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

Transfer LLC Fall Highlights

The Transfer LLC has been hard at work since the beginning of the year adjusting to life in the Sandburg Residence Hall and UWM. 

We started September with a scavenger hunt program “Introduce Your Selfie” getting to know prominent spots on campus like the fountain or the panther statue (Shout out to Pounce!).  The Transfer LLC has also been working on introducing ourselves to all the different resources offered on campus.  We held an event that asked residents to explore the numerous offices on campus that provide the resources that help us thrive here at UWM.

The Transfer LLC has been active in registering to vote in the upcoming election and have participated in lively discussion and healthy debate. 

Floors 17/18 of the Transfer LLC were nominated for a Community Of The Month Award Recognition and won not only the Campus process, but also the regional process as well.  The nomination highlighted the communities sense of supportive spirit, value of friendship, and their pride for being a student.  The South Tower Community Council (STAR) even has representation from the Transfer LLC.

The Transfer LLC has focused on helping residents with their academics and identity as a UWM Panther and even as a South Cat.  Now that we feel introduced and comfortable as a member of the UWM community, we are branching out to explore Milwaukee.

The Transfer LLC will be attending an event centered around exploring Discovery World located in Downtown Milwaukee.  This event will help our transfer students a chance to get to know the city and the bus system (U-PASS) included in their tuition.  The Transfer LLC is focusing on how we can utilize our resources and succeed in the UWM community and the Milwaukee community.

I’m excited to be part of the Transfer LLC community and can’t wait to see what the rest of the year has in store for us.

-RA Paul Dixon

U1.0 I'm First LLC in the Fall

The semester is in full swing as everyone has been studying hard for midterms, and getting their service hours in. While everyone has been busy, they have not let it damper the smiles they bring into class every week. As a first generation student myself, I can relate to the challenges the students face, which makes me want to help them be the most successful even more as their peer mentor!

This semester all the students in the LLC are in a class titled POL-SCI 150: Voting Rights. The class sparks a lot of stimulating discussion especially since this is an election year. David Bowen, a representative for Milwaukee district 10 came to talk to the students about the challenges he faces as being one of the only black representatives for the district. The students said they really enjoyed him coming in and speaking to them because he faces many of the same challenges as they do.

This is me and the rest of the students in the LLC in our classroom in the Northwest Quadrant!

Not only do the students discuss different voting rights in class, and how different cultures and races are affected, but they also do service learning outside of class. This service learning helps the students get valuable volunteer experience that will help them understand topics discussed in class, and make them overall better people. I know that some people are even planning on working the polls during election day, this way they can have a positive influence on how election day goes.

Professor Shah and the students attended a speech given by two of the founders of the Black Lives Matter movement, where the they talked about social injustices and activism. Everyone had an amazing time listening to a couple people who influenced so many others. They even stopped by Sal’s pizza before the event to grab a bite to eat!

As you can see the First Generation LLC is staying busy and having fun while doing it! Check back next month to see what’s new with the LLC.

-Cassie Siedschlag, Peer Mentor 

Architecture & Fall Vibes

October has been a great month for the Architecture LLC!  The students are working hard in their architecture classes and have shown great progress.  In the first section of the LLC course, the students have been working on studying elements of topography and how to best place a building on a site considering various cultural and environmental factors.  They are currently working on creating a site model to represent the piece of land they are working with.  In the second section of the LLC, the students are going on site visits during their class period to many places around Milwaukee.  They have visited The Pabst Brewery, Milwaukee City Hall, The Third Ward, and some beautiful residential areas around campus.  During the site visits, the students are analyzing building styles and drawing sketches of the architecture that surrounds them. 

This Saturday, the 25^th of October, the LLC is taking a break from their academics to have a fun pumpkin painting session in Cambridge.  The students will explore areas around their residence hall to find unique buildings or styles that they will then represent in some way on their pumpkin.  There will then be a discussion on the different representations they chose to paint. 

A new addition is coming to the Architecture LLC!  RA Katy has been working hard to design and implement a display system for the LLC students to showcase some of their work that they have completed throughout their multiple architecture courses.  This will be a great way to have each section of the LLC present their work to the other section as well as the other residents of Cambridge Commons.  The display system will be installed shortly with pictures to follow in next month’s blog post. 

-Emily LaLuzarne, Peer Mentor 

Fall Highlights for the Health Professions LLC

Hello! The Health Professions LLC has had an amazing time thus far since school has started! Last month we had a volleyball tournament kick-off and since then the participation of the students has been extraordinary. We had a bunch of events since October started including: watching the election, meeting with advisors, and painting pumpkins and watching Hocus Pocus. The bonds between the students and staff has been amazing and it's great to watch the LLC grow.

