Interships

In the last few weeks, I've received countless emails from friends and family asking "What are you doing this summer?" "Do you have an internship?", or "Where are you working?" Considering I have quite a busy schedule of schoolwork and activities, I had yet to think about what I was doing this summer back in early April, but quickly realized how active college students truly are today! With all the current competition for jobs and internships, it is extremely important that we take advantage of long summers, and even more so, get involved on campus for the next few years.

You may have just read that last paragraph and started hyperventilating a little, but there is more than enough time for you to find something you are passionate about, discover how to get involved with it and then start building your résumé! If you have no idea where to begin, try these tips:

1. Use your university resources, such as a message board or career center to look for different opportunities both on and off campus.
2. Narrow down the list of internships, trips, clubs, jobs, and so forth to ones that you are truly interested in, especially the ones pertain to your field of study.
3. Find out application deadlines and then complete any paperwork with plenty of time to spare!
4. When on interviews, dress professionally, be confident and trust that you are the best candidate for the job!
5. Know what to expect, As an intern, you probably won't be doing glamorous, substantive work; you’ll likely be making other people’s lives easier. So you may get stuck photocopying, filing, arranging meetings, or doing other menial tasks. But in exchange, you'll get exposure to the field and experience for your resume.
6. Gain trust early on, When you come in as an intern, you'll have to prove yourself in the work world. To show that you pay attention to detail, follow instructions, and care about quality, do a great job even when you're handed boring tasks. Eventually, someone may let you try something more interesting.
7. Pay attention to the office cultural, Observe how others in the office act, and mirror that. If employees modulate their voices when others are on the phone, modulate yours. If they’re compulsively on time for meetings, you should always be on time, too. These details may sound trivial, but they’ll help you stand out compared to other interns.
8. Focus: Don’t use social networking sites (unless it’s part of your job) or text with friends throughout the workday. You may be confident that it doesn’t affect your work, but experienced managers may feel confident that it does. And especially this early on, your manager's opinion matters.
9. In school, if you made a mistake on a test or paper, it only affected you. In many jobs, mistakes are much more serious. If you do make a mistake, make sure you handle it correctly. Don't try to cover it up or make excuses. Own up and fix it. Then tell your boss it won't happen again—and make sure it doesn't.
10. Learn from co-workers: Ask them about their own careers. How did they get into the field? What do they like about it? What do they find challenging? What advice do they have for you? Most people love to talk about themselves and will be flattered that you’re asking about their experiences. Best of all, it’s likely to make them want to help you.
11. “Thank you”: Talk to your manager about what you’re getting out of your internship, and thank her for giving you the opportunity to work there. We all love hearing the occasional expression of appreciation, so don't be shy about offering it. A simple expression of gratitude may even put you ahead of the pack.

Applying for jobs or internships isn't easy and can be extremely nerve wrecking, but remember: every candidate feels the same way. My hands were sweating for a half hour after I interviewed for a position as a Residential Advisor for next year! However, answering honestly and exhibiting passion will outshine clammy hands and give an employer no reason to choose anyone but you!

Where Did I Put my Straight Jacket?

Brought to your by your director of business and finance Jenesa Honda

ASWOU, the Associated Students of Western Oregon University advocates for students, not only on a campus level, but at a state level as well. We devote our time, knowledge, and sometimes even our sanity, to all students from all walks of life. Why do I mention sanity? Because, to volunteer to be a student leader is to admit to being slightly insane! Think about it, what kind of person would look at a job description that mandates you to be at 6-10 meetings per week (that range from 2-10 hours in length), and then add in office hours and classes and says, "Hey, sign me up!", all for a salary that, when broken up into an hourly wage would be at a rate less than minimum wage (that is if they get paid at all)? NO SANE PERSON!!! The members of the ASWOU administration (which includes the Judicial, Legislative, and Executive branches) advocate for students on a daily basis because they care! They don't do it for the popularity (on any given day, someone on this campus is unhappy with someone in ASWOU because of something that was or wasn't done, or a decision that was made), and they certainly don't do it for the money. These student leaders are leaders because they care. They want to affect change. They want to help students so much that they are willing to work and go to classes all day, do homework all night, get 30 minutes of sleep, and be up in time to go lobby for students rights at the capitol the next morning. So if you want something to change, tell us! We are here for YOU. We are willing to give up our sanity for YOU, but we can't initiate change without you identifying the changes which need to be made. So call for change; tell us what you're thinking so that we can take it to university administration or even the capitol if that is where your concern needs to go. But we need you to tell us what you need. We could already be considered slightly insane because we took these positions willingly in the first place, you may as well take it the rest of the way and let us go completely crazy fighting for YOU!

ASWOU, going insane for students since 1939!

History

Brought to you by your Director of Multicultural student advocacy Martae' Neal

A little bit about myself; I have always been interested in Black culture and every since I was young my family made sure I knew about it as well. I’ve seen movies that talked about my black heritage from Africa to America. One of my favorite movies is ROOTS. Just this weekend I watch the whole series of  ROOTS. Roots is a movie that depicts on how African Americans ORIGINALLY lived in Africa as kings and queens and were free until they were kidnapped and abuse/raped/and chained into slavery. It was a very thought provoking movie with an intense storyline. To watch a movie about a country I live in...and knowing since birth freedom is innate privilege of me having,  surprises me on how that wasn't always true to people who look like me. Watching roots this time made me think differently about a lot of things that are going on in my life.. I question a lot of things this weekend.

