"How to Succeed in English Without Teaching" Workshop Highlights

Thank you to everyone who came out for our first ever "How to Succeed" Workshop, featuring Prof. Kathy Leslie!

Here are some highlights for those who were interested but unable to attend (also included are some resources we touched upon at the workshop):

• English Dept. Internship Moodle: This is a great place to begin researching what positions are out there, brushing up on interview etiquette, and so on.
  
• AfterCollege: A blog highly recommended by Prof. Leslie. This particular link takes viewers to everything that was tagged "English Major," but, of course, don't stop reading there! Subscribe to the blog and refer to it for all things post-college. Anyone with an interest in a career really can not afford to miss one bit of the essential information this blog provides.

A final note from Prof. Leslie: If I could leave everyone with the one piece of advice I wish I'd thought to say yesterday, it's research the fields you are interested in.  Check job databases like Monster and like the Career Center, and see what the positions call for. If people aren't even sure what fields they're interested in, then the Pathways feature on the Career Center website is absolutely worth the hour or so put into it, to find out what fields and careers are right for them.

Thanks again to Prof. Leslie for sharing her wisdom and insights with us, and we hope to see you all at our next workshop (How to Write an Abstract) next month!

Click here for a PDF of the handouts from the workshop.

Click here to check out some lovely pictures from the event!

Categories: AGSE, CSUN, How To Succeed, Meetings

October Meeting Highlights

Big thanks and hugs to all who attended our October meeting two Wednesdays ago!

This month's updates are as follows:

• Book Sale Success! Although the heat was the worst it has been, tons of people still stopped to check out our wide range of $1 books, and the $5-purchase-mystery-book was a big hit too! We are hoping to hold a second book sale in November. More info to come!
  
• For those interested in submitting to conferences in the near future (including AGSE's very own!), our annual "How to Write an Abstract" Workshop will take place next month. Speaker and date to be announced.
  
• Costume Bowling is in the works! While the specific details are still being worked out, we are planning to have a bowling fundraiser (much like last year) near Halloween, meaning costumes are welcome and extremely encouraged!

Stay tuned for specific dates and times of our upcoming events and fundraisers! (And speaking of fundraisers, we're always looking for new fundraising ideas, so let us know if you have any!)

Also, make sure to save the date for our next monthly meeting: Wednesday, November 5 from 1-2pm in JR 319!

Categories: AGSE, CSUN, Meetings

September 2014 Meeting Highlights

After a board meeting and our first club meeting of the semester, we have tons of exciting news to offer up to you all!

The first item of big news is regarding our conference. The date of the AGSE annual conference will be March 14, 2015. Our speaker is Viet Nyguen, a professor at USC who specializes in Asian American studies. Prof. Nyguen has a new book of fiction coming out and we are very excited to hear what he has to present. Along these notes, the theme of our conference is going to be "Voyages." We are currently working on a CFP, so be on the lookout for that soon.

Secondly, we will be having a bunch of fundraisers this semester to raise money for our conference and all of the fun things we want to do. Our first fundraiser will be the AGSE $1 Book Sale, which will take place September 16th and 17th in the Jerome Richfield/Sierra Hall Breezeway (specific times to be announced soon). We will need volunteers who want to help us sell. We also welcome any book donations because we are all about finding orphaned books new homes. Concluding the book sale will be a fundraiser at a local restaurant (TBA shortly).

Other fundraisers to look forward to are: a special Halloween themed bowling night, a second book sale later in the semester, and other food-related fun times.

At the meetings we also discussed other possible fundraising ideas and welcome any ideas you may have. Please contact one of the board members with your suggestion or idea!

Lastly, we have two fantastically informative workshops in the works for this semester: How to Write an Abstract (featuring new Rhet/Comp professors and special tips for each emphasis) as well as a What to do with a Degree in English Aside from Teaching workshop brought to us by Kathy Leslie.

As always, if you know someone who is not yet a member, tell him/her to join us! Membership forms are on our board on the 7th Floor of Sierra Tower and all forms and $10 lifetime membership fees can be turned in to Marjie. If you need help convincing them, remember we offer 5 C’s: it looks good on your CV, the opportunity to take part in and build up our scholarly Community, a chance to Commiserate with other grads taking the same classes as you, our annual spring Conference, and to Celebrate all the hard work we put in week after week! We will be making the rounds to classes soon to gather new members and to spread the word about our upcoming events.

