cgs connections sept. 2014
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Welcome new students, and welcome back returning students! The Center for Graduate Studies has relocated, but that just means we have more space to help our graduate students. Be sure to take a look at our changes later in this issue of Graduate Studies Connections!
Also in this issue, we have provided information about upcoming events from career planning to bowling night, recognized some new programs on campus, and highlighted a few of our recent graduate students with their successes after graduation.
Some of those students are locally working at A.A. Kingston Middle School. Thomas Sawyer, Special Education August 2014, is working as a special education teacher; Ashley Chevier, Special Education August 2013, is a fifth-grade teacher; Nanette Holt, Curriculum and Instruction December 2012, is working as an AIS provider; Marsha Evans, Special Education May 1998, is working as a special education teacher; and last but not least, Kristin Towne, Instructional Tech and Med May 2001, is an art teacher. A additional graduates are featured later in the issue.
We are very proud and excited for all our alumni and wish them the best in their futures! We also look forward to supporting our current graduate students prepare for their future careers so that they too can be just as successful.
We encourage you to spread word of our newsletter and future events; you never know if your classmates will be interested in a featured program.
Best, Center for Graduate Studies Team
Inside This Issue
Upcoming Events P.2 A Word From Students P.4
Welcome Home P.5 What’s New? P.6
Program Events/Flyers P.7
As the Fall 2014 semester is underway, so does recruitment for the next incoming class of graduate students.
The Center for Graduate Studies team will be recruiting heavily this fall throughout the states of New York and Vermont, in addition to neighboring Canada. We encourage you to visit our website frequently at www.potsdam.edu/graduate for a complete list of upcoming Graduate School Fairs that we will be attending this fall.
If you know someone that currently attends, or is nearby, one of the schools that we are visiting, please feel free to encourage them to attend to learn more about the variety of degree programs that we have to offer. Your referral will include a complimentary application fee waiver!
Want to help promote Potsdam’s Graduate programs and share your experiences? Read P.6 to learn about our new student ambassador program!
Prospective Students
Graduate Studies Connections A Newsletter from the Center for Graduate Studies
September 24, 2014 | Fall 2014
Welcome to Potsdam!
Calendar of Events/Important Dates
Academic Calendar or Deadlines
“BearAbilities” (Professional Dev.)
Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat
1 2 3 4 5 6
7 8 9 10 11 12 13
14 15 16 17 18 19 20
21 22 23 24 25 26 27
28 29 30
September 2014
Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat
1 2 3 4
5 6 7 8 9 10 11
12 13 14 15 16 17 18
19 20 21 22 23 24 25
26 27 28 29 30 31
October 2014
All professional development details
and registration info in greater
detail on our website at http://
www.potsdam.edu/graduate or by
picking up a copy of the
Bearabilities flyer in the CGS office.
September 10: Lunchtime Roundtable:
Preparing for Teacher Certification Exam
September 24: Lunchtime Roundtable:
Preparing for Teacher Certification Exam
September 25: Evening with the Center
for Graduate Studies
October 7: Preparing a Successful IRB
Proposal and Thesis Writing Tips
October 8: Lunchtime Roundtable:
Preparing for Teacher Certification Exam
October 22: Lunchtime Roundtable:
Preparing for Teacher certification Exam
October 23: Center for Graduate Studies
Lunch & Learn
October 25: Make a Difference Day
October 28: Last Day to Withdraw from
a Class or Elect the S/U Grading Option
November 12: Lunchtime Roundtable:
Preparing for Teacher Certification Exam
November 13: Bowling Night!
December 4: Program Spotlight: Educa-
tional Technology Specialist
Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat
1
2 3 4 5 6 7 8
9 10 11 12 13 14 15
16 17 18 19 20 21 22
23 24 25 26 27 28 29
30
November 2014
Thanksgiving Recess
Fall Recess
Career Planning is Here to Help! Career Planning offers many programs to help students prepare for life during and after college.
This semester, Career Planning is currently holding dates for career/major explorations, resume building, and
job search workshops. Workshops will be held in 206 Sisson Hall. Make sure to register for the workshops at
[email protected] or by calling 267-2344. The dates and times of the events are below. After attending a
workshop, be sure to meet with a professional staff member to continue your exploration or resume building!
