New Spiders Blog

If you are in the market for a shiny new computer to bring with you to Richmond next month, you are in luck!  There are now special online stores available for University of Richmond students to take advantage of!  Whether you are a Mac or PC person, it doesn’t matter, because both are available in the form of Apple, Lenovo (IBM), and Hewlett Packard.  Simply go to http://is.richmond.edu/purchasing/students.htm to find the link to the particular manufacturer that you are interested in. Enjoy!

Good question. Best way: Know someone, get to know someone, ask someone.

You get the idea. It’s all about networking!

Second Best Way: Check out the postings of available jobs. The list is usually kept pretty updated, and most of the available jobs on campus can be found here. The postings provide a job description, hours, wages, and a contact person. When contacting this person, remember to be professional! Many jobs might be informal or relaxed here on campus, but you still need to present yourself professionally when applying for these jobs. You should also have a resume ready to submit. Also keep in mind that many jobs will interview you first. The Career Development Center (CDC) can help you put together a resume, prepare for interviews, and provides many other services, so be sure to make use of this free resource!

The link to available jobs also includes information about working on campus, what documents you need to have with you when you first start working, etc. For international students, the site also has useful information about working on campus.

Every freshman has heard horror stories of the freshman fifteen but don’t get nervous yet.. Richmond has countless ways to help you stay in shape!

The first, and most obvious choice, is the campus mega-gym – aka the Weinstein Center for Recreation and Wellness. The gym is really nice and although it’s busy, there are always machines or spaces open so that you never have to wait. The bottom floor includes the majority of the cardio machines (treadmills, ellipticals, Stairmasters, etc.), the indoor pool, the gymnasium, and one of the two multipurpose rooms. The top floor houses the second multipurpose room, a large variety of weight machines and free weights, and an elevated running track around the gymnasium. The Weinstein Center is great for everyday workouts, but make sure to also check out the schedule of classes held at the gym – most of them are free to students! I loved my Yoga class this year, and I have heard rave reviews about Body Pump.

Although the gym is fantastic, there are plenty of other wellness opportunities on campus and in the area. The paved path around the lake and the gravel trails behind the lake both offer great views of the campus and are a fun way to get out of the gym and go on a run. An avid runner myself, I checked out a few other trails in the area and my favorite place to go run is off-campus at a popular place on the James River called Pony Pasture. It’s about five minutes off campus and has beautiful trails that wind around the river.

Another great Wellness opportunity on-campus is to join a sports team. The University offers plenty of intramural and club teams – there’s sure to be something that interests you! For someone who’s just looking for a small commitment, try an intramural team. They typically don’t hold practice and play in only a few games. If you would like to be more involved and participate in a more competitive team, you should look into the club sports teams, who practice a few times a week and have games fairly often.

For more information on Wellness at the University of Richmond, visit the Wellness website at: http://recreation.richmond.edu/about/index.html.

For the passerby, it may appear that here at UR we only have two dining options: our beloved dhall (Heilman Dining Center) and Tyler’s Grill in the Commons. However, that is not entirely true. While the dining hall is amazing and carries constant variety, and Tyler’s is quick and efficient, there comes a point in one’s UR career where they desperately need other options.

There is ETC, the convenience store located by the dining hall. It carries tons of different types of food from snack bars to cereal boxes to lean cuisine meals. Dark chocolate Dove bars, Red Bull, and Orbit gum are among some of my most common purchases. And it feels like it is free - just swipe those dining dollars!

There is also the Dean’s Den, located across from the Housing Office. It is a smaller version of ETC essentially. It carries pints of Ben and Jerry’s ice cream and any kind of drink you could want. Yum! It is also open until 1 a.m. Sunday-Thursday - perfect for that late night-have to have it-need it now snack.

Lastly, there is 8:15 - the library coffee shop. It carries Starbucks coffee (Dunkin Donuts coffee is available at Tyler’s), as well as pastries, croissants, and muffins. I highly recommend the black forest muffin - it is absolutely delicious!

No matter what, you will not starve at UR! Even if everything on campus fails, Ukrops is less than 2 miles away!!!

Campus jobs are definitely the way to go! Money, experience, and no driving required! Coming from someone who has many jobs on campus, I highly recommend looking into different opportunities when you arrive! Besides, something has to pay the bills…

Two of the most popular places to work on campus are the gym and the library. I currently work at the gym as a marketing assistant and a personal trainer. Other positions at the gym include member services (working the front desk), laundry monitor, office attendant, facility supervisor, special events coordinator, group exercise instructor, and/or facility attendant. Gym hours are flexible and the work is fun and entertaining, with lots of time to interact with other students and faculty/staff members.  Likewise, library positions are full of social interaction. The library has flexible work hours as well, and there is always time to study during slow periods. In addition, increased knowledge of library resources makes research papers much easier!

If those venues just aren’t for you, you can work in the campus bookstore (what’s better than selling spider apparel?), behind the student activities desk, in the dining hall, in the post office, or the center for civic engagement. All of these areas provide different job positions open to first year students.

In future years, TA, RA, lab assistant, or tour guide positions are available to you! These positions are great as they are awesome resume builders as well as perfect opportunities to gain more experience.

