LumberChats: InsideNAU
News from campus straight to your ear
NAU Social Podcast Recap
Financial Aid: Axeplained
Every year, the U.S. Department of Education gives over $120 billion in federal grants, loans and work-study funds to more than 13 million college students — making it the largest provider of student financial aid in the country.
Whether you’re a prospective student, current Lumberjack or a parent, the world of scholarships and financial aid can seem daunting. You may be thinking filling out the FAFSA is too much trouble or that you may not qualify. We’re here to tear down those myths and share why you should fill out the FAFSA (even if you think it’s a waste of time). This episode Jackie Henderson, the Associate Director of NAU’s Office of Scholarship and Financial Aid, sits down with us to help explain the process and bust some myths.
“I want students and their families to know that even though it is a challenging process that they don’t have to do it all by themselves. We have a bunch of guides online that can hopefully help but if you need anything beyond that, our Office of Scholarships and Financial can break it down step by step and make it really easy to use whether you are working on it with your family or trying to figure it out by yourself.”
Conquering the Fear of Public Speaking
You’re up in front of the room, your heart starts beating, your palms get sweaty, you hope you don’t throw up. The fear of public speaking, also known as glossophobia, is one of the most common fears in America. If you’re one of those people who will do anything to avoid it —you’re not alone. In fact, studies show almost 75% of the population is affected.
In this episode we meet Alondra Lomeli, Dante Wright, Denise Ocampo and Britton Lee — four Lumberjacks who are conquering this fear by participating in the Regents Cup, a first of its kind public speaking competition.
Led by Dr. Gretchen Gee, NAU President’s Distinguished Teaching Fellow, the team has spent the fall semester practicing a variety of debate styles anchored in respect and civil discourse.
“So, I tell myself that the reason I’m struggling is because I’m growing and I’m getting better and that’s why I’m having a hard time and if I wasn’t being challenged, you know, I wouldn’t be growing.” — Alondra Lomeli
Unplug and Connect IRL
One way to set yourself up for success both physically and mentally is to disconnect from our online world and really unplug. From talking through what it means to our wellbeing to be living in our hyperconnected world to the benefits of minimizing screen time, we explore the ways unplugging can help us be our “best selves”.
“How am I taking care of my own mental health by connecting with humans IRL? This is important… people who have better deeper social connections have overall better mental health and overall success in college.”
Be CyberSmart
OWN IT. SECURE IT. PROTECT IT.
We sat down with Jonathan Wince and Erin Plese from NAU’s Information Technology Services to talk through what it really means to #BeCyberSmart in this day and age and the three things we can all do right now to better secure our digital profile.
“Roughly 30% of users who receive phishing emails, open them and 12% who click the links and fall victim to a malicious attack”
The Outdoors are Calling
Our town, Flagstaff, sits at 7,000 feet and is located in the largest contiguous Ponderosa pine forest in North America. Right here on campus you can soar across the tree tops at NAU’s Challenge Course. Adventure doesn’t stop there either. We’re also within a 2 hour drive of 14 different National parks and monuments. If you’re into winter sports — we’re one of the closest universities to a ski resort.
How do we take advantage of our surroundings? In this episode we explore some of the ways our Lumberjacks take it out outside through majors like Forestry, trips put on by Outdoor Adventures, and classes like Wilderness Within taught by Professor John Lynch.
“That is one of the best things about going to NAU is that we are located in the largest contiguous Ponderosa pine forest in the world, which provides unique opportunities for research but not just small scale research, but landscape scale research.”
IGP
How a student can study abroad is one of the most frequently asked questions we get in person and in our DMs. We sat down with Marcela Pino Alcaraz to break down one of our most unique options — NAU’s award-winning Interdisciplinary Global Program.
Through IGP you can earn 2 degrees in 5 years AND spend one full year abroad.
“I would tell myself, do it. Just do it because you’re going to make so many memories and experience things you thought you would only experience in your dreams.” — Mia Pique, senior ✈️
Roots Run Deep
NAU was named an Emerging Hispanic Serving Institution by the U.S. Department of Education. Here at our Flagstaff campus, Latino students comprise 21 percent of our total enrollment. Our NAU-Yuma location which was designated as a Hispanic Serving Institution in 2007, enrolls 71 percent Latino students.
From the sounds of mariachi to campus events honoring our diversity, we’re taking you inside NAU to find out what LatinX heritage month means to our students, faculty and staff.
“Every moment is a chance to change the world” according to your Dolores Huerta and #LatinxHeritageMonth is our chance to share how Latinx folks have done exactly that.”
