BROUGHT TO YOU BY THE EOU CAREER CENTER INLOW 109 (541) 962-3711

Mountaineer Family Network Eastern Oregon University

Special Points of Interest:

Fall 2015

Self-Formation: Notes from the Counseling Center

 Self-Formation

 Career Readiness—Skills  Week of Welcome 2015 in Review

A few of the hallmarks of higher education are the free and open exchange of ideas as well as exposure to “difference” and, at least according to Thomas Jefferson’s ideal, developing the ability to dialogue and disagree civilly. In a world that’s become increasingly polarized, the art of engaging in thoughtful and mindful conversation, particularly with people who profess views different from our own, is a skill of ultimate significance. Your sons and daughters probably aren’t there yet! After less than 3 months away from home, they may return from their first term at college with fresh ideas, new experiences, and maybe some swagger to demonstrate how they’ve matured and come of age. That’s all good, but coming of age is an emerging process that happens in fits and starts with plenty of hiccups along the way.

Inside This Issue: Self-Formation

1

Scholarship Season

1

A Focus on Skills

2

Week of Welcome 2015

2

Conflict Resolution

3

EOU Alert Notification

3

Academic Calendar

4

The changes they’re enduring as they molt into adulthood signify changes for you, their parents and caregivers. Over the winter break they may appear moody and withdrawn, or talkative and clingy. They may act out as a way of testing your willingness to accept the autonomy they’ve been exercising since October. Or not. It’s hard to predict, but the point is that a process of transformation began the moment you took your leave 8 weeks ago, hugged or high-fived good bye, and drove away. They’ve struggled. They’ve made new friends. And you’ll notice that these relationships may bring out qualities in your sons and daughters you’ve never seen before. They’re exploring and stretching their identities. It isn’t always pretty and as you’d like, but it’s fundamentally important. If their experiences at university are serving them well, they are challenging all they’ve been told and taught to believe so that their decisions here forward will be based, not on past conditioning, but rather on values and ideas they’ve

thoughtfully clarified through dialogue and reflection.

In addition to the many practical goals of higher education, like learning a discipline of study and discerning a career pathway, this aim of values clarification is a life’s journey for them as well as for you. The changes they experience will challenge and invite you to consider and clarify your own perspectives. This is why, and how, higher education has the potential to transform a society. To borrow a famous quote from a different context, “what affects one directly affects all indirectly.” So as your sons and daughters return to you for the brief period between the fall and winter terms, there’s an opportunity—in spite of the awkwardness, unpleasantness, and struggle that tend to accompany a re-calibration of ideas, values and identities—to approach them, and yourselves, with a sense of wonder. Tucker Brown Ph.D Licensed Counselor * See Page 4 for a Follow-Up on Tucker Brown

Gearing-Up for the Scholarship Season Eastern Oregon University offers bounds of scholarship opportunities to prospective and The EOU Foundation, ASTEO Scholar, Math Educators Scholar (MESA), and Diversity scholarship opportunities open on October 1 and close February 1, annually. To apply, students submit their online application no later than 11:59 PM on the closing date. Be sure to view Eastern Oregon University’s Scholarship Webpage for outside

AND institutional funding possibilities, Kylie Graffunder how to apply. Scholarship Coordinator (541) 962-3550 For further questions regarding schol- [email protected] arships at Eastern Oregon University, please contact our Scholarship Coordinator at [email protected]. If you would like to visit with a Financial Aid Counselor to discuss your student’s current or potential financial aid, contact our Office of Financial Aid .

Page 2

Mountaineer Family Network

Notes From Career Services: A Focus on Skills The Jiffy recipe for higher education has been 1. Go to college, 2. Add water, 3. Earn a degree and viola, in four years a perfectly formed, liberally educated, civically sound and career ready student. This, unfortunately, is not the case—there is no “instant student” or ‘instant career readiness” model that works for every student. Some employers report that “students these days don’t know how to work,” are “tied to the hip to their phones,” and “can’t hold a conversation.” There may be some truth to these sentiments, however, the questions that education and employers need to address are 1. Who is supposed to teach career readiness and 2. What do employers really want? Career readiness has to start at an early age. As parents, professionals, educators, leaders and community members we cannot stop the conversation at “What do you want to be when you grow-up?” but need to ask the important follow-up question, “How can we work together to

get you the skill and experience?” The interplay that private and public sector employers and education has explored for years is the concept of “Soft Skills” to address who is responsible for teaching career readiness to our children, students and future employees. School districts across the State of Oregon have begun to collaborate with employers and agencies to develop an assessment method to report career readiness as a piece of a student’s academic grade. In short, business and industry—employers— want to collaborate with education not only for their own desire to fill current and future talent pools, but to empower students with a framework of workplace expectations that can be developed and modeled in the classroom, and reinforced at home. Nationally, employers agree that soft skills along with content mastery and skills are what students need to master in order to become career ready.

is a shift in conversation with its students from content mastery to one of skills mastery.

“How can we work together to get the skills, experience and training?” According to Monica Herk, Vice President of Education Research at the Committee for Economic Development, the two most essential skills are critical thinking and problem solving. Employers find critical thinking and problem solving as essential and the most difficult to hire where as they view oral communication, teamwork, organization and the ability to work with others of diverse backgrounds as essential, but easier to hire. EOU’s students are challenged each in their classes, across campus and in their interactions to develop these essential skills.

