we'll put yer face up.

5. Student Orientation handbook. Some sections of this guide still need some refining. In particular need of editing are the sections on fees, health insurance & GEO, places to eat/get free wifi/listen to music. Follow the link to the right to view the orientation guide.

6. NRC T-shirts and stickers. This project is not a huge priority right now but we decided that we need a new line-drawing design. People should play around with some different design ideas this semester and then in the Spring we'll place an order, which will most likely be paid for with pre-orders.

7. Fall/Winter Events: Let's get out to some UMass sporting events together and eat lots of hotdogs. Let me know if any good games are on the horizon and we can rally a crew.

Get in touch with us with any thoughts or feedback. Please let us know if you'd like to participate in the Internship/Job workshop with the undergrads. Divide and conquer!

Cheers,
Tyler