Herstory Month Reception

It's finally March and Hofstra is celebrating Women's "Herstory" Month, kicking it off with the opening reception earlier today.

Every woman has a story and many of them have very special ones.Women's Herstory Month honors the history of women and their role and empowerment over time. Even more important though, it is told from the view of a woman. Women tell their stories of struggles, strengths, empowerment, education and growth. Their stories come from heart and personal experience, which make them so real and relatable.

Even though nowadays women outnumber men in American colleges, this has only been a recent trend. Women's history and empowerment have come a long way with a long road ahead still.

There are still many work fields, where men clearly outnumber women. Some of those areas are computer science, engineering and mathematics. Those areas are the so-called STEM fields. There is a lack of such areas in the U.S. overall, but specifically a lack of female participation. Hofstra does support a center for STEM research and encourages change and growth. Once women start learning more about such fields in their early childhood as now introduced, soon to be, we will have many female scientists, mathematicians and engineers. And who knows, women might soon outnumber men here too. I personally made a start with choosing to pursue a Masters in Computer Science.

We also have so many women at our university that are the epitome of growth and strength and have their own story to tell. One of them is Chaundra Daniels, who was the keynote speaker of today's Herstory Month Reception, organized by the Office of Multicultural and International Students.

Chaundra Daniels always seems to be the center of attention. With her impeccable charisma and sense of humor, she catches everybody's ear. It was inspiring to hear her talk and learn about her accomplishments and the big heart she has. Chaundra helps out many people in need to keep dreaming and make those dreams become a reality by getting them focused on an education and a career.

The room was filled with so many strong females who also work in the Student Affairs Divison and Chaundra invited them all to stand up, to honor all those amazing women.

The opening reception was a great introduction for many more Herstory Month events to come. Go listen to those strong women out there. They are right near you, maybe just right next to you. They inspired me and I am sure they will inspire you.

Tell us your story.

RA of the Month!

The Office of Residential Programs likes to recognize Resident Assistants each month who go above and beyond in their role as an RA and stand out as truly inspiring individuals. For the month of February we want to congratulate Brittany Hinds, Gareth James, and Nicole Burke for their outstanding achievements!

RA of the Month:

Brittany Hinds: RA in Bruekelen House in the Netherlands. Brittany has been an RA at Hofstra for three semesters. She started working in the Graduate Residence Hall and then moved to the Netherlands this year; certainly not an easy transition! Brittany has an amazing attitude and personality. She is outgoing, personable and really takes the time to get to know the staff and residents. She has great relationships with them and is willing to help a fellow staff member in need. She knows quite a bit about her residents and their concerns, and is always caring and sensitive to the needs of first-year students. Brittany is exactly the opposite of the typical outgoing, burned out RA. She is three months shy of graduation and has already secured a job, but has only increased her dedication and hard work for the department. Thanks Brittany for all you do!

Program of the Month:

Presented by Gareth James and Nicole Burke. This dynamic duo presented a program creatively named “A Kiwi Is Coming”. This program was excellent and successful on several levels: Gareth James is an international student from New Zealand. He used this program as a way for residents to get to know more about him, learn about another country and learn about what it’s like for international students at Hofstra. The staff hosted a jeopardy game with a variety of facts about Gareth’s home country and information about international students and the unique challenges they face. Many of his favorite snacks from his home country were available for students to try. The event was titled, “A Kiwi Is Coming” because a kiwi is the national bird AND a fruit from New Zealand which was one of the trivia questions in his game. Awesome job Nicole and Gareth!

Stay tuned next month to see who the winners will be for March!

-Becky Christiansen

Graduate Resident Director

Close to 800 Students Sprung Into Their Careers at the Spring Job Fair!

The Spring Job & Internship Fair was held today and it was one of the most successful in The Career Center's history. Over 100 employers were present, representing an enormous variety of industries and we saw close to 800 students attend! The lines were long but the opportunities were well worth it...

Were you there? Let us know! What did you think? 

We had reports of  students receiving interview offers for full time jobs right on the spot!

 Thank you to all the students who attended! 

You all looked professional and made a great impression on the employers!

--Suzanne Dagger, Director of Career Services

Join the “She’s the First” Dance-a-Thon!

Be among the FIRST students to participate in the “She’s the First” First Annual Dance-a-Thon on Friday, March 16 from 6 p.m. to 12 midnight in HofUSA. She’s the First is a Hofstra club that sponsors girls’ education in the developing world. Last semester they raised over $600, which funded the education for two girls in Nepal. Club members were able to visit with these girls via Skype and learned that they had many things in common, including interests in Shakespeare and Harry Potter. Most of these girls are the first ones in their family to graduate from high school.

She’s the First was awarded the honor of “Most Social” by their national organization for their innovative uses of social media, including a countdown of how many cupcakes still needed to be purchased to sponsor a girl in Nepal. Perhaps you supported the cause by purchasing one of their signature tie dye cupcakes. Yum!

Sign up for the event with your organization, floor, or just a group of friends. Don’t have a team? No worries. Sign up as an individual and She’s the First will connect you with others to help you form a team. Admission is $5 per person, and teams and individuals can sign up in the Student Center atrium. All the money raised will go toward the group’s philanthropy. She’s the First is also seeking performance groups of all kinds to make teams and appearances throughout the night. For more information, email ctirre1@pride.hofstra.edu.

