Weekly Round-Up

Follow English and Creative Writing communities on social media!

HRI PRINDABLE INTERNSHIP DEADLINE TODAY!

HRI’s Communications and Outreach internship offers real world experience for undergraduate humanities majors.

Are you passionate about the humanities? Undergraduate majors in humanities disciplines are invited to apply for a paid internship in communications and undergraduate outreach at the Humanities Research Institute (HRI), the campus humanities hub. The successful candidate will assist HRI with its communications, including social media, event calendar maintenance, and research and writing projects, in addition to serving as an undergraduate ambassador and a strategist for HRI on undergraduate engagement. For application guidelines see hereApplication Deadline: September 15!

Author Talks and Book Signings at urbana free library

Saturday, September 23, 2023, 1:30 p.m. & 3:00 p.m.

Stop by the Urbana Free Library, where authors Allison Boot and Francesca T. Royster will be discussing their works and signing books. Boot is a writer who specializes in novels featuring characters who are disabled, and Royster is a scholar and author who will talk about her new memoir. Books will be available for purchase at the event.

For a full list of events (some of which feature members of our own Creative Writing Program!) check out the Pygmalion website.

All Pygmalion events at the Library are free and open to the public.

Las caREER SERVICES UPCOMING EVENTS

Are you ready for the ACES + LAS Career Fairs? In person at the Union on Sept 20 or virtual Sept 26. Swing by the Hub or our office to get yourself ready. Find 3-6 employers you want to chat with, print off your resumes, jot down 3-4 questions to ask recruiters, and go make some new connections.

Sept 21- Coffee with a DiplomatLearn about Overseas Careers with the U.S. Dept of State 10 am to noon in 105 Greg. Meet Susan Falatko, Diplomat in Residence for the Midwest. Learn about careers in the foreign service and how to get started. (And ask her questions about her own experience living and working abroad for the US Department of State. She will be at the ACES + LAS Career Fair on Aug 20 as well.

Sept 28, How to Have a Career in Business with your LAS Degree from 2:00-3:30. Join us in 105 Greg Hall for Q&A with alumnus David Rothmund (Communications ’14) about his path from a LAS Degree to his current role in Global Corporate Strategy & Operations at Gartner (and is you don’t know what that means, never fear–that’s one of our questions). Note: time change from original posting.

Lisnek Hub

The Hub  is open again! Stop by Tuesday- Thursdays from 10 am to 3 pm. Under the Lincoln Hall theater is the Lisnek Hub where you can chat with peer mentors.

employment opportunity

Are you interested in topics related to diversity, inclusion, and social justice? Do you have experience leading difficult conversations? Do you want to become a diversity leader on campus? I-Connect peer educators are university students who lead I-Connect Interactive Workshops in the Spring. This is a paid student position with Diversity & Social Justice Education for Spring 2024. Workshops occur in the evenings from 6:00 – 9:00 PM throughout the Spring 2024 semester. Workshops are held on Zoom. This is a remote work opportunity. Apply at https://go.illinois.edu/iconnectjob (application window opened September 4 and will stay open until all positions are filled).

now accepting scholarship applications!

The Illinois Club provides scholarships to outstanding students in the areas of global studies, humanities and social sciences, science and engineering, education, and art. You must be an undergraduate at UIUC who will have earned 60 credit hours by the Spring 2024 semester and be planning to graduate no earlier than December 2024. A minimum GPA of 3.0 is also expected. The application portal is now open and will be live until 5pm CST on October 14th, 2023. More information is available at Illinois Club Scholarships.

find a workshop for you!

If you’re struggling in one or more of your STEM courses, perhaps there’s a workshop that could help. Check out the LAS Success Workshop Schedule, and be sure to click on “see more” at the bottom for the full list of options.

Tuesday@7 Workshops

Each week, undergraduate Counseling Center paraprofessionals offer interactive workshops on various topics. Please visit our website for login information and upcoming topics.

Here are our workshops for September:
September 19 |Building Campus Friendships Where You Alma Mater (Lincoln 1022)
September 26 | Intuitive Eating: You Can Have Your Cake and Eat It Too (ISR 94AB)

writers workshop

Writers Workshop drop-ins are available beginning 4-9 p.m. Sunday-Thursday, 100b Main Library. These sessions are best for brainstorming, specific questions, or shorter documents (1-3 page papers, application materials, etc.). These sessions are first-come, first-serve.

Don’t forget these!

UNDERGRADUATE RESEARCH OPPORTUNITIES

Want to keep up with research-related opportunities and events hosted by the Office of Undergraduate Research (OUA)? Subscribe to OUA’s monthly newsletter and you won’t miss a thing!

You might also want to learn more about the Humanities Research Institute (HRI), particularly opportunities for undergraduates (did you know that they hire student interns and that some of them are English or creative writing majors?) in which case you should check out the Undergraduate section on the HRI website.

