Wednesday, December 17, 2014

We Want Some S'mores!

Being a Sophomore in college is so much different than being a freshmen.  For the most part, many of us are familiar with being a college student and we understand the expectations that the campus has for us.  But what comes next?  Our lives.  In three more years, many of us hope to graduate and either go straight into our new career, or maybe we have other plans.  Everything that we do as sophomores can have an impact on what we do after college.

In the S'mores LLC, residential sophomores will be introduced to a community where ideas are always flowing.  We want to be successful, but sometimes it can be hard to come across new opportunities when we are surrounded by homework, work, and other mandatory activities.
The class for this LLC is Ed Pol 315 which will be taught by Laurie Marks and Josh Maxwell.  Because this is a service learning course, many of the students will be taking time to serve others in the community.

Now it is time for a quick introduction.  My name is Tabby Miller and I am the peer mentor for the S'mores LLC. Since I am a Sophomore, I can relate to the things you will be going through during your Sophomore year! What I do know, is that community service is also a fantastic way to get to know each other.  RA Shelby and I are in the process of planning events where the LLC can become closer and more successful as sophomores at UWM.

As our LLC kickoff event,we decided to have an actual s'mores social where ice cream, chocolate, and s'mores were provided for the residents.  It turned out to be a great hit and in the hour that it occurred; relationships had started, and people were having a fun time!
 
As the semester continues, more and more events you can participate in will pop up.  We look forward to having short service trips around the Milwaukee area with our LLC so that not only will they get service hours, but we will all be doing something together to build our community of Sophomores at UWM.

Most of us have tried a simple s'more, but if you are interested in creating something a little more out of the ordinary, here is a recipe for a S'mores Layer cake!

Recipe: http://www.bitememore.com/feedme/260/the-ultimate-smores-layer-cake-recipe

Thank you!  We look forward to keeping you all updated with the S'more Living Learning Community!

Engineering LLC

What's new in the Engineering LLC?!  We are already more than three weeks into our discovery world program, where up and coming engineers are getting an opportunity to contribute to the wonderful program that is Discovery World.  They are currently programming robots to mimic plant life! How cool is that?!  If anyone is interested in becoming involved in this great opportunity feel free to come and talk to one of the LLC's RAs.

What to watch for coming up in near future:  The annual and prestigious Engineering Olympic Games are about to kick off.  Watch the best and brightest engineers in all the land compete against one another in fierce and deadly mortal combat...  Just kidding.  What they will be doing, however, is taking on different engineering based challenges as teams that will score them individual points.  Feel free to come and watch these great minds be pushed to their best.  Along with the Engineering Olympics, the LLC will be hosting video game and strategy game nights.  Watch for more information on flyers and posters around the LLC.

That about sums up life in the magical place known as the Engineering LLC.  Stay tuned for more enchanting tales of the courageous men and women who make up Sandburg South's floors 9-12!


Wednesday, December 10, 2014

Building Chairs in the Architecture LLC

Throughout the month of November, the students in the Architecture LLC have been working on their final project: the Chair Building Competition. Each person in the class was tasked with designing and building a small mock-up of a chair, which they then had to "sell" to their classmates, professor, TAs, and other critics. 

Here are four chairs that were designed by our very own students in the Architecture LLC. 








Projects from the entire class will be on display on the first floor of the Architecture building through the end of the Fall semester.


Wednesday, November 19, 2014

Film LLC - DIY Camera Rigs

On Tuesday, November 18th, The Film LLC'ers got a chance to enter the classroom with Instructor Ben Balcom to make camera stabilizers that the Film LLC students will be able to check out and use to make their own films!

These rigs were constructed out of PVC piping, PVC glue, and a few nuts and bolts.Their purpose is to help stabilize the camera more than just holding it handheld style.The students that went to the event volunteered their time not only to learn about stabilization techniques, but to make these stabilizing rigs so that anyone in the film LLC can use them on their films. For that, we thank you!

This event was great in that it showed how easy it is to make something that adds production value to your films. All it takes is a trip to the hardware store with a picture from the internet!


 Film LLC's own Nick Goll with the rig:

Sunday, November 16, 2014

Education and Leadership LLC: RAK-athon


On Saturday, November 8, 2014 some of the residents in the Education and Leadership LLC participated in UWM’s RAK-athon. The event was put on the Center for Community-Based, Learning, Leadership, and Research. Over 600 volunteers winterized older adult homes in the Milwaukee area.