I always knew that I came from a strong culture. But knowing the struggles and challenges of my people was horrifying to watch and made me so angry. Not only because it was wrong but because it was true at one point and time. And even though I live in a society that people don't see me as a slave, or a n*gg*r .. there still are individuals, clubs/groups and even  states that are a threat to me otherwise

Stonewall

Brought to you by your Gender and sexual diversity advocate Hillevi Johnson 

Come check out the Stonewall Center, Western Oregon University's GLBTQ resource center! Located downstairs in the Werner University Center across from Abby's House, the Stonewall Center houses movies, tv series, literature, magazines, condoms, dental dams, and information brochures that are available to EVERYONE! While focused on GLBTQ-related issues and items, this center is welcome to staff, faculty, students, and anyone who identifies within the community or is an ally. It remains open with the help of student volunteers, and is open 38 hours per week this term! Check out and like "WOU Stonewall Center" on Facebook, email aswougender@mail.wou.edu to become a volunteer, or simply stop by and see what it's all about! 

Interested in learning more about the GLBTQ community or making connections? Join the Triangle Alliance club, a student-led group that hosts events, discusses GLBTQ-related topics, and has fun! Meetings are held every Monday in the Santiam room of the Werner University Center. Also, learn more about our Safe Zone program, as well as its Ally trainings. Check out www.wou.edu/safezone for more information!

Favorite Quote

Brought to you by your ASWOU J Board member Travis Meuwissen

"Maturity is the ability to control anger and settle differences without violence.

Maturity is patience.  It is the willingness to postpone immediate gratification in favor of the long-term gain.

Maturity is perseverance; the ability to sweat out a project or a situation in spite of heavy opposition and discouraging setbacks. 

Maturity is the capacity to have unpleasantness and frustration, discomfort and defeat without complaint or collapse.

Maturity is humility.  It is being big enough to say, “I was wrong.”  And, when right, the mature person need not experience the satisfaction of saying, “I told you so.”

Maturity is the ability to make a decision and stand by it.  The immature spend their lives exploring endless possibilities; then they do nothing.

Maturity means dependability, keeping one’s word, coming through in a crisis.  The immature are masters of the alibi.  They are confused and disorganized.  Their lives are maze of broken promises, former friends, unfinished business and good intentions that somehow never materialized.

Maturity is the art of living in peace with that which we cannot change, the courage to change that which can be changed, and the wisdom to know the difference."

- Ann Landers

What is ASWOU up too??

Brought to you by your ASWOU Vice President 

What is ASWOU up to this week???

The real question is what AREN’T we up to!!

While we are approaching the end of our second week of Winter Term we have been busy! Whether that be prepping for Lobby Days in the capital, working in the food bank or getting the word out about our next bike workshop!

This past weekend a few of us attended the Oregon Student Association Board Meeting that happens every month. At this meeting Oregon State University proposed a campaign that they will be doing on their campus.

“Wear the Square” is their campaign.

With the successes of registering 50,000 students to vote across the state we also want to make sure that we are holding our legislators accountable for affordable tuition. This campaign is to raise awareness as well as educate the student body at Oregon State University and on different campuses in Oregon that are in support of this campaign. WESTERN OREGON UNIVERSITY supports “Wear the Square” so look out for information regarding this campaign!! We will be handing out squares and hoping that students will support in spreading awareness on tuition costs and how they are in constant rise.  

WHY THE SQUARE??

In February 2012 in Quebec, Canada there was a threat in raising tuition in public university students by $100 per year for five years in order to balance the budget. To symbolize their protest, they wore RED fabric squares on their clothes and backpacks. The color RED is used in ledger books to show that your balance is negative, so the students chose RED to show that they were “squarely in the red”.

ALSO!!

ASWOU will be taking a group of students that would like to Lobby in the capital on issues like:

·         Tuition Equity

·         Tuition Affordability

·         Cultural Competency

·         Schools not Prisons

·         Student Parents

·         University Governance

IF THIS IS SOMETHING YOU ARE INTERESTED IN GOING WITH US TO THE CAPITAL PLEASE EMAIL aswoustate@mail.wou.edu

If you are interested in sharing your story with any of these priority issues we are also collecting stories.

From me to You

Brought to you by your campus relations advocate Tyler Potter

ASWOU this term is doing a lot more tabling upstairs in the Warner center. We are going to be trying to be more visible at Western. If you’re interested about any events this term or anything that ASWOU is doing please come to the info desk 11-1 Mondays and Wednesday’s.  Also elections for positions across campus are coming soon. If you’re interested in running for a position please contact someone in ASWOU or email aswoucampus@mail.wou.edu.

On another note if you’re thinking about joining ASWOU but aren't sure yet, let me tell you what ASWOU has done for me. I live off campus, and its Oregon… so not the funnest place in the world to be walking around especially in winter. ASWOU lets me have flexible office hours that I’m about to schedule around my class schedule. I also love having an office to go on campus where I feel that I belong whether I have to do work or I want to do homework, I like the feeling of walking in having a computer I can use and working in a place where I would call all other ASWOU members my friends. It has been a great experience as far as work goes, my social life goes and my future goes. So in the theme of this year’s ASWOU members YOLO.