The goal of the Reach ACRoSS workshops is to provide students on campus in the summer with opportunities to learn valuable skills applicable for pursuing URSCA and other Gateway experiences and to provide tools that will help them transition from their time at Allegheny into careers or postgraduate experiences. These sessions will be interactive and will provide information, resources, and opportunities to brainstorm and work on projects with partners. They are offered by the URSCA office in conjunction with several other offices in the Gateway, Learning Commons, and Library.
All Reach ACRoSS sessions this summer will take place on Thursdays, in the Collaboratory of Pelletier Library (second floor) from noon until about 1:20.
A full lunch will be served with the Reach ACRoSS workshops. Therefore, students must RSVP in advance to attend. Most workshops will be limited to 20-25 students.
June 7th, EXPLORING: Making the Most of Your Summer in Meadville
This session is designed to give you an “inside scoop” on the cool events and places to hang-out this summer in Meadville (and surrounding areas). The session will be co-facilitated by Lee Scandinaro ’15 and Autumn Vogel ’15, two Allegheny alums who now live in Meadville and work on community development. Lunch will be followed by a walk into town. Learn about the Tarot Bean cafe, Tattered Corners bookstore, Meadville Yoga, the Meadville Market House, as well as summer events like the Thurston Classic, Second Saturdays, the music in the park series, and more.
June 14th, SHARING: All the Stories We Have to Tell
Across your time at Allegheny, and beyond, you will be asked to share your story and to listen to the story of others. Whether discussing our research, turning points in our journey, or our long-term goals, how we tell these stories matters. In this session, we will consider the importance of authentically shaping and sharing stories. How do we find them? Which ones get told? What is the impact of how they are framed? When will a story make a lasting impression? Those who attend this session will be asked to bring the “opening” lines/paragraph to a story that had a big impact. Join us as we work together to explore the challenge and power of sharing stories.
June 20th/21st, COLLABORATING: The Power of Interdisciplinary Explorations
Allegheny College is proud of its “unusual combinations.” What if these combinations are not so “unusual”? What would it look like if we took a strategic approach to integrating our interests across divisions and other boundaries? What do we gain when we look for partners exploring similar topics from different perspectives? In this session, we will debrief the movie Arrival as a way to think about what collaboration might and could look like at Allegheny and beyond.
NOTE: The movie will be screened on the evening of June 20th, at 7:00 p.m. in room 110 of Carnegie Hall. Popcorn will be served; bring a soda!
June 28th, PRETENDING: When you Feel Like a Fraud
The impostor syndrome is a well-studied phenomenon in social psychology that explores the persistent doubt some individuals have about their accomplishments and how that doubt creates a fear that can prevent them from pursuing their goals. Anyone can suffer from the impostor syndrome, but it is especially prevalent in women and other underrepresented individuals in a variety of spaces. This session, led by Terri Carr from Career Education and Professor Lisa Whitenack, will encourage us to recognize impostor syndrome and discuss ways to combat it.
July 12th, PREPARING: Post-graduate Opportunities and How to Find Them
Are you planning to apply to graduate school, medical school, or law school? Wondering about how to start? What do these post graduate opportunities offer? What are the challenges and questions you should consider before applying? Interested in finding a study buddy to help prepare for those standardized tests? This is the session for you! In addition to answering your questions about applying for these postgraduate opportunities, we will also provide some strategies and resources for learning about and preparing for the GRE, MCAT, and LSAT exams. In addition, we will highlight how you can collaborate with the Career Education office to get off to a good start. This session will be facilitated by Professor Becky Dawson, Kirsten Peterson, and Kristin Black.
July 19th, STRUGGLING: What Happens When A Monster Calls?
During this session we will discuss the novel A Monster Calls and explore its themes of fear, grief, coping, and finding our truth. As students, staff,and faculty, we sometimes fail to see the personal struggles we all manage as we come together to learn. This powerful story illustrates what can happen when we ignore the “truth” of our circumstances, when we try to hide our fear or shame. Talking through these themes is one way to figure out how to move with them so we can continue to live and learn. All students who RSVP for this session will receive a free copy of the book to read and discuss.
August 2nd, WRITING: Finding the Air & Light & Time & Space
Writing is an integral part of the Allegheny College experience and your ability to master this skill will serve you well regardless of where you head next. However, it is also true that writing can be painful in very real ways. It is a process full of emotion–anxiety, fear, perhaps even anger. In this session, we will discuss the ways authors have approached the art of writing and think about strategies you can try to process and shape your emotional experience with it. Selections from Helen Sword’s book Air & Light & Time & Space: How Academics Write will inform our conversations.