Our next monthly meeting will be Wednesday, October 1 from 1-2 in JR 319. Help us get the word out by inviting your friends and new grad students you may have in your classes!

Thanks to all who attended last week's meeting, in person and in spirit!

Categories: AGSE, CSUN, Meetings

February Meeting Highlights

Annnnd we're back! Thanks to all who attended (and brought snacks to!) our first meeting of the spring semester! For those who weren't able to make it, here's a recap of what you missed!

Books & Bowling: Valentine's Week!
As Valentine's Day approaches, join us for a week of books, bowling, and bibliophiles!

1. Spring Booksale: One more book sale to feed your bibliophilia! Tuesday, February 11 from 10:30am- 3:30pm @ Jerome Breezeway (in between Jerome Richfield and Sierra Hall!)
2. Lovers' Lane: Bowling with Bibliophiles, Valentine's Edition! We had such a great time last semester that we're ready for another bowling night! Thursday, February 13 from 9pm-11pm @ Brunswick Matador Bowl (Off Balboa and Nordhoff!)
   
   
   $15 with an RSVP (email or Facebook), or $18 without.
   Price includes shoes and two hours of bowling fun!
   
   
   Download a bowling flyer here!

Other Upcoming Events:

1. How to Present at a Conference: Dr. Chatterjee will join us once again to talk about conference presentation tips and tricks! Tuesday, February 25 @ 10-11am in JR 319.
2. Board Elections: For those interested in being on the AGSE board, we will do nominations in a few months! Positions include president, vice president, treasurer, recording secretary, press secretary, and historian. More information, including position details, coming soon.
3. Intersections Conference: Saturday, March 8 starting at 9am @ the CSUN USU! Much more information coming soon!

If you'd like to volunteer for our upcoming book sale event, become an official member (lifetime membership for $10!), and/or purchase our lovely AGSE shirt, please contact us at agse.csunorthridge@gmail.com.

Categories: AGSE, Meetings

November Meeting Highlights

We had a fabulous meeting this November. We discussed the Call For Papers for the AGSE Spring conference, "Intersections." We also announced that we are planning on having a panel of first-year students at the conference; we are accepting full-length papers from first-year students. If you teach or SI for a first-year comp class, have your students send us their essays by email (agse.csunorthride@gmail.com). 

We are also very excited about the AGSE workshop on Wednesday, November 20th at 2:30 p.m. in Jerome Richfield 319 on How to Write an Abstract for a Conference, hosted by the brilliant Dr. Ranita Chatterjee. We hope you can all attend.

We also had a very informative discussion, lead by Hannah Jorgenson, about what to do to study for the GRE. Here are a few highlights from that discussion:

1. One of the best books that you can buy to help you study for the GRE is by Manhattan Prep. You can also pay for classes through this company, as well as companies like this, but all of the information that you will need can be found in their prep books.

2.Study the format of the GRE. You need to know how the questions are worded and what kind of answers the test will expect from you. The GRE is written with a specific logic to it that once you understand you will be able figure out what answers the test finds to be the most correct (sometimes there will be several options that look correct on a multiple-choice question). 

3.Studying vocabulary words will only take you so far. It may be helpful to make flashcards and memorize a few hundred of the most commonly used GRE words, but if you only have a limited amount of time, you should stick to studying the logic and format of the GRE.

4.Take lots of practice tests. The more familiar you are with the style and kind of language typically used on the test, the more comfortable you will be on the test day. 

5. Give yourself lots of time to study for the test, maybe a few months in advance, depending on how much time you plan on dedicating to studying each day. 

6. The night before the test, you might want to just give yourself a break because you've probably already studied enough at this point.

Hope to see you next month for our final meeting of the semester on Friday, December 6th from 1:00-2:00 p.m.!

Categories: AGSE, Meetings

October Meeting Highlights

Thank you to everyone who could make it to our second meeting of the semester! It was nice to see our lovely members again!

Our fundraisers did delightfully well. During the book sale, we sold 425 books, meaning we made $425! So thank you all you bibliophiles out there! Our bowling night was also a blast! It was nice to see so many friendly faces, bowling the night away! In the 2 hours we were there, we managed to make $332! Yes, you read that correctly! It was such a success, that we’re considering having another bowling night, this time a little later. Who doesn't love Cosmic Bowling, eh?

Thanks for everyone who came to the Personal Statements Workshop! We had a full crowd and we hoped everyone left with a better understanding of their own personal statements!