The Education and Leadership LLC residents enjoyed raking leaves and cleaning windows for an older adult in a suburb of Milwaukee. The residents had fun raking and bagging up leaves together. They also enjoyed getting to know the older adult and she appreciated the residents’ work.

Education and Leadership LLC: "Get Your Smartie Pants On"


On Thursday, September 11 the Education and Leadership Living Learning Community residents attended their LLC Kick-off Event! The event was called “Get Your Smartie Pants On!”

The Education and Leadership LLC is residents primarily interested in Early Education, Educational Studies, and Leadership interests.

The residents showed their enthusiasm by putting up “clues” next to pictures of UWM campus offices throughout the lounge that they live in. The campuses posted were ones that Education majors utilize, people with leadership interests utilize, and places that first-year students utilize. Residents were very excited to show their knowledge about the campus and let other residents know about places that other residents did not know about.

After the residents were done matching clues to the offices, Resident Assistant Megan and Peer Mentor Beatris went over the answers with residents. This way, residents knew how to best utilize places on campus and what different places offer.

To celebrate the LLC Kick-off event and reward residents for attending, Resident Assistant Megan and Peer Mentor Beatris gave Smarties to the residents to along with the name of the event.




The Film LLC

Hello and welcome to the Film Living Learning Community! My name is Spencer. My Co-RA Isaac and I have the honor of being RAs for the Film LLC! We're brothas from the different mothas and share a great passion for film and helping others become better filmmakers.



So far this year has been amazing! We started out with an awesome floor event to help break the ice and get residents connected with Production Club, which gives students the opportunity to get hands on experience in a professional environment and shoot a high quality short film. We had a free screening of Production Club's past film, Gears, which has been very successful at many film festivals.

We also got free tickets to see Man With a Movie Camera, projected on 16mm film at the Milwaukee Film Festival with a live pit orchestra! The Milwaukee Film Festival is one of the many gems here in Milwaukee and there is nothing quite like it!

One of the reason why we chose to watch "Man With a Movie Camera" was because it was shot on and projected on Black and White 16mm film. This semester, Film LLC residence are learning how to shoot on 16mm film themselves, using cameras that were used during WWII! Shooting on film takes much more discipline than shooting digital and is a great way to learn the basics of cinematography! Every shot needs to be well measured and well thought out.


Just recently, Isaac and I put on a lighting demo to help residents understand the basic fundamentals of light and how to use it to not only expose an image properly, but to get a desired look or feel!
The most impressive thing I've seen in the Film LLC thus far has been the great passion there is for film and to tell stories through cinema. People have been going above and beyond to create their own short films outside of class. There is nothing like being surrounded by people who share a similar passion and are willing to go the extra mile to help bring each other's visions to life.

Like us on Facebook for even more behind the scenes and up-to-date information!

Friday, November 14, 2014

Update for the Business Panthers

The residents of the Business Panthers LLC have been off to a busy start this year with classes, midterms beginning, and all their LLC events. A couple weeks ago, a local business owner, Ashley Weber, came to speak about her business, Miss Cupcake. Miss Cupcake is cupcake shop in Shorewood, that was started about 6 years back and has become a successful local favorite.  All of the attendees were able to taste-test many of her delicious cupcakes after her presentation. A favorite amongst the residents was the salted carmel cupcake and the vanilla sprinkle.  Ashley was the first of many speakers to talk to the LLC, and we look forward to many more.

This week, the Business Panthers are invited to attend the Business LLC Dinner. The dinner will be held in the Sandburg Cafe on October 15th. The event will be hosted by the Resident Assistants, Peer Mentors, and LLC stakeholders of the Business LLC. This is a good opportunity for students that don't live on the same floors to get to know each other.

The Resident Assistants of the Business LLC are looking forward to planning a Sprecher Brewery Tour later in the semester. Overall, the residents of the LLC have been enjoying their time connecting with one another. All resident assistants and stakeholders in the LLC are excited for future events.

Ashley Weber presenting to the Business Panthers!

Getting to try her yummy cupcakes!

Business Panthers LLC

During the month of November, the biggest event to take place for the Business Panthers was a trip to Sprecher Brewery in Glendale, Wisconsin. On Friday, November 7th, a total of twenty-three Business Panthers and five staff members took a tour of Sprecher Brewery to learn about the fascinating start up of the Sprecher taste we all know and love!

