Level Up 2023

This presentation provides an overview of social justice and social innovation, presented as a decentralized field dedicated to solving social problems, and a knowledge domain that can be understood using a human ecological lens.

Students will understand the roles of social justice from a non-profit lens as it pertains to social impact & innovation within the community.

The presentation will include case studies of social entrepreneurship, designing and implementing sustainable social impact models that blur traditional lines between the for-profit and non-profit sectors. It will also provide students with the opportunity to reflect upon their own preliminary plans for a social innovation model.

About the Presenter

Carolee Dodge Francis, EdD. is a Native American (Oneida Nation of WI) social behavioral researcher and an Endowed Ecology of Human Well-Being Professor at the School of Human Ecology, University of WI, Madison. She strives to intertwine community engagement and research scholarship as a reflection of her cultural understanding within a contemporary context that is focused upon the well-being of Indigenous populations. Dr. Dodge Francis has over 30+ years’ work experience in public health/community wellness, Indigenous evaluation and program development, curriculum adaptation, and qualitative and community-based participatory research within urban and rural Native American communities nationwide.

Are you thinking of applying to graduate school? Don’t know what graduate school is? Wondering what type of advanced degree to pursue? This workshop will explore deciding if graduate school is right for you.

Part I – Getting Started and Undergraduate Research:

• Why engage in undergraduate research? How can it propel your career?
• Narrowing in on your research interests
• How to find a research mentor and mentor/mentee expectations
• Taking steps toward graduate school (Years 1-4)
• Overview of the UW-Madison McNair Scholars Program

About the Presenter

Dr. Audra K. Hernández is the Director of the UW-Madison Ronald E. McNair Postbaccalaureate Achievement Program. She is dedicated to serving first-generation, low-income, and underrepresented students to succeed in higher education and access graduate education. Dr. Hernández earned her Ph.D. in Astronomy at the University of Florida in 2011.

Have you ever heard the terms “master resume” or “targeted resume”? A master resume is a document that keeps track of all your experiences, training, and achievements, and is a source to help create targeted resumes – which are tailored to be more relevant to each specific job opening.

In this interactive workshop, we will talk about their differences and the importance of both! We will work together to take a master resume and target it to specific job postings. How do you connect the dots for employers so they will want to learn more about you? Come to this workshop to find out!

About the Presenters

Sara Hanson is a first-generation college graduate and proud alumna of the Wisconsin School of Business with a graduate degree from UW-Milwaukee. Her background spans both HR and career development which brings a useful perspective to her current role as the Job Rotation Program Manager as part of Talent Acquisition in the Office of Human Resources at UW-Madison. The Job Rotation Program is designed to support the success of early career professionals by providing professional development and work experiences that expose employees to a variety of professional settings and job responsibilities in four 6-month rotations. In the spirit of, “If you want to go fast, go alone – if you want to go far, go together,” constructing programs that build success through intentional partnerships is essentially motivating to her. These ensure an overall positive trajectory that betters our community.

Sebastian Kelnhofer-Maldonado is a class of 2020 PEOPLE graduate who greatly benefited from professional development opportunities like the Level Up Conference. He is passionate about paying it forward and supporting others as they think about and begin navigating their transition to their first professional roles. He is a proud alumnus of the College of Letters & Science, Political Science Department at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and began his career transition to Human Resources (HR) while completing a Certificate in Human Resources at Madison College (MATC). Currently, he is in his third of four rotations in the Job Rotation Program. In his rotations, he has developed a breadth of HR skills, built a network of professionals across campus, worked on meaningful projects, and participated in training opportunities to continue his professional development.

This sound bath session is an invitation to take some time to get out of the busy mind and to give yourself permission to practice self-care! It offers an immersive and holistic well-being experience and holds space for you to practice mindfulness and learn grounding techniques. Sound therapy is a type of therapy and meditation, which uses the sounds from singing bowls and other musical instruments to calm the nervous system and help you attune to the mind-body connection. Some of the benefits of this practice are a sense of calm and deep relaxation, reduced stress, improved sleep and mood, and better focus and concentration.

A chair or yoga mat to sit in or lie down on will be provided for you, if desired. Come with kind curiosity and ready to unplug!

