ELITE News and Events

Don’t Stress About Being Stressed!

This may seem ridiculous at first, but it is listed first for a reason:  when you’re feeling stressed, you feel like you’re on edge and everything is barely being held together.  Don’t beat yourself up too badly about it!  It’s all normal, and the best way to handle stress is to not get more stressed about being stressed.  If you’re stressed out, admit it and figure out how to handle it.  Focusing on it will only make things seem worse.

Get Some Sleep

Getting more sleep can help your mind refocus, recharge, and rebalance.  This can mean a quick nap, a night when you go to bed early, or sticking with a regular sleep schedule.  Sometimes, one good night’s sleep can be all you need to hit the ground running amidst a stressful time.

Get Some Food

Similar to your sleep habits, your eating habits may have gone by the wayside.  Think about what, and when, you’ve eaten lately.  You may think your stress is psychological, but you could also be feeling physical stress if you’re not fueling your body appropriately.

 Get Some Exercise

You may think that if you don’t have the time to sleep and eat properly, you definitely don’t have the time to exercise.  Fair enough, but if you’re feeling stressed, it may be that you need to squeeze it in somehow.  Exercise doesn’t necessarily have to involve a 2-hour, exhausting workout at the University’s Dugan Wellness Center.  It can mean a relaxing, 30-minute walk while listening to your favorite music.

 Get Some Quiet Time

Take one moment and think:  when was the last time you had some quality, quiet time alone?  Find a few moments of peace and quiet – with no cell phone.  It might be just what you need.  Stepping out from a crazy environment for a few minutes can do wonders for reducing your stress.

Get Some Social Time

You could be stressed because you’re being too focused on getting things done.  Don’t forget that your brain is like a muscle, and even it needs a break every once in a while!  Take a break.  Having a social life is important.  Keep it in the picture when you’re stressed.  It could be when you need it most!

Get Some Distance

You may be handling your own problems and trying to help others around you.  Check in and be honest with yourself about how your helpful demeanor may be causing more stress in your life.  It’s okay to take a step back and focus on yourself for a little while, especially if you are stressed and your academics are at risk.  After all, how can you keep helping others if you’re not even in a state to help yourself?  Figure out which things are causing you the most stress and how you can take a step back.  And most importantly, take that step back!

Get a Little Help

It can be hard to ask for help, and unless your friends are psychic, they may not know how stressed out you are.  Most college students are going through the same things at the same time, so don’t feel silly if you need to just vent for 30 minutes with a friend.  It may help you process out what you need to do, and help you realize that the things you are so stressed about are actually pretty manageable.  If you’re afraid of dumping too much on a friend, the University Counseling Center is there to help.  Their phone number is 825-2703.  Don’t be afraid to make an appointment!

 Get Some Perspective

If you haven’t already, you will have a large project/paper/assignment during your academic career.  Don’t let it overpower you and stress you out.  Break it down in to smaller more manageable pieces, scheduling time to focus on one piece at a time.  The project won’t look so overwhelming and it will give you a sense of accomplishment as you complete each piece.

College life in and of itself can be overwhelming, even without adding any outside commitments such as work, family, and relationships.  It can sometimes feel like there aren’t enough hours in the day, and sometimes there aren’t.  There’s only so much any person can handle.  So, schedule your time wisely and always remember the reason why you’re in school.  Make sure to keep your eye on the prize!

Wanna take a mini vacation without leaving your seat?  Mind Trips

The ELITE Graduate Program at Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi, funded by the U.S. Department of Education’s Title V Promoting Postbaccalaureate Opportunities for Hispanic Americans (PPOHA), understands the importance of providing opportunities for graduate students to learn to be responsible citizens, take ownership of their communities, and actively participate in democracy.

Since 2009, the ELITE Graduate Program has created interesting new opportunities for graduate students that are already advancing a number of steps outlined in the U.S. Department of Education’s Advancing Civic Learning and Engagement in Democracy call to action released in January 2012.

