Not everyone can jet set around to the slopes or a tropical oasis on Spring Break week; someone has to hang back and prep for St. Patrick’s day parties, put more hours into that spring internship or just enjoy alone time in that suddenly very quiet off-campus apartment.
If you’re in this category and just noticed you have six days left to fill with some local fun, but don’t know where to go, check out these easily accessible expeditions around town.
Every Wednesday night, the Coit Observatory has open viewing hours at 7:30pm, assuming clear weather. Telescopes and binoculars are available to the public for stargazing and you can even learn a little astronomy while you are there. Bonus: you don’t even have to leave campus! The observatory is accessible through the Astronomy department (5th floor of CAS). Make sure to check out @BUObservatory for weather updates.
You may have heard of “Old Ironsides.” The USS Constitution was built in Boston in response to English trade restrictions on American merchants. The 44-gun ship defeated four British ships in the War of 1812 and is still a fully commissioned Navy ship. Tours run every half hour starting at 10 a.m. from Thursday through Sunday and are led by active-duty Navy sailors. After your history lesson at the Charlestown Navy Yard, head back across the river and grab some lunch at any of the delicious North End eateries and save room for dessert! Can you say “cannoli?”
More Boston history trivia: British troops withdrew from Boston on St. Patrick’s Day in 1776 after spotting 59 cannons atop Dorchester Heights and deciding to play it safe rather than risk another defeat by the Continental Army. American troops had secretly moved the cannons some 300 miles from Fort Ticonderoga in New York to scare off the British. It worked. The St. Patrick’s Day Parade commemorates Evacuation Day, the day the British retreated. You can be part of this classic Boston tradition on March 18th. Celebrate with locals and with the many tourists who visit Boston to see the parade.
If you haven’t walked the red line through town yet, this is the week to do it. The Freedom Trail is a 2.5 mile red brick (mostly) trail that leads to 16 historic sites including churches, meeting houses and burial grounds. The Granary Burying Ground (near the Park Street T stop), where Paul Revere rests, is one of the stops. The USS Constitution is on the trail, too.
If modernity is more your style and you’ve already seen the new wings of the MFA and the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museums, head to the waterfront and check out the ICA. The museum features contemporary art in all media including film and performance and is free on Thursdays from 5 p.m to 9 p.m. Go once. Go a few times. You’re bound to find something new during every visit.
If all else fails, you lost your T pass or you just want to stay close to home, check out campus events on BU Today. Any way you cut it, there’s just no way to be bored if you’re in Boston during Spring Break week.
Getting involved outside of the classroom = stress reduction, meeting new people, and a resume boost.
While your classes are important don’t miss out an opportunity to get more involved in the University while you are here. BU has a lot more to offer than just what you experience in the classroom. Involvement on campus will help you meet people outside of you major/college and provide a nice resume boost. So don’t spend all your free time holed up in your room instead check out some of the great experiences the University has to offer outside the classroom.
YouDo@BU
http://bu.collegiatelink.net/
Check out the Bulletin Board of Events happening on campus or sort through the exhaustive list of over 500 student clubs and organizations. Everything from club sports, to Greek life, to Residence Hall Associations, to service and professional associations are listed (and categorized so you can easily find what you are looking for!).
BUCENTRAL
http://bucentral.wordpress.com/calendar/
From comedy shows to a great concert series, BU Central hosts a variety of great programming that is worth getting out of your dorm room to go see!
Research your Professors http://www.bu.edu/reslife/about-us/faculty-in-residence/ http://www.bu.edu/urop/
Go to department websites, read your professors bios and learn about their research. Building rapport with a professor whose discipline and career you admire could potentially lead to research opportunities, graduate school or career advice or UROP project ideas. If the conversation continues after BU, you may have discovered a mentor in the process who could possibly write a recommendation down the road. Don’t forget to check out the Professors who lives on campus (Faculty in Residence). Not only are they great resources for students but they often hold fun events!
Student Employment http://www.bu.edu/seo/students/getting-a-job/
Another great way to get involved on campus is by working on campus. You’ll learn a whole other side to the University and get paid while you do it!
The ERC is hosting its final workshop of the semester tomorrow with a nutritionist from Sargent Choice Nutrition Center. Lisa Ferreira will talk about the importance of starting the day with foods that can help boost brain performance, such as whole grains and proteins. Learn about portion sizes and identify red flags on nutrition labels so you can make better choices the next time you reach for that snack at the market.
