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SHSU Update For Week Of April 8
- Event To Showcase Importance Of On-The-Job Etiquette
- ‘Outstanding’ To Be Honored At Wednesday’s Sammys
- Museum To Exhibit ‘People’s Lives’
- Benefit Fair To Provide Fun For Area Children
- Juried Exhibit To Unveil 100 Student Art Pieces
- Registration Opens For Summer Orientation Sessions
- Recital To Feature Student Clarinetists
- White To Share ‘Innovative Concepts’ With Germans
- Press Publication Listed Among International Award Finalists
- Students Volunteer At ‘Special’ Event
- Author Shares ‘Road Map’ For Grad School
- Submit Update Items Here
Event To Showcase Importance Of On-The-Job Etiquette
For four years, social expert and owner of The Protocol School of Texas Diane Gottsman has been offering SHSU students what she calls “soft skills” that are essential when interviewing for a job.
These skills, she says, provide job seekers “the ability to project a professional image while putting others at ease.”
For the fifth year, Gottsman will share these and other employee decorum tips during Career Services’ Etiquette Dinner on April 18. The event will be from 5:30-8:30 p.m. in the Lowman Student Center Ballroom.
“Dining is an integral part of the student's adult life, both socially and professionally,” Gottsman said. “Even if the student does not plan to work in a corporate environment, dining essentials include much more than getting a fork to your mouth. People always have dining questions and most of us ask the person sitting next to us, but who can afford to be wrong when trying to make a good impression?”
The event will include a four-course meal during which students will receive instruction on the “dos and don’ts” of dining and networking.
It is open to juniors, seniors, graduate students and alumni, who are asked to dress professionally in order to make the event realistic.
“I think the students find Diane approachable and genuine as she helps them feel at ease. I feel as a society we are moving so fast that sitting down to a nice meal and enjoying conversation doesn’t happen as often as it should,” said Vinessa Mundorff, Career Services assistant director. “The etiquette dinner is exactly what many of our students need to be exposed to.”
Tickets are $10, which includes dinner and door prizes.
Seating is limited, and students can register online at JOBS for KATS, at https://www.myinterfase.com/shsu/student/, by selecting “Career Events” and then “Etiquette Dinner.”
Payments of cash or check will be accepted at the Career Services Office, in Academic Building IV Suite 210. Credit card payments can be made online through Jobs 4 Kats after registration.
The signup deadline is Thursday (April 12).
For more information or to register, contact Mundorff at 936.294.1713.
‘Outstanding’ To Be Honored At Wednesday’s Sammys
SHSU and the Student Activities department will recognize more than 26 organizations and students for their contributions to the community and for their leadership abilities during the 18th Annual Sammy Awards on Wednesday (April 11).
The ceremony will be held at 6 p.m. in the Performing Arts Center Concert Hall.
Emceed by SHSU senior SuZanne Kelley and sophomore Risa Mitchell, the event will include performances by SHSU’s theatre and dance department and the School of Music. The announcer is freshman Tyler Finzel.
"The Sammys is Sam Houston State University's official student award ceremony,” said Brandon Cooper, Student Activities associate director. “It's truly a way for the university to recognize the outstanding students and organizations that we have.
“For 18 years the Sammys’ focus has been honoring the amazing contributions that students and faculty/staff make at SHSU,” he said. “It's the university's way of saying thank you to those individuals and groups."
Among the awards that will be presented are outstanding first-year, sophomore and junior student leaders, the McDermett Memorial Award for a female senior, the Creager Memorial Award for a male senior, the Outstanding Non-Traditional Student Leader award and the Sammy Award, as well as outstanding organization awards and excellence in service awards from each of the six colleges, which will be presented by the deans.
This year’s event will feature two new awards, including an award for “Outstanding Recreational Organization” and an “Excellence in Service Award” for the College of Fine Arts and Mass Communication.
The event is open for anyone who wants to attend. Dress is “business evening,” according to Cooper.
For more information, visit the 18th Annual Sammy Awards website at http://www.shsu.edu/~slo_sad/sammys/ or call 936.294.3861.
Museum To Exhibit ‘People’s Lives’
An exhibit that celebrates the lives of ordinary people is on display in the Katy and E. Don Walker, Sr., Education Center through May 15.
"People's Lives: A Photographic Celebration of the Human Spirit” features 56 documentary photographs by Bill Wright, who traveled around the world, going to places off the beaten path, to discover the people of the world in their own settings.
The photo subjects include mothers and children; home industries; lovers; a farmer's market; a fish market; fishermen and boats; religious celebrants; restaurant staff; children at play; construction workers; a leper colony; and school children.
The exhibit is produced by Humanities Texas, the state affiliate of the National Endowment for the Humanities.
