Student Life Newsletter

Volume 5: Issue 2

Dear Colleagues,

In 2016, Joe Baggot (Associate Dean of Students) and Julia Strand (Associate Professor of Psychology) led a group of faculty, staff, and students to explore challenges and opportunities for low-income and first-generation students at Carleton. The working group’s final report included a set of thoughtful and practical recommendations, including creating a more transparent and robust emergency funding process, providing a mechanism for students to have laptop loaners, and enhancing academic break resources for students. See the full report.

As we find ourselves well into winter, we certainly notice the shortening daylight. More subtle is the ever lowering transit of the sun along the horizon. These changes in light duration and intensity impact some of us, especially the farther we live from the equator. Our bodies use natural light to maintain our circadian rhythms, a set of biological processes that affect us subjectively in terms of energy/metabolism, concentration, motivation, and mood.

Read on for Department updates from SAO, Residential Life, Gender & Sexuality Center, and more…

In addition to being the Program Director for Employer Relations in the Career Center, Chad is an author, professional keynote speaker, entrepreneur, and a life coach for all things career and leadership. Chad draws on his past experiences college and Greek life to explore new and better ways of empowering others to become the best versions of themselves.

Each year the Student Life Special Events Committee coordinates a Give Back to the Community project for the staff in the Division of Student Life to participate in.  This year the Division gathered donations for the Rice County Department of Social Services Family Center.

Although campus may slow down during break there are still a lot of activities for students to engage in. Here are some highlights of activities hosted by Student Life Offices.

Russ Petricka, supervisor of the Math Skills Center, spent two weeks during winter break in Tanzania participating in Project Zawadi’s English Bridge Program. He taught Conversational English to upper primary school students making the transition from Standard Seven to Form I of Secondary School (where the language of instruction changes from Swahili to English), as a volunteer in a Tanzania NGO (Non-Govermental Organization), named Project Zawadi. Then, on the last day of his stay in Tanzania, he visited the Secondary School (Old Moshi Secondary School) where he taught Mathematics for two years (1965, 1966) as a member of the Peace Corps.