This month's Ed Talk was created to support President Nelsen's February 17th Campus Update. In his video, Vice President Ed Mills discusses the significance of moving to this new phase of COVID-19 vaccinations, the impact on our campus community, and the upcoming process for distributing vaccinations.
President Nelsen's full message is available to read below. If you have questions or comments regarding COVID-19 testing or vaccinations and how the campus is responding, Ask Ed through the link below.
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Click to submit a question or comment for next month's Ed Talk.
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Important Information About COVID-19 Testing
Sacramento State will be offering on-going COVID-19 Testing to members of the campus community.
Every week, members of our campus population will be selected to participate in COVID-19 testing. When you are selected, you will receive an email with details on making an appointment to receive your COVID-19 test.
Testing will be done by appointment only and opportunities are available for a limited time, as a new group is selected each week. We encourage you to take advantage of this no-cost COVID-19 testing.
Getting tested can help prevent the spread of COVID-19 to your family, friends, and coworkers.
A copy of the email you will be receiving is to the right and available to read in the link below.
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If you have additional questions regarding COVID-19 testing and vaccinations at Sacramento State you can ask Joy Stewart James, Associate Vice President for Student Health and Counseling Services.
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10 Years of the Out of The Darkness Experience
The Out of the Darkness Experience will celebrate its 10th anniversary in 2021 by highlighting suicide prevention and awareness, virtually. Taking place on April 15 and hosted by Student Health and Counseling Services, the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention Greater Sacramento Chapter and the Sacramento State Active Minds Chapter, this annual event will highlight mental health awareness, support for at-risk students, survivors, and anyone who has been affected by suicide.
Now more than ever, support for mental health and suicide prevention awareness is a necessity to all people affected by global events and those who are struggling during this time. With this year’s Out of the Darkness theme in mind, Apart but Not Alone, mental health is paramount to student success and this experience is a testament to the fight against stigmas surrounding mental health and suicide.
In collaboration with Student Affairs Marketing and Communications, students and staff will have the opportunity to participate in the “Share Your Light” challenge on Instagram. Beginning in March, the “Share Your Light” challenge encourages the action of sharing one positive inspiration, motivation, or “light” in day-to-day life. Stay tuned for more information on this challenge within the coming weeks. Follow @outofthedarknesscsus on Instagram for up-to-date event information.
Health Educator and Out of the Darkness Experience Coordinator, Lara Falkenstein, shares her message of support for this 10th annual event: “This is a call for all students, organizations, departments, faculty, staff, and community members to come together and not only remember and honor those whose lives have been lost to suicide, but to take action to help raise awareness surrounding the topic of mental health and suicide so no one ever feels alone or afraid to seek support or services. Together, we can bring this topic out of the darkness and into the light to support our Hornet Family.”
Paired with the “Share Your Light” challenge, every person who would like to support and participate in the Out of the Darkness Event can register as a Virtual Walker for free. Due to COVID-19 restrictions, the walk will be virtual, but registering for the Out of the Darkness Suicide Prevention Experience shows the same amount of support as would a physical walk. You are highly encouraged to join us for this event as we support all those who have been affected by suicide and mental health, as a Hornet family.
The link to register for the 10th annual Out of the Darkness Suicide Prevention Experience is provided below:
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2020 Distinguished Alumni Awards Program Wins CASE Circle of Excellence Awards
The Alumni Association, in partnership with Student Affairs Marketing & Communications is excited to be recognized by CASE District VII with a Gold Award for Alumni Relations: Targeted Constituency Engagement and a Grand Gold Award for Special Events, Single Day.
CASE, Council for Advancement and Support of Education is a global non-profit committed to advancing education, including alumni relations, communications, development, marketing, and advancement.
Both awards are in acknowledgment of the 2020 Distinguished Alumni Awards Ceremony.
