Advice Category: Community - Page 6

Clean Cooking

Allawatt is helping develop a cleaner cookstove for developing countries. Read how he doesn’t just study theory, he impacts people.

ArtsUW

ArtsUW is comprised of the Seattle campus arts units and offers art exhibits, musical, dance, and theater performances. There are multiple student perks. Enjoy some arts this season!

Hungry for Change

College of Education Ph.D. candidate Christine Tran is “hungry for change.”

Write Well

I am coming back to the regular stream of school after 35 years. I would like to improve my writing skill to the level of my cohorts. —Anonymous

Congratulations! And welcome back to school. Students returning to school after a significant amount of time have unique challenges. The most relevant resource for you would be the Odegaard Writing and Research Center. In Odegaard Library, they offer one-to-one tutoring sessions on any piece of writing.

You can make an appointment or drop in. See their website for details and hours. In Allen Library, they also offer Drop-in Consultations for Graduate Students. Sessions are exclusively drop-in and are specifically targeted for graduate students working on long-term projects. See details and hours. They also offer a variety of other programs that might suit your needs. There are also writing centers across campuses and many departments host their own. Here’s a list of resources on the Seattle campus. Bothell has a Writing and Communication Center and Tacoma’s Teaching and Learning Center offers writing consultations. Good luck! Ask the Grad School Guide is an advice column for all y’all graduate and professional students.

Real questions from real students, answered by real people. If the guide doesn’t know the answer, the guide will seek out experts all across campus to address the issue. (Please note: The guide is not a medical doctor, therapist, lawyer or academic advisor, and all advice offered here is for informational purposes only.)

Submit a question for the column →

Picturing Hope

Recent graduate Ariane Gauvreau, Ph.D. ’15, finds innovative ways to improve communication for children with disabilities.

IMA

The IMA is free to use if you pay the Services and Activities Fee (Bothell and Tacoma students can pay to join), so you might as well take advantage. Besides the fitness center, the IMA offers a pool, climbing center, personal trainers, classes, roller skating, etc. Additional fees may apply.

A Vet to Homeless Pets

Grad student Heather Fowler works as a volunteer veterinarian for pets of homeless people. Read how her research interests inform her volunteer work.

Commuter Choices

I commute by bike and spend most of my day in a shared lab space. What are my options for showering and storing my stuff?

—Anonymous

First of all, good on ya for biking! Don’t forget, Bike in the Rain is coming up! So your best option is the IMA, which is free (because it’s included in the Service and Activities Fee) to all Seattle campus students. Bothell and Tacoma students can join for a fee. If the IMA is too out of the way for you, ask your building coordinator if there’s a shower in the building for use. For storage, again, check with your building coordinator if there are lockers you can use. Otherwise, a great resource is the brand-new Commuter Commons in the HUB, which has storage units and a changing room. (It’s sponsored by First Year Programs, but completely open to graduate students.) The HUB also rents out lockers in the basement. Happy riding!

Ask the Grad School Guide is an advice column for all y’all graduate and professional students. Real questions from real students, answered by real people. If the guide doesn’t know the answer, the guide will seek out experts all across campus to address the issue. (Please note: The guide is not a medical doctor, therapist, lawyer or academic advisor, and all advice offered here is for informational purposes only.) Submit a question for the column →

Stand Up!

We’ve all heard about the dangers of sitting for too long. Are there quiet places on campus to study on a laptop while standing up that are comfortable for someone over five-foot-six-inches tall? Although super cool, the counter height tables in the Research Commons are too low.

—The Standing Grad Student

What a great question! Yes, indeed, sitting is verboten now. It was hard to get a definitive list of standing opportunities on campus, but here are a few options to get you started: As you mentioned, the counters in the Research Commons. They have outlets and space for your laptop, but are low for taller students. Could you just stack some big, heavy books and make yourself a stand? The Odegaard Library also has counters, with the same pros and cons as before. The H-Bar coffee shop in the Physics Astronomy Building has tall tables and counters, but is not exactly a formal studying space. The Suzzallo Lobby and Allen North both have desktop computers on counters, so if you can work on a UW computer, that might be an option. We’ll post this question on the Graduate School Facebook group page and solicit suggestions.

And don’t despair, some sitting is not bad; and sometimes sitting feels so good. If you don’t have a standing desk, just stand up at regular intervals. This alternative position also definitely looks doable. Good luck!

Student Parents

I’m a single parent. Are there any resources available to me? —Anonymous

First of all, congratulations! Kids are awesome. The Childcare Assistance Program provides resource and financial support, in the form of childcare assistance. You can also connect with other student parents. The center is located on the Seattle campus in Schmitz Hall. For Tacoma student parents, the UW Tacoma Childcare Assistance Program helps with childcare costs. (Unfortunately, Bothell currently doesn’t have any funds for childcare assistance.)