While historically, April Fool's Day celebrates fools and silliness, we decided to turn that on it's head and celebrate academic achievement instead.
Faculty, families, and friends turned out on a beautiful, sunny afternoon to celebrate this year's inductees to the Psi Chi honor society. Psi Chi is an international honor society celebrating student work and achievement in psychology. The purpose of the organization is to stimulate and maintain excellence in the pursuit of the science of Psychology.
To be selected, students must be majoring in Psychology or Human Services and be among the top 35% of academic achievement at their institution. At Lasell, that means that students have to maintain a minimum GPA of 3.5 in both their major courses as well as across the college.
This year, we were proud to welcome the following students into Psi Chi:
Erica Burke
Ashley Clary
Emily Cooper
Brittany Gallant
Kaileigh Mulligan
Petar Petrov
Hayden Weltin
Sabrina Saint-Juste
Congratulations!
Monday, April 2, 2012
Award Winning Faculty Member
Professor Nancy Levine, a favorite professor who teaches a variety of courses including the Foundation Internship Seminar, Abnormal Psychology and Introduction to Psychology, was recently honored by her alma mater, Simmons College.
Prof. Levine received the 2012 Anne P. Ogilby award for her contributions to the field of Social Work. The Anne P. Ogilby Award for creative social work practice is given in memory of Anne Ogilby, a pioneer at Massachusetts Mental Health Center and past head social worker of North Suffolk Mental Health Center. The award is given to a graduate of the Simmons College Master’s in Social Work program for Outstanding Career Achievements.
Prof. Levine was selected because of her skill and commitment to faculty advising and supervising undergraduates in their growth as professionals in Psychology and Human Services as well as her clinical skills and her contributions to the larger community both as an educator and as a practicing social worker.
Congratulations, Professor Levine!
Prof. Levine received the 2012 Anne P. Ogilby award for her contributions to the field of Social Work. The Anne P. Ogilby Award for creative social work practice is given in memory of Anne Ogilby, a pioneer at Massachusetts Mental Health Center and past head social worker of North Suffolk Mental Health Center. The award is given to a graduate of the Simmons College Master’s in Social Work program for Outstanding Career Achievements.
Prof. Levine was selected because of her skill and commitment to faculty advising and supervising undergraduates in their growth as professionals in Psychology and Human Services as well as her clinical skills and her contributions to the larger community both as an educator and as a practicing social worker.
Congratulations, Professor Levine!
Friday, March 16, 2012
What makes a student remarkable?
A recent article from Inc. lists the 8 characteristics of “Remarkable Employees”. Reading this on my return from spring break led me to ponder the qualities that make my students “remarkable”. Is it the same characteristics? I generated my own list and realized that while some items were duplicated on the two lists, others were different enough that this list might be useful as well.
So here it is . . . Qualities of a Remarkable Student:
1. They participate in class. Everyone knows they should but it’s hard to force your hand in the air and voice an opinion when you don’t know what others think. But remarkable students are willing to take risks and share their ideas. They know they don’t have to be right and they know class is much more interesting when everyone communicates and builds knowledge together.
2. They know when to listen. A good learning experience is one where everyone is actively participating in class but no one benefits when everyone talks just to hear themselves. Remarkable students listen as well as speak. Listening builds a sense of community with your classmates and opens the door for learning.
3. They’re involved. These are students who are fully involved and engaged in their classes but are also involved outside of their classes. They are in clubs and organizations related to their interests – both academically and just-for-fun. Want to be remarkable? Join Psychology Club or Active Minds but you don’t have to limit yourself to Social Science related activities: write an article for the school newspaper, dance in Divine Step, get involved in student government, join the ski club. Bottom line, if you have an interest, pursue it!
4. Their learning is connected to their goals. It’s Lasell, of course connected learning is part of being a remarkable student! Exceptional students recognize the value of making connections between their learning, their career goals and their day-to-day lives. How have students engaged in connected learning? Through community involvement, internships, research projects and developing skills related to being a professional through their coursework and assignments.
