Supporting Local Students During Intersession

The change in Clark University’s academic calendar for the 2020-’21 school year is leaving a wide gap between the Fall and Spring semesters.  With the help of graduate student Sonia Vo, MSF ‘21, the School of Business has compiled these on- and off-campus activities for students staying locally.

Students – We care about you! It is important to the faculty and staff of School of Business that you stay healthy and well during this time, and we encourage you to take advantage of the many recommendations and activities on this list.

First and foremost, Take Care of Yourself!

One of the best recommendations we can give to take care of yourself during this break is to set up and maintain a relaxed schedule, but still keep a schedule. Go to sleep and wake up at similar times. Eat meals regularly. Get out of the house and be active in some way every day. Have a small to do list each day of things you want to do to help guide your day.

Clark Wellness resources

Clark Wellness Education is excited to offer a Personal Growth Book Club over intersession! There are two book clubs for two different books which will be provided for free in pdf format. These two have been chosen because over this winter we think we could all use a little bit more of coziness and self-love! The books are:

• The Little Book of Hygge: Danish Secrets of Happy Living by Meik Wiking
• “Embrace Hygge (pronounced hoo-ga) and become happier with this definitive guide to the Danish philosophy of comfort, togetherness, and well-being.”
• The Body is Not an Apology by Sonya Renee Taylor
• “World-renowned activist and poet Sonya Renee Taylor invites us to reconnect with the radical origins of our minds and bodies and celebrate our collective, enduring strength.”

The director of wellness education, Erica Beachy, and Wellness Ambassador, Anna Kathryn Hodges, will be co-facilitating these groups.  The book clubs will meet weekly over zoom for 6 weeks starting the week of January 4^th and running through the end of week of February 8^th.  The exact date and time of our zoom meetings will depend on the schedules of those in each group. If you are interested in joining one or both of these clubs or have any questions, feel free to email ebeachy@clarku.edu.

Get into the holiday season!

Whether or not you celebrate a holiday in December, it can still be fun to check out decorations and festivities related to them!

• Take a walk around your neighborhood to check out all of the holiday house decorations. Or look up some houses in Worcester that really go ALL out and take a drive/walk to check them out.
• Or take a longer drive to visit some throughout the state:
  • La Sallet Shrine
  • Magic of Lights at Gillette Stadium
• Watch some of these classic American holiday movie favorites.
• Organize a gingerbread house decorating contest with your friends. We highly recommend these premade gingerbread house kits .

Get outside!

• Check out the trails that are part of the Greater Worcester Land Trust.
• Hiking not your thing? Go on a mural tour of Worcester’s amazing murals from Pow! Wow! Worcester. Here’s a map of the murals
• Try a new winter activity like skiing, snowboarding or snow tubing (no skill needed!) at Ski Wardor Mount Wachusett .
• Contact Allie Shilling, ashilling@clarku.edu of the Clark Student Council for possible free transportation through Lyft!

Pick up a new hobby!

Now is the time to take a break from studying and learn something just for you. Try out some new recipes, get better at taking pictures with your Iphone, learn the basics of a new language, or give yoga or meditation a shot. There are countless free tutorials online for anything you want!

Connect with family and friends!

We cannot stress enough the importance of staying connected with your family and friends.

• If you have been too busy, make a goal of setting up video calls with 3-5 friends or family members you haven’t talked with lately over the break.
• Meet up with local friends safely in person by meeting up for a hike or walk together outside. Maybe make a set weekly walking date with a friend to connect, get outside, and get some exercise.
• Or safely meet up with a friend at the Worcester Art Museum, which is free for Clark students (just get your ticket in advance!)

Give yourself a break from screens.

We are all in blue light overload. Take a break from computer, phone and tv screens and sit down with a few books this break.

Looking for a book recommendation? Check out the New York Times Notable 100 Books of 2020 – . Or if you are looking for some books that are a bit more lighthearted, check out these recommendations   and this USA Today article.

Get a taste of winter!

