We will continue to bring you news about our department this year with the great help of our students as well. We have a new student blogger this 2017-2018 year, Theodore Chu, a sophomore seen before busy working in the soon to be commissioned Madison Accelerator Laboratory, while Yvonne Kinsella, now a senior, will return with new interesting developments inside and outside the physics world.
Theodore (seen smiling here and pretty much everywhere) is actively involved in the social life and student organizations associated with our department, and he takes this opportunity to introduce to you to our department's section of the Society of Physics Students, with a big Hello:
With the third week of this semester having passed,
hopefully we’ve found ourselves back into a steady rhythm for our coursework
and we know exactly what extra-curriculars we have and we’ve set aside some
time for our own personal affects as well.
That’s the goal, at least.
Doesn’t sound like you?
That’s perfectly fine! Normal,
even! That’s where the Society of Physics Students (SPS) comes in!
Our primary goal is to help you, as a physics major, figure
out how you’re going to balance your life and its many aspects. Whether it’s help figuring out some tougher
integrals or physics solutions, how you can get involved in the department, or
just giving you some people who you can talk to, SPS is here to help you with
whatever concerns you may have. There
are a few things we do that are designed to get you more involved in our group.
First, we have a mentor/mentee program that
helps you get started getting to know some of your peers in the department by
pairing you with another more experienced physics major who might be able to
provide some insight on how to be successful in the major. We also try to assign pairs based on common
interests, so you’ve got some things to talk about right off the bat!
Secondly, we host a number of social
events for you to get to know your peers a little better. Some nights, we’ll hit the town and go for
bowling, roller-skating or trivia; other nights, we’ll have movie and game
nights right in the physics building!
Every semester, we also host a camping trip amongst SPS, where you can
spend a weekend away from college to take your mind off things. These will be announced periodically
throughout the semester, so watch for our e-mails!
Another key part to SPS and the
department in general is our involvement in outreach programs towards people
outside the sciences. We have a range of
opportunities to get involved in what we love, and we’re more than happy to
share our knowledge with anyone who is interested! Among these events are robotics workshops, science (and comedy) shows, as well as public star-gazing and planetarium shows! Whether you’re a student here at JMU trying
to get involved with hosting these events, or a young mind trying to discover
more about the world around you, we can’t wait to see you here!
Before we close, I should mention our
current board of executives and how to contact them:
Alexandra Goodis, President
Noah Ripchick, Vice President
Christopher Jackson, Secretary
Theodore Chu, Treasurer
Taylor Hodges, Education Ambassador
Parker Given, Social Media Coordinator
We’ll send out e-mails about anything
that might be of interest to you as a physics major, whether this be
information about internships, tips for taking the GRE, and any upcoming
conferences that you can attend. Keep an
eye out for these, since they’re great opportunities that we’re sending
directly to you! All in all, we can’t
wait to see what this semester has in store, and SPS has a number of fun events
in store for you all! Drop by the
physics lounge if you ever have any questions, and don’t hesitate to shoot us
an email at james.madison.sps@gmail.com! Also, Find, Follow, and Like us at the usual social media outlets.
Together, to the stars we go!
-- by Theodore Chu