We also have our Call For Papers finally finalized! We hope to see everyone’s submission!

Things to look forward to: How to Write an Abstract.
Don’t know quite how to apply to our CFP? Never fear, come to our How to Write an Abstract workshop. The time/date/professor are yet to be decided, but when we find out, you all will be the first to know!

That’s it for now! But we hope to see you all at the next meeting!

Warm, special thanks to Kristin Kaz for providing us these scrumptious, pumpkin vegan muffins! <3

Categories: AGSE, CSUN, Meetings

September Meeting Highlights

It’s already that time of year again, AGSE’s first meeting. We would like to welcome our new members and welcome back out returning friends! For those of you who could not join us, here are the highlights of what we discussed!

Upcoming Events:

1. AGSE Booksale (Who doesn’t love selling and buying books? We just love feeding a bibliophile’s addiction!)
   September 17-19^th, 10:30am- 3:30pm @ Jerome Breezeway (in between Jerome Richfield and Sierra Hall!)
2. Bowling Night! (A night to relax and bowl away some of that mid-semester stress.) Brunswick Matador Bowl (Off Balboa and Nordhoff!)
   September 20^th, 7-9pm. Download a flyer/ticket form here!
   Pre-sale tickets: $15 (You can buy tickets from any of the officers! And we’ll be selling tickets at the booksale!)
   Tickets at the Door: $18 Brings friends and family! All are welcome! :D
3. Getting Personal (A personal statement workshop.) September 26^th. 12:30pm-2pm. Just show up! J

Events later on in the semester:

1.  How to Write an Abstract (It’s just like it sounds!) Let us know which professors you would be interested in having conduct the workshop! (Feel free to email ages with your suggestions!).
2. AGSE Conference
   
           March 8^th. Theme: Intersections  Keynote Speaker: Joseph Boone (USC, author of The Homoretics of Orientalism)CFPs should be out sometime during October, so keep an eye out for that. Also, we will be collecting abstracts sometime in December.

Information for you to know:

1. If you haven’t done so, please remember to fill out a membership form! (Lifetime Membership is only $10! What a deal!)
2.  Let us know if you’d like to be added on the AGSE blog as a tutor. (One of the many perks of being a member!)
3.  Don’t forget to buy one of our super-adorable shirts! 

Categories: AGSE, CSUN, Meetings

First Meeting of the Year & New Member Info!

Get back into the groove of things and satisfy your sweet tooth at the same time! Join us on Friday, September 6 from 1-2pm in JR 319 for our first meeting of the school year! We'll be announcing some upcoming fundraisers and events, and we're excited to reconnect with everyone and meet new grad students and members, too! And the best part: free cupcakes (and love) for all! :)

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Want to get involved in the English grad community at CSUN? Not only does it help boost your CV, but joining AGSE gives you the opportunity to meet others in the grad program and helps you stay connected in the academic community at large. Stay in-the-know about all of the wonderful activities, fundraisers, and events we have planned for the grad students this year -- fill out an application form and join AGSE today!

Already a member? Help spread the word and invite your friends to join!

Categories: AGSE, CSUN, Meetings

February Meeting Highlights

AGSE is happy to announce our Spring Workshop, just in time for our Spring Conference "Innocence and Experience,"

How to Present at a Conference

Join AGSE and Dr. Spratt on Friday, March 1st @ 2:30 in JR319!

Please bring a paper that you are thinking about presenting at a conference. 

If you will be presenting for the first time, you are at all nervous about presenting, or even if you just need some helpful tips and tricks, this workshop is a prefect opportunity to gain some valuable knowledge about the world of conferences. All are welcome!

Speaking of our Conference, which is Saturday, March 9th, from 9:00 to 5:00 PM (stay tuned for the unveiling of the program!), if you are not presenting but have some free time to help us out, AGSE could always use some extra hands! If you weren't able to sign up at the meeting, let us know via email to agse.csunorthridge@gmail.com or through our Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/agse.csun

We are looking for ideas and suggestions for a Spring FUNdraiser! If you know any fun events that will bring money to our organization, let us know. We have some great suggestions that we are currently looking into, including laser tag, bowling, and beer pong at The Draft on Ventura Blvd. Stay tuned! 

We are always taking book donations - anything you donate now will benefit next year's conference and the incoming 2013 - 2014 members! Bring any books to the 8th floor of Sierra Tower - next to the elevator is closet marked "faculty lounge." It's nearly always open, but on the rare occasion is it not, Frank in the English  Department office one floor down will help you out! 