On the tour, students could view the equipment necessary to make the various Sprecher beverages that would be available for taste testing later on. Our tour guide taught us about some of the various ingredients included in Sprecher's beverages, but of course, left us all wondering about their "secret" ingredients. We then traveled from the Brew house into the cellar, eventually making our way into the bottling room. Here, students could see a large conveyor belt filled with Sprecher bottles making their way down the line. This is one of the last and final steps for Sprecher beverages before they are packaged and shipped off to be enjoyed by many happy customers!

After the tour, we all gathered around to sample over 10 different flavors of Sprecher sodas. Although it was hard to choose a favorite, the Root Beer and the Cherry Cola were some of the popular flavors among the Business Panthers. While residents enjoyed sampling their sodas, they were able to chat with fellow classmates, teachers, and other staff members about the tour.    






Just as the Discovery World program has come to an end, the Engineering LLC has begun the Engineering Olympics, The Engineering Olympics is a competition between residents to see who can create the best solution for a challenge they are given. Week by week, residents will be presented with a new problem and set of materials. Residents have to use these objects to best solve the problem.

The Week One challenge we presented to our residents was to create a water clock that would successfully drain a cup of water in exactly 2 minutes (or closest to 2 minutes). The residents were only allowed to use 10 sheets of construction paper and as much tape as they wanted. With this, residents went off to begin brainstorming. After 15 minutes of construction, time was called and the teams brought in their designs. The results were awesome with some having only a few seconds before the 2 minute mark!

The Engineering Olympics is a great opportunity for residents to use their ingenuity and work together as a team. With a great Week One turnout, RA Calvin, RA Gideon, RA Cody, and RA Alex are very optimistic about the weeks to come.





Thursday, November 13, 2014

Global Villagers Prepare to Explore

This week, the Global Village welcomed our lovely colleagues from the Center for International Education and the Study Abroad Office to our community!

Global Villagers heard about adventures in France, Brazil, Portugal, and other wonderful places.

Academic Adviser Christine Wolf spoke to residents about the Global Studies and International Studies programs. The Global Studies program seeks to prepare students for international careers, and so a semester of study abroad and an internship abroad are requirements for the major.

Global Villagers were able to receive one on one attention about their specific study abroad goals, and many walked away feeling ready to take on the world--literally!

A current Global Villager, Justin, used the time to clarify details on his upcoming study abroad adventures to Austria and Germany in Fall, while other residents were able to search programs and scholarships that best applied to their future plans.

Former villagers Courtney and Brook have been accepted to travel to Morocco and Sweden in 2015, and former villager / current mentor Jason has been accepted to study in Germany.

Hopefully soon we'll hear stories of the 2014-2015 Villagers in France, Argentina, Brazil, and beyond!

Wednesday, November 12, 2014

Future Fraternity and Sorority Leaders LLC Update

The Future Fraternity and Sorority Leaders LLC in Cambridge is having an awesome time! We have been doing well with our schoolwork by using the common study spaces, enjoying different Greek organizations on campus as well as Cambridge Council. 

Despite the chilly weather, the Greek LLC had some volunteers for the CCBLLR offices Neighborhood Clean-Up! Enjoying some bonding and helping for a good cause to beautify the areas surrounding the UWM campus. A lot of residents were shocked at how much litter and mess that was picked up from the area, and the consensual statement was that they were going to be more aware of the litter and how to prevent it from happening.

The Greek LLC also got 100% on their MAP-Works survey! A taco party will be held after Thanksgiving Break for the community as a reward and thank you to all the LLC residents who completed the survey on time! We had a couple people come out and pie me in the face, which was a great and delicious time for all! The after product is shown:
 
Resident Alicia looking "fierce"
We also had a trick or treating event in Cambridge where residents got to explore other floors of the building to meet all the other RA's  and to get more information about "spooky" resources on campus! It was a fun event, with the Cambridge Council's Fall Ball that was held afterward with cider, cookies, and pumpkin pie! 

 Overall, the 
 Future Fraternity and Sorority Leaders LLC is having an awesome time and we are excited for the other opportunities and events that will be held towards the remainder of the semester!



3rd Floor RA's Shelbey and Scarlett



Monday, November 10, 2014

Architecture LLC

The weather is getting chilly, and that means that we are over half way through the fall semester!! Despite the cold, the Architecture LLC has been doing many things to enjoy the weather. This includes everything from making up over half of the Cambridge Football team in our victory against Riverview, to completing a 5K in freezing sleet!