5. They praise. Yes, this is the same as in the remarkable employees article. Everyone loves praise so if you thought a peer had a good idea, tell him/her. Liked class today? Let your prof. know.
6. They provide constructive criticism. We are all involved in higher education because we enjoy learning and recognize that we can all learn more. Remarkable students are able to identify areas for improvement and share their ideas. I once had a student complain that it was hard to keep different statistical tests straight in her head and it would be so helpful to have a one-page summary of when to use each test. So we worked together to create one and I now hand that out whenever I teach stats.
7. They question. It’s not possible to know everything so remarkable students are curious. They want to expand their learning and are willing to think critically and question themselves and others.
8. They are motivated. You can’t accomplish anything without a drive to succeed. Remarkable students get the most out of their education by pushing themselves beyond perceived limits. If the syllabus states to read only a few pages of chapter 5, remarkable students will read the whole chapter. If a paper assignment asks for 3 sources of information, they’ll use 4. Remarkable students want to get the most out of their education and they are willing to put forward extra effort and go beyond the minimum and beyond what they think they can achieve. Just because you haven’t tried something before, doesn’t mean that you can’t do it successfully. Stretch yourself and you’ll be amazed at what you can achieve.
So here it is . . . Qualities of a Remarkable Student:
1. They participate in class. Everyone knows they should but it’s hard to force your hand in the air and voice an opinion when you don’t know what others think. But remarkable students are willing to take risks and share their ideas. They know they don’t have to be right and they know class is much more interesting when everyone communicates and builds knowledge together.
2. They know when to listen. A good learning experience is one where everyone is actively participating in class but no one benefits when everyone talks just to hear themselves. Remarkable students listen as well as speak. Listening builds a sense of community with your classmates and opens the door for learning.
3. They’re involved. These are students who are fully involved and engaged in their classes but are also involved outside of their classes. They are in clubs and organizations related to their interests – both academically and just-for-fun. Want to be remarkable? Join Psychology Club or Active Minds but you don’t have to limit yourself to Social Science related activities: write an article for the school newspaper, dance in Divine Step, get involved in student government, join the ski club. Bottom line, if you have an interest, pursue it!
4. Their learning is connected to their goals. It’s Lasell, of course connected learning is part of being a remarkable student! Exceptional students recognize the value of making connections between their learning, their career goals and their day-to-day lives. How have students engaged in connected learning? Through community involvement, internships, research projects and developing skills related to being a professional through their coursework and assignments.
5. They praise. Yes, this is the same as in the remarkable employees article. Everyone loves praise so if you thought a peer had a good idea, tell him/her. Liked class today? Let your prof. know.
6. They provide constructive criticism. We are all involved in higher education because we enjoy learning and recognize that we can all learn more. Remarkable students are able to identify areas for improvement and share their ideas. I once had a student complain that it was hard to keep different statistical tests straight in her head and it would be so helpful to have a one-page summary of when to use each test. So we worked together to create one and I now hand that out whenever I teach stats.
7. They question. It’s not possible to know everything so remarkable students are curious. They want to expand their learning and are willing to think critically and question themselves and others.
8. They are motivated. You can’t accomplish anything without a drive to succeed. Remarkable students get the most out of their education by pushing themselves beyond perceived limits. If the syllabus states to read only a few pages of chapter 5, remarkable students will read the whole chapter. If a paper assignment asks for 3 sources of information, they’ll use 4. Remarkable students want to get the most out of their education and they are willing to put forward extra effort and go beyond the minimum and beyond what they think they can achieve. Just because you haven’t tried something before, doesn’t mean that you can’t do it successfully. Stretch yourself and you’ll be amazed at what you can achieve.
Monday, February 13, 2012
Lasell Students Make a Difference
This link of the “Top 11 Kids Who Made a Difference in 2011” (http://ow.ly/8mnFG) made the rounds after New Year’s and it made me think about all of the wonderful projects many of our students participate in that make a difference in our community. What will you do in 2012?
