My last fall visit day was bittersweet

Dear friends,

Only three more weeks! Then we can start packing for home to spend the holidays with our loving family. I haven't decided where to go this year, but I won't be able to make it home to China for sure. A fleeting glance, I realized that I have spent two years at PLU. It was long enough for me to finish my degree. But it was not long enough for me to say goodbye.

Last Friday, I helped set up the very last Fall Visit Day I'll ever attend. I had a great time, as always. 

This year's Visit Day was not as big as the previous years in terms of the number of students who attended the event, but we were able to connect with a European club from Green River Community College and also two students from Pierce College.

This year we also tried a new activity to serve the purpose of the campus tour, which we called Photo Scavengerhunt. Students who came were divided into three groups to compete with each other. Each group was provided with a campus map and a list of signature buildings on campus with short descriptions.

Gum Tree

The students were to locate where the buildings were, find the locations, and take pictures in front of the locations. Accompanied by the typical autumn rain, each group tried to complete the task within an hour. The winner who found the most of the locations won and of course they got prizes at then end. It was a new thing we decided to experiment this year. So far I have not heard any major complaints. So perhaps this can be a keeper for next year's event as well. As long as we don't get pouring rain, it is always a fun adventure exploring the campus in the dark.

Giant Slug

Glass art in the music building. I kind of reminded them to look up... 

Morken stairs. We were being followed by another group LOL

During dinner, some mentioned that PLU had much better food options compared to their college. I won't say who, but that comment made me smile :)

Then it was Global Getdown. An annual talent show held by the students. Many were great performances. The last few dances were brought by some authentic Mexican dancers. There were in traditional clothes and danced happily. I think we all had a blast.

Anyway, that was the end. It didn't feel real to me. But as I watched everyone getting into the van that was sending them home, I waved my goodbye. See you later maybe. And I hope you all a bright future.

Warmly,
Shishi

Making a Difference Through PLU Courses

This semester I have been enrolled in a School of Business course called "Principles of Marketing". Under the supervision of our Professor, Mark Mulder, we were given the task of creating a campaign for a real-life non-profit organization, Living Water International. Not only were we given the opportunity to gain first hand experience of creating and implementing a marketing campaign, we were able to make a difference. We were actually raising awareness of an important cause and raising funds to secure the installment of a well near Leon, Nicaragua by PLU students in March 2015.

One of our campaign photos. 

I have had the pleasure of working with an amazing marketing team, who since the beginning of the course have been extremely engaged and excited about our project. We created a video to raise awareness with facts about the water crisis, and to promote our main campaign event, a water walk.

The water walk held on November 21st, aimed to raise awareness and simulate the struggle that women and children go through every day to gather water that may not even be clean. Our goal was to have students carry a jerry can full of water a collective distance of 4 miles, the average distance woman and children walk every day, not including the extra 3 miles during the dry seasons. We also collected loose change from participants and non participants to help them realize that every penny counts just as every drop of water counts.

PLU students carrying the Jerry can.

The turnout for the event was great. Students walking by were happy to help us carry the jerry can and were taken aback by how heavy it was and how far children have to carry water every day. We were able to raise a lot of awareness and reached our goal of 4 miles in less time than anticipated. We would like to thank everyone who stopped by, participated and donated to this cause. It makes me very proud to go to a school who is so invested in bettering the lives of others and want to make a change in the world. If you want to make a difference, PLU is a great place to make it happen.

If you are interested in learning more about our partner organization or about the PLU Well project I have listed some great links below.

Living Water International's Website:
http://www.water.cc

Read more about Lute experiences in Nicaragua:
http://www.plu.edu/resolute/spring-2014/nicaragua/

Information about the study away course:
https://www.plu.edu/busa/nicaragua/home.php

Experiencing Different Cultures with Around the World

Around the World is an event that happens every year during International Education Week. In this event, students have the opportunity to share their home culture or the culture of a place they have studied away in the past. This allows PLU students to be immersed in different cultures and experience new things such as food and music, and even learn new things about a country that they may not have known about before.