If you'd like to be a 2013 - 2014 AGSE officer, now's the time to start thinking! Elections will be held sometime in April, but until then if you have any questions you can always ask any of our current officers. We'll give you insights into the inner workings of AGSE, just find any of us around campus or send us a note on Facebook! 

Next Month: 

Conference time! 

As always, thank you to all our fabulous members who make AGSE possible!

Categories: AGSE, CSUN, Meetings

October Meeting Highlights

This month's meeting was all about our Spring Conference on March 9, 2013

Let's start with money: we want to thank all our fantastic members and volunteers for their hard work at AGSE's fall booksale. We were able to raise a grand total of $430 for our Spring Conference! 

The beginning of any conference experience starts with the abstract. Do you need help writing yours? Come join us for our 

Abstract Workshop with Dr. Ian Barnard 

Tuesday, November 20, at 7 PM in JR319  

Make sure to bring a paper you would want to present at a conference as

well as the CFP for the conference you want to present at.

Speaking of CFPs, AGSE had our official unveiling! Check it out:

Download the full-sized CFP HERE

Or printer friendly B&W travel-sized for friends and family HERE


We'd love to have your suggestions and proposals for conference panels. If you have any ideas or want to sponsor a panel or talk, let us know!

Next month: 

Stay tuned for info about AGSE’s Holiday Party Extravaganza!

Categories: AGSE, CSUN, Meetings

September Meeting Highlights

Meet your 2012-2013 Officers! 

Lorie Hamalian - President 

Megan Betry - Vice President  

   

Gina Lawrence - Treasurer

Melissa Palazzo - Secretary

Holly Batty - Press Officer

Johnny Straight - Historian

Meetings: This semester AGSE will have its monthly meeting the last Wednesday of the month at 2:30 - 3:30 (unless otherwise posted). The rooms are subject to change, so make sure you keep up to date by following the messages sent to the grad student listserv or by following us on Facebook.

http://www.facebook.com/agse.csun

Spring Conference: Save the date! Saturday, March 9, 2013, is AGSE's annual spring conference. This year's theme will be Innocence and Experience with keynote speaker Dr. James Kincaid! Stay tuned for more information after the big reveal of our official CFP on Halloween.

Fundraising: We are always looking for new fundrasing ideas for our spring conference. Bowling, restaurants, book sales - if you have any ideas that put the FUN in fundraising, let us know! 

Of course, one of the main ways we do this is through membership! If you have any friends who are not yet members of our fantastic organization, feel free to remind them that it's only $10.00 for a lifetime membership. AGSE looks great on resumes and offers fantastic opportunities to join helpful workshops, make some extra cash as an AGSE tutor, and make friends and eat delicious cupcakes at our monthly meetings.

If you haven't already gotten your Official AGSE T-shirt, let us know! There are still plenty of sizes available and all shirts are only $20.00.

October Meeting

 to be announced - watch your emails!

Categories: AGSE, CSUN, Meetings

April Meeting Highlights

Elections

Nominations will close tonight so if you still wish to run please email us with a short bio and a picture. Another post will include everyone's information. We will be using Survey Monkey which will be open for voting for one week starting tomorrow and will close on Tuesday April 24. Winners will be announced on Wednesday April 25.



Workshop

We hope to have one last workshop this year. We hope to host the "Path to the PhD" with our own esteemed professors. Stay tuned for further announcements.


Special Guest Warren Ditch

Our meeting was brightened by the presence of Corri's Papa Warren Ditch who was gracious enough to stop by our campus for a visit while he is here in California. As seen in the photo he was sporting an AGSE T-Shirt and still purchased more! We thank him for his visit and all of his generosity.







Next Year

A lot of exciting news for the incoming board and continuing members. Next academic year will start with a bang because we will have a minimum of $1700 in funds.
Also, Dr. James Kincaid continues to be in correspondence and would be glad to present next academic year.














Thanks to ALL

We would like to extend a great big hug and thank you to all who have participated in fund raisers, workshops, meetings and especially the conference. This has been an extremely rewarding year and it would not be possible without the help and cooperation of everyone.

Categories: AGSE, CSUN, Meetings

April Meeting

The April meeting will be held in JR 319 on April 18.

We will be discussing the upcoming elections, workshops and and of course we will hold our monthly 50/50 raffle!

