For the 5K, the community determined they would like to build a team for the Step Out: Walk to Stop Diabetes.  Two of our community members are diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes, and the rest of the community was more than excited to support their friends.  The group spent numerous hours tabling, fundraising, and doing whatever they could to raise awareness.  The "Cambridge Penthouse" team consisted of over 30 participants and raised $175.00 prior to the event.  We are still raising money for the American Diabetes Association, and will continue to do so throughout the remainder of the academic year.

One group of participants from the Cambridge Penthouse team!

Update from the Social Welfare LLC

Can you believe the semester is half way over already? It sure has flown by for me and all of the Social Welfare LLC Residents. This past month residents participated in many different events! Some of my favorites included "Back to Kindergarten Night", where residents got a chance to relax by having a flashback to their childhood, Cards Against Humanity night with the Inclusive Excellence Center, and the Fall Ball which included Cambridge wide treat-or-treating and floor decorating. In the coming weeks we are getting a visit from PASS to learn ways to reduce testing anxiety for the upcoming finals.
Coloring and playing with Play Doh at Back to Kindergarten Night!


Creating Masterpieces! 
Dressed up for the Fall Ball & Trick-or-Treat Night in Cambridge
Since the beginning of the school year, the residents on the floor have became a closer group of friends that spend time together in and out of the residence hall. Many are already talking about taking classes together next semester and living together again next year!

November Dance LLC Update

Hello from the Dance LLC!

This past month was a festive one for the Dance LLC. Residents participated in decorating the floor lounge for fall and Halloween. Our floor got an honorable mention for West Tower for having the most jellyfish decorations. Jellyfish are the official West Tower mascot so this was a high honor. We were able to bond as a community while making the decorations and it made our living space an uplifting sight to see each day.



Somewhere the Dance LLC may be interested in going to is the Milwaukee Public Market. It is located in the Historic Third Ward of Milwaukee and is considered the Art and Fashion District. The Public Market is both a marketplace and a unique food court that has many options and price ranges making it very accessible to most students. It would be a fun place to go with friends and family or great place to study off campus. To get to the Public Market you can take the Green Line bus on Oakland and Hartford going South. You can use this link to assist you: http://goo.gl/Aa5HnQ . You can also always ask your bus driver for help getting to your location!
(Photo by Anita Burgermeister for fineartamerica.com)

November in the Transfer Community

This month in the Transfer LLC one of the biggest events we had was the Self-Defense Class hosted by UWM PD. The even took place in Sandburg Flicks on Monday, September 27th. Three officers took time out of their night to come in and teach students the basics of self-defense techniques and prevention. After practicing each move as a group, each participant was able to have one on one contact and instruction from the officers while trying out their new moves on a dummy. We hope that everyone in attendance learned something from this experience and will continue to stay safe around Milwaukee!

 Also, this month the entire South Tower Staff went on a staff development trip a corn maze in Racine where we got into two teams to see who could make it through the entire corn maze the fastest. Team RLC Lexy won. 

This maze was shaped as a tribute to our Armed Forces. With Veterans Day on November 11th, we wanted to thank all the men and women of our Armed Forces for all they do each and every day for us. 

We hope all your mid-term exams went well these past few weeks!

The Honors Advisors

Hey all!

Would you believe it?  It's that time of year already!  Students are plotting out their course schedule for the coming spring semester!  Honor students in the LLC in particular have a leg up on the rest of campus thanks to priority registration.  Due to their status as honors students, they are allowed to enroll on Monday, November 17th; the rest of campus must wait significantly longer.  This is a wonderful way for honors students to get the perfect schedule, finding the best class times and insuring their place in small class sizes.  So what's the catch?  In addition to the courses specifically pertinent to their major, honors students must take an honors course.  As exciting as these courses are, enrollment is extraordinarily competitive.  Since the classes have a capacity of sixteen students, they become full very quickly.  When enrollment goes live in PAWS, there a some classes that fill up in a matter of ten seconds.  That's a frightening notion, isn't it?  You find the perfect class for your interests and for you schedule, but you wait just a tad too long to enroll and it's gone.

So how do honors students navigate this treacherous process?  Well, that's where the honors advisors Shannon Irwin, Kate Coffaro and Aaron Dierks help out!  These are three full-time honors faculty members who help students smoothly integrate honors courses into their college experience.  Especially in professional schools such as engineering and pre-med, it can be difficult to incorporate honors into your degree.  These advisors are the movers and shakers who make the addition of honors possible for all students.  They are versatile; honors students are not assigned a specific honors advisor.  They schedule an appointment at their convenience, and it becomes a matter of availability between these three.

