Career Services’ primary goal is to provide students resources to access different internship and job opportunities, but students are not taking notice.
On Feb. 7, Ohio Wesleyan participated in the Ohio Foundation of Independent Colleges’ (OFIC) Career Fest.
Leslie Melton, Director of Career Services, said while 60 students signed up to attend the fair, only about 20 showed up, including nine unregistered students and alumni.
“One of the reasons we do that (sign up) is so that some of the smaller, independent colleges can come together and offer employers a large group of students,” she said.
Melton said OFIC college invites employers to the fair to meet students and continuously work to spread the word about the fair to possible new employers.
Melton said she was not sure why the attendance to the fair was so low, considering the dwindling attendance did not have anything to do with weather and there was transportation available for students.
“We’ve actually had more attendance in the years where there’s been a lot of snow,” she said.
Melton said she believes students get busy and forget about the fair.
Other universities have also had attendance problems, but this year’s low attendance was a new record.
The career fair is just one service Career Services offers, and Melton said there are other opportunities for students throughout the semester.
“I think it is important that students are productive during the summer, so that it helps their chances with future endeavors,” she said. “Additional experience is always helpful.”
Melton said she hopes students come to fairs that Career Services offer to network with different companies.
Senior Leah Hively and sophomore Ben Thieman both attended Career Fest.
“Along with learning about other companies, Career Fest gave those companies the opportunity to get to know me on a personal level,” he said.
Thieman also said he is in contact with some companies and is looking for an opportunity with them.
“Some really good companies were represented, but (there were) also some companies that I did not think would have good positions for students with a degree from a private college like OWU,” Hively said.
Hively said she was expecting a larger fair with more companies with different ranges, but she said she received good advice that will help her in continuing to look for jobs.
This year the Sagan National Colloquium (SNC) is asking for students’ artistic abilities in a new, inclusive competition. The title for the thirtieth Sagan National Colloquium is H2OWU: Water in Our World.
Assistant Professor of History, Ellen Arnold, is heading the project.
“This competition is our first official event of next year’s SNC,” Arnold said. “More importantly, though, the winning logo will become the visual hallmark for the colloquium, and will be highly visible on advertising, publicity and our online presence.”
Arnold said she has two goals for this year’s Sagan National Colloquium.
“First, to find an outstanding logo that will help convey the importance and energy of studying water and that will highlight the creativity and artistic abilities of OWU students,” Arnold said.
“My second goal is to raise campus awareness of the upcoming SNC, to generate interest in the issue of water, and to encourage students to become involved in the SNC from the start.”
According to the website for the logo competition, the logo should be in both color and black and white. It should also work in different sizes for different objects and must include the title of the lecture series. The logo can either be handed in through a hard or digital copy. The final day to submit the logo is Feb. 28 at noon.
Junior Rachael Pridemore is the Sagan Colloquium publicity assistant and has been working long with Arnold on the competition.
“One of the biggest challenges I’ve run across is actually advertising sufficiently; it seems like there aren’t as many places to put fliers anymore,” she said.
Pridemore said that she has been trying to put fliers around campus and submissions in the OWU Daily to get students interested in the challenge. Both Arnold and Pridemore said they hope this competition will continue on in the future.
College students deal with large amounts of stress and anxiety throughout their time in school.
However, with techniques of being mindful, that stress can be lifted.
On the weekend of March 7 through 9, the Spring Break Mindfulness Retreat will be held with facilitator Daron Larson. The retreat is being sponsored by the Chaplain’s Office.
“Mindfulness refers to a variety of techniques that use ordinary sensory experiences, thoughts, and feelings to develop specific skills of attention,” Larson said.
Tammie Edwards, chemistry lab manager, helped organize the retreat with Larson and the Chaplain’s Office; she has been practicing yoga for years and has studied with Larson.
“Mindfulness to me means constantly bringing myself back to the present moment,” Edwards said.
She also stated that she wanted to have this retreat because she “believes mindfulness is a good tool for college students to have and use.”
“The ultimate goal is to be able to be mindful in everyday activities,” Edwards said.
Edwards also said the main point of mindfulness is “practicing focus.”
Chaplain Jon Powers said that he hopes this retreat will teach students how to be “more focused and less stressed.”
“I want them to pick up a few practical strategies for cultivating attention that fit their unique needs, interests, and frustrations,” Larson said.
“It would be cool for them to leave with a better idea of the relationship between discomfort and suffering.”
Edwards expressed how she hopes to do more retreats in the future.
Additionally, she said Counseling Services is looking to start a mindfulness group.
The full retreat will cost $20 for students, but the Friday night session will be free.
During the rest of the weekend, there will be chances to practice the skills Larson will teach.
(Left to right) Kappa Phi adviser Helen Stricklin ‘13, Jenn Soleman ‘13 junior Marissa Witkovsky and sophomore Megan Keppler hold the Kappa Phi letters. Photo from Facebook
While Ohio Wesleyan has many Greek organizations, Kappa Phi is much lesser-known on campus.
“We are a Christian women’s service sisterhood that is present on campuses across the country,” said junior Marissa Witkovsky, president of Kappa Phi. “In total there are approximately 30 chapters at different universities.”
“We focus on four areas: service, study, worship, and sisterhood,” she said.
Witkovsky said she has been involved with Kappa Phi for the past three years and has been president for the last two.