Each year the Alumni Association hosts the Distinguished Alumni Awards Ceremony honoring notable Sac State alumni who have made significant strides in their fields and/or have been outstanding members of the community. The 2020 Awards Ceremony was held virtually this past October and honored notable alumni and Rising Stars such as:
- Preet Didbal '98 (Physical Education) - Founder, Redefine and Empower
- Dr. Jamillah Moore ‘92, MA '95 (Communication Studies) - President, Cañada College, San Mateo Community College District
- Rhys Hoskins '15 (Business Administration) - First Baseman and Left Fielder, Philadelphia Phillies
- Alyssa Nakken'12 (Psychology) - Coach, San Francisco Giants
- And More
To transform this historical black-tie gala into a virtual celebration, the Alumni Association partnered with Student Affairs Marketing and Communications. Between June and October, the Student Affairs Multimedia Team recorded in-person interviews and virtual remarks with more than 25 different guests. In addition to the pre-recorded guest interviews and acceptance speeches, the team recorded a 3-camera, talk show style monologue between President Nelsen and host Courtney Dempsey. In the end, more than 3 and half hours of footage was edited and assembled into the 90-minute program, which was streamed publicly on YouTube and Facebook on October 15th, 2020. Luis Kischmischian, Student Affairs Division Lead for Marketing and Communications said “It was a privilege to partner with the Alumni Association on such a project to show the world how amazing our Sacramento State Alumni are and what impact they have in the world. I am proud of our team and excited to see what we will develop in the near future to showcase why our core value is, ‘Where Students Come First’.”
More information on the 2020 Distinguished Alumni Awards is available on their website or by viewing the 2020 Awards Ceremony below.
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Coming in 2021, EMMA Editor Accounts!
With an eye on elevating the quality and enhancing the University’s communication strategy, EMMA (SacSend 2.0) was adopted in the Summer of 2019 to be Sac State’s official email campus communications platform. As the capabilities of this new platform were explored, the number of user accounts was initially limited. Sending messages was open to all departments and programs, but the role of sending divisional messages was allocated to Student Affairs Marketing and Communications. With nearly two successful years of partnering with the division, Student Affairs is excited to announce the next phase, EMMA Editor Accounts.
What are Editor Accounts?
Coming in 2021, Student Affairs Marketing and Communications will be partnering with IRT and Division Leadership to identify staff in departments across the division to serve as editors. Editors will have access to EMMA via their MySacState page, and the ability to create drafts of messages directly in EMMA. Once messages are prepared, editors will submit their content to Student Affairs Marketing and Communications, who will then serve as content reviewers, double-checking grammar and spelling to ensure consistent language is used. If misspellings are found or grammatical edits are needed, Student Affairs Marketing and Communications will contact the submitting editor to make the change. Once messages are ready, they will be scheduled for sending.
How does this change the process for sending emails?
EMMA Editor accounts will be identified and created throughout 2021. As accounts are created, Student Affairs Marketing and Communications will be working with new editors on the usage of the EMMA platform and processes for preparing email messages. Editor accounts will increase partnership between departments by sharing the process of creating and sending email messages. Departments will be able to create messages in-house on their own timeline, and the division will extend support through grammar and content review, as well as strategic communications support.
Editor accounts will also help inform the usage and need for email communication throughout the division. All messages created by Student Affairs editors will be added to a division-wide communications calendar. Student Affairs Marketing and Communications will monitor the calendar and make suggestions on the best time and day to send in order to ensure your message gets to students and does not get lost in inbox clutter.
Next Steps.
As editor accounts are identified, Student Affairs Marketing and Communications asks that all departments and programs wanting to send email messages continue to fill out the Service Request form located on the Marketing and Communications webpage and at the link below.
If you are interested in being an EMMA Editor, please contact Student Affairs Marketing and Communications at sa-communications@csus.edu.
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Kevin Eslava '20, Breaking the Gap Between Ethnic Communities and Mental Health
The impact of online learning has many students struggling with their mental health. 2020 alumnus, Kevin Eslava, graduated with a degree in Psychology at Sacramento State and shared his experience with adapting to a virtual setting while encountering the most significant misunderstandings surrounding online learning. One of which was his parents’ view of him as unproductive in the virtual academic environment.
Before enrolling at Sacramento State, Eslava lived through his parents sacrificing their homeland to provide a better opportunity for the family. The most challenging adversity Eslava had to endure in his early life was living in Colombia, a third-world country at the time. He had to face corrupt policemen that took advantage of his father by forcing him to pay them, or else fraudulent law enforcers would take him to jail.
