What??? I have to take a class at ASU?

Hi Everyone!  Welcome back to the semester!

We're hearing a lot of questions about this mystery TRAIN class at ASU's West Campus and I wanted to take a moment to share some (hopefully helpful) information.

Yes, when you transfer to the ASU TRAIN Scholars program here on the West Campus we have you enroll in a course with your fellow TRAIN Scholars.  Why would we have you do this?  I promise you, we have your best interests at heart.

First of all, to reassure you, taking this class shouldn't cost you anything.  Once you are a full time student, and you should be if you are a TRAIN scholar, then taking extra units doesn't come with an extra charge.  Full time is full time; tuition is the same whether you are taking 12 or 18 units.

Second, it doesn't meet every single week.  We try to balance the face to face meetings with things you can do online and on your own.

So, you might ask, why have face to face meetings at all?

When you come to ASU, it is a much bigger place.  I know you realize this.  It's kind of obvious.  But, how this affects you isn't obvious right away.  It wasn't obvious to us, either, before we began this scholarship program.  The differences are part of why we made this program in the first place.

At your Community College campus, you have many opportunities to interact with your peers even if they aren't planned.  Classes are small, you are in similar courses, you hang out in the same spaces, such as the lab where you are all conducting your research.  Once you get to ASU, you will be embarking on your selected major maps, working with all different faculty, and you could feasibly go through your day, or even your week, without bumping into a fellow TRAIN scholar even once.  We are much smaller here on the West campus, but, this is still possible depending upon how many other scholars are in the same major or have the same interests as you.

We also have a lot of useful resources on campus to help you, but there's not always a clear roadmap to finding them when you need them, like tutoring, the writing center, and so on.  Plus, you have just two years of financial support, and in that time you need to think about research, if you want to do that, or an internship, and what you will do next, like apply for graduate school or seek employment.  Two years goes by really fast.

These reasons, and more, are why we meet, as a class.  The class helps you to form your new community here at ASU.  We focus on connecting you to resources so that you thrive during your time here.  We focus on tangible skills, like actually writing resumes and graduate school statements We also help you to develop personally and professionally so that you are ready to tackle anything at graduation time.  All of us rotate through teaching the course so that you get to know lots of faculty, with lots of different sets of expertise.  Your fellow scholars stay in the course too, and become mentors for the new scholars.  You will have an amazing network of support for your time here, and beyond.

I hope to see some of you soon the next time I get to teach the class!

Have a great semester!

Linked In

Did you know that a high percentage of all jobs are filled via networking?  Here's a recent article outlining what networking can do for you.  Networking

Networking comes in many forms and ways.  Look around your classroom.  The classmates of today are your colleagues of tomorrow and should form an important part of your network.  How can you keep your network straight?  There are many ways to do so, but developing a Linked In profile is an easy way to get started.

What are some things you should have on your Linked In profile as a student?

Professional Picture

Major

Summary - don['t skip this summary.  It can be crucial when someone is looking for a good fit.  Not sure where to get started?  The Career Center can help.

Experience - don't forget volunteer and other unpaid experience.  Class projects?  Absolutely.  

Organizations

Education

Skills and Expertise -  what are you best at?  Add at least 5 and then your connections can endorse you.

Honors and Awards - don't forget high school

Courses - add the classes that showcase your skills

Projects - what have you done?

Develop your Linked In profile and link to me.  I have a network to tap into.