For more information, contact Megan Buro, Sam Houston Memorial Museum marketing coordinator, at 936.294.3839.
Benefit Fair To Provide Fun For Area Children
Huntsville's Eastham-Thomason Park will be transformed into a carnival with games and other special events during the second annual Fun with Friends Fair on Saturday (April 14).
Hosted by the College of Education, Sam Houston Optimists and other campus departments and student organizations, the fair will be from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. and include food, arts and fun for children from the Huntsville and surrounding areas.
Among the activities will be 15 craft tables, 22 games, and food booths. There also will be a raffle for a bike donated by the SHSU Interfraternity Council.
"SHSU students will provide a safe and fun atmosphere where families can enjoy one another's company without being barraged with merchants trying to sell them something," said Miki Henderson, assistant professor of early childhood education. "Parents and children can just come and play together."
Tickets are 25 cents each, with most games and crafts costing one or two tickets.
All proceeds from ticket sales will benefit CASA of Walker County, which serves children in the foster care system.
"CASA of Walker County provides a voice to children in our own community who cannot speak for themselves," said Henderson, who is a court appointed special advocate for CASA of Walker County. "These are the children that we see every day in our own neighborhoods and are our future students.
“We want to share our passions for volunteering with the students in our classes," said Henderson, who is giving her students nine hours of Academic Civic Engagement credit by participating in the event.
For more information, contact Henderson at cmh055@shsu.edu or 936.294.4638.
Juried Exhibit To Unveil 100 Student Art Pieces
More than 100 student works will be on display and competing for top prizes during the art department’s 13th annual Juried Student Exhibition Monday through Friday (April 9-13) in the Gaddis Geeslin Gallery.
Guest juror Auturo Palacios will help decide which of the student submissions will be awarded a cash prize during a reception, open studio tours and award ceremony on Thursday (April 12), from 5-7 p.m. in the Art Building E Room 108.
“The quality of the work this year is excellent,” said Annie Strader, assistant professor of art. “The exhibit will display a diverse array of media and concepts that the students in the art department are exploring.”
Palacios, who owns the Houston-based gallery Art Palace, will also give a juror talk about his experiences as a gallery owner during a guest juror lecture on Wednesday (April 11). The talk will be from 5-6 p.m. in Art Building E Room 108.
The Juried Student Exhibition allows all current art students to submit up to three eligible pieces for consideration in the exhibit.
The Gaddis Geeslin Gallery is located in Art Building F Room 101.
For more information, contact Strader at srs033@shsu.edu or 936.294.1322.
Registration Opens For Summer Orientation Sessions
Students entering Sam Houston State University in the fall will have multiple opportunities to learn more about the campus and navigate the logistics of starting college, or switching colleges, with new student and transfer orientations this summer.
Registration is now open for the eight freshman orientation and two transfer orientation sessions scheduled this summer.
The New Student Orientation program is designed help students and their families become familiar with services and programs vital to their successful transition as full and active members of the SHSU community, according to Jesse Bernal, parent/new student programs coordinator.
“This year we are adding several components to the program to enhance the students’ experience as they transition to Sam Houston State University,” Bernal said. “We’ll still continue the service learning project of collecting nonperishable food items to donate to a local shelter; however, this year we’ve challenged the incoming class in collecting at least 2,016 nonperishable food items. We are also collaborating with the Student Success Initiatives Office and the Writing Center to host an essay contest over the common reader that students receive at orientation.
“For transfer students we have added an overnight component to assist those students that want an extended orientation similar to our freshman students,” he said. “We will still have a one-day session for those students who are interested in attending orientation but do not want to stay overnight on campus.”
New Student Orientation is mandatory for all incoming freshmen, regardless of the number of college credit hours earned while completing high school.
Sessions will be held June 7-8, June 14-15, June 21-22, June 28-29, July 12-13, July 19-20, July 26-27 and July 30-31. The registration deadline for each session is the Friday before (for example, June 1 for the June 7-8 orientation).
Transfer orientations, for those who graduated high school before the 2011-12 school year, will be held Aug. 2-3 and Aug. 6, the registration deadlines for which are July 26 and July 31, respectively. Unlike New Student Orientation, it is not mandatory.
Spaces are limited for each orientation session and are filled on a first-come, first-served basis.
ll students must reserve their spaces and pay for orientation by the registration deadline for each session. The cost for New Student Orientation is $120 for students and $50 per guest.
For more information, or to register, call 936.294.1782 or visit http://www.shsu.edu/enrollment/orientation/.
Recital To Feature Student Clarinetists
SHSU clarinetists will perform their annual studio recital on Thursday (April 12), at 7:30 p.m. in the Gaertner Performing Arts Center Recital Hall.