Want to get involved with She’s the First, and perhaps even have a hand in planning this exciting event? Join them via Collegiate Link and attend their next meeting, which is taking place on Wednesday, March 7 at 8 p.m. in 219 Student Center.

So please come on out and dance the night away while supporting a wonderful cause!

OSLA and P.R.I.D.E. Week

Last week Hofstra Celebrated our pride principles through P.R.I.D.E.Week. OSLA decided to start off the week by "Paying Our P.R.I.D.E. Forward" We stopped by the custodial area in the student center to thank the staff for all they do every day for our offices and the students in the building. As well we staffed a FREE Hugs Tables. Our plan was to make students day by offering a free chocolate hug at the table but, we were surprised to find how many students wanted a real hug. We more than ten students say they really needed that. Sometimes we forget how much a quick hug can make someone feel better!
On Wednesday we hosted the "I" of P.R.I.D.E.(Integrity, Ethics and Leadership). We had a "What Would You Do" Putt Putt Golf program. In the atrium Hofstra community members were asked to play putt putt and answer an ethics question/ situation. We had over 87 respondents to our written situations and many more community members that stopped by our table to check out the information. Some sample scenario/ answers were:
(Scenario) While studying in the library you notice a student leave for the restroom. Seconds later, a different group of students goes over to the student's laptop and stuffs it into their bag. (Answers) 1. I would remember what the person looked like. I wouldn't say anything to them directly but tell the owner and call Public Safety. 2. Confront him/her right away and tell Public Safety/authorities. 3. Tell the librarian and tell that person that that is not his stuff.
(Scenario) You see someone smoking inside by the library because it is raining outside. (Answers) 1. I would tell them they shouldn't be smoking here. 2. Tell them to step outside. As a student with asthma someone smoking indoors is harmful not only to me but everyone else. 3. Ignore it because the person would probably be nasty. I'd cough loudly though so hopefully they realize.
On Wednesday evening six students participated in one of OSLA's P.R.I.D.E. A-LaCarte series workshops. The workshop entitled "What Would You Do: An Ethical Discussion" was presented by Dr. Kathleen Wallace, professor of Philosophy. The "I" principle was discussion revolved how we lead in our society and ways to make decisions with integrity and a frame of ethics in mind.
Finally, on Friday OSLA hosted First Fridays at Hof USA which is quickly becoming a fun tradition. Throughout the Fall and Spring semesters each First Friday of the Month OSLA has sponsored a program at Hof USA from 7pm-10pm. For March we did an Open Mic for the "E" of P.R.I.D.E. WEEK (Expression and Free Exchange) along with "Treat Decorating and Creating a Bear". Over 75 students enjoyed the event at Hof USA!
I hope you were able to make it out to the plethora of events happening during P.R.I.D.E.Week and that you took advantage of another great week of events at Hofstra! To stay involved check out more opportunities and events at hofstra.edu/osla

P.R.I.D.E. Week-Diversity Day: "Represent Your State or Country" - Map Activity

"Think Globally, Act Locally" is an important part of Hofstra's mission.

 Diversity is a crucial aspect for a successful university, which is one of the reasons we incorporated "Diversity" into P.R.I.D.E. Week.

"Diversity and Community" Day, on Thursday, was represented through many great events. Residential Programs presented a Map Activity - "Represent Your State or Country," as well as "Music of Many Cultures." The Fitness Center encouraged the P.R.I.D.E. Principles through a P.R.I.D.E. Basketball Shootout with five different hoops, each designated to one of the five Pride Principles.

It was exciting to see, how diverse Hofstra is. The Map Activity clearly represented the immense variety of cultures. Looking at the map, there were almost more stickers on foreign countries than on the U.S. as a whole.

What amazed me most is how such tremendous diversity can still be such a united community as Hofstra is. It is great to see how different cultures complement each other to grow into such a warming community. As I am an international student from Germany, I have had many personal experiences of such kind. It is such a wonderful feeling to be so far from home, be this welcomed, and find a family so far away from home, the Hofstra Family.
Diversity makes us grow as individuals and creates new communities. Be open-minded and think globally, while staying true to your descent and acting locally. That is what makes a great community.

Student Counseling and Eating Disorders Awareness Day

Just coming off an informative and moving day yesterday where Student Counseling helped students check their eating habits and body image concerns as part of National Eating Disorders Awareness Day. Over 50 students completed the screening measure and countless others stopped by to gather information about eating disorders and how these disorders affect college students. We had a great turnout for our evening program as well which included speaker Aviva Braun, LCSW, who specializes in eating disorders and body image and spoke to students about the different types of eating disorders, treatment options and how to help others.

We were also lucky enough to have Project Heal co-founder and Hofstra student Liana Rosenman join us as well to give a moving account of her own history with an eating disorder and how she was able to not only overcome the disorder but co-found a not-for-profit organization (http://theprojectheal.org). It’s a great organization that works towards raising money for others who suffer with eating disorders but can’t afford treatment.

Thanks to our wonderful presenters for providing us with such thorough information about this very important topic!