The residents continue to hang out in the lounge and do their homework together. A bunch of them just had their first practical and it was great to see them all working together and providing support for one another. Classes have gotten a little more challenging, but they continue to ask questions and seek help if they need it. 

The Nursing LLC Class is very exited for November! We all just signed up for Make A Difference Day to help clean up the community and Milwaukee's neighborhoods. They continue to challenge themselves and have some healthy competition during their Team Challenge Competition for class. Within this competition they get various points for meeting with their advisor of Peer Mentor, attending an event and volunteering, and excelling in their courses and throughout school. The team with the most points at the end of the semester get a huge Pizza party and prizes with the LLC staff! They all enjoy this challenge and continue to go above and beyond! 

With all these amazing things happening throughout the LLC we continue to look forward and watch the LLC grow even more. The students continue to bond and excel within everything they're doing. They make us so proud and we can't wait to see what else they have to offer.

With Winter approaching, the LLC is ready to stay warm and give back to others less fortunate than us. We can't believe its already been over two months since we started school  and were ready to take down and tackle these Winter months!

Your Health Professions Mentor, Alexa Hess 

So much to do, so little time!

The month of October has been great for the Honors 1 LLC. Students within the community started the month off right by going to UWM Homecoming events, carving pumpkins, and displaying their masterpieces in the common area. Residents are making it a priority to watch classic scary movies in the common area most nights as we head towards Halloween. Also, the Honors 1 house has put a lot of effort into decorating Sandburg West Tower floors 15 and 16 in preparation for Halloween. This year hopefully marks the third straight year where Honors wins the annual floor decorating contest! Also, various members of the Honors 1 LLC have solidified their positions in the Sandburg West Activities Team (SWAT) and are working hard to collaborate with University Housing Staff to put on thirteen straight days of Halloween activities leading up to the eve of Halloween. West-O-Ween is an annual tradition for Sandburg West Tower and the Honors 1 LLC members are some of the people behind the scenes making sure it goes over without a hitch.

Also, within the past month residents of the Honors 1 community participated at the annual Panther Prowl run/walk on Saturday, October 8 in order to raise money for student scholarships across campus. A group of roughly 10 students from the Honors 1 LLC showed their support and joined the Honors College team. The team finished strong and had fun running through lake park and about campus on a brisk fall Wisconsin morning. On another note, the semester is in full swing and residents have made a priority to sign up for mandatory first year counseling with an Honors adviser. Now is the time of year students have started thinking about Honors classes for next year and have checked in with counseling to make sure they are feeling confidnt in their classes. The days might be getting shorter but the everyday energy among residents hasn’t stopped in the Honors 1 LLC.

Honors 1 Resident Assistant - Benjamin Bodus

Fall Involvement for the Business Panthers

For the month of October, the Business LLC residents are finally finding their place on campus.  My name is Tabby and I am one of the peer mentors for the Business LLC.  My business section meets every Friday for class and it is my job to meet with them outside of the classroom as well.  I require all of my mentees in the Friday business discussion to meet with me one on one.  During this part of the season, midterms are pretty serious for a lot of the new students, but at the same time, students are feeling more comfortable.

                One of the events that has happened this semester on the floors was a Jeopardy night in relation to the upcoming election.  Shela, one of the RA’s helped to market this event and some of the residents attended.  For business students, the upcoming election is a big deal!  Thankfully, many of the residents are now registered to vote in Milwaukee as well.

                As the month is coming to an end, the students are preparing for their business test that is coming up.  Luckily, their TA is very helpful and has planned a review day during discussion.  I, as their Peer Mentor, have organized future study sessions for students to attend. These sessions are optional, but could be helpful.  In addition to preparing for exams and connecting with each other on the floor, the students have all been connecting with their service learning components of their class.

                The service learning component of this course is valued not only by me, but also by Professor Friemark.  Service Learning in Milwaukee is so important for students to connect with the city, especially is they originally come from farther away. To help the Business students accomplish their Service Learning goal of ten hours, I have started a “Make a Difference Day” team for our class.  Students in Business 100 will go out into the residential community on November 5^th to participate in neighborhood clean-ups, meet the neighbors, and make a difference.

Thank you for reading!  I can’t wait to share pictures on how our “Make a Difference Day” goes!