Eslava’s family eventually fled Colombia and reunited in the United States to seek financial stability and better opportunities. However, Eslava mentions, “It was difficult for me to ask for help with academics because I’ve always been the type to want to figure it out myself.”
After the announcement of universities shifting to a virtual platform, his parents developed a cultural disconnect with Eslava completing his courses remotely. When they returned from their shift at work, they would develop the false impression of online learning being easy.
He states, “As someone who comes from immigrant parents, and has experienced living in multiple third-world countries; mental health is not a priority amongst the wide array of adversity that’s produced by the environment. Similarly, BIPOCs in this country are faced with their own unique set of stressors and adversity that’s produced by being a minority in this country.” Typically, mental health is disregarded because it is falsely viewed as being weak, and there are other significant things to worry about. Thus, emotions are repressed and brushed aside, causing unaddressed trauma.
Eslava grew interested in expanding his knowledge on breaking the stigmas surrounding mental health in ethnic communities. He is eager to increase representation for people of color and normalize the conversation about mental health.
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PAVE Program Receives National Accreditation and Program of the Year
The PAVE program has received accreditation from the National Tutoring Association and also was recently selected by the Officers and Board of Directors of the National Tutoring Association to receive the 2021 NTA Program of the Year Award. The NTA is the oldest and largest professional association dedicated exclusively to tutoring and academic coaching. This award was given due to PAVE’s extraordinary commitment to education, tutoring, and mentoring. PAVE will be honored on March 15, 2021, at the NTA national conference and be provided an opportunity to present about the program.
The accreditation and award are a testament to the collaboration with our campus partners and surrounding school districts. More importantly, this will position PAVE to increase and scale its impact with measurable objectives and outcomes to advance the university’s anchor initiative.
PAVE will continue to offer virtual tutorial support to K-12 students and families this semester. More information about PAVE can be found at the link below.
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Employers Love Recruiting Sac State Students!
Virtual career fairs are excellent opportunities for students to meet employers who specifically want to recruit Sacramento State students and alumni for jobs and internships.
There is also no need for students to be ready to apply for a job or an internship, as the Career Fairs include group information sessions that will give students a competitive edge to prepare and network with employers.
Upcoming Spring Career Fairs:
- Engineering and Computer Science Career Fair on Friday, February 26
- Job and Internship Career Fair on Tuesday, March 2
- Educator Recruitment Expo on Tuesday, April 6.
Click the link below to access this event in the Trumba calendar.
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13th Annual Sac State 5k Fun Run will be Virtual!
We aren’t hitting pause on our campus tradition – it will be virtual this year!
Don't wait - register for the 13th Annual Virtual Sac State 5k Fun Run today! Participants will complete their 3.1 miles anywhere, anytime between April 15th and 29th.
Students, faculty, staff, and community members of all ages are welcome to sign up.
Current Sac State Students will receive an exclusive $12 registration rate.
Not a student? Sign-up today to get the best deal!
- $16 until February 28
- $21 between March 1 and April 14
- $24 between April 15 and April 29
All registrants will get a Dri-Fit T-shirt, race magnet, race keychain, and digital finisher certificate. New for 2021 – A limited supply of $8 Doggie Registrations are available, which includes a reflective race bandana.
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Carlsen Center: Social Innovation Workshop Series
In order to address today’s challenges such as social and racial justice, affordable housing and healthcare, and climate change, individuals and organizations need to think differently and explore new innovative solutions for social impact. Social Innovation is a growing field and involves taking new approaches to problem solving that includes innovative (design) thinking, creative cross-sector collaboration, and informed policies.
“We are at a time in history where we are face-to-face with many challenges from social and racial injustices to climate change. Through this four-part series, we aim to provide the foundation for social and civic innovators to be successful in bringing about lasting positive change to these issues. We will be providing our participants with the tools, frameworks, and processes for exploring a problem at its root level and building a testable solution to have a scalable impact on our society. We hope you join us in this four-week journey and be a part of building a better tomorrow.” said Executive Director, Cameron Law.