The U.S. Department of Education has identified nine steps it will take to advance civic learning and democratic engagement. In abbreviated form, the steps are:

1. Convene and catalyze schools and postsecondary institutions to increase and enhance high-quality civic learning and engagement.
2. Identify additional civic indicators.
3. Identify promising practices in civic learning and democratic engagement—and encourage further research to learn what works.
4. Leverage federal investments and public-private partnerships.
5. Encourage community-based work-study placements.
6. Encourage public service careers among college students and graduates.
7. Support civic learning for a well-rounded K–12 curriculum.
8. Engage Historically Black Colleges and Universities and other Minority-Serving Institutions—including Hispanic Serving Institutions, Asian American and Native American Pacific Islander–Serving Institutions, and Tribal Colleges and Universities—in a national dialogue to identify best practices.
9. Highlight and promote student and family participation in education programs and policies at the federal and local levels.

These nine steps form the Road Map for how the U.S. Department of Education will seek to expand and elevate civic learning and engagement in the nation’s 21st-century democracy.

The ELITE Graduate Program’s Commitment to Civic Engagement
Following a five-year grant award of $2.8 million in Title V-PPOHA funding from the U.S. Department of Education in 2009, Texas A&M University–Corpus Christi established a graduate student retention initiative named the ELITE Graduate Program. ELITE stands for “Excellence in Learning: Improving Through Education” – representing a multi-faceted endeavor to retain students through services customized for graduate students, developing faculty and enhancing classroom instruction, engaging graduate students in grant-funded research, and expanding the available technology resources. ELITE’s mission is to improve student support, retention, and success. ELITE improves student retention and success through the management of one-on-one coaching designed with a full integration of the students’ well-being leading to success in mentoring and retention of a diverse highly qualified Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi student body.

The ELITE Graduate Program advocates community-based research fellowships as a great way to engage students in research where their work can have a substantial if not immediate local impact.

Aligned with Steps 4 and 5, ELITE’s Research Fellowship program has built a strong alliance among the university, city, and private sector. The program has established a wide and growing variety of paid fellowships in which graduate students undertake challenging research projects and gain valuable interdisciplinary experience working with partnering mentors from non-profit organizations, local businesses, the city government, and the local community of Corpus Christi, Texas. ELITE Research Fellows learn how to apply their research and their graduate coursework to solve real-world problems and serve their community by engaging in projects that have a measurable impact, for example an ELITE Cohort Member George Mayfield (MBA) undertook a fellowship with the City of Corpus Christi in which he conducted e-procurement analysis of the cost structure and work flow of the city’s purchasing and procurement operations to establish a direction for implementing a new electronic solution with superior efficiency that is now helping the city to save money.

Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi is a Hispanic Serving Institution (HSI) which graduated approximately 530 Master’s and 30 doctoral students in 2011-2012.  As we approach the end of the third year of the program, ELITE has shown outstanding success by attracting a third of the graduate student population of over 1,800 students with over 20% active ELITE cohort members.  As the chart below describes, ELITE’s post-baccalaureate cohort has achieved a retention rate of 84% compared to the university’s overall retention rate of 63% as of the fall 2012 semester.

The top disciplines represented among ELITE’s cohort are counseling, nursing, curriculum and instruction, psychology, and environmental science.

ELITE became a recognized counseling practicum site in 2012 and has expanded its personal and educational consultation and support services.

ELITE has worked towards forming strong STEM partnerships, especially within the Department of Computing Sciences at Texas A&M-Corpus Christi’s College of Science & Engineering. Through recognition of being a counseling practicum site, ELITE is currently working closely with the College of Education Counseling department faculty to help guide their doctoral students as they use the ELITE model to manage computer science student success in an effort to provide academic data regarding computer science students’ progress.

ELITE also collaborates with the Department of Computing Sciences to host the Annual Graduate Scholarly Works Symposium where graduate students take advantage of an opportunity to showcase their research via oral and poster presentations. These efforts link computer science graduate students with ELITE’s opportunities to get them engaged within the surrounding community.

