Tuesday, December 13, 2016

Meet U1.0 I'm First!'s Resident Assistant


Hello! My name is Olivia and I am the new Resident Assistant for the First Gen LLC! This is my first year as an RA and I am so excited to be working with the awesome group of students.
I am originally from Kimberly, Wisconsin where I live with both my parents and my younger brother, Avery. I also have an older sister, Becky. I am a Communications major with an English minor and am planning to get my masters in school counseling to work with high school students. It is so important to me that students have a positive role model in their lives to guide them and I am so thankful for my counselors that I wanted to give back- my dream job would be working in the high school I attended and planning weddings in the summertime. In my free time I really love to cook and watch movies with my friends and family. I am a home body so you can often find me in my room, or in Kimberly on some weekends!
Me with a few other Riverview RA's on move in day! I am the middle left.

Since I am fairly new and got moved into this LLC halfway through this semester, I have only been able to plan a few events in that time, including a hot chocolate event where I got to meet many of my residents. I hope to continue the positive atmosphere into next semester and continue growing and learning with my group of first gen students and challenge them to push through and finish their first year of college while bettering themselves simultaneously!
 -Olivia, Resident Assistant

Building New Traditions in the Film LLC

November was an exciting month here in the Film Living Learning Community!

As well as working tirelessly on their 16mm film reels, members of the LLC found the time to participate in what we hope becomes a continued and much anticipated tradition. On November 19th, residents in the Film LLC went for the gold in our annual twelve Hour Editing Contest hosted by Resident Assistants' Ella Freigang and Ryan Fallon.

The teams of 1 to 2 were all provided with nearly an hour of identical footage and sound files originally captured by Resident Assistant and Senior Film Student Ryan Fallon and tasked with creating a compelling and unique piece without adding any outside footage – and they did not disappoint! Throughout the 12 hours, these filmmakers were able to flex their editing muscles, acquainting themselves with various editing software options as well as the tedious intricacies of editing digital video. During the viewing party, everyone present was made to laugh, cry, and question everything in these less than four minute films. While everyone produced wonderful, delightful shorts, a few people deserve some special recognition. Congratulations to Cal Owens and Jared Mikkelson for winning the 1st place Judges Award with “Balaban.” Additional congratulations are owed to Michaela Dickson’s submission “12 Hour Editing Contest” for winning the favor of her peers with the Audience Award.

As the semester comes to a close, residents of the LLC have all had the opportunity to shoot with 16mm film on the Filmo cameras at the UWM film department. They have learned the art of capturing image on film and the process of hand editing their footage – which entails cutting and taping back together their film with much precision. As they move into digital film next semester, we expect to see continued growth and great things from all.

-Ella, Resident Assistant

End of Semester Updates for Education & Leadership!


November has been a fun month for the Education and Leadership LLC. We had our first LLC event. As a group, we participated in Make a Difference Day. This was a volunteer event put on by the Center for Community Based Learning Leadership and Research. Students volunteered around the Milwaukee area doing yard work for community members, and they also picked up trash in neighborhoods around UWM. The Education and Leadership LLC joined approximately 300 other volunteers at this event. Resident Assistant Lauren Leverty and Peer Mentor Franky Castillo joined a few of the residents in cleaning up trash along Bartlett Ave a few blocks west of campus.

A favorite part of the required class for the LLC is the service learning experiences. Residents are able to help out in schools all around Milwaukee, doing anything from helping teachers with crafts, to tutoring younger students on their homework. This is a great opportunity for residents to explore more opportunities for them in Milwaukee, and to gain valuable experience in working with a diverse group of students.

The Education and Leadership LLC also put their leadership skills to the test in a Minute to Win it challenge throughout the North Tower 21/22 house. Residents from the 22nd floor of North Tower, where the LLC is locate, challenged residents from the 21st floor of North Tower. Residents participated in small activities and team building games. Activities included a minefield game, a cup stacking challenge, and a tower building challenge. These games and activities created space for residents to talk about different leadership skills, and for some floor bonding through healthy competition. The Education and Leadership LLC is proud to be the champions!
Sincerely,
Lauren, Resident Assistant

Busy Preparing for Final Exams & Exploring Milwaukee



As we finish up the month of November we find our Transfer students gearing up for the end of the semester. Final exams are almost upon us which means plenty of late nights in the Golda Meir Library putting those final touches on thesis papers and cramming for final exams.  Amongst all the end of the semester chaos, the month of November held an opportunity for our Transfer LLC students to get out and explore by visiting one of the local Milwaukee museums, Discovery World.