Sophomore Rebekah Mahoney, Kappa Phi’s pledge coordinator, said she joined the organization the fall of her freshman year and instantly fell in love with it.
“Kappa Phi is literally open to all Christian denominations or those who want to recapture their faith with God,” she said.
Freshman Courtney Cox recently joined this past fall and said she has gained many friendships and a closer connection to her faith.
Ohio Wesleyan’s Beta Gamma chapter of Kappa Phi currently has 20 members with different backgrounds, interests and majors.
Witkovsky, a zoology and botany double major, is also president-elect of the botany/microbiology student board and works three jobs.
Junior Makenna Huff, Kappa Phi chaplain, is a mathematics and religion double major and member of the Outdoor Ministry Team and mathematics student board.
Junior Katie Powell holds dual Greek membership, as she is Kappa Phi’s social chair and a member of Delta Zeta.
All five expressed how they want Kappa Phi to be displayed positively across campus.
“I think it would be beneficial for students to know it’s a welcoming space for women who just want to share their stories with a close group of varied, loving sisters,” Huff said.
During group meetings, which are held every Tuesday and Thursday, Kappa Phi work on service projects, volunteer locally and help with the fall’s Make a Difference Day.
On Jan. 28, the organization held Rose Tea, an event to get others interested.
Witkovsky said the Rose Tea helps to introduce possible members with “different Kappa Phi pillars.”
Juniors Sarah Dailey (left) and Eilee Foley in Australia, where they both studied during the fall semester.
Coming back to a college campus after a long break is usually exciting for students.
After spending a significant period of time at home, many students are happy to be back on campus, with the freedoms that comes along with being in college.
But for students coming back from being abroad for a semester, the adjustment to coming back onto campus can be more difficult for them.
Juniors Kelsey Gallaher, Lauren Moore and Lidia Mowad all participated in the University College Cork, Ireland program this past fall.
Mowad said she picked this specific program because she spent a summer in Ireland four years ago to learn about the conflict in Northern Ireland.
Junior Jordan Bernstein also spent the fall semester away from campus, but she had a different experience than other students who were abroad.
Bernstein participated in the Wesleyan in Washington program in Washington D.C., where she had an internship with Senator Kay Hagan (D-NC.)
“My focus is on American government and I wanted to be in the heart of what I have been learning about and what I love,” she said.
Bernstein’s roommate, junior Eilee Foley spent her fall semester abroad at James Cook University (JCU) in Australia and junior Hannah Snapp participated in the Salamanca, Spain program.
Foley said she decided to study abroad in Australia because JCU offered her fulfilling psychology courses and she also got the opportunity to live in a small town on a beach.
Each student that was abroad has said that adjusting to life back on campus after being gone for a semester has been hard.
“It is difficult for everyone that comes back from taking some time abroad because there is a definite disconnect between yourself and the campus,” Snapp said.
“I’m still struggling with some aspects but I have incredible friends that are making the transition much better. I also have great friends who were also abroad and with whom I can talk.”
Mowad said she is feeling reverse culture shock upon her return to the United States.
“For the first month, it’s going to be like you are just going through the motions; trying to get back into society,” she said.
Gallaher said her biggest adjustment to being back at Ohio Wesleyan is the time change; and the time difference was also a big struggle for her while she was in Ireland.
Bernstein, Foley and Moore all said that adjusting back to the pace of college life and OWU has been challenging, but they are excited to be back in the community with their friends.
One of the biggest frustrations that some of the students faced prior to returning to OWU was not knowing where they were living once they came back to campus.
“My abroad friends and I kept calling and emailing them [Residential Life], and finally I heard on the Wednesday before classes started,” Moore said.
“It was unnerving to not know who my roommates would be, how to pack and where I’d be placed until then.”
Andrew Peterson, assistant director of Residential Life, said three things go into the planning of rooming assignments: where spots are open on campus, seniority or priority number and preferences of residence halls.
“The biggest challenge is assigning people to the building/room/roommates that they want to live with or with whom they are compatible,” Peterson said.
“The difficulty is compounded as we don’t know where those spaces may be until very late in the semester when we hear about students going abroad in the spring, leaving the university or graduating.”
Additionally, Peterson said that ResLife cannot please every student all the time, and that the lack of off-campus options has nothing to do with the struggle of finding rooms for students coming back after a semester away.
Snapp said she is not pleased with her living situation and she is currently looking to move residential halls.
However, some of the other students said that they are happy with their living situation.
“Luckily, I ended up rooming with my four best friends who were all abroad too,” Foley said. “ResLife came through in the end and provided us with a lovely dorm in Smith Hall.”
Every person who participated in a study abroad program said it changed their outlook on life, and may have impacted potential career goals.
Mowad said she feels more cultured and has learned to become more observant of the world.
Bernstein said her opportunity to work in government in D.C. has helped her to figure out her area of focus.
According to Snapp, she learned more about herself during her time aboard and developed a deeper appreciation for travel.
Most students coming back to campus said that they were most excited to be back within the OWU community.
Foley said she missed the simple things, like the long lunch lines in the food court and seeing friendly faces around campus.
“I’m definitely putting my all into everything I do on campus, and I’ve been open to trying new things and not letting an opportune moment slip by,” Moore said.
“Those four months went by way too fast, and I’m going to use every day here to appreciate everything here, because college has an expiration date!”