Getting a campus job allows you to get involved (the best way, as I am sure you all have heard, to acclimate to the new environment and build a social network), while paying you for it! Some positions even let you apply in the summer. So be on the lookout and check the website! (Most positions that are listed have links to applications and contact information.)

http://studentjobs.richmond.edu/opportunities/fall2009.html

Here is a (non-exhaustive) list of initials/abbreviations you may come across, along with some helpful definitions and links (in alphabetical order, of course!).  No  need to sit down and memorize them - they’ll be second nature before long!

8:15:  8:15 at Boatwright is the coffee shop on campus, conveniently located right in the library!  They serve Starbucks coffee as well as a wide array of teas, and are open until 1am on all school nights.

A&S: Arts & Sciences, as in School of - the vast majority of departments are in the School of Arts & Sciences, so when you are still ‘undecided’, you are enrolled in the School of Arts & Sciences, and you only change schools if you declare a major in the Jepson School of Leadership Studies or the Robins School of Business

B1, B2:  These refer to basement levels 1 and 2 of the library, where most of the books are located and actual studying goes on.  B1 is for quiet study, and B2 has some great areas for group study.

Boatwright: Because “Boatwright Memorial Library” is too much to say.   This wonderful place is open 24/7 during the school year, and has a coffee shop inside (see 8:15, above)!

Boatwright Beach: The lawn in front of the library is affectionately called Boatwright Beach, because when the weather is good, you will see students all over it with books and laptops, or just enjoying a picnic from the Grill!  Also, as we learned this past winter, it makes for some fun sledding!

B-School: Again, The Robins School of Business is far too much of a mouthful.

CAPS: Counseling and Psychological Services - this is a free and confidential resource that you can use at UR for any problems you might have, from home-sickness to stress to depression to grief to eating disorders to relationship problems, and anything in between - no problem you might have is too big or too small!

CDC: Career Development Center - this is a fantastic resource on campus that will help you with your resume, finding a job or internship, connecting you with alumni, or anything else you might need related to your career!

CCE: Center for Civic Engagement - yet another wonderful resource on campus (well, they’re all wonderful or fantastic or fabulous or something along those lines, but what else would you expect?) that will help you find volunteer and civic engagement opportunities both on campus and off

Commons, The: Officially called the Tyler Haynes Commons, this is the large building that spans the lake.  Inside, you will find many resources, including the Grill, the CDC, and the newly renovated game room!

D-Hall:  Officially called the Heilman Dining Center, this is the main dining spot on campus.  And calling it d-hall may seem weird the first few times you try it (I know it did with me), but trust me, no one calls it anything else!  It’s usually open from about 7:30am until 8:00pm, 7 days a week.  They serve all sorts of yummy foods - and the desserts are amazing!

Game Room, The: The Game Room has just been renovated and is amazing!  It is located on the bottom level of the Commons, and is filled with flat-screen TVs, hooked up to gaming systems, such as the Wii, and with available games sich as Guitar Hero and Mario Kart.  There is also a pool table, and some other fun things to do.

LAIS: Latin America and Iberian Studies - this department focuses on all studies relating to the Iberian Peninsula and Latin America (you will also find all Spanish classes listed here)

Lodges, The:  The “lodges” are the fraternity houses located on campus, behind the Robins Center.  If you hear someone mention going to the lodges some weekend night, it means they are headed to the fraternity houses, which often host parties, which are open to all students - not just those involved in Greek life.

LoRo:  Lora Robins Court is where the vast majority of female students live during their first year at UR.  It is split into 3 sections on each floor, which really helps with bonding and whatnot.  I know that I consider the girls I lived with here freshman year some of my best friends still!

MRC: Media Resource Center - this is a part of the library where you can find all sorts of movies and other media items to take out

OA: Orientation Advisor - when you arrive on campus in August, you will be placed in an orientation group with about 10 gals and 10 guys according to where you live. Each orientation group has two OAs - one gal, one guy - who will help you navigate Orientation

PAA: Peer Advising Associate - C’est moi! A fantastic, wonderful, helpful, friendly, student who wants to assist you in any way as you make the transition from high school to college here are Richmond

Pier, The: This is the nickname of Tyler’s Grill, located in the Commons.  No idea what the origin of this name (except for its obvious location over the water), but it’s ubiquitous.

RA: Resident Assistant - each floor - or section of a floor in the larger dorms - have one RA assigned, who has keys if you get locked out, organizes activities for your dorm, and is basically a go-to person for any and all problems you might have

RC: Richmond College - the guys’ college.

-> RCSGA: Richmond College Student Government Association

RHA: Residence Hall Association - a group of involved students elected from each dorm that organizes fun events around campus - including the amazing Winter Wonderland, with horse-drawn carriages and Santa and hot chocolate in December!

ROTC: Reserve Officer Training Corps -UR has an Army ROTC program for those interested in being part of the military

UR: University of Richmond - I know you can’t wait to get here and discover the plethora of U-R-____! slogans

WC: Westhampton College - the gals’ college

-> WCGA: Westhampton College Government Association

WGSS: Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies - this is an interdisciplinary major or minor that is almost never referred to by its full name, but rather only by its initials

WILL: Women Involved in Living and Learning - in their own words, WILL is “the first university program in the U.S. to combine coursework in women, gender and sexuality studies with leadership training for women students”