 

Mid November a group of our Transfer LLC students ventured to Discovery World, an interactive museum found on Milwaukee’s lakefront. There we were able to visit the Science and Technology wing and the Reiman Aquarium. It was obvious that the most popular exhibit was the touch tank where we were all able to pet stingrays and sharks among other fish (pictured below). We concluded our tour at Discovery World and after little debate we opted to go explore the Historic Third Ward. The Third Ward is full of small shops, restaurants and the well-known Milwaukee Riverwalk. After exploring for some time we grabbed lunch at the Milwaukee Public Market and concluded our day by catching a bus back to campus.

 

This month most of our focus will be on preparing for finals and finishing the semester strong. We are also planning a tailgating event to get hyped up before the UWM Men’s Basketball takes on Western Illinois.

 

Best of luck to our Transfer LLC students on their final exams!

 

Yours truly,

 RA Zoe Schulz



 

Wrapping up the Semester with Architecture 1



Hello from RA Katy and Peer Mentors JP and Emmy. We hope you all had a good Thanksgiving Break. In JP’s section of the LLC the students are working towards completing their final projects. They have been given the assignment to create a design solution to fix one of the problems that Milwaukee is struggling with. The students are allowed to pick whichever issue is most important to them and then create their own solution to the problem. The final product of this project will be in the form of various diagrams, sketches as well as a written design statement. In Emmy’s section of the LLC, the students are designing a senior living community. They need to focus on site accessibility as well as the more technical aspects of grading the topography. The final product of this project will be a set of diagrams, technical drawings as well as a model of their buildings on the site.

On November 18th, the LLC students had a unique opportunity to share what they were working on with the rest of the SARUP community. Each Friday, the school hosts tea and bikkies where a specific part of the architecture community will briefly speak about what they are doing during the semester while the whole school enjoys cookies and tea. On the 18th, it was the architecture LLC’s turn to speak and four students showed off their work and explained what the LLC is all about. Overall the event was very successful.

On December 13th, the LLC will be hosting its last event of the semester. We will be holding a gingerbread architecture contest. The students will have to design an architectural piece using gram crackers, frosting and various other tasty treats. The winner of the competition will receive a fabulous prize consisting of different architectural supplies.
-Emmy, Peer Mentor

Architecture Design Fall Updates!


Hello Members of the Arch 2 LLC,

                We are now halfway done with the Fall 2016 semester. Most of us have had or will be having reviews either in the past week or the coming week. I would just like to remind everyone to hang in there and that you will get through this. For those in their first year of studio, I am trying to set up a destressing event where friends of mine from higher up in the program will talk about what architecture will be like in the next few semesters. We will also be having an ice cream social with it!

                With the Halloween season upon us, the American Institute of Architecture Students helped us with an event. On October 27, they held a pumpkin carving contest at the School of Architecture commons. With members in teams of two, voting on the winner took place at tea and bikkies the next day. Sadly, no one from the LLC won the $50 RP Lab gift card prize, but everyone had great designs. I believe it some seniors who used Buckminster Fuller’s dymaxion map as inspiration for the winner. We now have one year to generate some great ideas so that next year, a member of the LLC will take home that awesome prize!

                I hope that everyone continues to do well in studio and remembers to have set aside some free time to do something fun. Keep an eye out for event posters coming out soon and have fun this semester!



Sincerely yours,
Zach, RA
LLC Members Cierra and Sam and their pumpkin carving of Mike Wazowski!
 

Friday, December 2, 2016

Fall Updates for the Music LLC

Hello! Being the resident assistant of the Music LLC always has its perks and I definitely got to experience one of the special perks today.  Some of my residents were performing in one of the musicals that UWM was putting on. Of course with that being said I had to bring other residents along to see the show as well and support them.  Some of my residents were performing in the show “Woman on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown”, I know that’s quite a mouthful of a title. Well what can I say, the show was fabulous! I was so thrilled to have had the chance to see it. I was so well put together, well choreographed and certainly well acted and performed.

Another thing that I had to do this month was replace my oh so famous “To Practice or not to Practice” bulletin board. This bulletin board certainly got the conversation rolling amongst the residents as they boisterously compared how much they practiced on average. Each one would try to out do the other.  I was just glad that the musicians were recognizing the value and importance of practicing their musical craft.

There are so many talented musicians in the Music LLC and one thing that I love the most is that they are each a little different. That’s the beauty about music though. It’s not like you just have one genre or style and that’s that. The Music LLC reaches ever different area of music that there is. Some love and study opera, yet others are more focused on musical theater. You might have a student who is obsessed with jazz guitar, and then another who cannot get enough of the symphonies written by Brahms. All in all, each student, including myself, brings together a little bit of the puzzle that creates the musical universe.