Further support for these kinds of initiatives is a clear path for the U.S. Department of Education to excel in Step 8.

For more information about the ELITE Graduate Program, go to: http://elite.tamucc.edu

The fall semester is now in full swing, and our ELITE graduate students are riding the wave of excitement and energy in this new semester, along with Team ELITE. The atmosphere of a new start repeats itself each fall and invigorates us all.

This semester marks a new beginning in terms of Team ELITE’s organization. With a new semester we also have new leadership.

Dr. Laura Rosales, the founding Director of the ELITE Graduate Program since 2010, has pursued other opportunities as the new Associate Director of Research Operations at University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston. Team ELITE would like to take this time to thank Dr. Rosales for her service as she helped to build Team ELITE and to establish its current high visibility in the university and nationally as a leader in graduate student success.

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The Cronicle of Higher Education recently published an article about the stresses we face in graduate school and the impact that prolonged stress may have on our mental health and physical well-being. 

Click HERE to read the article.

Hi there ELITE Cohort Members,

As graduate students, we share major concerns about balancing school, work, family, and home responsibilities. It can be difficult to find time for ourselves in the midst of all the other commitments we have both inside and outside of school. The ELITE Graduate Program is devoted to providing a sense of support and community to your graduate experience at Texas A&M University ­ Corpus Christi. We hope to foster an environment that is conducive to both your academic and personal success.

As a member of our cohort, ELITE is invested in making your experience in graduate school the best it can possibly be. Please don’t hesitate to send us an e-mail or drop by the ELITE Suite if there’s anything going on that we could assist you with!

We wish you the best of luck as you begin the fall semester,

The ELITE Team

ELITE Graduate Program with the College of Education hosted 60 Good Samaritan Summer Enrichment  school children, grades 1st through 5th, as they enjoyed the “islander college experience” for a day

Led and coordinated by Dr. Laura Rosales, Director of the ELITE Graduate Program, and Dr. Faye Bruun, Assistant Professor in the College of Education, The future islanders program provided Good Samaritan children from Oak Park Elementary School with an enjoyable “college experience” for the day. The children learned about activities the university offers as well as an introduction to STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) fields.

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The ELITE Graduate Program is pleased to welcome Ms. Meredith Coplen as its new Business Support Specialist.

Meredith has served Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi since 2010. She joined the university as an Administrative Assistant and Space Planner for the Assistant Directors of the Facilities Services, and in 2011 she became an Administrative Assistant to the Director of the University Center and Student Activities.

She draws on her versatile background which has given her 15 years of progressive experience in coordinating and administrative services, particularly in the interest of providing outstanding customer service. She also carries 10 years of budget management experience at a number of private enterprises. In the 1990’s, she was a Sales Manager for Netsales until 2000, when she worked as a Regional Account Manager at Pryor Resources. After owning her own business, The Speaker’s Resource, she became the Internet Manager for Bob Sight, managing a small budget and providing internet services for the dealership.  Meredith served as the Director of New Media for KRIS Communications from 2007 to 2009 where she prepared and managed a large budget and managed the content and advertising for kristv.com. In 2009, she  freelanced, providing administrative support to various businesses. She has learned a great deal throughout these adventures and we are excited to add her experience to our team.

Previous to gaining her extensive experience, Meredith was awarded an academic scholarship to Allen County Community College in Iola, KS, and she later attended Kansas State University in Manhattan, KS. She will be enrolling in TAMUCC in the fall to finish her degree.

Meredith will be conducting ELITE’s accounting, budgetary, and procurement functions, as well as administering payroll and managing grant funds disbursements for our travel, fellowship, and other graduate student programs.

Team ELITE is excited to have Meredith onboard for the road ahead! WELCOME!!!

