GLS eNews November 23, 2020

GLS Express - November 23, 2020

With this final issue of the Fall 2020 term, GLS Express will go on break until January. GLS House remains closed until further notice. GLS staff are working remotely and may be reached via email.

From the Director

Hello GLS Students, 

Well, we’ve reached the end of a strange, but I think successful, semester. I want to thank you all for your patience, flexibility, and good cheer as everyone has navigated the online and hybrid seminar experiences, Zoom advising and master’s project activities, Library take-out, COVID19 surveillance testing, and all the other new life and work processes that have marked this fall.   

At GLS Virtual Headquarters, we are especially pleased to have done all of this while figuring out how to go on without Dink, who for so long kept us all centered and on track. We should all take pride in making it this far, this well, despite the very real stress, disappointment, and losses that we have suffered.  

I know that I am looking forward to the coming holiday break – not least because it will allow a pause and some rest for us to gather our strength for a spring semester that will probably look a lot like the fall. Still, with a new presidential administration coming in, progress on several vaccines, and now greater experience with how to operate effectively in distanced/virtual spaces, I am hopeful that the spring semester will have a more optimistic and upbeat feel.   

Meanwhile, during the break, we at GLS remain here for you. With the exception of the two-week period from December 21-Jan 3, when the offices will officially be closed, Lisa, Kent, and I are available by email or for Zoom meetings or conversations. I will be holding virtual office hours on Friday mornings at 10:00 through December 18th and will resume again the first week of January (see below for details). We may try to organize a social event or two (on Zoom!) in that period – stay tuned! We want to stay in touch, so please let us know how we can support you during this time. 

Warm wishes to all for a happy and safe Thanksgiving and winter holiday season.   

Sincerely, 

Anne 

Office Hours with Anne

Anne will hold drop-in office hours for GLS students each Friday afternoon from 1-2pm Eastern through December 18th. To drop by, just click the Zoom link below. A "waiting room" will be enabled and Anne will let people in in sequence as they arrive. Please pop in if you'd like to chat about anything! 

Join Zoom Meeting

https://duke.zoom.us/j/93639784435

Meeting ID: 936 3978 4435

One tap mobile

+16468769923,,93639784435# US (New York)

+13017158592,,93639784435# US (Germantown)

We Want Your Videos!

Students, please help us share the GLS love by submitting a short video (about a minute long) telling us what GLS means to you. We will use the videos in our year-end report to alumni and to promote the program on our website and via social media, most likely as part of an edited montage. See below for tips on recording yourself using a smart phone or Zoom. Click here to upload your video to the GLS Video folder in Warpwire by November 30. Email Lisa if you have questions. Thank you!

Duke Employees: Share Your Story with Working@Duke

Jonathan Black, with Working@Duke, is putting together a story on the Duke Employee Tuition Assistance Program to run early next year on Duke Today. He’d love to speak to a current, full-time Duke employee pursuing a degree in the Graduate Liberal Studies program who is using the tuition assistance program. You can reach out to him at jcb107@duke.edu. 

DukeEngage Offers Winter and Spring Opportunities for Grad Students

Supported by The Purpose Project at Duke, GradEngage is an opportunity for twelve Duke graduate students to deepen a partnership with a North Carolina community during winter break and spring semester. GradEngage fellowships create opportunities for students to explore their vocation and the purpose of their graduate work by engaging with a community on a pressing social issue.

Award

• $2,000 honorarium for virtual projects of 100+ hours

Criteria

• Eligibility: Any graduate or professional school student may apply.
• Format: Projects must be entirely virtual (no in-person work or travel).
• Time period: Projects must take place during winter break and the spring term (December 15, 2020 – April 15, 2021)
• Partnership: Projects must be in partnership with a North Carolina organization or community.
• Prior relationship: The applicant must have either a clearly defined prior relationship with the organization or community, or provide documentation of a new partnership (email will suffice). 

 Commitment

• Training: Two-hour online training before starting the project
• Time: 100 hours
• Reflection: Four blog posts over the course of the project 

 Application deadline: December 1, 2020 

Apply here. 

Questions? aj.walton@duke.edu

Spring 2021 Registration Dates and Deadlines

The add/drop period for Spring 2021 is now open and students may enroll in classes without incurring late fees until December 1. After December 1 you will incur a $50 fee for late registration. Be sure to check out our two new seminars, "ReDesigning the Future: Radical Innovation After COVID" with Amanda Starling Gould, and "Migrations: Pilgrims, Immigrants, Refugees, and Tourists - A Study of Humanity through Movement" with Charlie Thompson.

Special note for students planning to enroll in LS 850 Master's Project Colloquium in Spring 2021: you must enroll in CTN-o1 now. We will email you a permission number to enroll in LS 850 once your master's project has been approved.

Winter Break Opportunities for Graduate Students

Graduate students looking to continue their professional development over winter break can sign up for a number of free opportunities now:

Duke Graduate Academy, Winter Session: Ph.D. and master's students, as well as postdocs, can take short courses to develop skills, tools, and knowledge that augment their regular coursework or research.

Winter Breakaway: This program is open to all Duke students and offers some short courses and project-like experiences for building skills, as well as sessions that help students explore their career trajectories.

Online Resources for Graduate Students

• COVID-19 updates for students are available on Duke's Coronavirus Response website.
• Graduate School-specific COVID-19 updates are posted here. TGS has also created a FAQ for continuing and incoming international students.
• The Duke Student Assistance Fund was established better support master's students who may be experiencing difficulty providing for their basic needs during this extraordinary time.
• Blue Devils Care is a new mental telehealth service that can provide support wherever you may be located currently. You can access the service by using the key DUKE2020.
• The Career Center now offers online drop-in advising for graduate students. View the schedule here.