 
 
-Madison Larson, RA
 

Honors 2 Involvement with the Election

 
The Honors 2 LLC had an eventful month. With everyone settled into classes, the attention turned toward the election. A few of us watched the debates in the lounge and discussed political matters. We have had tables set up her in the residence hall for voter registration, and the Honors 2 seems ready for November 8th. We had a great event in earlier in the month when we invited the Honors 1 LLC over to see what Honors 2 is all about. We had an incredible turnout and we invited Honors Advisors Aaron and Melissa over for some pizza and games. Honors 2 also got some good information about non-seminar options for credit in Honors. Students have the opportunity to do study abroad, as well as Honors Senior Thesis or Project. These are neat opportunities to delve into any interest, and present heavy research or critical analysis. Lately, the students have been crunching for midterms, but it seems like they have been going well for most of us on the floor.
As far as the weeks coming up, be sure to set up advising appointments and pick out a schedule for next semester. Class registration is right around the corner on November 14th, so make sure you are ready. Look around for upcoming events. The floor will be having a bowling night and there will be more fun stuff to come. I hope to see everyone there.

Happy Halloween everyone, I hope it is safe and enjoyable. We look forward to Thanksgiving break and hope you check in with us next month for an update.

-Hunter Reed

Panther Military LLC Updates

Hello everyone! The Panther Military, Veteran and ROTC Living Learning Community is going strong! Most of our members have been hard at work with their studies. Midterms are over but the work still keeps going.
 
Everyone here in Purin in the LLC has grown very close over the last two months. It has been amazing to watch everyone build friendships and connections with each other that started with the common connection from the LLC. They all are doing homework together, going out into the city, attending common classes, and just overall doing social activities together.
The last event that was offered was in partnership with all of the other LLC’s in Housing! A debate watch party was organized with snacks and discussions with a political group here on campus! Unfortunately, our members were all busy at the time of the event but it was still an amazing event that connected the LLC programs throughout Housing!
 
In the upcoming weeks, I am working on organizing a few Hours were Sarah Terry, one of the LLC Stakeholders and part of the Military and Veteran Resource Center, will come to Purin and answer any questions that our LLC members have.
 
Also, coming up is Veterans Week which is a week of events specifically tailored to the Military and Veteran population on UWM’s campus. We will be making some part of that week an official event for the LLC. Also part of that week is the Military Ball which is offered to all of our students.

Keep an eye out for more of our activities! More will be coming soon! Talk to you soon!
 
-Resident Assistant, Shelby Wester

Fall Updates & Events for the Social Justice LLC


                                    Welcome to the Social Justice, Diversity, and PRIDE LLC! 
Here are some quick fun facts about RA Angelo:
-Major: Communications
-Returning Resident Assistant
-Hometown: Janesville, Wisconsin
Here are some quick fun facts about RA Dulce:

-Major: Psychology major with a Criminal Justice minor
 
-First year Resident Assistant
 
-Hometown: Oostburg, Wisconsin
 

                                                                   
The month of October has been a busy one for the LLC members. This month the LLC has been focusing a lot on the social issues that have been surrounding our college.  In the beginning of October the residents attended a Distinguished Lecturer Series event about Black Lives Matter, here they heard two of the founders talk in an Q & A style forum with Alicia Garza and Patrisse Cullors. This event had a great turn out and was positively received by the residents.
 The Black Lives Matter topic was also the subject of the October Bulletin board done by RA Angelo and RA Dulce. The bulletin board showed various facts about statistics surrounding the topic, tweets, and profiles of some of the victims.  
 

 Towards the end of October the residents focused a lot on getting the floor spooky for West-O-Ween. They spent a lot of time decorating their doors as well as the lounge area. The lounge was also home to the "Don’t Mess up when you Dress-up" event which was about cultural appropriation during Halloween.  During the event the residents took a handprint pledge to no culturally appropriate during Halloween and they also made animal ear headbands.  


 
 
 
 

 
 
 
 

The Annual Engineering Olympics!

October has been a busy month for the Engineering LLC with the Engineering Olympics.

Following the Engineering LLC’s tradition, we had the Engineering Olympics for 3 consecutive weeks where the residents of the LLC could participate in building different structures with limited supplies.

Week 1

The groups of students worked together to make a boat out of paper and tape. The residents are trying to have their boat hold the most weight before sinking.

The winning group of this first round included Jimmy, Kole, and Brett.

 
Their boat held all the quarters that RA Mike and RA Gretchen have, 2 small pumpkins, 1 gourd, and 3 rolls of tape.