Resume Workshop
Date Time
Monday, Sept. 15 9:00
Thursday, Sept. 18 3:00
Monday, Sept. 22 10:00
Thursday, Sept. 25 2:00
Monday, Sept. 29 11:00
Thursday, Oct. 2 1:00
Monday, Oct. 6 3:00
Thursday, Oct. 9 9:00
Wednesday, Oct. 15 1:00
Thursday, Oct. 16 10:00
Monday, Oct. 20 9:00
Thursday, Oct. 23 11:00
Monday, Oct. 27 10:00
Thursday, Oct. 30 3:00
Wednesday, Nov. 5 9:00
Thursday, Nov. 6 2:00
Monday, Nov. 10 3:00
Thursday, Nov. 13 1:00
Monday, Nov. 17 2:00
Thursday, Nov. 20 9:00
Monday, Nov. 24 1:00
Thursday, Dec. 4 10:00
Monday, Dec. 8 10:00
Career/Major Exploration
Time Date
Monday, Sept. 29 9:00
Tuesday, Oct. 7 10:00
Friday, Oct. 17 1:00
Tuesday, Oct. 21 11:00
Thursday, Oct. 30 10:00
Monday, Nov. 3 2:00
Thursday, Nov. 13 3:00
Friday, Nov. 21 2:00
Monday, Dec. 1 1:00
Wednesday, Dec. 10 11:00
Job Search
Date Time
Tuesday, Sept. 16 9:00
Tuesday, Sept. 23 10:00
Tuesday, Sept. 30 11:00
Tuesday, Oct. 7 1:00
Wednesday, Oct. 15 9:00
Tuesday, Oct. 28 9:00
Tuesday, Nov. 4 10:00
Wednesday, Nov. 12 9:00
Tuesday, Nov. 18 1:00
Tuesday, Dec. 2 2:00
Tuesday, Dec. 9 3:00
Colton-Pierrepont CSD welcomed a few SUNY Potsdam
graduates as part of the team. Kayla Grant, Literacy
December 2013, is an elementary teacher; Samantha
Larson, Literacy May 2014, is also an elementary
teacher; and Melissa Lovely, Literacy August 2008, is a
teacher assistant.
Congrats alumni! We are very proud of you!
Alumni Spotlight
A Word From Our Students
Perspective is everything. Take a look at what our graduate students have to say about Potsdam!
Ellen Lehet is currently working on her MA in Math with a primary focus on her seminar work,
Functional Analysis. She started on her Masters degree last year and looks forward to graduating this
coming May. Ellen has been here for the past four years and received her BA in Math from Potsdam as
well. Both of her parents are alumni of Potsdam and her father pursued his MA in Math at Potsdam,
which is how Ellen heard about Potsdam and decided to come here.
Originally from Connecticut, Ellen loves the town of Potsdam and really appreciates the supportive and
friendly atmosphere of the staff on campus, as well as the good food. Specifically in the math program,
she really enjoys the closeness of the students. Everyone is very supportive and close knit; they even have tea time on
Thursday’s to discuss their weeks and projects.
“The really supportive staff and students make grad school much easier,” Ellen says. “There are always opportunities to
interact with other students, and the small size of the campus really helps faculty connect with the students so that they can
really help us learn the material.”
Right now, Ellen is taking two graduate courses. She’s working on her Seminar in Functional Analysis and taking Linear
Algebra 2. Ellen has a total of 6 graduate credits but is taking a few undergrad courses as well. She spends most of her time
working on her seminar because it’s a lot of independent work; she only meets with her seminar professor two times a week.
Her seminar takes place on Tuesday’s at 3:30pm in Carson Hall, and the seminars are open to the public.
Ellen highly recommends the graduate program at SUNY Potsdam and can’t stress the supportive and friendly environ-
ment enough.
“Potsdam as a whole is a great place to take time to develop and learn the material well and everyone is very sup-
portive,” she says.
After graduating, Ellen hopes to pursue her PhD in Math so she can eventually teach.
