Februay 2008 Edition
More than 100 family members have already registered for Family Weekend! Students, faculty and staff look forward to having PLNU families on campus for a variety of great events and meaningful time together. Guests will also have the chance to win great PLNU gifts and a FREE two-night stay at Island Palms Hotel & Marina, just 2 miles from campus!
Please register online or by mail and take advantage of the reduced cost before February 22!
Be sure to take advantage of the reduced rate at any of the seven Bartell Hotels in San Diego. Call or go online to make a reservation today!
Find out more detailed information on our special hotel rates at the PLNU Preferred Hotels website.
CAMPUS EVENTS
RA Retreat
Friday, February 08, 2008
Student Ministry Leader Retreat
Saturday, February 09, 2008
Point Loma Singers and The Vocal Jazz Ensemble In Concert
Sunday, February 10, 2008
Cafe D'Amore
Thursday, February 14, 2008
Senior Women’s Forum
Tuesday, February 19, 2008
PLNU Concert Band Spring Concert
Wednesday, February 21, 2008
For a full list of all the fun events happening on Point Loma's campus, check out the Campus Life homepage!
ATHLETIC EVENTS
For a complete listing of basketball, baseball, softball, and tennis schedules, visit the PLNU Athletics homepage. Continue to support PLNU when they are in your area! Go Sea Lions!
STUDENT FINANCIAL SERVICES UPDATES
-- Important Tax Notice --
Please disregard the 1098-T Form that was sent from our office on January 25, 2008. We have discovered a system error that caused the tuition amounts in Box 2 to be reported incorrectly. We have now corrected the error and reprinted the 1098-Ts, and you should be receiving the new form within the next few days. The new 1098-T form will reflect the official information sent to the IRS, so it is important that you use the most recent 1098-T form when filing your taxes. If you have already filed your taxes using the original 1098-T, please consult your tax advisor. We sincerely apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused you. Please feel free to contact our office with any questions regarding this at (619) 849-2538 or sfs@pointloma.edu.
Friendly Reminder from Student Financial Services
If you haven’t already, please submit payment in full for the Spring 2008 semester. A 5% late fee will be charged on all outstanding balances on February 25th. If you have any questions or concerns regarding your bill, please feel free to contact our office at (619) 849-2538 or sfs@pointloma.edu.
by Thomas J. Denham
One of the most valuable things parents can do to help a student with career planning is listen: be open to ideas, try to help your student find information, and be nonjudgmental.
Here are 10 ways you can help:
1. Encourage your child to visit the career center (and you go too!)
Next time you visit campus, drop into the career services office and pick up a business card from one of the career counselors. When your son or daughter is feeling anxious about his/her future, offer the card and say, "Please call this person. He (or she) can help you."
Many students use their first semester to "settle into" college life, and so perhaps the spring semester of the freshman year is the optimal time to start using career center services. And, it's a good time for you to prompt that first visit.
Ask your student (in an off-handed way), "Have you visited the career center?" If you hear, "You only go there when you are a senior," then it's time to reassure them that career services is not just for seniors, and meeting with a career counselor can take place at any point (and should take place frequently) in their college career. The sooner a student becomes familiar with the staff, resources, and programs, the better prepared he or she will be to make wise career decisions.
Many centers offer a full range of career development and job-search help including:
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Mock interviews
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Provide a network of alumni willing to talk about their jobs and careers
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Have a library of books on a wide range of careers
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Host workshops on writing resumes and cover letters
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Provide recruiting program
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Individual advising appointments
2. Advise your student to write a résumé
Writing a résumé can be a "reality test" and can help a student identify weak areas that require improvement. Suggest that your student get sample résumés from the career center, from books at the public library, or online.
You can review résumé drafts for grammar, spelling, and content, but recommend that the final product be critiqued by a career center professional.
3. Challenge your student to become "occupationally literate"
Ask: "Do you have any ideas about what you might want to do when you graduate?"
If your student seems unsure, you can talk about personal qualities you see as talents and strengths. You can also recommend:
A career decision should be a process and not a one-time, last-minute event: Discourage putting this decision off until the senior year.
4. Allow your student to make the decision
Even though it is helpful to ask occasionally about career plans, too much prodding can backfire.
Myth: A student must major in something "practical" or marketable.
Truth: Students should follow their own interests and passions.
Myth: Picking your major means picking the career you will have forever.
Truth: That's not true anymore. "Major" does not necessarily mean "career", and it is not unusual for a student to change majors. Many students change majors after gaining more information about specific fields of study and career fields of interest. Many students end up doing something very different than originally planned, so don't freak out when they come up with an outrageous or impractical career idea. Chances are plans will develop and change. It's okay to change majors—and careers.
It's okay to make suggestions about majors and career fields, but let your student be the ultimate judge of what's best.
