Tuesday, March 29, 2011 TechNews CMC’s Leslie Anderson bids adieu to NT after 8 years By Utsav Gandhi CAMPUS EDITOR For many IIT students, getting a job ranks very high on the wish list. Co7ops, intern7 ships, even small openings on campus that have nothing to do with a particular major are highly sought after by students of all ages and nationalities. If you have taken the effort of visiting the Career Management Center to either fine7tune your resume, or to seek help with a particular job application, you probably recognize the lady smiling in the picture, even if you can’t recollect her name. Leslie Andersen has for the past eight years served as an advi7 sor at the CMC, specializing in as many as nine different majors, and provided innumerable students invaluable help in pursuing jobs and careers 7 rendering her as someone not many students who have been fortunate enough to receive her guidance are likely to forget for a long, long time. During her time at IIT, Leslie has conducted workshops on job search strate7 gies and skills and has developed special career management programs in collaboration with other departments. It was with bittersweet pleasure that the CMC bid adieu to Leslie as she left IIT to accept the position of Assistant Director at the Harris School of Public Policy Studies at the University of Chicago where she will continue to serve students in career services. Everyone who knows her would probably join me in thanking her for all the kind advice that she gave in an always7 spir7 ited, enthusiastic demeanor and wish her all the best in her future endeavors. I had an opportunity to ask her a few questions on her penultimate day in office. My first question is kind of obvious — what are your feelings at this point in- time? Well, I know for sure I’m definitely go7 ing to miss a lot of students who I’ve built relationships with over my time here at IIT My experience has been incredibly reward7 ing 7 and I’ve also loved working with col7 leagues all over campus in different depart7 ments. 8 years is a long enough time to form some great memories. Do you have any special recollections to share? Bollywood Night! Really, that was un7 forgettable! On a more serious note, it was actually this one experience that comes to mind. It was the first day of classes one particular year, and as I was walking around cam7 pus, I noticed this student who was obvi7 ously new to IIT 7 nervous, hesitant 7 try7 ing to find his way around the buildings. I remember walking up to him and helping him out. Today, he’s at a co7op in abig insti7 tution and it’s incredibly rewarding just to see this transformative experience 7 which is really what I love about my job. How much has IIT really changed over the years you’ve been here? Well, physically it has, quite a bit! What I appreciate the most is the effort towards sustainability, and the many new programs that have been introduced, opening up new opportunities for students. Any final message for students? As I always say, never think twice about following your dreams! Go confidently on the path you want to choose. Even if you can’t seem to figure out a particular goal or dream, it’s okay to lose confidence 7 as long as you made a sincere attempt to pur7 sue what you really want to do. It’s impor7 tant also to develop a network of people who might help you in times of need 7 and sometimes it’s only through a failed at7 tempt that you get to expand this network. You should be open to new experiences 7 because learning about yourself and your dreams is a constantly evolving process. Financial aid packages available By The Office of Financial Aid Financial aid packages are now avail7 able online for students who have com7 pleted a 2011712 FAFSA. Students can view their package and outstanding re7 quirements on the MyIIT portal on the Fi7 nances tab. Scholarships for 2011712 will be listed on student accounts in the 0f fered status instead of the Accepted status. Students are required to acknowledge the scholarship amount and accept it on the MyIIT portal themselves, just like federal loans and federal work study. For students selected for federal verification, a financial aid package will not be available to view until required documents have been sub7 mitted, reviewed and satisfied by the Of7 fice of Financial Aid. Selected students will be notified via email by the Financial Aid Office begin7 ning this week and continuing as we re7 ceive FAFSAs for 2011712. All questions can be directed to the Financial Aid Office at finaid@iit.edu or 312756777219. We are open Monday 7 Friday from 8:30am7 5pm. International Corner \ ’_/, V§I\k 'v éw“ |—| escribir_ .iC V62— MAI/\lg fo/Ivl ‘3‘? iii-Scri- edit0r@technewsiit. com campus@technewsiit.com RYAN KAMPHIUS UTSAV GANDHI 5 Help