A Newsletter for UMW Faculty and Staff
Hello!
Hope you’re all having a great day! The Students Activities and Engagement department invites all faculty and staff to submit to the SAE weekly! The weekly consists of events, reminders, campaigns, and a special pet highlight! We would love to have more faculty events, orgs, and pets included in future editions!
Eagle Takeoff is also known as “Welcome Week” but instead of just one week, it’s the full schedule of everything going on around campus the first 6 weeks of the semester. From the Eagle Resource Fair on Move-in Day, to Family Weekend the first weekend in October, we want to include all events that are open to all students in an electronic and printed calendar.
Please submit your event(s) to this form: https://umw.presence.io/form/eagle-takeoff-event-submissions
And remember, if your department/organization has a portal in myUMW (Presence), you are always encourage to submit any and all events to the campus-wide events calendar through this form: https://umw.presence.io/form/event-registration
If you would like your event(s) to be included on a printed calendar, please submit either of these forms by Friday, July 23.
Thank you for helping to make our students return to campus better than ever!
Email Sandrine Sutphin at ssutphin@umw.edu if you have any questions.
SAE is planning to have its annual Eagle Resource Fair on Wednesday, August 18th from 12:00pm – 3:00pm in Chandler Ballroom. If you (or someone you may know) would like to promote your organization, business or office to our incoming freshman and transfer students, this would be the perfect event to do so! You can register at: https://umw.presence.io/form/2021-student-resource-wellness-fair-registration-form and the deadline for sign-ups is August 2nd.
If you have any questions or concerns, please reach out to Crystal Rawls: crawls@umw.edu or Sandrine Sutphin: ssutphin@umw.edu.
Recognized student clubs and university departments are now invited to register for Fall Club Carnival! If interested, please fill out the registration form no later than August 16th, 2021 (https://umw.presence.io/form/fall-2021-club-carnival-registration-form). Questions? Please email SAE at sae@umw.edu.
Senior Jessica Lynch received the Grace Mann Launch Award during the virtual Eagle Awards ceremony on Thursday.
University of Mary Washington senior Jessica Lynch received the Grace Mann Launch Award during the Eagle Awards ceremony, held virtually last night. Student leaders and outstanding campus organizations were honored at this annual event, presented by the James Farmer Multicultural Center (JFMC), Student Activities and Engagement, and Center for Community Engagement. Juniors Amber Brown and Quinn Lipetz served as hosts for the online presentation.
“Jessica is an amazing, outstanding individual,” said Dean of Students Cedric Rucker, who presented Lynch with the award. “All of the experiences she has had as a student leader, opening doors and making UMW a more inclusive community, are reflective of the life Grace led at Mary Washington. Jessica will leave a legacy for other students to follow.”
Grace Mann was a UMW student leader and social justice activist who died six years ago during her junior year. Her parents established an endowment for an annual financial award to be presented to a graduating senior who exemplifies Mann’s commitment to social justice, equality and advocacy. Read more.
Please join CPB, Class Council, and PRISM for the 2021 Big Spring Event featuring Antoni Porowski from Netflix’s Queer Eye! Antoni will be hosting a cooking demonstration from his cookbook followed by a Q&A. Register here to spend the evening cooking with Antoni!
The ingredients list will be published soon so you can cook along! Follow CPB on social media @cpbumw for updates. Registered participants will receive the zoom link via email along with the ingredient list.
All students will be entered to win a set of measuring cups, and one lucky student will win an air fryer! We can’t wait to see you all on April 22nd at 9 p.m.!
Even with strict health guidelines in place, there is still plenty to do at UMW, including this “Halloweens” event. A special calendar and list contain a collection of activities and ideas for staying engaged.
The bell tower on Double Drive still chimes twice a day. Campus Walk clamors with students changing classes. Adirondack chairs continue to migrate all over Ball Circle – except for the space occupied by the white dining tent that went up this spring due to COVID-19.
In an unprecedented semester of health guidelines, there are plenty of do’s and don’ts. Time-honored Mary Washington traditions are still on track, but they’re looking more digital and distanced these days. In the midst of it all, University of Mary Washington students just want to have fun.