When it’s too cold to go out this winter, stay in and have a DIY “Hot Cocoa and Chill” night instead. What is better than a cup of Creamy Homemade Chocolate on a chilly night? Give this hot chocolate recipe a try.

Treat yourself with good food!

Food is not simply thing that people eat when they are hungry. Food is awesome, delicious, inventive, colorful, inspiring, and so much more. A mutual love of food can bring different people together and can make the saddest person feel a little better without even meaning to. You have worked hard this semester and hard work should be rewarded by good food! Want to try something new? Check out these restaurants:

Seafood: Hooks and Reels, Worcester, MA 

Gourmet Burger: Fix Burger Bar, Worcester, MA 

Vietnamese: Pho Sure, Worcester, MA

Italian: Via Italian Table, Worcester, MA 

Chinese: Chengdu, Westboro, MA 

BBQ: Fireflys BBQ, Marlboro, MA 

Gelato: Dulce De Leche café, Framingham, MA 

Download Yelp app or visit https://www.yelp.com/ to explore more restaurants.

Don’t want to go out? Have your food delivered to your door by using these apps: DoorDash, GrubHub, Unber Eats, Postmates.

School of Business Students – Take charge of your future career by working with the Stevenish Career Management Center.

• Schedule a remote one on one appointment through Handshake
• Log in to Moodle, and check out the Career Services Moodle Course: GSchool of Business_CTL_19 School of Business Career Training Library

Review video tutorials: Resumes, Written Communication, Professionalism, Interview Skills

• Submit resume and cover letter drafts to Handshake Documents section for review

Review Cultural Competency section:

• LinkedIn Cultural Competence Learning Path
• American Business Culture Article
• US Business Practices Article

Review Business Etiquette section:

• LinkedIn Business Etiquette Learning Path

Watch Networking with Betty Liu videos.

• Forage: create free account to this open-source platform of virtual learning experiences and participate in simulated projects with Fortune companies; simulated projects can be listed on resumes and LinkedIn profiles.
• LinkedIn: create a LinkedIn profile with appropriate profile picture and seek advice from SCMC through remote appointments on using LinkedIn to connect with alumni
• Parker Dewey Micro-internships: students may wish to take advantage of this time to apply for micro-internship opportunities 
• Big Interview Platform: practice interviewing through this virtual platform that uses your webcam. Select practice interview questions and record your answers then watch yourself to see where you need to improve.
• Handshake: use our online recruiting system to search for internship and job opportunities. International students may narrow down their search by companies that accept or are willing to consider CPT/OPT.
• Alumni Guest Speaker: Keep an eye on your email for details about an alumni speaker event on January 20th with Rasitha Herath, MBA-Marketing, on his career in web programming, digital marketing and analytics and digital strategy.
• Remote Mock Interview Days: between January 19 and February 5^th a series of remote mock interview days will take place in morning or afternoon time blocks, with employers and faculty in finance, energy, digital marketing, accounting, communication technology and medical devices.  Watch for emails from the Stevenish Career Management Center on how to register.
• Volunteer with VITA: Take part in the Volunteer Income Tax Assistance program and help provide free tax preparation to working families. Training dates to be announced will occur between January 6 and 18.

Continue Learning!

If you don’t want a break from learning, here are some alumni recommendations on free courses to check out!

• International Monetary Fund Courses and Certifications –  Recommend by Farhad Ahmad, MBA 2018 
• Ideo’s course on Human Centered Design – Recommended by Amy Whitney, MBA 1998
• Try LinkedIn Learning! There are many LinkedIn Learning tutorials to try out. – Recommended by Michael Edberg – BA, 1994
• Work on a professional certification! Alumna Emilee Cocuzzo, BA 2018, MBA 2019, put together this fantastic guide of professional certifications (many of which are free) students can work on.

Check Out Other Departments on Campus! 

Check the ALCI Facebook and Instagram pages (@alci_clarku) for events and activities! And keep an eye out for a flyer in January with events.

Follow the University Facebook page and especially the Clark Student Body page for events and activities  they share.