Ms. Meredith Coplen
Business Specialist II
Phone: 361-825-3441
Email: meredith.coplen@tamucc.edu

Do you find yourself struggling with a particular aspect of your graduate education?  That’s okay – it happens to everyone, and there is a simple way to fix the problem. Your graduate education is too valuable for you to sit in classes feeling confused when assistance is out there.

If you are considering getting tutored, you should first ask your professor to identify the areas where you should focus your efforts. That way, you can approach our tutors knowing the specifics about what you need help with.

Our tutors can help you with:

• Quantitative Statistics
• Qualitative Statistics
• Reading and writing skills
• Time management skills
• Note-taking
• Test-taking and review
• Problem solving
• Stress management

ELITE Tutoring is for all Texas A&M-Corpus Christi graduate students.

Click here for more information…>>

Are you looking to develop speaking and leadership skills? Win that job interview? Ignite your career?

Did know that ELITE Toastmasters invites students from any higher education institution to attend for free. We also provide eligibility for membership.

Toastmasters International is the world leader in communication and leadership development. A Toastmasters meeting is a learn-by-doing workshop in which participants hone their speaking and leadership skills in a no-pressure atmosphere. Our ELITE Toastmasters club meetings typically have 10 – 20 members in attendance who meet biweekly and a typical meeting lasts 45 – 60 minutes.

Who can Join?
Everyone is welcome to attend our Toastmasters meetings.  To be a member of ELITE Toastmasters, you must be one of the following:

• Student at any higher education institution (Example: Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, Del Mar College, Texas A&M-Kingsville, University of Phoenix, etc…)
• Faculty, Staff or Alumni at A&M-CC
• Sponsored Community Member (Family or Friend of an eligible member)

Joining is really easy!

STEP 1: Visit our toastmasters club meetings. You can find out when and where our next meeting is by visiting our website: elitetoastmasters.org.  All guest visits are free and you may return as often as you like. You can also call or email us to confirm the meeting time and location.

When & Where?

Texas A&M University Corpus Christi, University Center – Island Room 316
Address: 6300 Ocean Dr, Corpus Christi, TX, 78412
Meeting Time: 12:00pm – 1:00pm
Meeting Frequency: Every 2nd & 4th Friday of the month

Need more information?
Website: http://www.elitetoastmasters.org
Phone: 361-825-3163 or 361-239-8760
Email: elitetoastmasters@tamucc.edu

View the latest issue of the Islander e-Learning Newsletter

In this issue…

• Adding your syllabus in Bb 9.1
• Professional Development Opportunities
• Bb 9.1 Training
• Webinar Archives
• New Office of Distance Ed
• Faculty Resources

Over 25 students from Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi participated in the 9th Annual Texas A&M University System Pathways Student Research Symposium. The research symposium was hosted by Texas A&M in College Station on Friday, November 11, 2011.

Read the rest of this entry »

By Kelly Eggers

If you’re in your final year of college, be warned: the rumors about landing a job in this economy are true. You should be taking steps today, not next semester, to prepare yourself.

An April 2011 survey conducted by Braun Research on behalf of Adecco Staffing U.S. found that 71% of 500 recent four-year college graduates would have done something differently to prepare for the job market. While companies will hire 9.5% more graduates from the class of 2012 than they did from the 2011 graduating class, according to another poll, employers are still looking for the pick of the litter.

“When you’re not familiar with the job market or job seeking, you really don’t know how much effort it will take,” said Kathy Kane, senior vice president of talent management for Adecco NA,

To find out what students can do to better prepare for the current job market, we spoke with career coaches, recruiters and recent graduates.

“I would have started looking for jobs earlier.”

Putting off your job hunt isn’t a wise move. Among the Adecco survey’s respondents, 26% said they would have started looking for potential positions earlier.

“It’s easy to fall into ‘my weekend starts on Thursday’ mode, rather than ‘I’ve got to put my job search into full gear today’ mode,” said Kane, “but procrastinators will have fewer choices.”