Justin Chin Director of Career Services Part of the changing conversations [email protected] that EOU’s Career Services is leading (541) 962-3711

Week of Welcome 2015 in Review The results are in and Week of Welcome was a big success! We surveyed 109 of our new students and asked “Whether or not Week of Welcome was a positive experience ?” 96% said “Yes.” This year during Week of Welcome we added some new events to get our students outdoors and challenge them to work as a team. Two of these new outdoor events included the EOU Basecamp which was a day filled with different activities at the base of Mt. Emily, and a campus wide game of Capture the Flag in the dark. These new events encouraged students to step-out of their comfort zones and get a little dirty while participating in friendly competition. Of the 109 surveys received, the Capture the Flag Game and EOU Basecamp ranked in the top three favorite events of Week of Welcome. Students Reported: “I feel like friendly competition is

a really good way to get people involved and having fun. I am a theatre major and naturally not athletic, but I loved tug of war.”

As universities move away from a funding model based on enrollment numbers and toward one based on completion and retention, Week of Welcome helps to build a sense of community “These new events with our students; they are not encouraged students to only a student from Bend, a step-out of their comfort student from Paris , a transfer zones and get a little dirty from Treasure Valley Community while participating in College or volleyball player, a but a part of EOU’s Class of 2019 and friendly competition.” more importantly a Mountaineer. “My favorite memory of the Week “It was a very fun and tiring week!! of Welcome was the number of Thank you to all who helped put it new students who came to support the athletes that weekend. It was on!” inspiring and set a great tone for As we prepare for Winter Term, it the year” stated Justin Chin, Director of Career Services. will be time to start recruiting student to serve as Week of Welcome Leaders for next fall. If you have a student that really Kathryn Shorts enjoyed Week of Welcome, and is Learning Center Director of having a great experience getting Operations involved at EOU, encourage her [email protected] or him to look into becoming a (541) 962-3663 Week of Welcome Leader.

Notes From Residence Life: Conflict Resolution Winter is upon us, and in Residence Life we are gearing up for some winter fun. We are waterproofing our jackets, layering our clothes, and checking our winter gear. While it is fun to get outside, we also know that winter can mean more time inside. More quality time inside with room and suitemates…. which in some cases, may lead to conflict and of course, the inevitable call home. “Hi mom, I can’t stand my roommate anymore!”

1. Have you talked to them? Often time’s students respond to frustrating situations with avoiding or accommodating strategies. These responses can prevent students from setting healthy boundaries and sometimes simply voicing your perspective can make a huge difference.

2. How would you like it to be? It is very easy to focus on problems. The key is helping students visualize how they would like it to be and As a parent, this can be a hard call helping them brainstorm ways to to field well, but the good news is create that experience or outcome. we have a few tips for you. Here are We are all too aware that this list two questions that you can ask as a does not fully cover or address the parent that can lead your student in tough situations your students may the right direction: face, please know that our Residence Life team is happy to assist

Page 3

you and your student in any way possible, and do not hesitate to contact us. We look forward to building community with your family and we are pleased that your student has decided to learn and live with us! “Simply voicing your perspective can make a huge difference.”

Jeremy David Jones Resident Life Director [email protected] 541-962-3177

“They’re

A Final Message on The EOU Alert Notification System Dear Parents and Family Members of EOU Students: Each year EOU shares information with you regarding our emergency and crisis plans and the EOU Alert notification system. Following the recent tragedy at Umpqua Community College, it is more important than ever that we remind you of our campus safety resources and the plans we have in place in the event of an emergency. All of this and additional information is now more easily accessible online at a new website: eou.edu/ emergency. This site includes information on the EOU Alert emergency notification system, an emergency preparation FAQ, active shooter protocol, training videos, as well as links for reporting a crime, our inclement weather policy, sexual assault prevention and response program, and environmental disaster planning. Our emergency notification system is called EOU Alert. All on-campus students and all university employees will automatically email, text and voice messages we send through EOU Alert. How EOU Alert works: In the event of an emergency, your student will receive a combination of text messages, live phone messages and email messages

to the phone numbers and campus emergency notification email addresses we have on record. It is a good idea for your student to login to their Webster account and double check this information. Just follow the instructions on the Personal Information Screen. Your student will need to think about which phone numbers and email addresses they check the most frequently and add these. Partner programs and online students can opt-in to EOU Alert. If your student is taking classes primarily online and away from campus they can receive alerts too by completing this form. It's tough to think about emergencies on our campus, but thanks for your attention and for helping us communicate with you better. If you have questions about EOU Alert, how to opt-in, or about any of the other resources posted at eou.edu/emergency, just give us a call at (541) 962-3740. Tim Seydel Vice President for University Advancement [email protected] (541) 962-3740

exploring and searching their identities. It isn’t always pretty and as you’d like, but it’s fundamentally

important”— Tucker Brown Counselor

Next Issue:  EOU Health Center

 For other news and events check out www.eou.edu/news/

Mountaineer Family Network The Mountaineer Family Network is designated to help parents and other family members be informed about matters of importance to EOU students and their families. If you have any questions, please contract us at the Mountaineer Family Network: Phone Number: Email: Mailing Address:

541-962-3672 or 800-452-8639 [email protected] Eastern Oregon University One University Boulevard Inlow Hall 109 La Grande, OR 97850

Meet Our Academic Advisors

*Follow-Up on Tucker Brown: EOU says ‘until then’ to Tucker and his family as they begin a new adventure this Winter as Tucker goes forward into a new career…’until then’ friend and safe travels!