About the Presenter

LA Adkins (she/her/hers) is a PEOPLE Alumna from Milwaukee, Wisconsin. She earned her Bachelor’s degree studying Legal Studies and Spanish and her Master’s degree in Social Work, both from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. LA is a creative, champion of solitude, storyteller, trained and certified Sound Practitioner and Mindfulness Meditation Guide, and full-time entrepreneur. She currently practices as a Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW) and Holistic Wellness Therapreneur and is a subject matter expert in the field of mental health. LA is the Founding Owner of Reconnect With You, PLLC, a private mental health practice in North Carolina specializing in work with entrepreneurs, professionals, and organizations/corporations.

Northwestern Mutual was founded here in Wisconsin back in 1857. Since then their advisors have been working with clients on protecting, managing, and increasing their wealth.

This presentation walks participants through all things financial, including behavioral economics. They will learn how to identify their financial planning personality, the actions they can take today, what they need to do to get ready for life after college, and what to look for during their career search.

Thinking about a career in healthcare? Interested in learning about healthcare pathways? Come learn from PEOPLE alumni working in health careers as they share their experiences and answer your questions.

Panelists:
David Leinweber – Medicine
India Anderson Carter – Obstetrics and Gynecology
Suriya Xiong – Pharmacy
Isaiah Gordon – Nursing

Renting an apartment for the first time? Unsure about your rights as a tenant? Have questions about your lease or how to find housing? Join staff from the Tenant Resource Center as they discuss their organization, tenant rights and housing in downtown Madison.

About the Presenters

The Tenant Resource Center is a nonprofit organization that advocates for housing justice and thriving communities. This is accomplished by providing education and centering community partnerships; thereby empowering individuals to make fully informed decisions.

TRC believes in high-quality, safe housing for all genders, races, ethnicities, disabilities, ages, and more. It means the end of housing discrimination, as they fight until every last person is housed as they need and as they choose.

Have you struggled with the transition from virtual to in-person learning? How do you find the study strategies that work best for you? What can you do to maximize your learning?

This workshop focuses on time management, studying versus learning, test-taking strategies, and tips for studying. It also will cover multiple-choice tests and learning styles.

About the Presenters

The Greater University Tutoring Service (GUTS) is a student-run tutoring service that provides academic, language, and study skill support services taught and facilitated by students, for all UW-Madison students.

In this workshop, students will have the opportunity to consider how values can inform their career exploration. They will facilitate a presentation and discussion around identifying strategies to build connections with professionals whose careers and/or experiences relate to those identified values and potential career interests.

The purpose of the workshop is to support students in reflecting on their values and connecting values to building connections with their career paths of interest.

About the Presenters

Alex Seidenstricker (he/him) is a Career Advisor and instructor for a career development course in the School of Human Ecology at UW-Madison. Before attending UW-Madison to earn his master’s degree in Educational Leadership & Policy Analysis with an emphasis in higher education and student affairs, Alex worked in the private sector for five years after he graduated from The University of Iowa with a Bachelor of Arts in Communication Studies. More specifically, Alex worked for three different advertising agencies in a client relations/account management role, but after realizing the private sector offered little in terms of personal reward and satisfaction, Alex decided to engage with the career development process to learn more about his interests, strengths, and values, as he began to explore new career opportunities.

Hannah Hatlan-Atwell (she/her) is a Career Advisor and instructor for a career development course in the School of Human Ecology. Hannah earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from Grinnell College – majoring in Psychology and Spanish. She worked for a couple of years to explore career interests and build skills – first serving as a case manager in a homeless outreach center and then as a youth therapist in a youth treatment center – before attending UW-Madison for a Master’s in Social Work. She then transitioned to working as a tutor coordinator for a high school math tutoring program. Hannah loved the experience of engaging with high schoolers and college students who served as tutors to think about future career goals, and eventually decided to pursue career advising at UW-Madison!

Are you thinking of applying to graduate school? Don’t know what graduate school is? Wondering what type of advanced degree to pursue? This workshop will explore deciding if graduate school is right for you.

Part II – Applying to Graduate School:

• What are the components of a graduate application?
• How to create a competitive application
• How can you fund your advanced degree?
• Why should you consider staying at UW-Madison for graduate school?

