Orientation and Convocation at UC Denver

UC Denver campus, Auraria Library on left 

This has been a week of meeting people, setting directions and generally settling in. I attended several new UC Denver Faculty orientation sessions, which helped me gain a clearer picture of the university’s vision and structure.

The Lunch and Learn Workshop, held on Weds in the Auraria Library, was the first in a series on International Students: Teaching and Learning Opportunities and Challenges. This week’s workshop set the scene by introducing challenges that international students often experience at UC Denver. The highlight was a panel of international students who presented powerful messages about what it’s really like to be an international student. They spoke clearly and insightfully about characteristics of good and poor professors they had encountered in Denver. They also offered hints to professors for supporting international students in their classes. Notably, one panel member commented that she found international students tend to be categorised as either brilliant or stupid, but in fact they are all just ‘normal’ students and would like to be treated as such. Later, two senior Faculty members presented alternative perspectives by describing their previous Fulbright teaching abroad programs.

On Friday I attended the new student Convocation in the King Center of the Auraria campus.

R to L: Dr Rod Nairn, Dr Jerry Wartgow, Dr Brenda Allen, Mr Keven Shaw (at Convocation) 

The new student Convocation was an uplifting event without direct parallel at QUT. The audience comprised new students and Faculty members, who were addressed by UCD’s senior administrators. The convocation commenced with the National Anthem, sung stirringly by Linda Theus-Lee, who is a past UCD student and current Faculty member of the UCD Business School. This was followed by several welcoming talks to the students that were informal and amusing whilst encouraging students to set personal and academic goals, to engage in their educational and wider community, and to draw on available support to achieve their goals. They resonated so well with our ideas about informed learning that they are worth summarising, as follows …

The chair person, Dr Brenda Allen congratulated the students on entering college and urged them to recognise this achievement by cheering ‘I’ve made it!’

Dr Jerry Wartgow, UCD Chancellor, extended a warm, personable welcome to the students, nicely showing the institution to be a learning community with a human face, rather than merely an educational system.

Dr Rod Nairn, UCD Provost, called on the students to keep a close focus on the ‘why’ of their studies, whilst attending to, but not becoming preoccupied with day-to-day issues relating to the ‘what’ and the ‘how’. He equated ‘why’ with purpose, longer term goals, personal fulfilment, etc. ‘What’ includes what unit/major to take, what assessment items need doing; and ‘how’ includes ‘how will I find resources? how will I pay for this course? How will I travel to college?’

Dr Frank Sanchez, UCD Associate Vice Chancellor Student Affairs offered the students 5 tips for academic success, which were very helpful in their simplicity for students tackling the complexities of university life and study for the first time:
• Develop time management strategies
• Build pathways through your studies, by identifying their strengths and talents
• Engage fully with your college experience, participate in campus activities, internships, voluntary community work
• Challenge your frame of reference, extend your world view, by connecting with languages, liberating your mind with new ideas, consider who you are and where you’re going (I was almost cheering him at this point!!)
• Study hard and get to know your professors; get to know at least one professor really well each year

Mr Keven Shaw, President of the Student Association, encouraged students to frequently remind themselves that ‘College is tough, but I will graduate’ – and to enable themselves to do so by seeking out support from their academic advisers and their peers. He also taught and had us practice the college chant: “When I say UC – you say Denver!”

Dr Brenda Allen’s ABC for students concluded the Convocation on a learning high:
• A: Always be learning (formally, informally, about yourself, about the world); she quoted Mahatma Gandhi: ‘Live as if you will die tomorrow but learn as if you will live forever.”
• B: Be resourceful. The university offers a cornucopia of resources, for your intellect, your body and your spirit, to help you survive and thrive. Use people as resources, draw upon their help to learn, including your professors, academic advisers, tutors, family, friends, previous teachers, Auraria Library. Don’t wait until you are in trouble to seek assistance.
• C: Connect with others. Aim for a rich diversity of friends
Her final comment: “Yes, you’ve made it – now it’s up to you what you do with it”.

... yay!!! to all of the above (from all speakers)

The Convocation was followed by a BBQ on campus, in a lovely grassy area between historic buildings (former homes). Faculty and advisers mingled and chatted informally with the new students, living up to the messages of speakers at the Convocation.

New student BBQ

Now coming to the end of an enjoyable, relaxing week-end …
Saturday, explored the Downtown area of Denver on foot, followed by lunch at a neighbourhood Mexican restaurant Las Delicias (lived up to its name, muy delicioso!) Then retail therapy at an upmarket retail outlet, Castle Rocks - incredible value clothing and shoes and stunning views of sunset over the Rockies on the way home. Sunday, more retail therapy at Cherry Creek (a more refined Indooroopilly) and then sensuous culinary selection at Whole Foods (much more fulfilling than plain old grocery shopping at the local supermarket).

16th Street Mall, Denver - love the busker on painted piano and free tram!