Best,
Tabby Miller, Peer Mentor

Spooky Scary Filmos

This month the film LLC participants have been seen running around with the 16 mm Bell and Howell filmo. They have been seen on campus, off campus , in the nearby forests and rivers capturing beautiful silver halide images.

This month we got to meet and chat with Shannon McInnis and Ryan Fallon, two Senior filmmakers from our Department of Film, Video, Animation & New Genres!  Shannon and Ryan shared the history of their filmmaking, they screened sampling of their films, and  gifted the LLC participants with tips and advice, and answer any questions they had about their work and what it's like to be a film student in our department!  Students also earned a raffle  ticket for the end of the year, were one lucky Film LLC articipants will win a go pro !

It was a good month for the students of the riverview 7th floor . I know I am personally excited to see the result of all the hard work going on right now by the students at the end of the semester when he get to see all their knowledge in action .

Film LLC Peer Mentor, Dick Wilkerson

Exploring Majors through New Experiences, Events and Friends

Hello fellow Living Learning Community lovers! This past month, Career Quest has decked the halls, stuffed their faces with candy, hung snowflakes with care, dreaded midterms, and explored majors together. Residents have decorated for halloween, mourned the loss of some destroyed decorations and overcame as the turning of holidays neared by once again, decorating our home! (I may have a bit of a bias, but this place looks fantastic if you ask me.)

Throughout the month of October, residents have bonded with one another in ways that my co-Resident Assistant and I could not have imagined. They have created their own bowling league, attended a weekly pie day where residents gather and consume pies of all different varieties, and spent endless hours in our community lounge anticipating just how much more they have to endure prior to leaving for winter break. They challenge each other, they motivate each other, and they educate each other simply because they want to see each other succeed.

As an event, my co-Resident Assistant and I joined a few residents and stopped in at the Exploring Majors Fair hosted on campus. Those who attended spoke highly on the knowledge they gained through this experience. Residents felt comfortable and confident that they belong here at UWM, and are realizing that there is an opportunity out there for everyone to be a success in a career that best suites them.

Our community is finally a home for all, and we could not be more excited to share our home with everyone.

A Spooky October on the ASL Floor

Hi everyone! My name is Kit, and I’m the RA for the ASL LLC. I am a fourth year student at UWM and have finished ASL 1-6. I am double majoring in ASL Studies and Anthropology. When I was a freshman, I was also a part of the ASL LLC and it was one of the best experiences I could have had. The ASL LLC is the reason that I was able to pick up ASL as quickly as I did. I’m so excited to be a part of that experience for others this year.

Speaking of this year, it has been going great on the floor. The first year students are learning a lot, and everyone helps each other with ASL homework in the lounge. It’s not uncommon for everyone in the LLC class to be sitting around on the couches helping their fellow classmates with vocabulary, grammar, and facial expressions (which are one of the most difficult aspects of ASL for new signers to learn.)

This month in particular has been especially fun with a group of residents decorating for Halloween! We have plenty of spider webs and pumpkins to set the mood. But the ASL Floor is not a scary place to be. This month saw the addition of a new floor rule: if a Deaf/ Hard of Hearing person is present, everyone must sign, gesture, or sim-com. Because of this rule, our floor is even more inclusive than ever. Everyone even non-signers are welcome and able to communicate with each other.

In the video are some of this year’s LLC residents: Tori, Elisa, and Austin wishing you a very special HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!

Travel Updates of Architecture Design

Hello Members of the Arch 2 LLC,

As we near the end of the first month of the Fall 2016 semester, I just want to say that I think we are off to a decent start. I know all of us have been spending many late nights at studio trying to finish up big projects due the next day or even next week. With that in mind, make sure you set aside some time for yourself or do other fun activities around campus. Do not let studio consume all of your time. I have been in talks with a friend of mine in the graduate program. I am trying to set up an event where he will come speak to us about UWM’s architecture program, what to expect with each passing year in the program, and benefits of some of these stress-inducing projects. I will let you know when we have that event scheduled. It will be more like a destressing event.

Aside from news here in the LLC, I have an important announcement from SARUP. On Tuesday, September 29, Tammy Taylor sent out an email advertising for a meeting about the Summer 2017 trip to Europe. The trip is an 8-week intense course guided by Gil Snyder and Bob Greenstreet where students will study in Paris, Venice, Florence, and London. There are also times set aside where students can travel abroad in Europe to explore other well-known cities. The courses offered for this course include “The City as Artifact” (3 cr.), “The Paris Studio” (6 cr.), and “The Paris Directed Research Seminar” (3 cr.). For those interested in the trip, there is more information at http://uwm.edu/sarup/summer-2017-parisitalylondon/ .