FOR AGSE Executive Board
2012-2013



If you are interested in running for a position, please email us at agse201011@gmail.com and let us know which position along with a short bio, campaign announcement and photo and we will place your info on the AGSE blog. Thanks.

See you all in April. Meanwhile have a great Spring Break!!!

Categories: AGSE, CSUN, Meetings

March Meeting Highlights

Thank You!
AGSE extends a warm thank you to all those who helped make the conference this past week a great success. All the hard work and team values have paid off!







An especially SWEET thanks to Warren B. Ditch Jr. (Corri's papa) for his generous donation of chocolate covered macadamia nuts all the way from Hawaii! We all thank you warmly. Melissa Filbeck has started a thank you card so be sure to stop her and sign your name.







T-Shirts

If you pre-ordered T-shirts be sure to pick them up. If you didn't pre-order, don't worry! Email us or stop one of the officers to ask about them. All shirts are American Apparel brand and ONLY $20! Shirt sizes currently range from Small to Large.



Elections

Election time for the 2012-2013 officers is approaching. Elections will take place at the end of April so start thinking about which position you would like to run for. As always, feel free to contact any of us for details about our specific duties and experiences this past year.

COMING SOON:

An Evening with Dr. James Kincaid














"The Path to the PhD" with our own Dr. Ranita Chatterjee







50/50 Raffle Winner

Margeaux Gamboa-Wong

Categories: AGSE, CSUN, Meetings

Meeting Highlights February 1st

Good News
In addition to $1200 from AS we secured another $500 from the academic Programming Fund which can be used on food for the conference.


Monthly Meetings
We will be meeting the 1st Wednesday of every month at 2:30pm in JR 319 EXCEPT April. Because of Spring Break we will meet April 11th.

Spring Book Sale

February 14,15,16 Sierra Tower Breezeway 11am-3pm.Last semester we made a total of $350 from both sales. If you would like to donate books please take them to Sierra Tower 8th floor to the Faculty Lounge which is the closet on the right of the elevator. Please just leave them there. We would love to have more children's books this time. Please remember that we cannot sell any previous or current textbooks even if they are from a different school.

If you would like to sign up to help with the sale we need more volunteers on Tuesday the 14th and Thursday the 16th especially for set up at 10:30am and Clean up at 3pm. Please email us at agse201011@gmail.com for more information.


"How To Present at a Conference" Workshop
Faculty Host: Dr. Ian Barnard
February 22nd at 2pm in JR 319
If you are going to present at a conference this spring or even if you would like more information please join us. Dr. Barnard requests that you bring the first page of the paper that you wish to present.


Conference
Our conference is set for Saturday March 3rd (8:30 am - 4:30pm tentative)and we need volunteers to help set up, check in presenters and set up breakfast and lunch. We realize it is early on a Saturday morning, but if you want to bond with your peers and feel a part of this amazing club, come help even if just for an hour. Email us if you wish to volunteer.

T-Shirt Orders
Our T-Shirts look amazing, but we need a number so that we can order accordingly. Please let us know what size and how many you would like to order. They will be black unisex sizes s-xxxl unless otherwise stated. They are American Apparel cotton. T-shirts will be on sale for $20.

Dr. Kincaid
Due to the conference in March we will reschedule Dr. Kincaid's presentation to sometime in April.

Categories: AGSE, CSUN, Meetings

Spring 2012 Meeting Dates

Hello Everyone,

This semester's meeting will continue to be held in JR 319 on the first Wednesday of every month from 2:30-3:30pm.

February 1st
March 7th
April 11th
May 2nd

Next Week is our first meeting so please stop by and enjoy some snacks and get information regarding the spring conference, fundraisers, T-shirts and elections.

Categories: AGSE, CSUN, Meetings

Reminder: Meeting 11/9

This is your reminder of the meeting scheduled for tomorrow at 2:30 -3:30pm in JR 319. There will be wonderful snacks and brownies.

Categories: AGSE, CSUN, Meetings

Highlights from 10/12 Meeting

Book Sale:

Thank you to all members who signed up to conduct the sale this upcoming week. We are sure to have great success. All members, remember to spread the word about the book sale to anyone you see. Please remind them all books are ONLY $1!!!

Facebook:

Since the old Facebook is being archived, the new Facebook is up and running. See photos and much more! Add "Agse Csun" as a friend today!


Tutoring Blog:

Remember that if you would like to be on the tutoring blog, please email us and we will gather your information to put you on there.

Categories: AGSE, CSUN, Meetings