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 Allegheny 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.
All Reach ACRoSS sessions this summer will take place on Thursdays from noon until 1 pm using this Zoom link.
June 17th, Q&A Session
At this meeting, we will go over logistics of the summer research and consider some best practices for making the most of your experience. We will consider structuring your time, working with your mentor, and any other areas of interest raised by attendees.
July 1st, Sharing our Work: Multiple Audiences, Multiple Venues
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. We will discuss both oral presentations and the creation of posters used to visually represent research. We will think about how formatting changes across disciplines as well as what stays the same. Join us as we work together to explore the challenge and power of sharing stories.
July 8th, What do Employers Want?
Some research students will pursue graduate level work upon graduating from Allegheny. The majority will enter the workforce, looking to find their first job. One key to making the most of your research experience is realizing how very valuable it is to building the skill sets that most employers are looking for in new hires. However, this is an advantage lost unless you are aware of it and can talk explicitly about what you’ve learned. In this workshop, we will consider the 2021 Report on Employer Views from the Association of American Colleges & Universities (AAC&U) to learn about the most desired skills and build examples to share of how these skills are a part of your summer research experience.
July 22nd, Finding Our Way
Have you ever wondered if you are “on the right path”? Have you ever worried about where your major will take you? Are you finding it difficult to envision a senior project that will inspire you? Have you started to envision the impact you want to have on the world? If so, join us as we find ways to use our intuition and experience to help lead the way. Whether you are conducting work in a chemistry lab, gathering ideas in archives, or implementing programs in the community, finding your next idea can be challenging–especially as you move on from the close guidance of a mentor or if you find yourself without one. Sometimes, we have too many ideas; sometimes we struggle with a “blank page.” This workshop is designed to help you find or focus your interest and turn curiosity into a tool you can use wherever you go.
July 29th, Hidden Rules, Invisible Practices.
Have you ever found yourself surprised to learn about an opportunity at Allegheny that another student mentions? Have you ever been confused about how to stay on track to graduate? Have you ever wondered why Allegheny requires a major and minor from different disciplines–are you even sure what “disciplines” mean? College is a world with a shorthand–a set of rules and practices that are not always explicitly discussed. For first generation students, for students from lower socioeconomic environments, for for students who have been historically excluded, identifying these rules and practices can mean the difference between thriving and merely surviving during their time at Allegheny. At this workshop, we will work together to reveal what you need to know to graduate on time and to get everything you can from your experience here.
Aug 5th, The Next Journey.
What is your next destination after Allegheny? Do you know? In this session, we will consider the multitude of options in front of you–no matter your major. We will consider how to know whether/not post-graduate opportunities (like grad school, law school, or med school) might be the option for you. But we will also look beyond those choices and creatively consider what might be next. We will also highlight how the Career Education office and other offices on campus can help you start (or continue) planning this journey.
Aug 12th, How Emotion Affects Learning
It has been suggested that the 2020-2021 academic year was one of the hardest years for both students and instructors. The COVID-19 pandemic and the crush of social and environmental justice challenges facing us continue to take their toll. If we were not aware before last year that emotion influences how we learn, we certainly know this now. In this workshop, we’ll talk about the ways that we can prepare to jump into the rhythms of academic life again and about how we might try to push against those “normal” rhythms to create space for well-being. We’ll think about ways that we can manage emotion to take care of ourselves and to create connections that support us even when we are not working at our best.