This year, we had students representing Denmark, Norway, France, Morocco, Sweden, China, and Thailand. The Danish table was teaching students how to make Julehjeter (Christmas hearts) and were jamming out to Danish music. The Swedish table introduced students to some facts about Sweden through a short quiz (this wasn't easy!). The Chinese table served some dumplings, which were very tasty! The Moroccan table served a mint tea that smelled and tasted really good. Each of the tables brought a unique aspect to the event. I'm really glad that I got to spectator to  Around the World this year again, and I'm excited to see what will be done for this event next year!

International Education Week!

Hey everyone! I hope you're all feeling awesome today.

You might begin to realize that:

1) We are already past midway through the semester 

2) The leaves around us are all falling and changing colors beautifully.

3) Thanksgiving's just around the corner!

However, you might not realize that we have some cool things going on at PLU in the next few weeks. I want to HIGHLIGHT one particular event which is going to be amazing!

International Education Week!!!

Picture Source: http://www.plu.edu/wang-center/news-events/international-ed-week/images/homebanner-01.jpg

International Education Week is an opportunity for the PLU campus to celebrate the benefits of international education to our community. This event will be held from November 17th to the 21st and different offices and departments at PLU are hosting events throughout the week.

Monday, Nov. 17th

1) Taste of Tacoma 

Explore Japanese cuisine and embrace insightful conversations about foreign cuisine in Tacoma!

Bring  around $12-$20 for food. Transportation is also available upon reservation at mendexla@plu.edu.

Hosted by the Diversity Center.

Tuesday, Nov. 18th

1) A film titled "Speaking in Tongues" 

Runs from 7:00 PM-8:15 PM at the PLU Language Center. 
Hosted by Language Resource Center.

Picture Source: http://speakingintonguesfilm.files.wordpress.com/2010/05/blog_banner.jpg

2) BUSA Abroad

These programs have been handpicked for you by the Wang Center for Global Education and are supported by the School of Business, so there is bound to be an option that caters to your academic needs. This is an informal event, and light refreshments will be provided.

BUSA Abroad will be held between 7:00 PM-8:00 PM in Morken 103.
Hosted by Wang Center for Global Education and School of Business. 

Picture Source: http://www.plu.edu/wang-center/news-events/international-ed-week/images/spread-busa-abroad.jpg

Wednesday, Nov. 19th

1) Around the World

Travel the world without leaving the PLU campus! PLU international students and students who have studied away will host country-themed tables full of displays, hands-on activities and mini-lectures. Countries represented will include Norway, China, Mexico, Thailand and more! 

Hosted by International Student Services from 6:00 PM-8:00 PM at Hong International Hall.

Photo Source: http://www.gosselingroup.eu/sites/default/files/Gosselin_Moving_Around_the_world.jpg

2) Study Away 101 

If you want to learn more about studying away, come speak to the Wang Center Sojourner Advocates about program options, funding and credits.

Event will be held on November 19, 2014, from 6:00 PM-7:00 PM at AUC 201.

Hosted by the Wang Center for Global Education.

Thursday, Nov. 20th

1) Student Mixer 

Come to meet and talk with other students at PLU. Join everyone on campus to share stories and experiences with students from all over the world while enjoying desserts and hot beverages.
Hosted by Hong International Hall

Photo Source: http://www.plu.edu/wang-center/news-events/international-ed-week/images/spread-student-mixer.jpg

Friday, Nov. 21st

1) Global Getdown

Photo Source: http://www.plu.edu/wang-center/news-events/international-ed-week/images/spread-global-getdown.jpg

Global Getdown will be held at the Cave from 6:00 PM - 8:00 PM. Event is hosted by the Diversity Center.