Career development can be stressful. Maybe this is the first really big decision that your son or daughter has had to make. Be patient, sympathetic and understanding, even if you don't agree with your child's decisions.
5. Emphasize the importance of internships
The career center will not "place" your child in a job at graduation. Colleges grant degrees, but not job guarantees, so having relevant experience in this competitive job market is critical.
Your son or daughter can sample career options by completing internships and experimenting with summer employment opportunities or volunteer work.
Why an internship?
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Employers are interested in communication, problem-solving, and administrative skills, which can be developed through internships
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Employers look for experience on a student's résumé and often hire from within their own internship programs
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Having a high GPA is not enough
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A strong letter of recommendation from an internship supervisor can often tip the scale of an important interview in their favor
6. Encourage co-curricular involvement
Part of experiencing college life is to be involved and active outside the classroom. Interpersonal and leadership skills—qualities valued by future employers—are often developed in co-curricular activities.
7. Persuade your student to stay up-to-date with current eventsEmployers will expect students to know what is happening around them. Buy your student a subscription to the
New York Times or the
Wall Street Journal [or any other newspaper or magazine that you feel would be helpful information]. When he or she is home on break, discuss major world and business issues.
8. Expose your student to the world of workMost students have a stereotypical view of the workplace. Take your child to your workplace. Explain to your son or daughter what you do for a living. Show him or her how to network by interacting with your own colleagues. Help your student identify potential employers.
9. Teach the value of networkingIntroduce your student to people who have the careers/jobs that are of interest. Suggest your son or daughter contact people in your personal and professional networks for information on summer jobs. Encourage your child to "shadow" someone in the workplace to increase awareness of interesting career fields. Find out more tips from the Career Center's
Job Search Tools.
10. Help the career centerCall your campus career center when you have a summer, part-time or full-time job opening. The staff will help you find a hard-working student. If your company hires interns, have the internships listed in the career center. Join the campus career center's career advisory network and use your "real world" experience to advise students of their career options, participate in a career panel or career related workshop.
Upcoming Career Services Spring Semester Events
Feb. 26 Peace Corps (Corporate Info Session) Cunningham A & B 3:15 p.m.
Mar. 26 Résumé Critique Campus Mall 11 a.m. – 3 p.m.
Apr. 2 Teacher Education Job Fair Mission Valley Campus 3:30 – 5:30 p.m.
Apr. 8 Etiquette Dinner Cunningham A & B 5 – 7:30 p.m.
Apr. 16 Career Job Fair Campus Mall 10 a.m. – 1:15 p.m.
Apr. 17 Senior Desserts Alumni Lawn 5 p.m.
HOTEL ACCOMMODATIONS for your next visit to San Diego!
PLNU and Bartell Hotels offer a unique opportunity for friends and family to receive reduced rates at some of the finest hotels in San Diego and at the same time contribute to student scholarships at PLNU.
Find out more information about this incredible partnership that will benefit you and many PLNU students!
VALENTINE'S DAY and BIRTHDAY CAKES
Remember your student this Valentine’s Day, February 14, with a special reminder that you are thinking about them with a package from home. Students enjoy receiving mail and especially something special to let them know you love them.
Birthday cakes are always available by contacting our PLNU Women’s Auxiliary for a donation of $20.00. For more information, visit the website and a form today.
For more information, visit the website and you can fill out a form today!
MEET YOUR PARENT COUNCIL
John and Kathy Wright
We are John and Kathy Wright, parents of two PLNU students. Our oldest is John Wright, Jr. and is a Senior, planning to graduate in the Spring of 2008. We also are honored to have a second son, Carl Wright, who is a Sophomore this year. Both live in Hendricks Hall and teach us much about campus life. Next year we will add our twins to the roster ~ Tony and Tasha plan to enter as Freshmen next fall. We have long been emersed in the life of PLNU as John is a Professor in the School of Theology since 1995. We find our lives enriched by students as we also pastor a local congregation filled with students, the Church of the Nazarene in Mid-City, San Diego. As Pastors and as parents, we are willing to go the extra mile, as Jesus taught us. We are here for you and for your students, in any way we can be helpful. Please feel free to contact us @ Jwwrightsr@aol.com
Meet the rest of your Parent Council!
Subscribe today!
Point Loma Nazarene University is pleased to offer parents this new, monthly e-newsletter. Subscription to the newsletter will give you up-to-date information about campus life, student events, programs, and athletics. The PLNU Parent Council will also offer helpful tips and ideas to support your student and keep relationships strong. Subscribe today and let the PLNU Parent E-Newsletter be a great resource for you!
Questions? Please contact Jen Huchingson at (619) 849-2560 or e-mail parents@pointloma.edu. Cancelation is available at any time.