South Hall's UPD Adopt-An-Officers

South Hall is lucky enough to have two UPD Adopt-An-Officers. Their goal is to assist us with any safety concerns we have, and to act as our liaisons to UPD. In case you haven't met them yet...

Officer Omar Ibrahim (Floors 1-5)
Officer Ibrahim grew up in Alexandria, VA, and received his Bachelor's degree in Business Administration from GW. He enjoys cars, motorcycles, making music, and eating.

Officer Noah Roberson (Floors 6-10)
Officer Roberson is originally from Maryland. His favorite sports teams are the Redskins and the Lakers. He loves pizza, cake, and ribs, and his favorite movies are the Lord of the Rings and Matrix trilogies. Officer Roberson is also a three-time ballroom dancing champion.

Make sure you say "Hi!" next time you run into them on-campus.

Important upcoming events:

Gradtoberfest is here!
A series of helpful and informative sessions have been put together by your House Mentor staff to make applying to Grad School much simpler. Events include:

• GRE Strategy Session with The Princeton Review- Monday, October 12, 7 pm, South Hall Study Lounge. If you'd like to attend, please send an email to dbh@gwu.edu.
• Grad/Med/Law Applications Panel- Tuesday, October 13, 6 pm, South Hall Study Lounge
• Personal Statement Writing with the Writing Center- Wednesday, October 14, 7:30 pm, South Hall Study Lounge
• Scholarship & Fellowship Workshop- Thursday, October 15, 5:30 pm, South Hall Study Lounge

Gallery Night
Mark your calendars for the third and fourth year residence hall Gallery Night on October 20th at 8 p.m in the South Hall Community Room. Enjoy an evening of photography, hors d'oeuvres, mocktails and good conversation with students and professionals from the university and DC art community. Gallery Night will feature photography from residents in the third and fourth year community and awards will be given to top photographers.

Department of State Internships
Do you want an internship with the U.S. Department of State? Confused about the application and security clearance processes? An HR Specialist from the State Department will be holding an info session on Wednesday, October 14th in the Ivory Tower Community Room! The deadline for summer internships is November 2nd...so now is the best time to get your questions answered! Come learn about internships, Stay-in-School, and Co-Op programs!


So, how do you think things are going in South Hall so far? Any questions, concerns, or thoughts?

~Melissa and Maura

And the winners are....

RAC elections were held on Wednesday, September 16th. Congratulations to the first South Hall RAC!

President: Elizabeth Wailes

VP: Liz Finnegan

Treasurer: Aditi Vira

Community Service Chair: Angelica Alston

Programming Chair: Bardeep (Suny) Sohi

Publicity Chair: Jessica Maloney

Rep at Large: Corbb O'Connor

Got any ideas for the new RAC? Leave a comment and let us know!


Here's what's going on around campus:

Graduate School Fair
The fall Washington, DC Idealist.org Graduate Degree Fair for the Public Good is generously hosted by the George Washington University Graduate School of Education and Human Development and locally supported by the Young Nonprofit Professionals Network of DC
September 21, 2009, 5:00 p.m. - 8:00 p.m.
http://www.idealist.org/if/idealist/en/CareerFair/Viewer/default?career-fair-id=226
At the fair, you will have an opportunity to meet graduate admissions representatives from various programs to discuss professional development through graduate education. You will also have a chance to attend a free information session offering advice on graduate degree options, the application process, financial aid, and deciding when to attend graduate school after spending time in the working world.

Fall Career Fair
Wednesday, September 23, 2009
1-5pm
Marvin Center Continental & Grand Ballrooms
Meet with employers representing a variety of career fields recruiting foar full-time, part-time, co-op and internship positions. Attend the fair to look for job leads, gather information, and to develop a network of contacts. Even if you are not seeking a job right now, it's never too early to come see what a career fair feels like at GW, talk to interesting employers about positions that might be right for you in the future, and collect information for next semester or next year. Proper attire required; professional business attire requested.