The Carlsen Center for Innovation & Entrepreneurship is excited to partner with the College of Continuing Education at Sacramento State to deliver a four-part workshop series focused on fostering an innovation mindset, framework, and toolkit for civic and social innovators. The series will take place on four consecutive Fridays between March 5 and March 26 and aims to generate a set of actionable ideas for key civic and social issues in the Greater Sacramento Region. The Social Innovation Series' purpose is to provide civic and social innovators with proven and repeatable tools and methods for generating tangible solutions to social challenges.
Faculty and staff with an interest in addressing civic and social issues in our community are encouraged to explore this exciting new programming by the Carlsen Center. We can all take part in cultivating a culture for social innovation.
Throughout the Four Session Series, participants will learn:
- Session 1: Defining the Problem & Opportunity
- Session 2: Idea Generation
- Session 3: Piloting & Prototyping
- Session 4: Diffusion & Scaling
For more information about the Social Innovation Workshop Series visit the website.
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For questions regarding the Social Innovation Workshop Series or other programming from the Carlsen Center for Innovation & Entrepreneurship, please email carlsen.center@csus.edu.
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Take a Virtual Tour of Hornet Commons
Curious about the construction on the south side of campus? Want a sneak peek into the new Sac State upper-division student community? Take a virtual guided tour of Hornet Commons and see the construction progress, the apartment units, community building, and more. All tours will be live and guided by staff at Greystar Property Management who will be able to answer all of your questions about this new addition to Sacramento State!
Zoom Tours will be held on Wednesday, February 24 at 10 am and 2 pm and Friday, February 26 at 2 pm. Sign up now to reserve your space.
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We can’t wait to show you around and answer any questions you have about this exciting community opening Fall 2021!
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Student Health and Counseling Services: BIPOC Key Informant Interviews
Between February 15 and March 15, Student Health and Counseling Services is conducting an exciting new research project to inform and enhance mental health services on campus. Through a series of Key Informant Interviews, Student Health and Counseling Services is looking to gather information on the state of mental health for campus BIPOC (black, indigenous, and people of color) communities. Their goal is to understand perceptions of mental health, barriers students face finding support, and the impact of mental health on academic success.
Interviews will be conducted by a Faculty Lead Researcher from Sacramento State, Graduate Student Assistants, and Peer-Led Student Research Assistants. Research is funded through a CalMSHA grant opportunity with Student Health and Counseling Services.
Students received an email last week inviting them to sign up for this important opportunity.
If you work with students and know anyone who may be interested in being a part of this research project, please share the information link below.
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Staff Talent Appreciation & Retention (STAR)
The Staff Talent Appreciation & Retention (STAR) Awards Program acknowledges the exemplary performance and contributions of staff members within the Division of Student Affairs. The program provides an opportunity to recognize and celebrate the extraordinary performance of staff throughout the division.
The Shining STAR of the Month Award is presented monthly to an individual in the division whose actions or work performance stands out as an exceptional reflection of our divisional values:
• Integrity • Wellness • Innovation • Inclusivity • Collaboration • Service •
If you would like to nominate your peers, colleagues, and staff to recognize their amazing work, please click the link below.
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Keep Your Computer Safe & Improve Its Performance
A quick and easy way to optimize your university-owned device is to ensure it’s
up-to-date. Make sure to connect to Global Protect VPN every Thursday, which is when software updates and security patches are pushed to all university-owned devices.
These updates are important for programs such as Zoom, Avaya, OnBase, and Office to work properly, which can't be done on your own.
When you see the Sacramento State Desktop Alerts, be sure to click “Ok” to be
up-to-date! Keep in mind that if a Reboot Alert appears, you must restart your computer to finalize the update.
If you do not see this Desktop Alert on Thursday's contact SA-IT for updates.
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Comments, Questions, Concerns?
Don’t hesitate and reach out via any of the following ways:
- Email: sa-it@csus.edu
- Phone: (916) 278-2745
- Microsoft Teams, Skype4Business, or Zoom chat: sa-it | stdaf-01
- FaceTime, Google DUO, or WhatsApp: 916-984-5354
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