And We Are Back!!! 4/16/12 Major Quest 3000

It's been awhile, but the blog is back for The Turntablizers of Turntable Advising.  This week, we had a surprise, last minute special guest of Mr. Micah Johnstone, a pillar of the Oregon community, recently completing and passing his Bar Exam, and who will soon be a member of the Oregon Bar Association.  We grilled Micah on his life path, discussing the ups and downs of his time at the University of Oregon, and how landscaping work in Alabama led him to his chosen professional path of working in the criminal law field.

Other banter included updates from DJ Jamo about current events happening on the PSU campus regarding Sexual Assault Awareness Month and the upcoming Bike Back the Night/Take Back the Night.  And once again, more of DJ Great Scott's relationship tidbits were discussed, including a follow up about IKEA shopping and living to tell the tale.  And on a side note, are the IKEA meatballs just not the same as they once were?  Something to ponder...

Check out all upcoming events for Sexual Assault Awareness Month at www.pdx.edu/wrc

Tune in next week where we will be Following the Green Brick Road to Student Leadership when we discuss Bike/Take Back the Night with a few different student leaders and discuss their pathways to success at PSU, and maybe we'll get Thrillhouse to talk about something interesting in his deep voice...  we'll just have to see about that.

Episode #10: Winter Wonderland

Post in progress...

Episode #9: Connect Yourself

We're doing all the leg work on these connections. For you.

I, DJ Nico got to produce my own show this week. It was both thrilling and anxiety-ridden. I was not sure how exactly I wanted to execute this particular topic. I think that it went fairly well. This week's show was themed around getting involved on-campus either through student organizations or student activities. We put a spotlight on Student Activities and Leadership Programs (SALP) here at PSU, and had a representative student leader, Rolan, guest-star and talk about his involvement. We also had a fellow orientation leader, Valery join us and give insight to balancing on-campus involvement and how to maintain productive involvement in a healthy way! We have such great student leaders. Thanks Rolan and Valery for joining us. 

Getting involved in an activity on-campus helps you, as a student, get better grades, expand your social circles: possibly to even more diverse spaces, increase your "happiness quotient," and path a successful road to graduation through leadership positions. Four main points behind getting involved: 

Don't fall victim!

1. Connecting and navigating PSU. This is a big school and a lot of the time students feel disconnected. It is good to have mentors, any shape or form, that have your back and can give you tips on getting adjusted.
2. Balance is important. I know I always manage to find a million ways to be involved on-campus and have to take a step back and acknowledge my current commitments and the adjustments that would need to be made if I tried to take on, uh, a million different on-campus activities. Make sure to maintain a balance that is productive and healthy, if you find yourself feeling as if you're being pulled at all ends you should consider reassessing your involvement and priorities! You're not Stretch Armstrong. 
3. Friends and identity. There are a lot of opportunities put together by SALP and other departments on campus for you to meet new people. PSU has over 30,000 students, and I can assuringly say there's a group of people that can't wait to meet you. Yeah, I'm corny, so what. There are also plenty of student organizations that range from Academic groups, Arts related, Multicultural, Political, Advocacy, and Spiritual interests. You are bound to find a group that speaks to how YOU want to get involved. 
4. Connecting your Academics to reality. Good grades and a well-maintained GPA are very important. But PSU wants to see and hear you involved on-campus. Your involvement reflects your commitment to maintaining your grades and successfully finishing school.
5. Career skills and leaderships...are two peas in a pod. Leadership positions available all over campus let you grow into the confident, articulate, and unique individual that you are. Graduate schools, future career options, scholarships, and grants are looking for students who make time to get involved with their university's community. Before I got involved with the Orientation team, I would stress over class presentations and job interviews...now these are both things that I get excited about doing and interviewers feel my energy and excitement. 

SALP has two events coming up in January, the Party Near The Park (Jan. 19) and the Leadership Conference (Jan. 20). To find more information about SALP, existing student organizations or upcoming events visit: salp.pdx.edu

Episode #8: Usuccess

If it were up to us, success would look like this. For you.

DJ SpinnerElla took the reigns on this episode and made a very, yeah, I'll say it, successful University Success episode! Go Ella! This episode was geared towards freshmen students, and students utilizing University Success as a resource for academia. We even co-sponsored a party, with food! Shout out to Courtney Sandler for this awesome partnership! We focused on Winter Registration and the anxiety that comes up for many students registering for classes, as well as answered questions submitted by students. 