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

Sincerely yours, 

Resident Assistant, Zach

The Panther Military LLC in the Fall

Hello! My name is Shelby Wester and I am the Resident Assistant for the 2016-2017 Panther Military, Veteran, and ROTC Living Learning Community! Welcome! 

We are very excited for the year and have a lot of big plans in the works for the coming months. Already our members have formed some great friendships just by living in the same building and knowing they are all part of the LLC gave them an initial starting point on which to build those friendships. For the LLC, we started the year with a kick-off event. All LLC members were invited, as were our professional University Stakeholders. We all got together and went bowling at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee Recreation Center, here on campus.

We feel that it is very important for our LLC members to not only get to know each other but to get to know the campus resources that are invested in their experience in the LLC. In this case, that meant that our members got to bowl with our Military and Veteran Resource Center (MAVRC) Representative, the Residence life Coordinator from University Housing, and myself, the RA. We bowled for almost two hours, enjoying snacks and some great conversations along the way. Our members discussed their personal experiences with the military and talked with the LLC Stakeholders about what they look to get out of the LLC, which has played a major role in the events that we have planned out for our members already. It is so important to us that we build a community that is welcoming and fun but also ensures the best experience possible for our Panther Military, Veteran, and ROTC LLC members. We are looking forward to an amazing year!! Stick around for what is to come.

-Resident Assistant, Shelby Wester 

Lots to Look Forward to for the Honors 2 LLC!

I am excited to welcome everyone to the Honors 2 LLC. Whether you came from Honors 1, or are an Honors 2 veteran, I am happy to have you on board. It has been a pleasure to get to know all of the new faces, and reunite with those I have worked with before. We started off the year with a fun “open doors” event in which we went around the floor and met our neighbors for the year. We have already had some good brain storming sessions about the activities to come this semester and next. I hope we can continue the Honors spirit with involvement, as there are exciting opportunities to come. We had a good Honors kickoff and pizza party, which can be seen in the images below. We went through over 40 pizzas; a great representation of the type of involvement we see in Honors. In the other photo we see our stakeholder and Honors advisor Aaron Dierks. We will be working with Aaron a lot during the year, and he has a big role in the success of the LLC.

Our upcoming event is a discussion on the Honors Senior Thesis/Project. Now is the time to brainstorm some ideas for your topics. There really is no end to the possibilities regarding these projects or theses, so find a compelling topic that you can dive into with some passion. Following we will have a crossover activity with the Honors 1 LLC to show them what our LLC is all about, as well as have some food and fun with our stakeholders.

See you next month!

Resident Assistant, Hunter

Sunny Days, and Artsy Ways.

The Collaborative Banner Final Result! 

The month of September was an excellent kick off to the 2016-2017 school year for our Art & Design LLC!

Soon after the new LLC residents moved in and began to settle we held our Kick-Off event on September 3rd! This kick off brought in the professors for the LLC Sections of 2D and 3D concepts Melissa Wagner-Lawler and Ray Chi, peer mentor Nia Wilson, as well as the LLC students as a sort of meet and greet event before classes start. During this hot and sunny day we played an icebreaker activity involving identification of multiple notable artists and pairing them with their artworks. 

Following this was a transition into introducing the Passport Program that the LLC is participating in this year. This program incentivizes the LLC students to participate in various events on campus, in university housing as well as out in the community to accumulate points which will eventually lead to prizes at the end of the semester. One of the goals of the Art & Design LLC is to have the LLC students find ways to be active members of a community through art, so we have started off our year encouraging the LLC to explore opportunities that Milwaukee has to offer.

Finally, during the kick off we created a large collaborative banner to hang in the hall of the Art & Design LLC and allow everyone to put their own personal mark on the community.

A mini art gallery forms in Cambridge Common's courtyard as a result of the Icebreaker

Following this event I took the traditional trip to Blick for the LLC to purchase their supply kits for the first day of classes!

When the Art & Design LLC students haven't been in class they have been seen around Cambridge Commons studying and playing cards together, as well as working hard on their first projects and preparing for critique. There are many excellent events planned for October to continue the success of this year!

-Resident Assistant, Joe

Meet the Engineering Resident Assistants!

Hello everyone and welcome to the Engineering Living Learning Community. We are excited to have you join us this year for college and are glad that you chose the LLC. While we understand that you have a lot of questions, we thought we could explain a little bit about the staff you will be seeing throughout the year and explain a little about what the LLC is.