About the Presenter

Douachong Lee is the Multicultural Initiatives Manager in the UW-Madison Graduate School’s Office of Diversity, Inclusion and Funding. The Office of Diversity, Inclusion, and Funding plays a central role in creating an inclusive and multicultural educational landscape through the retention and recruitment of diverse students, especially those of domestic minority and low-income/first-generation college backgrounds.

This workshop facilitated by staff from UW-Madison’s Social Justice Education Programs moves beyond foundational social justice knowledge to equipping students to dig deeper into examining systems of power, privilege, and oppression.

How does society impact our understanding of social identities individually? Using the Cycle of Socialization, students will reflect on messages we receive in our lives that have taught us about our identities, how we learned to perceive social identities, and the forces beyond oneself that influence the perception of social identities.

About the Presenters

Social Justice Education provides a variety of educational workshops for the UW–Madison community to assist in developing awareness, knowledge, and skills to engage in creating positive social change.

Thinking about working at a college or university? Interested in learning about jobs in higher education? Join PEOPLE Alumni who will share their experiences as higher education professionals and answer your questions about their work and career paths.

Panelists:
Jonas Gomez Tijerino – School of Medicine
Arturo Diaz – School of Business
Wquinton Smith – Wisconsin Athletics
Marissa Long – Cross College Advising

Handshake is UW-Madison’s primary tool to connect students with employers, job and internship opportunities, and career events and resources. Join staff from the Career Exploration Center to learn how to take advantage of this resource to jumpstart your professional career, network with other professionals, or land a job or internship!

About the Presenters

The Career Exploration Center (CEC) supports undergraduate students who are undecided about their career and/or academic goals. The CEC assists students in gathering information, personal insight, and experiences that are based on their interests, values, and skills, help them explore their options, and provides direction in planning the next steps in their career journey.

This workshop offers helpful tips and tricks for students interviewing for jobs and internships. We will discuss how to prepare for an interview: first impressions, types of interviews, and researching employers.

Much focus will be placed on preparing for interview questions, especially using the STAR method. The workshop wraps up with next steps after the interview.

About the Presenters

SuccessWorks helps students explore their career options, connect with and learn from employers and alumni professionals in their field of interest, build skills and experiences while at UW-Madison, and get the jobs and internships they want.

Renting an apartment for the first time? Unsure about your rights as a tenant? Have questions about your lease or how to find housing? Join staff from the Tenant Resource Center as they discuss their organization, tenant rights and housing in downtown Madison.

About the Presenters

The Tenant Resource Center is a nonprofit organization that advocates for housing justice and thriving communities. This is accomplished by providing education and centering community partnerships; thereby empowering individuals to make fully informed decisions.

TRC believes in high-quality, safe housing for all genders, races, ethnicities, disabilities, ages, and more. It means the end of housing discrimination, as they fight until every last person is housed as they need and as they choose.

This breakout session will focus on a part of research that seldom gets attention: animal well-being and research support. The presentation will begin with an introduction to what each presenter does and how they play a role in biomedical research.

The main focus will be a hands-on workshop about technical skills used in each presenter’s role including but not limited to suturing, blood draws, catheter placement, how to perform a physical exam, etc. All of the demonstrations will be performed on dummies/puppets/prosthetics.

About the Presenters

Amy Moy (PEOPLE ’13) is a Research Specialist with the Wisconsin National Primate Research Center (WNPRC). She works with the scientific protocol implementation (SPI) unit and handles project management, procedure scheduling and sample collection for researchers across the campus and the nation that wishes to use the resources provided by the center. Amy received her bachelor’s degree in Zoology (now Integrative Biology) and certificates in Studio Art and Environmental Studies. While not at work, she’s either at the courts playing tennis or on the couch finishing an RPG.

Dr. Jennifer Coonen, DVM, DACLAM is a veterinarian at the Wisconsin National Primate Research Center. She has worked with primates for her entire career, beginning in husbandry in 1999 and transitioning to the veterinary staff in 2002. She graduated from UW-Madison School of Veterinary Medicine in 2006 and completed a residency in Laboratory Animal Medicine at UW-Madison in 2009. She currently supports a variety of primate research projects including organ transplant, stem cell transplant, infectious disease, neuroscience and ophthalmology projects. In addition, she is the co-director of the UW-Madison Laboratory Animal Medicine residency program.