On their own:
Jordan worked with a classmate to put together an “All for Haiti” Benefit to raise money to send to Haiti. They hired performers, selected food, decorated the hall, promoted the benefit and sold tickets.
Deanna gives back to her community by volunteering for the Boston Student Athlete program. She mentors and tutors high school students in Jamaica Plain.
Adrianna regularly participates in America Reads and America Counts with several of her Lasell peers.
Stephanie, Adriana, and Jess collected money during the 50/50 raffle for the Cystic Fibrosis foundation. They went to Bruins games to sell raffles to people at the game and inform people about Cystic Fibrosis.
Many students participate in the ACES Project that pairs Lasell College students with students in grades 5 and 6 from the Boston Renaissance School. The kids visit Lasell to learn what life is like in college and they participate in a variety of activities with classes and clubs on campus. Some examples of activities included: a physiological psychology lab where Lasell students taught the Renaissance kids about the functioning of the central nervous system through a lie detection activity; Lasell students taught another group of Renaissance kids how to use Excel to graph colors in M&M bags; we had lunch together, played basketball together, and generally demonstrated that college is a realistic possibility.
Several students have told me about their work mentoring teens with physical and mental disabilities at the Barry Price Center. The mentoring program, co-founded by our own Katelyn gives teens with intellectual and developmental disabilities an opportunity to gain valuable social skills. One of their highlight events is a dance, organized and run by Lasell Students. Kelly, was one of the students who helped decorate Lasell’s gym for the dance and she ran an Arts & Crafts station.
In a class:
Students in the Psychology of Girl’s and Women’s class focused campus attention on body image. They surveyed campus members and created informational materials and programming about body image.
On their own:
Jordan worked with a classmate to put together an “All for Haiti” Benefit to raise money to send to Haiti. They hired performers, selected food, decorated the hall, promoted the benefit and sold tickets.
Deanna gives back to her community by volunteering for the Boston Student Athlete program. She mentors and tutors high school students in Jamaica Plain.
Adrianna regularly participates in America Reads and America Counts with several of her Lasell peers.
Stephanie, Adriana, and Jess collected money during the 50/50 raffle for the Cystic Fibrosis foundation. They went to Bruins games to sell raffles to people at the game and inform people about Cystic Fibrosis.
Many students participate in the ACES Project that pairs Lasell College students with students in grades 5 and 6 from the Boston Renaissance School. The kids visit Lasell to learn what life is like in college and they participate in a variety of activities with classes and clubs on campus. Some examples of activities included: a physiological psychology lab where Lasell students taught the Renaissance kids about the functioning of the central nervous system through a lie detection activity; Lasell students taught another group of Renaissance kids how to use Excel to graph colors in M&M bags; we had lunch together, played basketball together, and generally demonstrated that college is a realistic possibility.
Several students have told me about their work mentoring teens with physical and mental disabilities at the Barry Price Center. The mentoring program, co-founded by our own Katelyn gives teens with intellectual and developmental disabilities an opportunity to gain valuable social skills. One of their highlight events is a dance, organized and run by Lasell Students. Kelly, was one of the students who helped decorate Lasell’s gym for the dance and she ran an Arts & Crafts station.
In a class:
Students in the Psychology of Girl’s and Women’s class focused campus attention on body image. They surveyed campus members and created informational materials and programming about body image.
Victoria and a few of her classmates in Introduction to Human Services organized a baby shower for homeless expectant mothers. They provided food, fun, and games and solicited donations of needed baby items to help the mother’s get a start in their new role.
Students in Psychology of Diversity worked with Hearty Meals for All in Somerville to help prepare and serve food. They got to know several of the clients and learned about issues related to hunger.
Students in Child Development prepared age-appropriate lessons about gardening for children in the on-campus pre-school. The attached pictures show Lasell students helping the children make their own floral arrangements while they taught them about colors, textures, and spelling.
