RIT Parent Newsletter

News and Deadlines

2019 Commencement Ceremonies
RIT's commencement ceremonies will take place on May 10-11, 2019. Academic Convocation is a celebration of graduates from all nine colleges and two degree-granting units. It will take place on Friday, May 10, at 10 a.m. in the Gordon Field House. Following the kick-off celebration, individual commencement ceremonies will take place on Friday afternoon and Saturday. Please check the commencement schedule to see when your graduate's ceremony will be held. All of the ceremonies will be live-streamed over the internet. A link will be available on the Commencement homepage. Note: The Golisano Institute for Sustainability ceremony is not live-streamed.

Tickets are not required for any of the ceremonies; however, seating is limited and will be available on a first-come, first-served basis. Overflow seating for Academic Convocation will be available in the Gene Polisseni Center. If you have any questions, please click here.

Religious Holidays Accommodations
Spring is a season of many holidays for those of Christian, Jewish, Muslim, and Pagan traditions. These holidays may be important events for your students. Please note that RIT’s attendance policy does not automatically excuse absences for religious reasons, but students can make arrangements with professors ahead of time if they must miss class. For more information about spring holidays, visit the Spirituality and Religious Life website.

News & Events Daily
News & Events Daily is a daily online newsletter that features campus and sports news, photos, upcoming campus events, and more. This email is delivered to all RIT students, staff and faculty; community members (including parents!) can also sign up for these newsletters on the News & Events Daily website.

Specialized Career Fairs Reminder
Remind your creative industry and civil engineering students that there are still two upcoming specialized career fair opportunities for them:

Creative Industry Day—March 21
Civil Engineering and Construction Industry Career Day—March 25

Additionally, note the Parent Question of the Month below which provides further details about career and co-op support services on campus.

Student Profile

Meet the Parent & Family Programs GA: Hanan Gahi

The Parent & Family Programs office has hired a Graduate Assistant! Hanan Gahi is a first-year master’s student at Nazareth College, working on her degree in Higher Education Student Affairs. We are thrilled to have her as part of the team!

What was your educational path?
I graduated from Saunders College of Business at RIT with bachelor’s degree in International Business and minor in Accounting and French. I was deeply changed, empowered, and impacted by my college experience and I became more confident, organized, and socially conscious. Now, I’m a graduate student in Higher Education Student Affairs at Nazareth College.

What made you want to get a degree in Higher Education?
I love helping students explore their dreams. What motivates me is my need for an opportunity to make changes for college students just as people made a change in my life. I decided to become a student affairs professional so I can work with students and help them be successful in their academic development. I wish to help create the educated citizens of tomorrow.

What is your dream career when you complete your master’s degree?
I want to become an advisor and help students find realistic goals in an efficient manner. My role will be to encourage them to be responsible for their own progress and success and to help students understand university policies and select the proper courses. Most of all, I want students to build positive relationships by understanding and appreciating different views and supporting diverse cultures and populations.

What are you most looking forward to in this position?
My position will give me experience with RIT communications and event planning and the opportunity to interact with various offices around campus and learn about the parent role across many areas of university life. The opportunity to see the role families play in their college student life will help as a future academic advisor.

What advice do you have for parents of RIT students?
Parents are our partners in building a strong support for our students’ academic development and success, therefore it is important for parents to be engaged and understand their student's daily life in college. Parents can help their student through:

Promoting self-advocacy
Encouraging students to set their goals
Empowering students to examine personal values and beliefs
Allowing students to accept consequences of their actions

Information and Updates

Summer Storage
It’s only March, but we know you may already be planning for the end of the semester. A local storage company offers a service for students needing to store belonging over the summer. Rochester College Storage (the UPS Store) offers free pick-up and delivery and storage in local facilities.

Wellness Teams
In September 2017, RIT administered the ACHA-National College Health Assessment-a research survey that assists colleges in collecting data about students’ health habits, behaviors, and perceptions-to RIT and NTID students. Included in these findings were an indication of the top 6 health factors that impact RIT students’ academic performance:

Stress
Anxiety
Sleep difficulties
Depression
Cold/flu
Internet use/computer games

Ten Wellness Teams made up of students, staff, and faculty at RIT and NTID work to combat these impacts by identifying, developing, and implementing wellness-focused programs that supplement student's education and experiences. If your student is interested in assisting with health-related programming at RIT they can visit the link above. If they are experiencing any concerns that are affecting their mental health or academic performance, encourage them to submit a Tiger Concern Report.

Kosovo Summer Study Abroad Program
Students have the opportunity to study at RIT’s Global Campus in Pristina, Kosovo for five weeks this summer, earn six credits, and learn about peace building and conflict resolution from renowned experts in the field. The program includes a one-week study trip to Albania, Montenegro, Croatia, Bosnia, and Serbia giving context to the cultural and political issues of the region. Discounted tuition and an affordable program fee makes this program a great value and scholarship funding is available (including a scholarship that will cover airfare to Kosovo for one student). Application deadline is April 1; interested students can learn more on the RIT Global website.

Retail Spotlight
Midterms are here—help your student focus with a pizza break. Students will receive a personalized message and a coupon good for a free 1-topping large pizza and a 2-liter beverage from the Dining Commons. Order today for only $22 and your student can place the order from Dining Express and have it delivered!

Parent Poll
Each month, we ask parents to respond to our Parent Poll and provide feedback on a topic related to RIT, your student, and you. In February, we asked if your student has a job. 41% of you responded that your student does not work during the semester, and 37% replied that your student has an on-campus job. Please take a moment to answer our March question.

Parent Question of the Month
Question: My son is a sophomore and is having difficulty securing a co-op. He attended the career fair and did not find a co-op. Can you please give me any advice on who I can encourage him to go talk to?

Response: I’m sorry your student is struggling to find a co-op! I know the process can be very overwhelming and students sometimes have to apply to dozens of jobs before securing one, which can be discouraging. There is still time and positions can fall into place at the last minute. It is also important to remember that the first co-op may not be a dream job. Sometimes getting your foot in the door—even if it’s a co-op only partially related to your exact field—is the most important part.

My number one piece of advice is that he set up an appointment with his career services coordinator, who can help him find resources that he may not be aware of. For example, a number of programs have smaller, more focused career fairs. Students are all assigned a specific career services coordinator based on their field of study. On the staff page of their website, there is a place to search for your major to find your assigned coordinator.

Featured Photo
In case you don’t follow the Parent & Family Programs Facebook page, here’s what you’ve missed: temperatures are starting to warm up, and we think it’s almost time for Spirit the tiger statue to lose his winter sweater. We also have a new Facebook video series highlighting important campus resources—be sure to check them out!

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