January 20, 2010

ASB Updates for Students

I’ve been receiving several questions about the SI ASB application I thought it would make sense to share this information with the entire group.

TRANSPORTATION & LODGING
SI provides rental cars to everyone that chooses to use them to drive to New York, Chicago, and Washington, D.C. Students will travel in groups of 4 to 6 in cars/vans to these cities. Depending on the group of students that you travel with, you can leave on Friday, Saturday, or Sunday (February 26, 27, 28) and return on the following Saturday or Sunday (March 6 or 7).

After people have been matched to a project and it is known who is going where, we will do a doodle poll of when everyone would like to leave and then rental cars will be reserved based on this information. This will also depend on the availability of car coordinators to leave on the dates desired (i.e. if a group wants to leave on Friday, but there is not a car coordinator who wants to leave on Friday, then the group will have to leave when everyone else does on Saturday or Sunday).

As a participant of SI ASB, you are not required to use SI provided transportation or the lodging in the hostels. If you choose to not use either or both of these resources, your $25 application fee will be waived. SI will not provide you with any additional funding for travel or accommodation support so you will be responsible for any related expenses.

Also, if you do choose to use your own travel plans and/or accommodations, you need to provide this information to me so that I have it on record. If you fail to provide this information to me in a timely manner (i.e. by Friday, January 29, 2010), expenses incurred to the SI ASB program will be borne by you.

RESUMES
Several people have inquired about having a tailored resume for the application upload. Once you are made aware of your project matching, you are able to provide me with an updated resume if you choose to tailor one more specifically to a project which will then be forwarded to your project mentor.

APPLICATION FEE
The application fee will be required to be submitted once you have been matched to a project. If you are not using SI provided transportation and/or lodging and are either a Car Coordinator or City Point person, your $25 fee will be waived.

Just a few other reminders and dates:

Order your SI ASB Recipe Book ($5): http://www.doodle.com/667e4knsqhmxpih2

RSVP to attend the SI ASB Service Learning Training on Tuesday, January 26 at noon: http://www.doodle.com/m9853gn6cfvg5rhd

Mark Your Calendar: The SI Revue, SI's Own Talent Show will be Friday, February 19, 2010, 7:00pm (East Hall 1324 Auditorium)

Those interested in showcasing their talents in the SI Revue should contact Kayla Ondracek at krenee@umich.edu

Those interested in donating items or goods for the Silent Auction should contact Rachel Doepker at rdoepker@umich.edu

The SI ASB Penny Wars will take place the week of February 15 through the 19th – start saving your pennies!

Posted by kkowatch at 11:40 AM | Comments (0)

January 18, 2010

ASB Applications and other Updates

Thanks to everyone that attended the Recipe Book Dinner Party on Friday night! It was a lot of fun, there were many delicious dishes to try, and the SI ASB Fundraising Committee raised over $370 dollars! (If you attended, but didn’t pay, please stop by my office this week with your donation.) An announcement regarding purchasing the SI ASB Recipe Book will be coming out shortly.

Just a reminder that the SI ASB applications are due this Thursday at midnight. (The form problem with the phone numbers has been fixed, if that was an issue for you.) If you have other questions about the application process, just let me know.

I also wanted to make everyone aware of a SI ASB related opportunity that is going on next week. On Tuesday, staff from the UM Ginsberg Center, the university unit that coordinates the school-wide ASB program and other service-learning opportunities, will be coming to SI to facilitate an educational workshop on service-learning. Originally, this workshop was open only to the SI ASB Service Committee, but I thought it would be worthwhile to open this all potential SI ASB participants.

If you would like more information on this workshop contact me. If you are interested in attending, the workshop is at noon on Tuesday, January 26th in 409WH and lunch will be served. Please do not RSVP for just for the lunch; please only attend if you are interested in learning about and being a facilitator of service-learning during the week of SI ASB.