A handful of you are probably wondering what the Engineering LLC is all about. You or your parents might have seen it on the housing sign-up form and thought it sounded interesting. Well, the Engineering LLC is a community for engineering and computer science majors. There are two ways that you can be eligible: either you are taking one of the four required classes for first-year engineering students or you have already completed that course in a previous school year. Chances are, most of you have are in one of the four classes. Within the Engineering LLC, you will be able to take part in special LLC-related events, such as trips to engineering companies, the Engineering Olympics, and prep for the Fall and Spring Industry Expo. While you are still a normal community, this allows you to get your feet wet in the world of engineering while also having a community of students in similar classes you can turn to if needed. Next, we’ll briefly introduce the RAs for the community.

On floor 9, we have Tyler Schommer. Tyler is a second year RA and a third year student from Southeast Wisconsin. His major is Mechanical Engineering and in considering a minor in Electrical Engineering. He is a member of ASME.

Floor 10 is Gretchen Olson. Gretchen is a first year RA and a second year student from Minnesota. Her major is Civil Engineering and she is a part of ASCE.

Lastly, on floor 11, we have Michael “Mike” Davis. Mike is a returning second semester RA who is also from Southeastern Wisconsin. His major is Computer Engineering and is a member of IEEE.

Once again, we are super excited to have you join the LLC for this school year. If you ever have any questions, feel free to ask your RAs and we would be more than willing to answer.

Here’s to a great school year!

-Resident Assistant, Tyler Schommer

Stand. Speak. Act.

Welcome to the Social Justice, Diversity, and Pride LLC! I am Tim Fischer, the Peer Mentor for this LLC, and I will be introducing me and my fellow Resident Assistants!

Information and Facts about the Peer Mentor and RAs:

Tim Fischer

I am currently a commuting sophomore studying History. One fun fact about me is that I volunteer at Milwaukee's Irish Fest every summer.

 

Dulce Blanchard

I'm a sophomore studying psychology and criminal justice and one fun fact about me is that I play the saxophone.

 

Angelo Villarreal

I’m a junior studying communications at UWM. One fun fact about me is I have won 6 radio contests!

 

In this LLC we intend to have discussions through class and activities to learn more about social justice topics taking place today in America and Milwaukee. This semester many students are taking History 150: Multicultural America to gain a better understanding of American history with race, culture and understanding! During the LLC’s kickoff students discussed the meaning of social justice and what it meant to them. In addition to discussion in the classroom, students have been given the opportunity to use the city as a classroom through Service Learning. Students volunteer in a variety of positions from helping the Hunger Task Force to assisting peace talks with city residents. The class also is given the opportunity to experience city events like Police/Public School board meetings and to tour the Courthouse.

                All of the LLC staff hope that through diverse experiences, students will gain a greater perspective on a variety of topics. In addition we hope to spark civil discussion on many issues that grip America today in order to turn students into better citizens! With Black Lives Matter co-founders Alicia Garza and Patrisse Cullors coming to campus, we are excited for October to bring new perspectives to the LLC!

Below are some pictures that the residents wanted to share with the Blog!

Talk Nerdy to Me

As the Honors 1 LLC Resident Assistant it has been a great experience to help freshman residents transition into their new home on campus at UWM. The Honors 1 LLC offered is like no other tight knit community at UWM and it can be seen through how the Honors residents have interacted with one another the first month on campus. Throughout this first month of the 2016-2017 academic year Honors 1 LLC residents have been attending campus wide events together. By attending the UWM Welcome Week events as a cohesive LLC the Honors 1 residents have made friends with those who live on the same floors, have the same classes, and are adjusting to college with the same concerns.  

To coincide with the friendly nature of the Honors 1 LLC, the LLC residents have been open and inviting to everyone into the common area on Sandburg West Tower floors 15 and 16. The common area that is shared by the Honors 1 LLC is a popular place for residents to sit down, eat a snack, do homework, read, listen to music, play games, watch television, and talk to other West Tower residents. Since the first move in day the Honors 1 LLC has embraced the mindset to get to know surrounding residents and to respect everyone for who they are. By utilizing this mindset everyday the Honors 1 common area is rarely empty and is a space for everyone to feel supported. Many Honors 1 residents are beginning to find part time jobs on campus and become leaders in different housing activity teams and organizations. The Honors 1 LLC is for any incoming Honors student looking to live in a supportive environment, tailored towards the Honors College standards, and to make the transition to college more exciting and less stressful. 

-Honors 1 LLC Resident Assistant, Benjamin Bodus