Lifting the Shadow on peer mentor program

by Jodi Szimanski, Student Success Office.

The International Student Experience’s SHADOW program has been renamed – it’s now the International Peer Mentors program. The new name better reflects what this program does to help new international students. International Experience Programs Coordinator Rebecca Nisbet matches up to three international students with a student mentor to introduce them to campus life and the City of Waterloo. The mentors help students with everything from registering for courses to finding services on campus, from showing them where to shop to adapting to a new culture.

The peer mentors volunteer their time to help international students transition to a new academic setting, a new city and a new country. Through weekly phone or email conversations and face-to-face meetings at least twice a month, the mentors help students feel like part of the community. “International students involved in this program adapt more quickly to living in a new environment and navigate a new academic system because of the support of our volunteers,” said Nisbet.

The volunteers get a lot out of the program too. The students they’re matched with have similar interests, but often because of cultural differences they learn something new. “It has been interesting for me and the international student I’ve been paired with to compare our daily lives, talk about our past experiences and our families, and find mutual interests,” said Nicole Pitre, a peer mentor with the program. “The connection we’ve made is something we will both keep for life, no matter how far apart we are geographically.”

The International Peer Mentors program is currently looking for more volunteers – interested students can apply until March 15 for the fall term.

 

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Global music prof will expand cultural horizons

Professor Maisie Sum (right) has been appointed to a new faculty position in Global Music to expand and explore the study and performance of world music in Conrad Grebel University College's Music program.

“As a young, talented ethnomusicologist, Sum possesses expertise gained from a recently completed Ph.D. from the University of British Columbia, and significant international experience,” said Grebel President, Susan Schultz Huxman. “She also brings an engaging, warm presence that will serve her well as she interacts with students inside and outside the classroom.”

“The Music Department is thrilled with the appointment of Maisie Sum,” said Music Chair, Laura Gray. “With her rich interdisciplinary musical background – and even a Master’s degree in Engineering! – Sum brings a unique and fresh perspective to conversations with colleagues, students, and the wider Mennonite and Waterloo communities."

Sum has studied a variety of musical instruments, including the guembri (lute) of Morocco, the gamelan of Indonesia, and West African drums. She begins her appointment on July 1.

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Registration open for football skills camp

Registration is open for the Waterloo Football Spring Skills March Break Camp, which will be held from March 11 to 15  from 1:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. for youths aged 11-15.  The camp will be led by Warriors Head Coach Joe Paopao, members of his coaching staff and players from the Waterloo Warriors Football team.  The cost of the camp is $150.00 and interested campers can register online.  "Sign up early as loaned equipment will need to be arranged," writes Sharon Dahmer. 

Registration for the skills camp closes Friday, March 8. For further information, contact Marshall Bingeman by email or by calling extension 33149.

 

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Details for the days ahead

International Women's Week continues today with a bust casting event held at the Women's Centre from 2:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. in the Women's Centre, SLC 2102. Looking ahead to International Women's Day tomorrow, the Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics and the University of Waterloo are hosting an all-day conference entitled "Women and Physics: Past, Present, and Future - A Celebration of International Women's Day." Additionally, there will be an International Women's Day dinner at the University Club tomorrow featuring guest speaker Wendy Mitchinson.

Also today, the Communitech Tech Leadership Conference is happening all day at the Bingemans Conference Centre. The conference features an all-day tech expo, keynote speakers, industry networking opportunities, breakout sessions, and an afternoon reception. The University of Waterloo is a "presenting partner" of this year's signature technology community event and will be showcasing both our research and our resources with exhibits from the Conrad Business, Entrepreneurship and Technology Centre, Co-operative Education and Career Action, the Institute for Quantum Computing, the Stratford Campus, the Faculty of Engineering, and Alumni Affairs. Dean of Engineering Pearl Sullivan will be introducing keynote speaker Thorsten Heins of BlackBerry.

Two prominent Canadian universities named new leaders this week, with McGill University announcing that Suzanne Fortier would be taking on the role of principal, and the University of Toronto promoting dean of arts and science Meric Gertler to the president's post. The surname Gertler may be familiar to those members of the campus community with long memories, or those involved with the School of Planning. Meric Gertler is in fact the son of the late University of Waterloo professor Leonard Gertler, who is considered one of "the founding fathers of urban planning" in Canada.

Professor Gertler (right) joined the university in September 1966 and was the founding director of Waterloo's school of planning. He was hired at Waterloo in a time when Geography was still part of the Faculty of Arts, three years before the faculty of environmental studies (today's Faculty of Environment) was created. From 1966 to 1969 he was the head of the Planning program, and from 1969 to 1972 he served as director of the School of Urban and Regional Planning. He also headed a major planning study, commissioned by the province of Ontario, that led to the establishment of the Niagara Escarpment Planning Commission and protection of this special landscape feature of southern Ontario. From 1972 to 1974 he took a leave of absence to serve in the new Ministry of State for Urban Affairs in Ottawa. He retired from the university in 1990 and published Radical Rumblings: Confessions of a Peripatetic Planner, the first volume of his autobiography, in 2005. The Canadian Institute of Planners' Award for Planning Excellence in 2001 was named in his honour.

He died in December 2005 at the age of 82. His son Meric has continued the family business, becoming an expert in planning and urban policy and has been a professor of geography at the University of Toronto for 30 years.

The Glow Centre for Sexual and Gender Diversity is celebrating its 42^nd birthday this Friday, March 8, and the university community is invited to attend the special event from 3:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. in the SLC multi-purpose room. Free cupcakes will be served and guests will be able to participate in a variety of games.

"As the oldest queer student organization in Canada, The Glow Centre has helped countless young adults with issues related to sexuality, health, and campus life," writes the Federation of Students' Communications Coordinator Jacqueline Martinz. "Run by enthusiastic, dedicated student volunteers, it provides resources for the Trans community, a mentorship program for potential volunteers, and a lending library that includes books and DVDs on various subjects such as coming out and peer pressure."

Along with other Federation of Students’ services, The Glow Centre recently hosted Healthy Sexuality Week and Love Your Body Week. More information is available online.

Finally, here's the latest nutrition "myth vs. fact" from Health Services Dietician Sandra Ace.

"Myth:" If you’re lactose intolerant you need to avoid all dairy products.

"Fact:" People who are lactose intolerant don’t produce sufficient amounts of lactase, a digestive enzyme that helps to break down lactose, a type of sugar found in milk and products made from milk. Someone who doesn’t make enough lactase may experience cramps, bloating and/or diarrhea after consuming milk or some milk products. However, most lactose-intolerant people do not usually have to avoid milk products altogether. Some foods, like hard or aged cheeses, contain less lactose than milk, and yogurts with 'live' or 'active' bacteria may be better tolerated. There are also many lactose-free milk and milk products available in the supermarket dairy section. Many people with lactose intolerance can handle drinking smaller amounts of milk throughout the day.

 

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