GVPT Undergraduate Newsletter

6. The Hyman S & Freda Bernstein Jewish Literary Festival at the Washington DCJCC *New*

7. St. Norbert College Cosponsoring the iOme Challenge on US Retirement Policy *New*

1. Become a Counselor at the Help Center Hotline

Help Center volunteers have been helping fellow students talk about what’s on their mind since 1970. The Help Center is UMD’s Peer Counseling and Crisis Intervention hotline. The center's volunteers are trained to talk with students on the phone, and in person, about anything that’s troubling them, including homesickness, relationships, sexual assault, and suicide. Students interested in becoming a Help Center volunteer counselor should call 301-314-HELP by October 13th to set up an interview or ask for more details. Selected volunteers must be available October 20th from 8-10pm and October 24th & 25th from 9am-5pm.

2. Maryland Internship Program Currently Accepting Applications for Spring 2010

The Center for American Politics and Citizenship (CAPC) is launching the Maryland Internship Program (MIP), a comprehensive program focused on State government that will allow students to integrate what they learn in the classroom with real world experience in the political process. This competitive program will place 15 to 20 highly qualified undergraduate students in internships where they will work with and learn from officials in state government. Possible internship placements include the offices of the Governor and Lieutenant Governor, members of the General Assembly, state agencies, and courts.

Participants will earn course credit and stipends during the semester-long program by attending weekly seminars and completing various assignments, aside from their internship duties. Alumni of the Maryland Internship Program will also take with them invaluable experiences, skills, and networking that will help them find, and succeed in, careers in government, politics, or any other field.

The Center for American Politics and Citizenship and the Maryland Internship Program are both operated within the Department of Government and Politics at the University of Maryland. For more information on CAPC or MIP, or if you are interested in participating in the Maryland Internship Program, please contact Michael Charlebois at mcharleb@capc.umd.edu or by phone at 301-314-2736.

3. Client seeks Recent Graduate for Paralegal Position

Law Resources is a Washington DC legal firm that is currently seeking a recent college graduate who can translate Norwegian.

The position is full-time with good pay and benefits and prefer a 2 year commitment.

Those interested may contact Lisa Parzow at 202.371.1270 for more information.

4. University of Maryland Law School Fair

Students are invited to attend the University of Maryland's Law School Fair where more than 70 law schools from around the country will be available to answer questions and provide information about their programs. The University's Pre-Law Advising Office within Letters and Sciences is partnering with the University Career Center and The President's Promise to present the fair.

Date: Tuesday, October 13, 2009
Time: 2:00 PM - 5:00 PM
Venue: Colony Ballroom, Stamp Student Union

For a list of participating schools, directions to campus, fair tips, and other information, please visit:
http://www.careercenter.umd.edu/LawFairPrep. Business casual attire is suggested, and no advance registration is necessary.

5. African American Studies 40th Anniversary

The African American Studies Department (AASD) at the University of Maryland, College Park will be hosting a two-day 40^th anniversary celebration on Friday, October 9th and 10th.

The events will kick off with the Mary Frances Berry Scholars’ Colloquium, which features nine of the nation’s leading scholars in African American history and culture. The colloquium, whose theme will be: “African American Scholarship in the 21^st Century,” will be held from 2:00-5:00PM in the Lucille Maurer Library, 1126 Taliaferro Hall. A jazz reception will take place in the evening of October 9th, from 6:00-9:00 p.m. in the David C. Driskell Center for the Study of the African Diaspora.

On October 10th, there will be an African American Studies Founders’ Forum featuring founders/long-term chairs of AAS programs in the 1960s and 1970s. The event will be held in the Multipurpose Room in the Nyumburu Cultural Center from 10:00AM – Noon. The anniversary will conclude with a luncheon.

Registration information and forms can be found online at: http://www.bsos.umd.edu/aasp/40_anniv/registration.htm and in the African American Studies Department (2169 LeFrak Hall) or can be mailed upon request. For further information please visit http://www.bsos.umd.edu/aasp/40_anniv/index.html or contact Beck Krefting at rkrefting@aasp.umd.edu or 301-405-4470.

6. The Hyman S & Freda Bernstein Jewish Literary Festival at the Washington DCJCC

The Hyman S & Freda Bernstein Jewish Literary Festival, October 18-28, presents the year's best in Jewish writing by both emerging and established authors from across the globe. A celebration of Jewish literature, the Festival features engaging author panels, readings, films and talks for lovers of fiction, poetry, history, humor, children's stories and much more. This year's Festival includes acclaimed novelists Zoë Heller, Binnie Kirshenbaum and Dara Horn and groundbreaking books on Louis D. Brandeis and the capture of Adolf Eichmann. Don't miss opening night; Literary Confessions: An Evening of Philip Roth, and the closing night Gerald L. Bernstein Memorial Lecture given by historian Howard M. Sachar, Current Israeli Myths and Realities: The Way to Peace.

For more information and to purchase discounted student tickets go to www.washingtondcjcc.org/litfest or call (202) 777-3251.

7. St. Norbert College iOme Challenge

St. Norbert College is cosponsoring a contest for students to help influence U.S. retirement policy. The contest is called "The iOme Challenge" and it asks students to write an essay and develop a short video that illustrates some of the economic issues associated with U.S. retirement policy. The Blue Ribbon panel that will judge the finalists includes James Choi, a finance professor at Yale University; John List, an economics professor at the University of Chicago; Don Kettl, Dean of the University of Maryland School of Public Policy; Laura Schwartz, The White House Director of Events for President Clinton and principal at White House Strategies; Martin Merzer, a long-time journalist at the Miami Hearld and principal at Creative Services; and Aaron Hall, CEO of Borrego Solar Systems and #1 on Inc. Magazine’s "Top 30 Under 30" entrepreneurs.

The top prize is $15,000 to the winning student team and $1,000 to that team's faculty advisor. The winning team also will win a trip to Washington, D.C. to meet with policymakers during the week following President Obama's State of the Union address in January. There will be four honorable mention prizes of $2,500 each for runner-up teams and their faculty advisors. More details and specific rules are available at the contest’s website, www.iomechallenge.org. The deadline for teams to file their "Intent to Submit" is October 15, 2009, with final entries due by December 31, 2009.

8. U.S. Census Bureau to Visit UMD October 9th

U.S. Census Bureau and will be on the University of Maryland, College Park campus on October 8 for the University of Maryland Career Fair. They will are seeking to hire: Mathematical Statisticians, Statisticians/Analysts, Information Technology Specialists, Geographers, and Cartographers.

Students can read more about these positions (both full-time and internships), qualifications, and application procedures on their website at http://www.census.gov/. Please note that U.S. Citizenship is required for hire.

Students may contact Pamela McGovern at pamela.d.mcgovern@census.gov for more information.

9. Gatekeeper Training Sessions Available

Worried About A Friend? Become a Gatekeeper! Gatekeeper trainings are for individuals who want to feel more comfortable, confident and competent in learning how to talk with someone they are worried about.

Participants will learn three important skills through these training sessions:

1. How to recognize individuals who are at potential risk for suicide or depression

2. How to intervene and talk with someone you are concerned about-- no matter what the issue!

3. How to refer them on to professional counseling

For more information or to sign up for training please contact Carrie Martin, Program Coordinator: cmartin@health.umd.edu.

10. Brenda Frese to Speak at Hoff Theatre

The University Student Judiciary presents “What Matters to Me and Why” featuring championship winning UMD Women’s Basketball coach Brenda Frese. Brenda will speak at the Hoff Theatre on Wednesday October 8 at 7pm. Following the talk there will be a question and answer session and a small reception.