RSVP here: http://www.doodle.com/m9853gn6cfvg5rhd

Thanks…Kelly (kkowatch@umich.edu)

Posted by kkowatch at 11:42 AM | Comments (0)

January 14, 2010

SI ASB Car Coordinator Information

I’ve received a couple questions about the Car Coordinator role, so here are some further details about this.

SI rents the cars from National Rental Company (out of the Ann Arbor Airport). We have an established relationship with them and the rates are very competitive.

Car Coordinators do not need to be 25 years of age to rent a car for SI ASB; however, they do need to have a credit card (not just a debit card) to reserve the car on and a valid driver’s license. All car coordinators are provided with a cash advance to cover the cost of the rental car, gas, and tolls.

Car Coordinators rent the cars, pick them up and drop them off in their city at a nearby National Rental office. They then pick up a new car and drive it back. If you are a Car Coordinator, you actually do not have to drive the car, but you must have someone in the car with you who is willing to drive for you. Also, everyone in the car is able to drive the car, not just the Car Coordinator, so sharing the responsibility is okay and not a liability.

Drivers are provided with maps and detailed information on where to go, but I believe that the rental cars all have GPS in them now, so that makes the trip pretty simple.

Because of the cost of parking the cars in the cities, we do not keep the cars for the week nor do we want you to drive your own cars out there. (You can drive your own car, but the SI ASB program will not be responsible for it nor provide funding.)

The exact number of Car Coordinators needed is not yet know, but I anticipated that we’ll need at least ten for Washington, D.C. and five each for Chicago and New York City.

All Car Coordinators will be required to attend a brief meeting the first week of February and will have their $25 application fee waived.

**The only exception to all of this is Detroit: Travel to Detroit will be most likely done in a carpool in participant’ own cars and gas cards will be provided.**

If you have questions about this or need further clarification, just let me know! Thanks…Kelly

Posted by kkowatch at 11:43 AM | Comments (0)

January 04, 2010

SI-Alternative Spring Break Updates & Info Session

Please read below for information on the upcoming SI ASB Interest Meeting this week and other updates regarding the 2010 SI ASB Program.
________________________________________
SI ASB 2010 Interest Meeting
Thursday, January 7, 2010
Noon to 1pm
311WH

Interested in SI ASB 2010? Not sure why you should go? Come learn about the benefits of participating, logistics, costs, and potential sites and projects for the School of Information’s 2010 Alternative Spring Break program. RSVP via iTrack to attend: http://si.umich.edu/careers/students.htm
________________________________________

The SI ASB 2010 Website has moved and is now featuring participating organizations and projects! You can view the site at http://asb6.cms.si.umich.edu/

Over 40 organizations and 80 projects have been submitted!

Student Applications will be made available in mid-January. Please note that due to the high level of interest indicated for the 2010 program, it is expected that participation will be competitive.

To ensure that you receive future updates regarding SI ASB 2010, sign up for the SI ASB 2010 listserv.

Go to the UM Online Director at http://directory.umich.edu/
Search for SIASB2010-Interest
Click Bind
Login
Click Modify
Add your uniqname to the member listing.

If you are not going to participate in SI ASB 2010 and are on this listserv, please remove yourself.
________________________________________
Mark Your Calendar:

SI ASB Recipe Book Dinner Party
Friday, January 15, 2010 – 5pm
Ehrlicher Room
More information to Come!

SI Revue
Friday, February 5 OR Saturday, February 6, 2010 – TBA
More Information to Come!

Penny War 2010!
February 15-19, 2010
Third Floor Landing of West Hall / SI-North
Start saving your pennies!
________________________________________
Questions can be sent to me at the email address below.

Thanks…Kelly

Kelly A. Kowatch, Assistant Director
University of Michigan School of Information
Career Development Office
734.936.8735
kkowatch@umich.edu
404C West Hall
SI ASB 2010 Facebook Fan Page
Follow us on Twitter: @SI_Careers


Posted by kkowatch at 04:34 PM | Comments (0)