The clarinet studios of clarinet professor Patricia Card and adjunct faculty member Dmitry Perevertailenko will perform in several small chamber groups comprised of SHSU clarinet students, who will perform a variety of literature, according to Card.
The recital will conclude with compositions for the clarinet choir, more than 30 students playing clarinet and bass clarinets.
The event is free and open to the public.
For more information, call the School of Music at 936.294.1360.
White To Share ‘Innovative Concepts’ With Germans
SHSU chemistry professor Rick White will travel to Germany this summer to discuss “Innovative Concepts” that can help transform the country’s academic landscape.
The German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) has invited White to participate in the Germany Today 2012 conference June 9-15.
“It is important for our two countries to maintain ties with each other to promote educational partnerships and alliances. The American Chemical Society, of which all chemistry faculty are members, states that one of its educational goals is to prepare students to work in an increasingly global marketplace,” White said. “These types of activities are important for all of us, and it helps us to be a part of this conference. Personally, I want to get more information on cooperative research opportunities between our universities and in Germany.”
White has been associated with DAAD for more than 11 years, being unanimously selected as a board member in 2010. He also has visited the University of Würzburg in Germany twice as a recipient of DAAD research grants.
The German Academic Exchange Service is the German national agency for the support of international academic cooperation.
The Germany Today conference is organized annually by the DAAD as an informational visit to Germany to give North American researchers, university faculty and administrators, and policy makers in the field of higher education an overview of the latest developments and programmatic innovations at our universities and research institutions.
In addition to learning about innovative programs for undergraduates and graduate students in all academic disciplines, the group will be presented with examples of cutting-edge research in Germany, ranging from the study of cultures (in Giessen) to ultra-high power lasers (in Jena) to the study of metropolitan centers (in Berlin).
“This is an honor because since the DAAD (German Academic Exchange Service) is funding the trip with all hotel bills, all travel, and most meals, this is a relatively small group which is chosen to go,” White said. “We meet in Bonn and hold sessions in Gottingen, Giessen, Jena and Berlin.
We will also go to a Max Planck Institute to look at advances in international research cooperative ventures involving both us and the Germans. This trip is largely for administrators and I feel most fortunate to be invited.”
Press Publication Listed Among International Award Finalists
Greg Bottoms’s work Swallowing the Past, published by Sam Houston State University’s Texas Review Press has made the “long list” for the prestigious Frank O’Connor International Short Story Award.
The book, published last year, is listed along with a host of books by major commercial presses.
“Only 27 Americans are on this list, and we are one of only three university presses represented, the other two being the University of Iowa Press and the University of Pittsburgh Press,” said Paul Ruffin, TRP editor and Texas State University System Regents’ Professor. “Texas Review Press is publishing some fine books these days.”
Swallowing the Past is a prose collection about ordinary lives in the ever-changing, postmodern South.
“A teenage killer ends up a smiling adult bridesmaid. A conservative Christian couple tells the story of a hate crime. A parable about a stolen bike illuminates how lying can be a survival technique. Meeting an old friend at an ATM turns into a meditation on how some people should die,” the book description says. “The book closes with ‘Grace Street,’ a dream-like, genre-defying novella about the author’s encounters with the locals on a poor city block in Richmond, Va., which becomes an eye-opening look at the old wounds of class, race, religious intolerance, and our particularly American brand of alienation.”
Launched in 2005, the Frank O’Connor International Short Story Prize is presented each year to an original collection of stories judged to be the most accomplished.
The award's aim is to reward an individual author's commitment to this most exacting of forms and encourage the publication of collections of stories in book form as distinct from single stories in periodicals.
This prestigious international short story award in the memory of Frank O’Connor is the single biggest prize in the world for a collection of short stories. It is funded by Cork City Council and in the gift of the Munster Literature Centre.
For more information, or the complete “long list,” visit http://www.frankoconnor-shortstory-award.net/.
Students Volunteer At ‘Special’ Event
Students from the special education program and the kinesiology department recently played a valuable role at the 28th Annual Special Olympics Track and Field Meet sponsored by The Woodlands Kiwanis Club at Oak Ridge High School in the Conroe school district.
For the second year, 34 students handed out ribbons, served as time-takers, escorted athletes and helped runners with paperwork during the event, held March 31.
SHSU faculty members Cynthia Simpson, in the special education program, and Jose Santiago, in the heath and kinesiology department, organized this year’s students who are currently enrolled in adaptive physical education courses and/or special education courses.
“Special Olympics Texas is an amazing organization that hosts over 300 events annually and relies heavily on volunteers. The support volunteers provide, including our students, is truly the lifeline of the organization,” Simpson said. “Dr. Santiago and I were proud of how many students attended and the degree that they were engaged with the athletes. We received so many compliments from the Special Olympics staff as to the enthusiasm and spirit our students exhibited as they cheered on athletes during the events.”