Most students don’t start thinking about their careers until they have to, said Lindsey Pollak, a career expert who focuses on Generation Y in the workplace. “There’s so much you can do that’s not a lot of work and not overly time consuming.” Read more…

Click here to view the latest issue of the Islander e-Learning Newsletter.

In this issue…

• Resources for Teaching
• Online MBA
• IOL Access
• Blackboard 9.1 Pilot for Fall
• Training Opportunities
• Nancy Sulli-van’s Distance Ed Story
• Copyright Workshop
• Professional Development
• Research Report
• Centra at TAMU-CC

The latest issue of “The Happenings of Toastmasters” is now available, and has the latest updates on ELITE Toastmasters at Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi.

In this issue…

• ELITE Graduate’s Online Wall of Recognition
• Yalanda’s Proud Moment
• Toastmaster’s Leadership Institute
• … and more

CLICK HERE to view this latest issue!

Looking for summer work or a longer term position with a Federal Agency? Read below to find out how to use USAJobs.gov to find the job you’re looking for!

Every year, federal agencies turn to students to fill temporary positions that range from administrative assistants and technicians to other support staff in the fields of engineering, national security, environment, health and technology.

You can see the extensive array of jobs available by going to the student section of USAJobs.gov, an online portal that centralizes job postings across the federal government.

“There are opportunities virtually in every area you can imagine,” said Angela Bailey, deputy associate director for recruitment and hiring at the Office of Personnel Management, the agency that runs USAJobs.gov.

Wages for these positions vary from $9 to $15 an hour, and applicants must be at least 16 years of age. Although you need to be a U.S. citizen to get most of these jobs, there are some positions for non citizens (it depends on the position and the agency).

How to Apply for a Job

Federal summer job searches generally begin by going to USAJobs.gov/studentjobs/ where you can search postings by keywords, geographical areas and type of student positions. If you find a job that you like, you can apply for it right there on the site.

Federal agencies are not required to post all of their jobs on USAJobs.gov, and in fact many positions are not announced there. That’s why Bailey suggests that you use the portal as a guide for the type of government work that interests you and then reach out to agencies.

“I recommend that students visit the agencies’ websites or call them by phone to see if there are any jobs available,” she said.

To increase the chances of landing a summer job with the federal government, Bailey offers the following advice:

• Start searching for a summer job in March or April. By June, agencies have already identified which students they are going to hire.
• Apply for jobs related to your area of study. For example, if you’re a psychology major, then look for jobs in industrial organization; if you study computers, look for opportunities in the area of cyber security.
• Speak with school counselors since your school may have a direct relationship with federal agencies, and they can help you land a job.
• Speak with someone you know who works for the agency where you’d like to work. This person might help you understand the process better and offer you more specific advice.

Long-Term Opportunities

Besides summer jobs, the government has other programs for students and recent graduates including internships, apprenticeships, fellowships and grants to help students get more education or experience in a specialized field.

Bailey says students should look at these summer jobs as more than temporary employment, as they can be the beginning of a career with the federal government. These temporary jobs allow students to see if public service is something they want to do in the long term.

So far, it’s worked pretty well for both agencies and students.

“We get to try them out, and they get to try us out,” she said. “It’s a win-win for everybody.”

USA.gov and GobiernoUSA.gov are the U.S. Government’s official Web portals in English and Spanish, and part of the U.S. General Services Administration (GSA).

ELITE Toastmasters at Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi announces the publication of its May issue newsletter: The Happenings of Toastmasters

Inside this issue:

• Members in Action at Elite’s Scholarly Symposium
• Willma Continues to Exceed, an article about Willma Harvey
• Summer in San Antonio, an article about Gabe Fernandez
• And more…

Click to view the ELITE Toastmasters at Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi May Newsletter

Worldwide

May 01, 2011

The U.S. Department of State alerts U.S. citizens traveling and residing abroad to the enhanced potential for anti-American violence given recent counter-terrorism activity in Pakistan. Given the uncertainty and volatility of the current situation, U.S. citizens in areas where recent events could cause anti-American violence are strongly urged to limit their travel outside of their homes and hotels and avoid mass gatherings and demonstrations. U.S. citizens should stay current with media coverage of local events and be aware of their surroundings at all times. This Travel Alert expires August 1, 2011.