On Lasell-organized trips:
And, we can’t forget our service learning trips! This past year, students participating in the Alternative Spring Break spent a week learning about Native American culture and volunteering at agencies to serve the Native American community of Albuquerque. This year, Psychology Major Katelyn G. was a student leader on the trip, after having been on 3 other alternative spring breaks. She helped coordinate agencies to work with, planned details of the trip, and was a source of support for new trip members. Examples: Cuidando Los Ninos, The Store House, La Plazita Farm, The Chapter House, Road Runner Food Bank, and the Native Health Initiative.
Many other students have gone on service learning trips to other countries including Nicaragua, Mexico, and Ecuador. These students have worked on projects related to literacy, environmentalism, domestic violence, education, and public health.
Friday, January 6, 2012
The Mental Health Fair
Students in Abnormal Psychology this past semester put their learning to good use by creating a Mental Health Fair. Groups of students focused on different mental health problems and created resources to teach the community both how to cope with those issues or how to help a friend or colleague experiencing a mental health issue.
Professor Mirkin wanted to share her reaction to the event:
"What a great fair! I am so proud of all of the students who worked so hard to make this fair a success. You shared very important information with the Lasell community, and I know that there are students, faculty and staff who have benefited from the information you collected and from the sensitivity and caring that were so evident in your discussions with people. Your posters were terrific—the information was so useful and they were beautifully constructed. Not only were you able to share important information about the issues impacting students, but also you informed all of us of how we can help a friend who is going through difficult times, how we can be allies and advocates, and how to take care of ourselves during stressful times. Congratulations!"
Celebrating Connected Learning
The fall symposium provided a means for students to share what they have learned throughout the semester. There were so many interesting connected learning experiences this semester that it’s impossible to share them all – but a few highlights were . . .
- A field trip to the Dudley Street Neighborhood Initiative. The mission of DSNI is to empower Dudley residents to create a vibrant, diverse, and high quality neighborhood. They sponsor community clean-ups, activities for families, housing development, economic development and much more. Students learned about community activism and human services work as they toured the facilities and spoke with several of the organizers. They learned how they can get involved to improve their own communities.
- Professor Romero’s class organized a Social Justice Forum in collaboration with the Multicultural Student Union, PRIDE, and the Donahue Institute for Values & Public Life. Students participated in a panel discussion to promote issues of justice both on campus, locally, and globally.
- Students in Experimental Design created and developed research projects to test a variety of hypotheses about people’s perceptions of social behaviors. They carried out the research using an international sample and got several interesting results. There will be more to come on this as the students will hopefully be presenting their results at an upcoming professional conference.
Tuesday, September 13, 2011
New Active Minds Chapter at Lasell
At the on-campus activities fair today, students wandered DeWitt Hall snacking on nachos, barbecue, and ice cream while they learned about the new and existing clubs available on campus.
There are several opportunities to get involved in campus activities and campus life in ways that support a student's studies in the Social Sciences from Psychology Club to Peer Health Educators to Community Service but this semester, there is a new offering. Junior-level Psychology student, Katie Pare has led a movement to create a brand new Active Minds chapter on campus. This organization works to increase understanding of mental health issues among students, to reduce the stigma of mental health problems, and to empower college students to ensure their own mental health.
If you are interested in getting involved, you can contact Katie herself or let one of your faculty members in the Social Science program know you are interested. We'll help get you involved.
There are several opportunities to get involved in campus activities and campus life in ways that support a student's studies in the Social Sciences from Psychology Club to Peer Health Educators to Community Service but this semester, there is a new offering. Junior-level Psychology student, Katie Pare has led a movement to create a brand new Active Minds chapter on campus. This organization works to increase understanding of mental health issues among students, to reduce the stigma of mental health problems, and to empower college students to ensure their own mental health.
If you are interested in getting involved, you can contact Katie herself or let one of your faculty members in the Social Science program know you are interested. We'll help get you involved.
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