Brain Food will be held tomorrow, Wednesday, February 29 at 4 p.m. in CAS 213. ERC workshops are open to the BU community. We’ll see you there!
Last Wednesday the Center for Career Development hosted their Spring Career Expo with over 125 different employers! Career Fairs are great not only for students actively looking for post-college jobs but also for underclassman students to get a feel for how to market their studies in the future. Several of our Office Assistants took the time to attend (or volunteer at) the Expo here’s what they had to say about it!
I have always been hesitant about networking. I just never have been good at going up and introducing myself to people, so I was rather scared of the career fair. However, the atmosphere of the career fair made it really easy to just go up and talk to employers, and it was super helpful in attempting to find which career path I want to take. I got 2 interviews out of just talking to people!
Katie K.
Office Assistant
I really enjoyed working at the Career Expo yesterday. It was great to see so many people come out and take advantage of this great opportunity to network and gain experience interacting with recruiters. It’s so nice that the Center for Career Development puts these expos together for BU students and alumni– I don’t think many other schools have career expos with over 100 companies present… makes me really appreciate where I go to school!
Our new series continues this week. We have a lot of programs at the ERC and while our website does a good job of explaining them we thought you might be interested in hearing from some of the student leaders who make these programs possible. Here the peer tutors/leaders from the ERC describe their programs, who they are for, and what a typical meeting is like.
For week three we have one of our ESL Workshop Leaders, Samantha Jones. She’ll talk about some of the changes happening this semester as well as what has stayed the same. Just in time for the first Workshop of the semester which is happening today, February 3rd, at 4pm in GSU315. Register for sessions here.
Last semester’s ESL Workshop Series welcomed the addition of the workshops “Sources from the Library and On-Line” and “Intro to Academic Writing in English.” This semester we are pleased to announce the continuation of these workshops as well as the addition of a workshop called “Citation Styles” where we will focus on the many different ways that sources can be cited. If you’ve ever wondered what APA, CMS or MLA stand for, or what the difference is, or how to cite in engineering or biology, then this workshop is for you! We will of course be continuing our tried and true workshops including “Sentence Structure,” “Verb Tenses,” “Prepositions and Articles,” and many more.
The ESL Workshop Series will run on Fridays (beginning February 3rd) and Tuesdays (beginning February 14th) from 4pm to 5:30pm. For more information on locations, dates, and workshop descriptions, check out our ESL Workshop Series page!
Last week we started a new series on our blog. We have a lot of programs at the ERC and while our website does a good job of explaining them we thought you might be interested in hearing from some of the student leaders who make these programs possible. Here the peer tutors/leaders from the ERC describe their programs, who they are for, and what a typical meeting is like.
In our second installment we have one of our Orgo Prep Leaders, Andrew Lai. He’ll give you an idea about the way the program works and hopefully get you excited to sign up for Orgo Prep on January 30th.
The fall semester of Organic Chemistry is creeping up–it’s hard to believe. Even the thought of taking Orgo next year is stressful, isn’t it? Luckily, starting January 30, 2012, you can register for the Spring 2012 Orgo Prep program!
The plan is to start the curriculum with a brief introduction to nomenclature and stereochemistry. It’s a great way to ease into the more difficult concepts such as Infrared Spectroscopy (which we will cover!).
I think what is so effective about Orgo Prep is that it is a peer-to-peer learning environment. After having taken organic chemistry and having taught with Orgo Prep for two years, I can’t wait to pass on the little tricks I have for remembering things like E/Z and S/R Configurations.
Many of the concepts seem abstract or like they lack real-world applications. Let me shed a little light by example: when a manufacturer synthesizes the compound ibuprofen, two compounds are actually purified into the pill that we swallow to make the pain go away. The only distinction between the two compounds is the “S” or “R” configuration. So who cares? In fact, one happens to be the effective pain-killer, while the other can cause fetal mutations. By week 4 of the OrgoPrep program, we will have taught you how to distinguish the two. (By the way, manufacturers don’t bother separating the two–it’s why the bottle of pills costs $6 instead of $20.)
Anyway, that’s just a taste of the things we hope to share through the OrgoPrep program. As Orgo Prep Leaders, Greg and I have been working hard adapting our curriculum to fit the new changes made in the CH 203 fall course. We and the rest of the Orgo Prep Leaders are extremely excited for this upcoming semester! Hope to see you all then!
