Opportunities Ahead

Despite the sunshine, mild temperatures, and magnificent colors on the trees here in Oberlin at the start of this week, I’m thinking about seasons and opportunities that lie ahead, specifically Election Day, winter term, and summer internships for 2015.

Let’s start with voting. Americans will go to the polls this coming Tuesday, November 4, for the midterm elections. Please remember to exercise your right to vote. There are a number of important national, state and local races, and issues, as well as local initiatives on the ballot—one of which will affect Oberlin College’s ability to host and serve liquor at events at the new Knowlton Athletics Complex. So please inform yourselves and make your voice heard at the ballot box.

It’s also important to remember that college students across Ohio are able to vote in this state because a group of Oberlin students in 2008 came up with the idea of having colleges issue utility bills to help them meet Ohio’s voter residency requirements. That enabled campus communities to engage more fully in the voting process. So students who choose to vote in Oberlin should be sure to take their utility bill or other form of ID with them when they go to the polls.

WINTER TERM/SUMMER INTERNSHIPS

In my role as president/noodge-in-chief, I want to remind ours students and their faculty advisers that application deadlines for winter term 2015, as well as for many internships in the coming summer, are fast approaching. So please act now if you’re interested in an internship.

Our Career Center has declared 2014/2015 the “Year of the Internship” at Oberlin College. Whether you are a first-year or a senior, working as an intern can be a tremendously important experience that enhances your undergraduate education and improves your career prospects once you graduate. If you aren’t sure what you want to do, the on-the-job training that a good internship provides can help you decide whether that field is right for you.

I have worked hard to provide more internship and career opportunities for our students. That’s why I’m happy that the Career Center was recently awarded a large grant from the Great Lakes Higher Education Guaranty Corporation to develop and support quality, unpaid internships for our students. The Class of 1965, which is celebrating its 50th reunion this year, has also established the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Internship Fund to support high-quality internships. They are providing a total of $250,000 over five years. I’m very grateful for the support they are giving our students.

These funds represent a huge increase in money available to support students who may have found a good internship which does not pay them. This support is especially important for Oberlin students from moderate or lower income families, who otherwise would not be able to afford to work without getting paid, no matter how meaningful a pre-professional opportunity the internship might be.

But all the support in the world doesn’t matter if students don’t get involved and seek out internship opportunities. So go to the Career Center and get that process going. The same holds true for winter term opportunities. You can find more information about them by going to our winter term website.

Be sure to click on the link labeled “Calendar and Deadlines,” because the key deadlines are already coming up and more will arrive between now and December 5. So if you see something that resonates with you, don’t wait. Check it out today.

F.A.S.T. MEALS

While it can be read as a somewhat ironic name for a meals program, the “Faculty and Students Together (F.A.S.T.) Meals" program is a way for faculty to join students over lunch or dinner in one of the participating dining halls.

I’m writing to encourage everyone to make use of it.

A faculty member may invite a student or a student may invite a faculty member and you join each other inside the dining hall.

Faculty members may go to Wilder Rathskeller, Stevenson, or Lord Saunders Dining at Afrikan Heritage House at any meal time, present the faculty OCID card, and say "F.A.S.T. Meal Program."

Each faculty member's OCID card has been programmed to include only fourteen (14) meals per semester. The student participating in CDS will use one of his or her board meals Dining Plan. The student participating in O.S.C.A. may use their complimentary CDS meal, Obie Dollars, or a Meal Ticket to pay for their meal Dining Plan.