David Kight, SHSU alumnus and adaptive physical education coach in the Conroe school district, worked collaboratively with Simpson and Santiago to involve SHSU students to the fullest degree possible as a volunteer, according to Simpson.
The meet included a full range of track and field events for both males and females in which every athlete received a ribbon or metal for the event he/she participated in.
Chick-fil-A of The Woodlands provided lunch for athletes and coaches, and the "Olympic Village" hosted karaoke and a bounce house for athletes and attendees.
For more information about becoming involved in Special Olympics, contact Simpson at 936.294.1238 or Santiago at 936.294.1170.
Author Shares ‘Road Map’ For Grad School
Donald C. Martin, author of A Road Map for Graduate Study: A Guide for Prospective Graduate Students, recently provided students at Sam Houston State University with tips on identifying, enrolling and succeeding in obtaining advanced degrees in higher education.
Martin spent 28 years in admissions and enrollment management at such prestigious universities at Wheaton College, Northwestern University, The University of Chicago, and Columbia University.
“It’s a little tougher to find jobs right out of college,” Martin said at a March 5 program co-sponsored by the College of Criminal Justice and Graduate Studies. “The master’s degree is becoming more of the minimum degree for many employers…Does it pay off? The answer is most likely ‘yes.’”
Master’s degree holders earn about 24 percent more than those with a bachelor’s degree, and doctoral students will receive 70 percent more compensation than those with an undergraduate degree, according to Martin.
The program provided tips for students on getting into the graduate school of their choice and most importantly, the right program to meet the student’s individual needs.
“The major mistake that prospective graduate students make is not doing adequate research before they apply,” Martin said. ”There is no statistical difference between the prestige of a program and the success of the graduate.”
Martin used his own success story to illustrate that cost, grade point average and university prestige should not deter students from seeking an advanced degree.
Martin grew up in a home that did not value education and graduated from a Pennsylvania Bible College with a 3.1 GPA. He worked in admissions at Wheaton College before pursuing his master’s degree at the college and he completed his doctorate at Northwestern University. He was able to graduate from Wheaton with only $5,000 in debt and his loan for the doctoral program was only $10,000.
To find the right program, Martin said to identify criteria that are important to the student, before making a spreadsheet of the selections to find the best fit and then visiting the institutions, talking to students and graduates and reading what the media is saying about the program.
Martin provided seven tips to get noticed during the application process. His suggestions include adding a one-page cover letter to the application, citing specific reasons for wanting to go to that institution; making sure your references know you well enough to fill out the recommendation letter; being creative in the application without being silly; smiling during the interviewing process; keeping your cool no matter what happens; asking questions that demonstrate you did you homework; and doing whatever you can to convey that you want to attend the program.
Martin also included seven “deadly sins” to avoid during the application process, including being rude, arrogant or dishonest; contacting the school too frequently; failing to follow directions; sending information before it is proofed thoroughly; leaving questions unanswered; and asking questions that you should be able to answer with minimal research.
Throughout the process, the two most important predictors of success are persistence and determination.
“Keep your cool no matter what happens,” Martin said. “When things seem to go wrong, think instead ‘this is an opportunity.’ Don’t take it personally.”
Submit Update Items Here
In order to assist members of the Sam Houston State University community in publicizing events, the SHSU Communications Office (Today@Sam) is now requesting that students, faculty and staff submit information about events, accomplishments or ideas for feature stories online.
Submission criteria and guidelines, including deadlines, have now been placed online, at /guidelines.html. This information is also accessible through the “Submissions” link in the right-hand navigation on Today@Sam.
From there, those submitting ideas can access forms that will allow them to provide detailed information about their idea, as well as attach event calendars, vitas/resumes or photos, depending on the type of submission.
Ideas submitted to the SHSU Communications Office are directly utilized in several ways: as news stories, “slider” or SHSU home page stories, hometown releases, and on the Today@Sam calendar.
If your submission qualifies for distribution, we will either contact you for more detailed information, or we will edit the information using SHSU/journalistic style and forward the final release to the appropriate media.
All information is verified before release, so please provide complete, accurate and timely information. Please type all responses in appropriate upper and lower cases.
For more information, contact the Communications Office at 936.294.1836 or today@sam.edu.
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SHSU Media Contacts: Julia May, Jennifer Gauntt
April 6, 2012
Please send comments, corrections, news tips to Today@Sam.edu
This page maintained by SHSU's Communications Office
Associate Director: Julia May
Manager: Jennifer Gauntt
Located in the 115 Administration Building
Telephone: 936.294.1836; Fax: 936.294.1834
Please send comments, corrections, news tips to Today@Sam.edu.