If you’re a multi-tasker by day and a maven of cramming at night, you’ll want to check out BU Today’s brief but telling video on the importance of sleep.
And did you know that college students are among the majority of Americans who complain of sleep deprivation? In fact, college students have “twice as many sleep issues as the general population” according to BU Today.
Read more about the hazards of not sleeping well and think twice before pulling an all-nighter this spring. Check out BU Today’s article here.
For tips on organizing your time so you don’t have to sacrifice sleep, come meet with an ERC staff member or check out our Time Management workshop, coming up on Thursday, February 2 at 7 p.m in CAS 114A. Register here or call 617-353-7077 to meet with a staff member.
We have a lot of programs at the ERC and while our website does a good job of explaining them we thought you might be interested in hearing from some of the student leaders who make these programs possible. We are starting a series where the peer tutors/leaders from the ERC describe their programs, who they are for, and what a typical meeting is like.
To start us off we have our Russian Language Link Leader, Julia Sinitsky. It just might inspire you to go register for one of our Language Link groups.
Language Link is a program that allows students to improve their speaking ability in a specific language while interacting with a native speaker and other students. The focus of the group is on speaking, pronouncing, listening and understanding each other. Language Link leaders also provide insight in to the culture of the country or countries where the language is spoken and explain cultural norms and proper etiquette. While attending Language Link students will not only be learning the language, but also be exposed to an array of foreign cuisines, movies, cartoons, works of poetry and literature, musical pieces, etc. The purpose of each session is to enrich the mind with linguistic and cultural knowledge. A typical session can be anything from a discussion on public education to a debate about mainstream television. The object of this is to get students to hear some new vocabulary, and go beyond typical, mundane topics. The goal of Language Link Leaders is to get students a bit out of their comfort zones, to get them to try something new, and most importantly to not be afraid to speak. Language Link is a multifaceted experience and is for everyone interested in learning a new language and a new culture.
Julia Sinitsky, CAS’14
Russian Language Link Leader
If you got away to warmer climates over winter break and were hoping for some snow, we’re glad Boston didn’t disappoint you (even if it was short lived).
Spring always gets off to a chilly start, but we at the ERC have planned a bunch of academic support programs including Academic Skills Workshops and Language Link conversation groups to keep you bustling throughout the semester.
Check out the spring schedule below and sign up for workshops or appointments that fit your needs this semester. The ERC offers Individual Advising, foreign language conversation groups (known as the Language Link), Peer Tutoring, ESL and Academic Skills Workshops. We’re here for students of all class years, from all schools and colleges and our services are included in your tuition, so take advantage of our programs! They’re for you.
Since we’ll be gearing up to move to 100 Bay State Road this summer, this will also be our last semester in the GSU.
Happy New Year, BU! We hope to see you soon.
For more information on any of our programs click here
Peer Tutoring
ESL Workshops
Registration opens January 26
Tutoring starts January 27
Registration is open now
First Workshop is “Intro to Academic Writing in English” and will be held on February 3
Writing Assistance
Academic Skills Workshops
Registration is open now
Sessions start January 23
Registration is open now
First Workshop is “Syllabus Management” and will be held on January 24
Language Link
Orgo Prep
Registration is open now
Groups will start the week of January 30
Leader applications are now being accepted
Registration information will be available the week of January 31
Individual Advising
Call our office (number at the link above) to make an appointment at any time
Coffee @ Finals is being offered again this semester! The ERC, in collaboration with CAS Student Government, is providing students with coffee and snacks, a quiet study location, as well as group study locations for students before finals begin.
Coffee @ Finals will take place from 4pm to Midnight on Tuesday, December 13 and Wednesday, December 14 in CAS 319. The best part is that tutors will be available for the first 2 hours each day to help answer any lingering questions you may have, or help clarify a tough course topic that’s still not quite crystal clear.
Tutors will be available in the following subjects, however please know that the schedule changes for each day so not all courses will be available each day:
AC 221/222
BI 106
BI 203
EC 101/102
EC 201
LF 111/112
LF 211/212
LS 111/112
LS 211/212
MA 113/115/116
MA 121/122
MA 123/124
MA 213/214
MA 225/226
PY 105/106
PY 211/212
SM 121
SM 221/222
So stop by to get some guided help, have some coffee, form a study group, or enjoy another quiet space to study on campus. We hope to see you there!