shape diversity at the Unity Banquet By Teresa Moreno ASSISTANT DIRECTOR OF WOMEN SERVICES The Student Center for Diversity and In7 clusion is kicking off a new program, the Unity Leaders at the 2011 Unity Banquet. Unlike ever before, the Center, along with the Univer7 sity, is supporting students as they take reins on how to uplift diversity on IIT’s campus. The Unity Leaders Program, which gets its official kick7ofi during this year’s Unity Banquet, al7 lows students to take action and voice how they envision diversity on their campus. With institutional support and resources, students propose and create a program to heighten and showcase diversity through one of the follow7 ing categories: Culture, Leadership, Research and Respect. These student7led projects, while unique, lead to a collective contribution made by students to add to the rich vibrancy of IIT Students can work as student organizations or unaffiliated teams to propose and bring a unique program to campus. The unveiling of the program, which will include more details about how to propose and what the program is about, will be shared at the Unity Banquet. The Student Center for Diversity and In7 clusion hopes that you can join them as they introduce this new program. The 2011 Unity Banquet will be held on April 14 in the Her7 mann Hall Ballroom with the reception at 5:00 p.m., dinner and the program at 6:00 pm. and the after7party beginning at 7:30 pm. There is no cost to students to attend 7 one only needs to RSVP by Monday, April 11 to scdi@iit.edu. ILLINOIS INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY Career Management Center (gaym gm @256.- .%m 7. 20/ / @5165 00M- 7.00;,» Wm- Qzé’mm 9%?! (6:960 (604;, ,s‘ m 730;»-Wme W963.- fimmmkénMnafleMua/Wm. Interfaith discussion tomorrow night By Alex Miller STAFF WRITER At 6:30 pm. on Wednesday, March 30, students from most faiths represented around campus will gather for an interfaith discussion with representatives from each of the five ma7 jor faiths represented on campus. With speak7 ers representing Christianity, Islam, Judaism, Atheism, and Buddhism, the hope is that stu7 dents will leave the presentation with a more well7rounded perspective on each of the belief systems. Set up as an academic lecture, each speaker will start the night with a five7minute presen7 tation on the basics of their religion. Each reli7 gious representative will then discuss the basic tenets and sects of the religion. There will also be discussion about the relationship between religion and science. The night will end with the opportunity for the audience to ask ques7 tions. “While it’s being called an ‘Interfaith’ panel, I think its more of an ‘Interreligion’ panel. W’hile ‘faith’ is a very subjective expe7 rience, this panel is attempting to present an objective, educational opportunity for the IIT community to learn more about the different religions practiced by students on this cam7 pus,” remarks Erin Jones, the representative for Hillel. She stresses, as do the other orga7 nizations, that the event is not meant to be a debate between the religious associations, but instead a productive event with the intention of educating each other about the differences between each religion. As seen throughout history, education about opposing viewpoints helps alleviate ten7 sions between groups. As chair of the Depart7 ment of Religion at Kenyon University, Joseph Adler attributes the study of other religions to the desire to learn of other cultures in the glo7 balized era. He remarks, “On one level, given our evident interdependence, we simply need to be able to communicate with our neighbors in the world. But, as many trade and invest7 ment negotiators in China have discovered, communication is not a simple matter oftrans7 lation; it requires an often subtle understand7 ing and appreciation for different cultural rules and values, different conceptions of individual and collective responsibility and identity, and so forth. The deeper these points extend into the assumptions that form the framework of the culture, the more they are connected with the culture’s religious beliefs and values. At the same time, we should acknowledge that cultur7 al diversity, whether at home or in the world, is not something to be merely tolerated; it is something to be encouraged and celebrated.” Looking at this event, we can see that it strives to do exactly this. All different beliefs are coming together for one night to celebrate their differences with one another, with the hope that better understanding and commu7 nication may emerge. This event, sponsored by the Office of Spiritual Life, Hillel, Muslim Students Association, Atheists and Allies, and Intervarsity Christian Fellowship is open to all students. Food will be served.