Louis Maltese, a Learning Community Assistant guest-starred for this episode (sadly he missed out on the chips and salsa party in the Usuccess room). He gave us his own perspective on academic-support in-hall programs and his involvement as a LCA. 

Academic Coaching is available primarily to freshmen who live on-campus, but can be arranged to help our multitude of student populations. This service sets a student up with a mentor for a term, the student then arranges to meets up with the mentor weekly. With the mentor the student is encouraged to establish better time-managment skills, study habits, and other academic skills. I actually took part in this program a couple terms ago, and my mentor was the director of the Women's Resource Center, Bridge D'Urso. I am a good student, but that term I was looking to connect with a mentor on a one-on-one level to keep me grounded as I came closer to the end of my second year of school here at PSU. If you're considering taking part in this mentoring opportunity, please email academiccoaching@pdx.edu or visit the Usuccess Site for more information. 

Other resources that are available through University Success are Evening Tutoring, Evening Academic Advising, access to a cosy Study Lounge and much more! 

Here are the questions that were submitted by students which were then chosen to be read live on-air! Questions starting after #8 were questions not read on-air but that we felt deserved an answer as well.

1. When can I register for classes? If you are classified as a freshman (first year student), you can register for classes starting this past Wednesday, November 23 at 8am, for Winter term. 
2. Where do we register? By going to the my.pdx.edu site, logging in, choosing the "Student" tab, and then choosing "Add or Drop Class" or "Look Up Classes" either link will get you to where you need to be. 
3. Does statistics count as a Math class? Yes! 
4. Where can I find course descriptions? Each department has their own website on pdx.edu and provides an accessible list of course descriptions that are department specific or your PSU Bulletin.
5. Where do you find prerequisites for classes? You can use your PSU Bulletin to locate prerequisites or go to Class Schedule and listed courses will hyperlink to an information you should know prior to registering for that course. 
6. What if my registration is on hold? To see if you have any holds on your account go to my.pdx.edu, choose the "Student" tab and then click "Registration Status" this will tell you if you have any holds on your account. Make sure to get in contact with the correct office that has placed the hold on your account. For example, Undergraduate Advising and Support Services places Academic Warning holds that will prevent you from registering. 
7. How often do we have to meet with an adviser? Technically one time during your Freshmen year, this is the only required time. BUT, advisers know from experience, and I will vouch for this as a student, that working with advisers on a regular basis is a lot more helpful in the long run! 
8. How many SINQ’s do I need? To review the University Studies program and placement, you can go to:www.pdx.edu/unst
9. What are the easiest classes? Unfortunately the answer is very subjective. It just simply depends! 
10. Is English a smart major choice? What career paths can an English degree take you down? Generally speaking, we recommend that you identify specific careers, and then work backwards by researching if you need a specific major to take you there. The key is to explore majors by taking courses of interest. The Career Center has plenty of valuable information on this and much more at this link: http://www.pdx.edu/careers/choosing-majors-and-careers
11. What are core requirements? You can find the PSU degree requirements here: http://pdx.edu/advising/requirements-baccalaureate-degree 
12. What about Chiron classes? Chiron studies classes are student-led, and very diverse! See here for more information: http://www.pdx.edu/chiron 
13. How do I pay my bill? Information on paying your bill can be found here: http://pdx.edu/bao/payments
14. What if a class I need is full?  There is a Special Registration form (obtained in Neuberger lobby) that you can take to the class on the first day. However, it's not guaranteed, and at the discretion of the professor to sign it.
15. Can you switch to a different FRINQ? Since the sequence is built for a year-long commitment, then you need to follow the same FRINQ path.
16. What if required class’ conflict? You may not register for two classes if the times conflict. You can meet with an adviser to discuss any concerns you might have.
17. How do I register early? There is no early registration (there are very few exceptions for students in a special admissions program).

A huge thanks to all those who participated in the Listening Party for this episode, especially Courtney Sandler, and Shoshana Z. who brought her Academic Success class to the party! We definitely need to do this again. 

Episode #7: MajorQuest II

We're dealin' with your paper jams. For you.