U.S. Embassy operations in affected areas will continue to the extent possible under the constraints of any evolving security situation. U.S. government facilities worldwide remain at a heightened state of alert. These facilities may temporarily close or periodically suspend public services to assess their security posture. In those instances, U.S. Embassies and Consulates will make every effort to provide emergency services to U.S. citizens. U.S. citizens abroad are urged to monitor the local news and maintain contact with the nearest U.S. Embassy or Consulate.

Media coverage of local events may cause family and friends to become concerned for their loved ones traveling and residing abroad. We urge U.S. citizens to keep in regular contact with family and friends. U.S. citizens living or traveling abroad are encouraged to enroll in the Department of State’s Smart Traveler Enrollment Program (STEP), to receive the latest travel updates and information and to obtain updated information on travel and security issues. U.S. citizens without Internet access may register directly with the appropriate U.S. Embassy or Consulate. By enrolling, U.S. citizens make it easier for the U.S. Embassy or Consulate to contact them in case of emergency.

Travel information is also available at travel.state.gov. Up-to-date information on security can also be obtained by calling 1-888-407-4747 toll-free in the United States and Canada or, for callers outside the United States and Canada, a regular toll line at 1-202-501-4444.

For information on “What the Department of State Can and Can’t Do in a Crisis,” please visit the Bureau of Consular Affairs’ website at travel.state.gov. For further information on specific countries, U.S. citizens should consult the Country Specific Information pages, Travel Alerts, and Travel Warnings, as well as the Worldwide Caution. Follow us on Twitter and the Bureau of Consular Affairs’ page on Facebook as well.

Source: http://travel.state.gov/travel/cis_pa_tw/pa/pa_5447.html

CLICK HERE to view the April edition of the Islander e-Learning Newsletter from the Office of Distance Education.

In this issue…

• Your CFE
• Groups Working for Distance Ed
• Training Opportunities
• Goals of Grow-ing Distance Ed
• Communities of Practice
• Research Report
• Eve Layman’s Distance Ed Success Story

The ELITE Graduate Program is proud to announce the latest addition to Team ELITE:  Ms. Elizabeth “Lizzy” Benson-Landau.

Lizzy is ELITE’s Program Coordinator, arriving in times of exciting growth within the ELITE Graduate Program. Lizzy is well-familiar with the Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi campus as an alumnus and an employee.

Lizzy has served the university in various capacities for over 6 years. In 2005 Lizzy was an Admissions and Records Specialist for the Admissions and Records department, and was instrumental in the deployment of the university student records system as a TAMU-CC Banner Trainer for faculty and staff.  Lizzy served the College of Education as a Program Assistant from 2007 to 2009 before becoming an Academic Advisor for the College of Liberal Arts.  Lizzy is a member of the Faculty Senate and has served as the President of Staff Council since August, 2010.

Beyond her service to the university, Lizzy earned her B.A. in Sociology and served as the Student Commencement Speaker in May 2008. She is currently a graduate student pursuing a Masters of Science in Educational Administration. Lizzy has been a member of the Alumni Anchor Club since 2008, and was the President of Phi Theta Kappa. Furthermore, Lizzy has served both as the Vice President of Alpha Kappa Delta and a Committee Head for the Honors Program.

Lizzy brings with her an array of experiences to the ELITE Graduate Program, bringing more energy to our graduate student services. As a current graduate student, seasoned employee, and representative to the Faculty Senate and Staff Council, she makes for a strong ambassador of graduate students’ needs. Through the ELITE Graduate Program, Lizzy will revolutionize the design, planning, and promotion of our graduate retention programs and activities.

ELITE is honored to welcome Lizzy aboard our ship as we set sail for graduate student success!