Shannon, in addition to being an Honors Advisor, is our LLC stakeholder.  As the RA on for the LLC, I have monthly meetings with Shannon to keep her and the Honors College updated as to our activity in the LLC.  She has, on numerous occasions, given me wonderful insights to ease my duties as an RA.  She also just this past week hosted an event on my floor to discuss the perks, the pitfalls and safe navigation of priority registration.  She played an Apples to Apples style game with residents, and we served apple-based treats.  It turned out to be a great night, and the LLC members learned a great deal.

There is still one week before priority registration begins, and the LLC is abuzz.  Advisor meetings are now mandatory for first semester freshmen if they want to take advantage of priority registration.  Many have already scheduled their appointments, and a ready to go.  Several have appointments scheduled this week.  It's a very exciting (and rather nerve-racking) time in the LLC, and we're very happy to have our wonderful advisors to keep us all on track.



Sunday, November 9, 2014

Health Professions LLC Update

Hello from the Health Professions LLC,

With only a few updates from us, we share only the best new news around. Later in October, RA Sydney shared an Event with another RA and did a tea-time with the help of DJ - the Assistant Director of the LGBT center. The event focused on inclusive language and to help better understand the definitions of words or phrases that are commonly used that may be offensive to others. Residents sat down with DJ who did an interview "game show" to see how people used these words and phrases. Residents had the opportunity to become more aware of the surroundings and what they say. Overall the event was a huge success.

RA Clinton held his own event that lead to an opportunity to inspire leadership among the community on the floor. Residents had the opportunity to talk with Rachel - the director of CCBBLR and she brought forth information about volunteer hours and the best ones for the nursing and health programs. She was able to spread awareness about what it means to volunteer and how CCBBLR is able to help track hours for all students. Residents then had the opportunity to play MADDEN 13' where residents could play as the quarterback and make leadership decisions to win the game.

As for further breaking news, RA Sydney will be holding another event, the unbirthday. Her goal is to bring residents together to celebrate their birthdays while they are here at UWM and talk about healthy intimate relationships. RA Clinton will be doing a door stop event that will allow residents to have their suite doors open. Security will give a small presentation about the importance of locking suite doors.

RA Sydney and Clinton will also be holding a passive event this month. We will be talking about how health professionals stay healthy during the cold and flu season. Both RA's will be handing out goodie bags among the residents. In these bags will be pro-health tactics that will help in the prevention of the flu and cold season which may be even longer depending on the pending winter.

 We hope that everyone in the LLC is having a good semester so far! Thanksgiving is right around the corner! Keep up the good-work everyone and make sure to take some time for yourselves!

Regards,

RA Sydney Rein and Clinton Plowman

Art and Design LLC Update

Hello everyone!

We are now over halfway through the semester, and things are moving right along for the Art and Design LLC! The study lounges are always busy with activity as LLC members continue to work on their studio projects. There have also been several exciting events over the past month.

On Thursday, October 16th, many residents went to the Crossing Over exhibition at the Union Art Gallery. There, they were able to see projects done by current UWM students - including Mentor Claire and myself.  This was an awesome exhibition to see because residents could be a part of it next year!

On Friday, October 17th, the Art and Design LLC went to Gallery Night in Milwaukee's Historic Third Ward. We visited several galleries and studios. Residents particularly enjoyed seeing the "Vital Technology" show at MIAD, a duo exhibition of interactive works by UWM alum Bryan Cera and UWM professor Nathaniel Stern, and exploring the many spaces in the multi-story Marshall Building.



Documentation of Stuttering (top) and Elicit (bottom), by UWM Professor Nathaniel Stern

On Monday, October 20th, Art and Design LLC students took a field trip to Milwaukee's Lynden Sculpture Garden. There, students were able to see a collection of over 50 creative, monumental sculptures out in nature. Students were really inspired, and took many photos during the trip!


Olympus by Charles Ginnever


Hara by Deborah Butterfield


Enjoying the field trip! Photo Credit: Jenna Marti

This semester is going by really fast! Coming up for the Art and Design LLC, students will be going to the Photo Documentation Lab on campus and learn how to properly document their work. Additionally, students will begin working collaboratively between the 2D Concepts and 3D Concepts classes on a Book Arts project. 

It has been a fun semester so far and I can't wait to see how the rest of the year goes!

Best,

RA Wyatt