The WWU Family Connection newsletter is a monthly e-newsletter sent to all families throughout the year, produced by Western's Office of Communications and Marketing and New Student Services/Family Outreach.
Did someone forward you this edition of the Family Connection Newsletter? Sign up here if you would like to receive your own copy of the Family Connection Newsletter each month.
Senior Brady Schmitt works on repairing his bike at the Outdoor Center's bike shop, which offers repair stations, parts and tools. | Photo by Roisin Cowan-Kuist, WWU Marketing and Communications Intern
Finnbogi Pétursson's "Infra-Supra 2019" at the Western Gallery: through Saturday, March 16
Applications open for on-campus housing renewal: Friday, Feb. 1
Off Campus Living's Housing and Hashbrowns: Saturday, Feb. 2
Last day to apply to graduate winter quarter: Tuesday, Feb. 5
LGBTQ+ Western's "LGBTQ+ 101": Tuesday, Feb. 5
Drop-In Resume Clinic: Tuesday, Feb. 5
Washington Opportunity Scholarship: Feb. 6 and 7, VU Lobby
Winter Career Fair Featuring STEM: Thursday, Feb. 7
Huxley Environmental Career and Internship Fair: Thursday, Feb. 7
CFPA presents "The Imaginary Invalid": Thursday, Feb. 7 to Saturday, Feb. 16
WWU Men’s Basketball vs CWU Alumni Party: Thursday, Feb. 7
Last day to apply to attend winter commencement without a late fee: Friday, Feb. 8
Drop-In Resume Clinic: Wednesday, Feb. 13
Learn about Summer Session: Friday, Feb. 15, 1 p.m., Red Square
Presidents Day, University Closed: Monday, Feb. 18
Drop-In Advising Lab: Thursday, Feb. 21
Farm to Fork: Thursday, Feb. 21
Education and Health Career Fair: Friday, Feb. 22
Drop-In Advising Lab: Tuesday, Feb. 26
Choosing a Major Workshop: Thursday, Feb. 28
Drop-In Advising Lab: Monday, March 4
Finals Week: March 4
LGBTQ+ Western's "Spending Time with Family as an LGBTQ+ Person": Thursday, March 14
WWU Vikings at the Nordic Museum: Thursday, March 21
Winter Commencement: Saturday, March 23
Spring Break: March 23 - April 1
Add WWU events, dates and deadlines to your own calendar: Event listings in Western's online calendar offer an "Add to my calendar" feature to download the event information in an .ics file, which works with most standard calendar apps. Open the .ics file and the event will automatically be added to your calendar on your phone or computer desktop.
Does your student currently live on campus and wish to renew their housing? Applications are open until Feb. 15. Find out more information about the housing renewal process here.
Click here to learn more about student jobs with University Residences.
At Housing and Hashbrowns Saturday, Feb. 2, from 10 a.m. to noon, students will gather in the Wilson Library Reading Room for a crash course in everything they need to know about moving off campus. Students will hear from the Legal Advocates of Washington about what is legal (and not) in a lease and how to get their damage deposit back. The city of Bellingham will be there to talk about local laws, the Rental Registration and Safety Inspection Program and Bellingham’s fair housing rules. Off Campus Living and the AS Legal Info Center will also be there to talk about on campus resources for students.
Western's first Off Campus Living Fair March 6 from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. in the Wilson Library Reading Room, will give students a one-stop-shop opportunity to meet and talk to local landlords and property managers, utility service companies and local tenant support service organizations. All students are welcome.
Students—and families—can learn more at Western's Off-Campus Living website.
Every year, the Campus Recreation Department offers finals week care packages for your student at the end of fall and winter quarters. This has been a tradition for 20 years to help sport clubs and intramural sports and our other student programs.
Click here for more information or email us at carepacks@wwu.edu Orders are due Friday, Feb. 15.
Be sure to share these events with your students.
Tuesday, Feb. 5, 3 to 5 p.m. and Wednesday, Feb. 13, 4 to 6 p.m. in Haggard Hall 233, more info
Thursday, Feb. 7, 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., Student Recreation Center MAC Gym, more info
Feb. 7, 4:30 to 6:30 p.m., Student Recreation Center MAC Gym, more info
Feb. 22, 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., Student Recreation Center MAC Gym, more info
It's time to check the tread on our winter boots and get to know our local bus routes, because Western typically remains open when it snows.
Check out Western's inclement weather page to learn more. And Western's online, interactive campus map includes priority snow removal routes.
Ballew most recently served as department chair of Tribal Governance and Business Management at Northwest Indian College, a program which she created. Ballew was hired following a national search, and she started at Western on Jan. 28, 2019.
An enrolled member of the Swinomish Tribe, Ballew has lived on the Lummi reservation with her husband of 43 years, Timothy Ballew Sr. They have two sons, Timothy II and Raymond, and two grandsons, Hunter and Tandy. She received a bachelor’s degree, with a major in American Cultural Studies and a minor in Native American Studies, from Western in 2002. She earned a master’s degree in Public Administration, from The Evergreen State College, and is studying for a doctorate in Indigenous Development and Advancement from Te Whare Wānanga o Awanuiārangi, in New Zealand.
Click here to read more about Ballew and her new role at Western.
The goal of the Doris Duke Conservation Scholars Program Fellowships is to serve students from groups traditionally underrepresented in conservation, across disciplines, who can contribute to diversifying, redefining, and strengthening efforts to protect land, wildlife and water. The pair has completed the first summer of work for their fellowships, and will be heading back to this summer to finish. Celida Moran, an environmental science student from San Francisco is completing her fellowship at the University of Washington, while Samara Almonte of Bothell, who studies urban planning, is completing hers at University of Michigan.
Summer Session at Western is a great opportunity for your student to get ahead or stay on track for graduation with accelerated on-campus courses, online courses, field study opportunities and travel programs. Summer courses feature smaller class sizes, allowing your student to have more interaction with their instructors and less competition when registering for popular classes.
You are welcome to join your student, along with Summer Session staff, for free hot cocoa on Friday, Feb. 15 from noon to 1 p.m. in Red Square to celebrate summer session courses becoming available on ClassFinder and to learn more about this program.
Click here to explore Summer Session offerings and sign up to receive email reminders to help remind your student of important deadlines.
Summer is right around the corner, and Western's summer Youth Programs offer a wide variety of programming for students of all ages. Visit wwu.edu/youth to learn more. Registration for many summer programs begins Feb. 1.
Western Today is WWU's daily news source. Visit at westerntoday.wwu.edu or click here to have it delivered to your in-box.
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