The School Without Walls Volunteer Information Session
Come down to the Community Room (128) in South Hall on Tuesday September 29 at 7:00 p.m. Meet with a representative of GW's Office of Community Service to learn about tutoring at our neighboring DC Public School, The School Without Walls! Rise to Mrs. Obama's volunteer challenge and check out how to help your Foggy Bottom community. RSVP by sending an email to Maura or Melissa if you are planning on attending.

The Newseum
Five centuries of news history along with up-to-the-second innovation and excitement are just around the corner as you visit the Newseum. One of DC's most interactive experiences, The Newseum highlights milestones and leaders in news and journalism through 15 theaters and 14 galleries. See the largest display of sections of the Berlin Wall outside of Germany, Pulitzer Prize winning photographs, an exhibit honoring those lost on Sept. 11, 2001, and a gallery called "Today's Front Pages," which presents daily front pages from more than 80 international newspapers. It's an amazing experience!

The two trips are planned for Saturday, Oct. 3 and Sunday, Oct. 25. Both trips will leave the Foggy Bottom Metro stop at 11am. If you are committed to going, please email your house mentor with your name, building, room number, and which date you would like to go.

AIDS Walk 2009

What: Run or walk 5k and raise money to support the Whitman Walker Clinic in DC

When: October 3, 2009. GW meet up at Kogan Plaza--time is TBD. Walk speaker, stretching, quilt display, registration, etc starts at 8:30 in Freedom Plaza

Why: To donate to the Whitman Walker clinic in DC (wwc.org). 1/20 adults in DC is infected with HIV, and Whitman Walker Clinic provides primary medical care, dental care, and mental health care as well as HIV education, prevention and testing, among other services.

How: Go to www.aidswalkwashington.org, Register Here-->join a team-->Colonials fight AIDS and enter in your information. From there, you can invite your friends via email and ask for donations from family and friends

Cost: $15 for student registration

Questions?: email Elizabeth Orlan at eorlan@gwmail.gwu.edu

The Challenge to Serve

Hello South Hall!

I hope the first two weeks of classes have gone well.

On Friday, September 11, First Lady Michelle Obama issued a challenge to GW students: if we perform 100,000 hours of service this academic year, she will speak at our Commencement ceremony in May. As most of us living in this building represent GW's Class of 2010 (including Maura and I), this challenge is especially relevant to South Hall.

What better way to accept Mrs. Obama's challenge than to attend the White House Volunteer Informational Session this Monday evening (September 14) at 7 pm in South Hall's Community Room (Room 128)? The White House Office of Presidential Correspondence is looking for new volunteers to maintain a vital link between the President and the American people. The Office of Presidential Correspondence handles most of the public mail, faxes, phone calls, and online communication for the President, and is actively recruiting volunteers to help the President by reading mail, answering phones, addressing envelopes, and entering data. Email me if you plan on attending. (If you are unable to attend the session but are still interested in learning more, please email me as well.)

Maura and I are also working on setting up other opportunities for community service. Possibilities include partnerships with GW's Office of Community Service and our neighbors, the School Without Walls.

What do you think about the First Lady's challenge to GW? Do you have any ideas of other ways we can serve our community? Leave a comment and let us know!

Just a couple of additional updates:

• Facilities has been aware of the building-wide hot water issues. They completed repairs last week, and while they will continue maintenance, it seems as if the issue has been fixed. If you continue to have problems in your room, please put in a FixIt request.
• H2Opening- All of the Brita filtration systems have been distributed. If you have not yet received your Nalgene bottle, email Maura or myself and we'll set up a pick-up time.
  
• On Tuesday, September 15, from 7-9 pm, GW Housing Programs and ISO will be hosting a dessert reception in City Hall's Lobby Court for international and exchange students.
  
• In celebration of the return of NBC's "The Office" I will be hosting an Office Party in my room on Thursday, September 17 from 8:45-9:30 pm. I'll have cookies and hot chocolate, and maybe even some brownies....

~Melissa