Welcome Orientation 2008 Pictures

Panelist Shirley Higgins (left) with Participants Cheryle Wills, Crystal Warning, and Michelle Viernes

Bev Strobl is a UExplore career information panelist. She works in the Office of the Senior Vice Chancellor, and you'll see her at December 17th's Administrative Support information session.

Katie Spencer (left) will be a presenter at Nov 19th's HR session. You'll see Carol Schrammel (right) on April 15th's Program Administration career information panel.

Kick Off To An Exciting Year Ahead...

They’re Here! They’re Here!

First to arrive on the scene was Jamie Sung, UExplore Participant, who hails from NanoEngineering. She was greeted by the UExplore Welcoming Committee (i.e. Linda Thai Schlossman and Wes Kovarik) with a customized “Jamie Sung” reusable UExplore nametag (note: bring these back to each monthly session).

We'd been eagerly awaiting the arrival of this inaugural group of 25 participants. From philosophy to physical sciences, from engineering to Extension, this diverse group of 25 impressed us with their motivation to identify a compatible UC San Diego career field and commitment to personal professional development.

Only announced about two months ago, there was a high level of interest in the program. We received a substantial number of applications, and it was a tough decision to whittle it down to a smaller group of 25. Since the nature of UExplore is to help UC San Diego staff members make educated decisions regarding their professional goals, we would have loved to have offered each applicant a spot in the program. Ultimately, though, given space constraints and the positive learning environment that we wanted to support, it was only possible to invite a fraction of those who applied.

Opening Remarks
Facing an audience of about 45, Assistant Vice Chancellor Debbie McGraw welcomed the participants, UExplore Program Committee, and the UExplore Career Information Facilitators and Panelists in attendance.

Offering generous and hearty congratulations, she also shared the history of the program’s development, the importance of succession planning and knowledge transfer. Lastly, she imparted some very important words of wisdom—“Have Fun!”—to which the audience replied with open smiles, nodding heads, and loose laughs and giggles.

Birth Order, Birth Month, and Books
All I have to say about this is:
**I am the middle of 3 kids—one older sister, one younger brother. **I was born in February—say it aloud: “Feb-brew-rare-ree” **And, well...I’ll skip what book I last read and, instead, reiterate: “I was born in Feb-brew-rare-ree”

In all semi-seriousness, what a fantastically diverse group of folks we are? We’re reading the whole gambit of literature—from Mark Plummer’s All Quiet on the Western Front or Cheryl Will’s Anna Karenina to Bobb Barile’s selection on zombies, World War Z: An Oral History of the Zombie War.

It was fantastic getting to know each other, putting more pieces of the puzzle together in what promises to be a great adventure ahead…

It's Alive!

Good morning, UExplore participants and volunteers! This long-awaited day has arrived, it's an exciting beginning! Enjoy the introductions, the MBTI, and keep posted to our online community site.

WELCOME ORIENTATION (September 18, 2008)

The UExplore Welcome Orientation is ready, set, and go for this Thursday, September 18th, and it promises to be an exciting time. We are all excited about welcoming our inaugural class of participants, whose breadth of experience, motivation, curiosity, and committment to personal professional development are are to be commended. Get ready to have a good time, with an introduction from Assistant Vice Chancellor Debbie McGraw, followed by--you guessed it--an ice breaker! We're really looking foward to the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator--not just because it segues to the Mexican Fiesta Buffet, but because knowing your personality type can help you with career planning at every stage in your professional development.