 

 
 
Week 2
In the second round of the Engineering Olympics, residents had to make a water clock.  The goal was to get the water to drain out of their structure made of paper and tape closest to 60 seconds.  Michael and Patrick won with a time of 1 minute and 5 seconds.


Week 3
In the third round, the residents had to build the tallest tower that could hold the weight of 4 quarters and withstand 3 rubber bands being shot at it. The towers were built out of just paper and index cards.

 Jimmy and Naaman won this round with their tower at 12.5 inches. Although their tower was not the tallest, theirs was the only one to survive the 3 rubber band shots.

 

 
Final Round
Kaley, Jimmy, Brett, and Max were the finalists to participate in this round. They had to build a bridge out of marshmallows, straws, and popsicle sticks to hold the most amount of water.

 
1st Place: Max, 2nd Place: Brett, 3rd Place: Kaley.

-Gretchen Olson, RA



Participants Continue to Thrive with Volunteer & Professional Development Experiences

 
The Education and Leadership LLC is continuing to soar to new heights! The residents are another month into the year and have gotten to do many fun activities and develop as future leaders. Since the last blog post, residents of the LLC have started service learning as part of the LLC class. Having a service learning component in the class has given the residents a new perspective on education and helps many of them learn about what their future career paths may look like. Being guided by RA Lauren and the service learning component of the class has helped us achieve one of the goals of the LLC, the residents are being active members of the Milwaukee community by volunteering at schools and many community resources. As a part of a class assignment, the residents were also required to interview a community leader and write a paper about it. This assignment helps students learn more about different leadership styles, how to apply them, and gives them a better perspective on what they have learned in class.

The residents are looking forward to celebrating Halloween with each other and their floors, through a floor Halloween party hosted in their lounge. Through this, they will also get the opportunity to sign up for the "Make A Difference Day" event hosted by the Center for Community-Based Learning, Leadership, and Research. This event will send volunteers across the Milwaukee community to help with neighborhood clean ups! There is a lot for the residents to look forward to, whether it be doing community service, or getting to know each other better through floor events.

~ Peer Mentor, Franky Castillo

Wednesday, November 30, 2016

Learning from a Professional Dancer!

Hey Everybody!


The month of October was a fun and busy one for the students in the Dance Foundations LLC!






My name is Bailey Stowell and I am the peer mentor for this LLC! I have been able to partake in many of the Intro to Dance Making Skills class and I have to say that it has been a very interesting and insightful experience! I am not majoring in anything related to dance, but watching these students work for what they are interested in is amazing. So far, the students have made short dances based on mimicking the surrounding objects with their bodies, worked with their environment to tell a story, and even auditioned for programs such as our Panther Dance Team and New Dancemakers! There are always lots of things to do and moving around for these students :)



Something super cool that has happened so far for the students in this LLC was a guest speaker! This woman's name is Kathleen Hermesdorf. She has been a part of dance productions all the way from California to Germany and definitely has enough knowledge and skill to show for it! She worked with almost every dance class for a couple of days and provided the students with the extra OOMPH that they need to be even more successful dancers here at UWM!





If you are thinking about joining an LLC, I highly recommend it! Within the past two months I have began to witness many great friendships sprout and fascinating opportunities arise for these students and I hope more people show an interest!
-
-Bailey Stowell, Peer Mentor







The Hard Work of the Art Students!



Who said that Art students have it easy?
This last couple of months the Art and Design LLC students have been busy with projects in the  2D and 3D classes and experiencing fun trips throughout Milwaukee. Our teachers for the 2D and 3D class are both professional artists, Melissa Wagner-Lawler for 2D and Ray Chi for our 3D. Both teachers are involved in the arts throughout the city of Milwaukee. In addition they help lead and create the collaborative projects in the 2D and 3D classes.
Earlier, in the semester we visited the Haggerty Art Museum on Marquette campus to get inspired. From there 2D and 3D students paired up to collaborate on art work inspired by the museum for future projects. The 3D class students than did a paper project inspired from the museum. Now the 2D class is making a painting project from their partner in 3D class. We are now in the first stages of the painting project and everyone is still inspired.
Students have been learning to branch out of their comfort zones. We have fun learning, expressing, creating and using our creativity. There are so many little details and time put into final projects. The 3D students are beginning work on their plaster projects. Students are taking advantage of learning new skills and adapting them to their degree and skills. The Art and Design LLC allows students to explore the 2D and 3D class, but also to learn collaborate with other students and be more involved in the Milwaukee community.  Being an art major student is a lot of work. The lessons learned on balancing multiple projects, studio time and time management will prepare you for the upcoming work and career of a creative field.
-Nia Wilson, Peer Mentor