Photo by: Los Angeles Times
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Happy Thanksgiving! In the United States, Thanksgiving is a holiday when people gather with their loved ones on the fourth Thursday of November. It’s a time to enjoy a traditional meal and be thankful for the good things in life. The tradition of Thanksgiving started almost 400 years ago in the early days of the British colonies. When we think of Thanksgiving, we usually think about spending time with family and being grateful, but it’s also important to remember the challenges that Native Americans faced, like disease, war, slavery, and the difficulties brought by colonization. Learn more about the history of Thanksgiving in the "Reframing Thanksgiving" article posted by Gleeson Library and this resource from the U.S. State Department.
Express your gratitude by organizing a Friendsgiving (a casual, alternative gathering with friends for those away from home). Potluck-style gatherings, where everyone brings a dish to share, are quite popular for Friendsgiving, and they add a fun, diverse, and cost-effective touch to the celebration.
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MyISSS Update
MyISSS platform will be undergoing an upgrade starting over the Thanksgiving holiday. This upgrade will make it easier for students to submit requests, find completed requests, and download issued documents from ISSS. Current students will continue to log into MyISSS using their USF credentials. USF alumni on OPT/STEM OPT will continue to log in through the alumni portal. During the upgrade, students will still be able to access MyISSS to download documents from processed requests.
If you have already submitted a request before 4 p.m. on Friday, Nov. 17, it will be processed by Wednesday, Nov. 22. After requests reopen on the upgraded site on Wednesday, Nov. 29, we will return to our normal processing timeframe of up to 10 business days.
If you have any urgent requests during this period that will risk or result in the loss of your visa status, please contact your ISSS adviser. For questions about the status of your request, please contact our office at isss@usfca.edu.
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Travel Signature Days
For students who are traveling during the winter holiday, ISSS will be holding Travel Signature Days between Dec. 6–11, during which any submitted travel signature requests will be processed by Dec. 15.
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Health Promotion Services (HPS) is offering resources to support student wellness. Wellness is defined as the optimal state of health and refers to a person’s ability to live life to its fullness. All students can take the wellness check, a confidential assessment tool that can help you figure out different areas you can improve to achieve whole body health and wellness. After you take the wellness check, you can schedule a wellness coaching appointment. Learn more »
| |  | Office Early Closure
The ISSS office will close early on Wednesday, Nov. 22, at 2 p.m. and will remain closed on both Thursday, Nov. 23, and Friday, Nov. 24, for the university holiday. We will be open during our regular hours, 9 a.m.–5 p.m., on Monday, Nov. 20, and Tuesday, Nov. 21.
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 | Preparing for Finals Workshop
The Learning Center invites you to attend the academic skills coaching workshop Preparing for Finals to get ready for the upcoming final exams. The following topics will be discussed: structured study time, finding focus and academic mindsets, and test-taking and exam preparation strategies.
Join the workshop on Tuesday, Nov. 28, from 11:50 a.m.–12:40 p.m. PST and on Wednesday, Nov. 29 from 5:30–6:30 p.m. PST on Zoom » | |  | Spanish Classes for Spring
The Department of Languages, Literatures, and Cultures will be offering a variety of Spanish classes designed for beginner, intermediate, bilingual, and advanced levels. Beginner classes SPAN 101 and SPAN 102 will be Monday through Friday, and SPAN 221, SPAN 206, and SPAN 202 will be on Tuesdays and Thursdays. All classes are taught in Spanish. | |
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If you are requesting an immigration document or letter from our office, remember that we request ten business days to process requests. Make sure you plan accordingly so you have enough time to receive your document before you need it. All ISSS requests should be submitted through the MyISSS student portal (select the home icon, site home, and then requests on the left-hand menu). You can view our MyISSS Student Handbook for assistance with your submission.
Please note that MyISSS is currently being upgraded from Nov. 17–29. Learn more »
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Appointments can be made online. Please visit the ISSS website to schedule an appointment. Appointments are still booked in 15-minute increments. To schedule a workshop, select workshops from the first menu option in our scheduler. Students must complete an OPT workshop before applying for OPT.
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