2) Hong Discotea

Right after the Global Getdown event, we will have the Hong Discotea from 8:30 PM - 11:00PM at The CAVE!
This year's theme is Masquerade. Get ready to mingle with masked students from all over campus while enjoying foreign music and tasty refreshments. There will also be a photo booth to capture fun moments and prizes for best costumes.
Hosted by Hong International Hall.

On Campus Events

Tuesday, Nov. 18th - "Speaking in Tongues" & BUSA Abroad

Wednesday, Nov. 19th - Around the World & Study Away 101

Thursday, Nov. 20th - Student Mixer

Friday, Nov. 21st - Global Getdown & Hong Discotea

Off Campus Event

Monday, Nov. 17th - Taste of Tacoma

Credits to the Wang Center for all the beautiful pictures and information. I'm just sharing this with all of you so you're not left in the dark!

International Education Week will be full of fun so be sure to show up at the events listed above! If you want more details, visit http://www.plu.edu/wang-center/news-events/international-ed-week.

I hope to see some of you at these events. Have a great rest of the week and take care!

Yours truly,

Joel Goh.

Psychology of Horror: A Psi Chi Event

This year I am the Vice President for the Psychology Honors Association PSI CHI and was able to plan and create an event that would get students ready for Halloween and also discuss the Psychology around fear and horror.

Psi Chi, Psychology Staff and Fall 2014 Inductees

Growing up I have seen a lot of horror movies. I love watching them, but always end up regretting my decision right before bedtime when I cannot sleep or have horrible dreams. However, I take full responsibility for my viewing preferences. I wondered why even though people are terrified during horror movies, haunted houses or simulations they still choose experience this again. I decided to do some research on the topic and present it to fellow students as a fun informational event.

I had expected about 10-20 students to attend my event, but with the support of my Psi Chi officers, advisers, previous professors and friends the turnout was unbelievable. We even had to change rooms the day before as we started to realize that more than 40 people were interested in coming to hear me speak. I get nervous when talking in front of large groups and hearing the excitement about my event was wonderful but also daunting. This was a great learning experience and opportunity to develop my public speaking skills.

Attendees and their "scared" face! That's me in the front!

On the night of the event students were already waiting in the room a half hour ahead of time and kept coming in until we had filled every seat and a few extra chairs. We reached the maximum capacity and fire code of the room, 80 people, before introducing our Psi Chi chapter and an overview of my presentation. My presentation consisted of some lecture coupled with various video clips that went along with theories of appeal mentioned. During the showing of video clips, the lights were off to create the most ideal atmosphere. Attendees were extremely responsive to various video clips and the presentation itself, which added to the fun of the event. They were laughing, screaming and some even fell of their seats during scary parts of the video.

I brought in an international aspect to my presentation as we discussed differences in horror across cultures, to allow the audience to see how the psychology behind the fear is similar across the globe, but also acknowledging some differences and cultural factors that come into play. Examples came from China and Norway.

Students were very interested in asking questions after the event, about the video clips that I presented and certain movies I had seen. Others also connected the presentation to other course work and had suggestions for future films or texts to read about this topic.

As students were forced to sit randomly due to the room sitting arrangement and limitation of the chairs, the circumstance provided an opportunity for students to connect with others who may not be from the same discipline or standing. All class levels and 17 majors were represented. Friendships were formed on the common ground of eagerness to understand the psychology behind horror, despite various differences present among the 80 attendees. Friendships between first-years and current senior Psi Chi member were formed as well as they discussed the nature of Psi Chi as an organization and ways to navigate the department of psychology and college as a whole in their upcoming years.

I hope to plan more such events in the future with Psi Chi on different topics that may also be of interests to the whole student population in which we can promote the science of psychology to provide better understanding of the discipline and allowed students to see how widely impacting this discipline is in every aspect of their lives. The support and encouragement I received from my PLU community to fallow through with this event really helped me understand how happy I am to have chosen a smaller university where I truly can make things happen.

Madeleine