2ND ANNUAL MENTAL HEALTH FAIR
TUTORING SERVICES

Take advantage of tutoring services on campus
Many departments within the College of LAS offer tutoring. Find the right fit for you.

ACCESSIBLE COUNSELING RESOURCES

It can be hard to take the first step when you’re in need of counseling, so for ease of access the College of LAS has its own embedded counselor, Andy Novinska and you can contact him directly to schedule an appointment at anovinsk@illinois.edu.

Students can also access Counseling Center services by calling 217-333-3704 between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m., Monday – Friday to set up an appointment via the same-day scheduling system. There is also an online scheduling system (please note that appointments are limited via this option so if you try to schedule online and cannot find anything that works please call the office or email Andy).

Workshops for Test Anxiety, ADHD Symptoms, Perfectionism, Body Image, etc. can be found here.

PSA–HEARD ABOUT 211?
CREATIVE WRITING CLUB
DATES & DEADLINES

Deadline to drop, CR/NCR, or elect grade replacement in a POT A (first-8-week) course 
Friday, Sept. 15

ICT/Curriculum changes for Spring 2024
Oct. 2-27

Deadline to drop, CR/NCR, or elect grade replacement in a FULL-SEMESTER course
October 13

Course Dropping Q&A: To Drop or Not To Drop

As a student myself, I know the sudden panic that creeps in a few weeks into the semester, when all of sudden, you do not want to be in one of the courses you are enrolled in. This can be for a number of reasons, and whether or not you should drop the course becomes a question you ask yourself. 

For example, let’s say you are taking a Statistics course, and it seems like the class is going well for you…that is until the first exam rolls around. After you take the exam, you may not be as confident in your ability to succeed in the course, and start to question whether it is the right fit for you. I faced a similar dilemma and began to consider the possibility of dropping the course. 

Before you make any serious decisions, however, I am here to remind you that you should go over your options and truly think about what it would mean for you to drop the course. So I sat down with our English advisors to get some more information about dropping courses, and whether you should make that decision. 

Question: What should I consider when I start thinking about dropping a course?

Answer: Before immediately drop the course, it would be wise to talk to your professor about your grade or feelings regarding the course. It is possible that you got a better grade on that exam than you thought you did. If you are debating on whether to drop a course because of an issue other than your grade, and there may be other factors hindering your performance in the class, meeting with your professor or advisor would be the best first step. Meet with your advisor to see if the decision to drop the course makes sense for you. It is also important to note that dropping the class is not the end of the world, so if dropping the course is better for you and your situation, then go ahead and drop it, just be aware of drop deadlines so that it does not have a negative impact on your transcript. 

Question: How would dropping a course affect my standing as an undergraduate? (Can I still salvage my grade?)

Answer: It should not have a huge impact on your standing, but you should not immediately resort to dropping the class just because your grade might be lower than you want. Getting a B in just one course will not drastically affect your overall GPA, but if you are still concerned about your success in the class, consider other factors. Ask yourself questions such as: “Can I realistically improve my grade this late into the semester? Will “working harder” actually boost my performance in this course?” It may be an issue with the course’s classroom environment or your attitude towards certain course methods like exams or papers that are affecting your performance. Therefore, it is important to keep a realistic mindset when considering whether or not to drop the course. 

Question:  What if the course I want to drop is a required course within my degree?

Answer: First, check to see if this specific course is a requirement, or whether or not you can take a different course within the same category that is able to satisfy the same requirement. Make sure you have the time and room within your future semester schedules to be able to take the course again, but if as an upperclassman, you may not have another opportunity. However, in a pass-fail situation, failing the class may not be your best option either. If you are not going to fail, just push through it. Remember, you can’t always get an A. 

Question: If I do drop the class, what happens if I am under 12 credit hours (not full-time)?

Answer: It would be in your best interest to consider enrolling in an 8-week course that takes place in the second half of the semester— if you absolutely could not continue in the other course. This would allow you to stay on track for the number of credits required to graduate. Underloading is not ideal, but sometimes taking an 8-week is not the best thing to do either. They may be harder if the workload is heavy, so consider this before dropping your previous course. 

Question: How would dropping a course affect my financial aid benefits? 

Answer: This would depend on your individual financial aid benefits (grants, scholarships, etc), so keeping in contact with your advisors and the Financial Aid Office is recommended. 

As a final note, the process of deciding whether or not to drop a course is a diagnostic process. It is essential to think about the effects the decision can have, and to consider whether the issue may be a symptom of another factor. The best course of action is to check in with your advisor about the problem. Your reason for dropping the course may be as simple as not liking it, but if it stops you from graduating at your preferred time, then powering through may be the best choice.