As part of a continued orientation experience for incoming graduate and professional students, the Graduate School sponsors a special seminar series for first-year graduate and professional students. The purpose of Graduate School Primer workshops is for students to gain valuable information and skills to make a successful transition into the role of a Cornell graduate or professional student. 

Workshops

Understanding and Overcoming the Imposter Experience

Wednesday, July 17, 2024, 2 – 3 p.m.

Did you know that impostor feelings are normal and that most high-achieving graduate students experience these feelings at some point? Join us to better understand the impostor phenomenon; learn to recognize it and see recent research on how it can be a barrier to graduate student success. By defining it and sharing experiences, you’ll learn evidence-based tools to help combat impostor feelings.

Presenter: Jessamyn Perlus, senior associate director, Cornell Career Services

Register for Understanding and Overcoming the Imposter Experience.

Getting the Mentoring You Need and Want

Tuesday, July 23, 2024, 10 a.m. – 12 p.m.

In this workshop, graduate students reflect on their mentoring experiences and needs, learn to co-construct and manage mutual expectations within their mentoring relationships, and develop strategies to establish a network of mentors to get the mentoring they need and want across multiple domains. This workshop also introduces the FAIM (Faculty Advancing Inclusive Mentoring) Resource Center, which provides a framework to support the development and advancement of inclusive and equity-minded mentoring practices within graduate and postdoctoral education. The FAIM framework comprises an inclusive mentoring philosophy, key principles, and practical tools and resources intended to be adapted and adopted to meet the contextual needs of mentors and mentees.

Presenters: Colleen McLinn, associate dean for professional development, and Sara Xayarath Hernández, associate dean for inclusion and student and faculty engagement

Register for Getting the Mentoring You Need and Want.

Develop Your Well-being Strategic Plan

Monday, July 29, 2024, 1 – 2 p.m.

As you start Graduate School, you will want to develop a plan that supports your well-being for academic success. In this session, we will define well-being, learn key concepts of resilience, and emphasize the importance of sense of belonging and self-care practices. Resources will be highlighted. When you leave you will have developed your strategic plan and connected with others.

Presenter: Janna Lamey, associate dean for graduate student life

Register for Develop Your Well-being Strategic Plan.

Navigating Key Graduate Milestones and Expectations

Thursday, August 1, 2024, 11 a.m. – 12 p.m.

Learn about key milestones associated with being a Cornell graduate student before you are expected to reach them. This session will share important information about academic milestones and provide strategies to help you successfully meet them. In addition to a short presentation, participants will have opportunities to break into smaller groups to reflect on and brainstorm how to apply the guidance in their fields of study.

Presenter: Josephine Martell, associate dean for academics

Register for Navigating Key Graduate Milestones and Expectations.

Money Matters

Friday, August 2, 2024, 11 a.m. – 12 p.m.

Whenever you make a big transition (and coming to Cornell for graduate school counts!), you learn quickly that money matters. We’d like you to join us for this introductory session about finances and budgeting basics. The goal is for students to leave with concepts and a structure for planning their income/expenses for the upcoming year. When you register, we will ask what specific topics you would like addressed, allowing presenters to craft a program to meet your expectations.

Presenters: Jorge Cuevas and Brendan Wilbur, Alternatives Federal Credit Union

Register for Money Matters.

Right From the Start: Valuing Your Time

Monday, August 5, 2024, 3 – 4 p.m.

While there is no one-size-fits-all approach to managing your time, it is a skill that can be learned! In this session, we will review commonly used time management techniques, discuss how to make strategic decisions that support the whole you, and discuss how to maintain relationships when setting professional boundaries. In addition, participants will share what time management techniques they have found work best for them.

Presenter: Janna Lamey, associate dean for graduate student life

Register for Right From the Start: Valuing Your Time.

Building Your Social Community at Cornell University

Tuesday, August 6, 2024, 11 a.m. – 12 p.m.

Relationships grounded in trust, respect, and acceptance are the strongest factors in building and maintaining resilience. Starting a new program in a new place can be challenging, as can building your new social communities. So, what is a graduate student supposed to do? During this one-hour session, we’ll review the value of community and, more importantly, hear from graduate and professional students with strategies and suggestions for building your community from day one.

Presenters: Janna Lamey, associate dean for graduate student life; Claude De Castro, manager, Big Red Barn; and panel of esteemed students

Register for Building Your Social Community at Cornell University.

Enhancing Language Skills for Graduate Success

Wednesday, August 7, 2024, 9 – 10 a.m.

Do you use English as an additional language? Are you concerned about potential challenges related to speaking, listening, reading, and writing during your graduate program? Join the directors of the English Language Support Office and International Teaching Assistant Program to learn about approaches for navigating graduate school in English. You will leave this session with strategies you can start using right away to enhance your language learning and resources you can use as soon as you arrive at Cornell.

Presenters: Derina Samuel, associate director, graduate student development, Center for Teaching Innovation, and Michelle Crow, senior lecturer and director, English Language Support Office

Register for Enhancing Language Skills for Graduate Success.

Identifying Resources to Succeed as a Teaching Assistant at Cornell

Tuesday, August 13, 2024, 10 – 11 a.m.
 
Will you have teaching responsibilities this fall? Are you thinking about a faculty career track and want to develop your skills as an instructor? If your answer is “yes,” or you just want to find out more about teaching, join us to explore the many resources that are available to you at Cornell. At this session we will discuss the various teaching roles graduate students experience and identify areas you could develop to ensure a successful teaching experience
 
Presenters: Colleen McLinn, associate dean for professional development, and Derina Samuel, associate director, graduate student development, Center for Teaching Innovation

Register for Identifying Resources to Succeed as a Teaching Assistant at Cornell.

Navigating Cross-Cultural Classroom Dynamics

Wednesday, August 14, 2024, 10 – 11 a.m.

As a teaching assistant, you will encounter a Cornell community with great cultural, linguistic, and geographic diversity. Join this online workshop to examine the relationship between cultures and educational systems, as well as discuss how this relates to teaching at Cornell. Additionally, you’ll have the opportunity to meet other new students from a variety of backgrounds.

Presenters: Jody Gabler, instructor, Center for Teaching Innovation, and Alice Wu, instructor, International Teaching Assistant Program

Register for Navigating Cross-Cultural Classroom Dynamics.

Exploring Career Options in and Outside Academia: Make an Action Plan for Your Future

Thursday, August 15, 2024, 2 – 3 p.m.

You might be thinking it is too early to think about the end as you are starting, but in this session you will learn how important it can be to keep your options open and how you can take advantage of your time at Cornell to gain experiences that help you rule in or rule out different career sectors based on what you value and in what environments you thrive. You will leave with three things you can do that don’t take long at all that will increase your agency.

Presenters: Susi Varvayanis, executive director, Careers Beyond Academia, and Christine Holmes, director, postdoctoral studies

Register for Exploring Career Options in and Outside Academia: Make an Action Plan for Your Future.

Understanding Doctoral Funding at Cornell

Wednesday, August 21, 2024, 1 – 2 p.m., Warren Hall 151 (in-person)

At Cornell, almost all Ph.D. students receive funding that pays tuition and provides a living stipend through a combination of fellowships, assistantships, and external scholarships. This presentation will explain how stipends are paid, what your responsibilities are, and provides insight on how to be an active participant in your own funding plan.

Presenter: Jason Kahabka, associate dean for administration

Register for Understanding Doctoral Funding at Cornell.