Week Two- You're Doing It!

Well, you've done it. You've successfully launched yourself into your college career! With so many exciting things happening across campus, I don't want you to forget some important things. First, Add/Drop ends tonight at midnight, but I really don't encourage you to wait that long to make any changes you need to make. Try and be the early bird and be vigilant about looking for the classes you may be interested in swapping out or adding throughout the rest of the evening so that you can relax and enjoy the second thing I wanted to remind you about: Student Org Night. Unfortunately, last week because of the weather, the event was cancelled. But tonight, on the UREC Upper Turf from 7pm-9pm, the show will go on! Upperclassmen are encouraged to attend from 7pm-8pm, and first-year students are encouraged to attend from 8pm-9pm.

One final note on adding classes. On MyMadison, there is a "Swap" function. This is a great option when considering adding/dropping a class because it eliminates two sticky situations:
1) You drop a class and risk the other class you intend to add filling up in the time it takes for you to click to that screen.
2) Or you already have 18 credits, the number of credits you can have at which point the system will not allow you to add anymore classes onto your online schedule.

In order to avoid this, you can follow the steps below:

          1) Log onto MyMadison
          2) Go into your Student Center
          3) Under "Academics" on the left hand side of the page, there will be a list of options                               starting with "Search" and ending with "My Major/Program." Click on "Enroll" which is                     one of the options listed
          4) Select "swap" from the second row of the 10 purple tabs at the top of the page
          5) This will take you to a page that allows you to swap a class from your current schedule with               another class that you can search for using the "search for class" function. I would                               recommend having the class information of the class you which to switch into/add in front of               you so that you can easily plug it into that search engine.
         6) Follow the steps as indicated by the prompts on the screens to follow and you will have                      swapped the class you no longer want to take for another open class that you want to add                    without having to drop the first class and risk missing the chance to add the second.

So, now that Add/Drop is here, my walk-in hours are wrapping up, and from this point forward it is your responsibility to make an appointment to see me should you have any questions about majors/minors/concentrations/programs, potential career paths, or are curious to explore your strengths and interests to help you figure it all out. Because honestly, there's just so much out there and how are we supposed to know what we want to do and who we want to be?? Also, I've really enjoyed getting to meet several of you over the course of the past couple of weeks and am really looking forward to meeting more of you over the course of this semester!

That being said, to make an appointment with me on Recruit-A-Duke (RAD), which is our scheduling platform), follow the steps below:

• Go to www.jmu.edu/cap
• Click on “Schedule an Appointment” on the left hand side under the Quick Links box.
• This page will describe each of the types of appointments that we hold for students, including but not limited to: 1st time (and follow-up) resume and cover letter reviews and exploration of job internships, graduate/professional school exploration.
• Enter your username and password. Your username is your 9-digit JAC number and your password is what you created.
• Directly under Quick Links on the right hand side, click on “Schedule an Appointment.”
• For type of appointment, choose “Meet with my CAP Academic Advisor” in the drop down menu.
• Select "Student Success Center 3210", my name (Renee Bernier) and click “check availability."
• Choose the meeting date and time that works with your schedule on the right.
• It would be very helpful to provide a few words/sentences on what you’d like to talk about so that I can prepare for our meeting in advance, although it is not required. Click "submit request."
• You will be able to see your upcoming appointments and you will receive a confirmation email in your Dukes account.

Now, there are alternative methods to scheduling. You can always call (540) 568-6555 and schedule over the phone with one of our wonderful receptionists. Or, you can come in to the Career & Academic Planning Office on the 3rd Floor of the Student Success Center and schedule a session in person. However, I strongly encourage you to use Recruit-A-Duke because in the future it will be instrumental when you apply for jobs, internships, and register for Career and Graduate School Fairs (as well as other events that CAP offers, like ResumePREP).

Upcoming Events:

• Study Abroad Information Sessions are coming up! These are for anyone interested in learning general information about study abroad- no appointment necessary! The 30 minutes sessions cover the "big picture" of study abroad and give students an understanding of the various program options. Sessions will be held from     4:00-5:00 PM in Taylor 402 on: September 9, 15, 16, 29, & 30.

• "Meet the Greeks", presented by Inter-Cultural Greek Council (I.C.G.C.), will be held this Thursday, September 10 in the Madison Union Ballroom at 7:00 PM. This is an awesome opportunity to learn more about historically Asian, Latino, and African-American Greek Lettered Organizations. 

• Invited guest Dave Romano will speak on World Suicide Prevention Day, 9/10 at 7pm in the Memorial Hall Auditorium and share his unique story, as well as his commitment to empowering individuals to speak openly about mental health and encourage asking for help. This is a PASSPORT event, and sponsored by the JMU Counseling Center, University Health Center's The Well, & Active Minds.

• Tryouts for Madison Dance, a student run club with four teams are being held on Sunday, 9/10 in the UREC MAC gym. Contemporary (12-2 PM), Jazz 2-4 PM), Hip Hop (4-6 PM), and Street (6-8 PM). Try out for one or all of them. If you cannot make that date, the alternate date for contemporary & jazz is September 8 from 9-11 PM and for hip hop and street, September 9 from 9-11 PM- both of which are in the group fitness studio. Check them out here:

Volunteer Opportunity:

• JMU's Overcoming Barriers allows student from all majors the opportunity to mentor children and adults with disabilities through physical activity. Some of their programs are even offered right here on campus! If you're interested, you'll be paired with a program participant in order to mentor them throughout your time together and you'll receive training throughout your experience to help build mentorship skills. Also, your minimum time commitment to the program is once a week for 1.5-2 hrs, leaving you plenty of time to study, socialize, and participate in any other co-curriculars you're interested in. If you are interested, the initial Mentor Training meetings are:  9/8 from 8:00-9:30 PM and 9/10 from 7:00-8:30 PM in Godwin Hall, Room 353. Please email Dr. Thomas Moran (the Project Director) to indicate the meeting you would be most interested in attending. Also, please fill out the intake form .

That's all for this week! Here's a thought to noodle on as you begin to get into your classes and really figure out what makes you happy:

“When I was 5 years old, my mother always told me that happiness was the key to life. When I went to school, they asked me what I wanted to be when I grew up. I wrote down ‘happy’. They told me I didn’t understand the assignment, and I told them they didn’t understand life.”

~ John Lennon ~