A calendar of scheduled events and “The List,” a growing document of brainstormed diversions – learn a TikTok dance, create a time capsule, grab a free Campus Rec Frisbee – show what students CAN do on campus.
“Fun is not canceled,” said Student Activities and Engagement Director Sandrine Sutphin, who’s working with other departments to push out ideas to keep students involved, connected and de-stressed. “You don’t have to sit in your room. There are still lots of things you can do.” Read more.
Assistant Director of Student Activities and Engagement Crystal Rawls
Nothing ever stopped Crystal Rawls from going to school. With perfect attendance from kindergarten through 12th grade, she never missed a single day with her classmates. So she can understand why students miss being together on the University of Mary Washington campus.
Even while they’re social-distancing during the pandemic, though, UMW students haven’t missed out on opportunities to engage with their peers, thanks to the Office of Student Activities and Engagement (SAE), of which Rawls is assistant director.
“Our goal is to give students the chance to connect with each other, especially during these trying times,” Rawls said. A communications major, she was active on VCU’s campus as an undergrad, which led her to pursue a master’s degree in higher education at Old Dominion University. “We want to help them lay the groundwork so they can continue fostering these relationships once they return to campus.”
That’s easy to do in a normal year, but when COVID-19 cases began to climb last spring, the SAE team had to get creative, lining up activities on social media and Zoom. Throughout the summer, they kept incoming and current students entertained with bracket challenges and game nights, film screenings and cooking videos, playlists and podcast recommendations.
“We were able to interact with a large group of students, especially the Class of 2024,” said Rawls, who expects that even more will engage this fall after Club Carnival, which runs through Sept. 4. The popular Ball Circle event has been transformed into a week of virtual interest meetings, held by UMW’s more than 150 student clubs and organizations.
“Student activities can help you find your on-campus family,” said Rawls, who met one of her closest friends through a college club. “They can help you make lifelong friendships and create a lasting bond with your school.”
Q: What activities were you involved in while in college?
A: I served as a resident assistant and undergraduate teaching assistant, and I was a member of VCU ASPiRE, a living and learning community that encourages community engagement.
Q: What does your job at UMW entail?
A: I help UMW’s student clubs and organizations plan campus activities. I’m also the advisor to the Campus Programming Board (CPB) and Class Council, as well as STEP@UMW, Women of Color and Comb As You Are, which promotes natural hair and beauty. I also coordinate the Student Leadership Committee and serve as the Title IX Deputy for Students.
Q: What other virtual activities are planned for the fall?
A: CPB is having a caricature speed drawing event, and we’re also planning socially distanced scavenger hunts and online movie screenings. Bingo is returning, with surprise campus celebrity hosts and a special guest, Morgan McMichaels from RuPaul’s Drag Race.
Q: Are there any new clubs this semester?
A: Aubade Literary and Art Magazine is returning after a hiatus, and new organizations include the Culinary Club, Day on Democracy and the Fourth Wall Studio Club, focusing on filmmaking.
Q: What do you do when you’re not working?
A: Catch up on Netflix – The Umbrella Academy is quite good – and listen to podcasts.
Q: What’s your motto?
A: There is only one of you in the world, so be the best you that you can be.
At the first-ever virtual Eagle Gathering, administration, faculty, staff, current students and alumni welcomed new Eagles to UMW through a livestream on Zoom and YouTube. Volunteers lined Campus Walk with 1,129 luminaries, each representing a new student at Mary Washington.
Online trivia, virtual dance parties and outdoor fitness classes are in this fall. High fives, handshakes and hugs are out, at least for now.
Activities and engagement are as much a part of college life as academics. That’s why staff and student volunteers at the University of Mary Washington have worked tirelessly this summer to ensure that campus traditions like Club Carnival and Eagle Gathering draw first-year and transfer students into the UMW experience. Going virtual for the first time, these events will continue to foster community and connection, even when students are apart.
“All students go to college to get a degree, but their experience is often defined by their involvement in activities outside the classroom,” said Sandrine Sutphin, director of Student Activities and Engagement. Read more.