Great Scott and DJ Thrillhouse brought the house down (in a good way) when we left them without the supervision of DJ SpinnerElla or me. We're proud of our fellow advisers for managing to put together a great episode without DJ SpinnerElla or I...Not that we don't trust them to do exactly this when we are there! MajorQuest II featured DJ Thrillhouse's own game entitled "Name That Major!" I am really bummed I wasn't able to play it. Two students, Sheena and Jamie were special guests for this episode and gave input on their own journey to deciding their majors. Nelson's Deep Voice was featured in this episode and DJ Thrillhouse taught our listeners How To Fix A Paperjam. Cool. 

Please Read: The past few weeks have been pretty staggered and hectic for myself, DJ Nico, and advisers DJ SpinnerElla, Great Scott, and DJ Thrillhouse. As faithful followers of our blog I'm sure you've noticed my lacking upkeep of the blog, and inaccessbility to our recorded podcasts*. KPSU has been dealing with a dead server, which has prevented access to any recordings for our last couple of shows which in turn has made it difficult to maintain the blog about episodes! We're hoping things will be figured out soon. Our last episode of the term is coming up on Monday, December 5, 2011 and we'll hope you'll join us. 

*I won't be posting a link to the podcast per usual as it is inaccessible. I will continue checking up on it and will update the links when and if the server gets up an running.

Episode #6: Support Our Veterans

Click this link to listen to our show!

We brought Allen Roberts to our show. For you.

This weeks episode features a profile on our Veteran students and Veterans Services, at PSU. We interviewed two student veterans, Britni and Jesse, along with Veteran Certification Officer, Allen Roberts. We talk about the veteran perspective in the PSU community, and how sometimes our veterans live the differences between being non-traditional college students and their peers, who are usually traditional college students. Britni and Jesse encourage student veterans to seek out community at PSU and contribute through student groups or volunteer at events (Britni was an Orientation Leader this past summer, and is now the Women's Veteran Outreach Coordinator for the Women's Resource Center at PSU). 

Britni and Jesse reflect on the misconceptions that come with being a veteran student, and the hardship that comes with meeting new people on-campus. Britni comments on her perspective as to the varying reasons why many opt to pursue the military route, and what the G.I. Bill actually does for our veteran students. Jesse finishes up the interview with a great comment on how non-veterans can support veteran students on campus, stating that they should reach out to employment that supports veteran students and other opportunities. 

You can be supportive by attending Viking Vets (if you have questions, or if you're a veteran looking for support): Viking Vet's Site. 

Allen Roberts, the Veteran Certification Officer here at PSU, shares his insight on being a veteran himself, and how he really encourages student veterans to get in contact with Veterans Student Services, or himself, for support or questions, as well as anyone who wants to talk about their options of possibly pursuing the military route. 

Allen Roberts, Veteran Certification Officer

p. (503) 725-5547

e. allen.roberts@pdx.edu

l. Neuberger Hall 104

w. Veterans Student Services Site

Britni Mimms, Women Veteran Outreach Coordinator

p. (503) 725-5672 (WRC main line)

l. Montgomery Hall Basement (Women's Resource Center)

w. WRC Empowerment Project

Scott impresses us by knowing what a doula is, or rather, tries to show up our guest Britni...but we all know Britni knows better. And chit chat minutes gets a little weird, when everyone decides unicorns don't exist (uh, obviously they do guys) and Nelson can't be a dinosaur.

Veteran's Events:

Veteran's Day Celebration, Thursday, Nov. 10 from 12pm-2pm

in Parkway North (SMSU 101). 

Hiring Our Heroes - Career & Benefit Fair, Saturday, Nov. 19 from 9am-3pm

at Clackamas Community College in Gregory Forum. 

Other things to note: 

Deadline to withdraw from a course and receive a W on your record is this Sunday, November 13!

Back to the future:

Next weeks episode is MajorQuest #2, the handsomer brother of MajorQuest #1. It will be a great show and we're all excited about it. 

Episode #5: Horror Stories

Click this link to listen to our show!

We're getting our rabies shots. For you.

This week Turntable Advising has opted to give you a visual version of our show courtesy of Grant, our camera guy. The video is called BEHIND THE TURNTABLES! We're so cool. 


Here is the link to the video: Behind The Turntables


While you're at the site you can look at Grant, our camera guy's artsy film videos and the French movies I, DJ Nico, made for French class. I'm pretty embarrassing.