Welcome Home CGS! The Center for Graduate Studies has moved! In May, the Center for Graduate Studies office moved to its new space in Satterlee Hall. We are now located on the 2nd Floor in Suite 238. We are very ex-cited about the new space, as it provides current graduate students with a meeting room for small gatherings; a Student Lounge, fully equipped with two computers, a printer, a coffee maker, lami-nating machine and more! Lockers are also available for use to store items. We encourage you to stop by and check it out!
The App
New Opportunities with Graduate Studies! Student Ambassador Program
We are excited to announce that we are launching a Student Ambassador program this fall for current
graduate students who are interested in promoting our graduate programs to prospective students! These
students will help promote Potsdam by providing campus tours, taking students to a class pertaining to their
particular degree interests, and/or taking them to lunch. Students will work closely with the faculty and staff of
The Center for Graduate Studies, and students will grow professionally and personally while gaining valuable
experience that will help prepare them for the future. And the best part: this is a PAID opportunity!
Interested students or students who would like more information should stop by the Center for Graduate
Studies Office in the Satterlee 238 and ask for Kyle Fennell. Applications are due Friday, September 26th, and
interviews will take place during the second week of October. Make sure to pick up an application today!
Graduate Advantage Program
The Center for Graduate Studies Office kick-started a new program this semester called the Graduate
Advantage Program to support graduate students in obtaining experience while earning additional money while
in school. Students involved in the program are called GAP’s, and they assist numerous support offices and aca-
demic departments across campus. One example is a position in the Experiential Education office (EEO). This po-
sition assists the Director of EEO in developing, implementing, and promoting our
college-wide Experiential
Education Programs, including Academic Internships and Service Learning oppor-
tunities for undergraduate and graduate students. One student in particular
offered to share her experiences with the new program.
Melanie Shank is currently a graduate student working on her MM in Music Perfor-
mance. She earned her BA in psychology and music performance, as well as a mi-
nor in business from SUNY Albany. When applying for graduate school, she heard
about the Graduate Advantage Program through Center for Graduate Studies and
decided to apply. According to Melanie, this position sounded very interesting, and
she was excited about the counseling aspect of the job. She explained that the
program is like an
assistantship; she works 20 hours a week on counseling, resume building, marketing, and the newsletter.
“It’s a great opportunity to help students who are attending grad school,” says Melanie. “Even though I
had a scholarship from Crane, I still needed a little extra to help pay for attending, and this program really helped
me decide that Potsdam was the right choice for me.”
Melanie really enjoys what she does and working with Toby has been fun. She highly recommends the
program to potential grad students looking for a little extra money to help pay for college.
“There’s no fluff work; I started immediately working on important things, and I like sharing information
about these kinds of programs to undergrad students,” Melanie says.
GAP’s work with other offices on campus such as the Student Success Center, the Math Department, and
Public Affairs. Students interested in becoming a GAP must be a graduate student in good academic standing,
taking at least 9 graduate credit hours per semester. Applications for next year’s GAP positions will come out in
the Spring 2015 semester. For more information about the program, contact Josh LaFave, Director of the Center
for Graduate Studies.
Graduate Student Research Grant
The Center for Student Research is pleased to announce the availability of funds to support student travel. The Graduate Student Travel Grant sup-ports graduate students incurring expenses while traveling to be actively in-volved in the proceedings of the conference/meeting. Applications are ac-cepted on a rolling basis as fund availability permits.
For more information about these awards and/or other opportunities at the CSR, please visit our website, http://www.potsdam.edu/academics/specialprogramscur/funding/index.cfm or contact the CSR at [email protected] or call 315-267-2051
Satterlee Hall Suite 238
44 Pierrepont Ave.
Potsdam, NY 13676
315.267.2165 (ph)
315.267.4802 (fax)
[email protected] (em)
CENTER FOR GRADUATE STUDIES
CGSPotsdam
@sunypotsdamgrad
CGSPotsdam
Center for Graduate Studies @ SUNY Potsdam
Office Hours
Monday—Thursday: 8am—5pm
Friday: 8am—4:30pm