Let's go shoppping!

Milwaukee is Wisconsin's biggest city, so it's only fitting that we have HUGE shopping malls.  Let me highlight two of my favorite...

Bayshore Town Center 

Bayshore is located  approximately five miles north of Sandburg.  Bayshore is a large outdoor shopping venue boasting many unique restaurants and stoes.  They have everything from Kohl's, to Board Game Barrister, to bebe.  Bayshore also hosts many different events in the square, like tango lessons, Chalk Art Festival, and others throughout the year.  Bayshore is also a great place to grab an awesome dinner.  Some of my favorite restaurants there are The Cheesecake Factory, BD's Mongolian Grill, and California Pizza Kitchen.  Take the Green line to explore all that Greendale, a Milwaukee suburb has to offer! Not to mention, there is a ton of other businesses surrounding the mall.

Mayfair

Right up North Avenue is Mayfair Mall.  Mayfair Mall is home to my favorite stores. 
If you want to have a large group of friends go out for family style  dining, I suggest Maggiano's.  Maggiano's serves large, have-to-share-it, portions of your favorite Italian dish.  You are sure to have left overs for quite a while.  Another favorite of mine at Mayfair is the AMC movie theater.  It even has an IMAX RealD 3D theater!  Not to mention, on Thursdays you can get a special student discount when you present your student ID.  Mayfair is also home to many fun stores like Build-a-Bear Workshop, Godiva, and Teavana.  Mayfair is a sure place to have a good time.  Just hop on the 21.

There is so much more than I've mentioned.  I guess you will just have to explore yourself.  ;)

Preparing for College

Most of you should have already taken placement testing, gone to NSO, and have scheduled classes.  Now what?  Your whole senior year of highschool has been devoted to preparing for college, and it's almost here.  If you are like me, you probably have a checklist that you've been going over and over again.  With move-in being almost a month away, here are some items to add to your checklist.  (If you haven't already.)

• Make sure your housing is squared away.

           Be sure to log on to myHousing to make sure your contract has been received and that you've been assigned.  (We are still making assignments, so don't fret if you don't see yours up yet.)  You will be receiving a move-in guide in the mail that is going to tell you everything you want to know and more about move-in.  Included in that guide is a letter telling you how to fill out the Chronic Illness form.  After you fill that out, you will be able to see your move-in time and date on myHousing.  It is incredibly important that you are able to make it to your appointment, as all your Fall Welcome events are based off of your move-in date.  If you can't make your appointment, you can fill out an Early Arrival Application form, or you can move in anytime after 7pm the day of your appointment.  If you have any conflict with your move-in time, call us at (414)-229-4065.

• Email your roomies.

          If you have your housing assignment, you are able to see your roommate and suitemate.  (If you don't see a roommate listed, don't worry.  Some people are still being assigned and you will likely receive a roommate before the semester begins.)  There is an feature on myHousing that allows you to message them.  Check up with them and say hi.  Talking to your roommates/suitemates will help you all be more comfortable with eachother before the fall semester begins.  You can also discuss with your roommate who is going to bring what, and things like that.  In the beginning of the semester, you all will meet with your RA and make a roommate agreement.  In that agreement, you will set ground rules on things like borrowing, noise, guests, etc.  It's not a bad idea to talk with your roommate now about these different things.  I will give you one precaution though:  Have an open mind.  Like I said in my post about my roommate, it's easy to judge people based on their Facebook profile and make assumptions about things that are said (or read) out of context.  Even if you are a little uneasy about your future roommate, give them the opportunity to get to know them in person.

• Go shopping!

          Remember all of those graduation gifts and cards?  Time to put them to work!  Take inventory of everything you have from home that you are planning on bringing to school, and make a list of what you need.  Shopping to furnish your new room can get expensive, so be sure to shop around to find the best prices.  Before you buy anything though, read over our list of things to bring and things to leave at home.  (Your parents also got a handout of things to bring at orientation.)  If you bring a prohibited item, your RA will ask you to send it home right away.  As a side note, don't feel like you have to buy everything now.  Milwaukee has many, many stores nearby; if you forget something, it's pretty easy to pick it up at Wal-Mart or Target.

• Make sure your financial aid is in order.

          Your PAWs account will be new best friend these next few years, so get familiar with it.  You should be able to see a section that has your charges and financial aid.  When you click on your financial aid, you should be able to see everything you were awarded.  Just because you were awarded it doesn't mean that you are getting it.  You have to click "Accept."  If you are accepting loans, you will then be prompted to complete a master promissory note.  A master promissory note is a document saying that you agree to pay back the money that you have borrowed.  If you are accepting grants and scholarships, look into what the aid covers.  Some scholarships and grants only cover tuition.  On the side of your PAWs homepage, there is a box that says "To Do."  If you have anything you need to complete for your financial aid, you will find it there along with instructions and links.

• Think about books.

          Go to the UWM Bookstore and click on the classes and sections that you are signed up for.  If your professor knows what book they would like to use for the course, it'll be listed there.  Not all professors post the required text on the site, though.  You may have to wait until you get your syllabus to know exactly what books you need.  Feel free to shop around for books, but make sure you have the right edition.  When searching for the text, be sure to input the ISBN.  That's a number assigned to each individual edition of each book that is internationally recognize.  It's important to get the correct book.  If you have edition 15 of your math book and the rest of the class is on edition 16, your homework likely won't match up.  Don't stress out too much about books, though.  You don't need your books on the first day of class; most professors know that students may wait to purchase a book.  Otherwise, look for emails from your professor on your UWM email account.

 

• Start hunting for a job.

          If you want a job on campus, now's a good time to start looking.  Check out this post for more information on how to get a job on campus.

•  READ!

          Read your common read, Percepolis, your move-in guide, and all letters and emails sent from the university.  Also, many authors have written books just for first-year students to help them adjust to college.  I read The Naked Roommate by Harlan Cohen before college and it helped out a ton.  Not to mention, Harlan is coming to UWM for Fall-Welcome!  

You are going to be on campus before you know it, so make sure you are checking things off your list! Be sure to also check out this site for more college prep.  See you at Fall Welcome!

Pro Staff Is Where It's At!

Living in the residence halls connects you with so many great people, many of which can be a great resource. The Professional Staff we have in our residence halls are fantastic people who have really been a great influence in my life. They are all their to help out and enhance students' experience on campus, but sadly most people don't think to utilize them unless they meet with them for behavior or part of a student organization in housing.  They do so much more than just that, though.

Who are the professional staff? Well the ones you will probably connect with the most are our Residence Life Coordinators. As each of you will have a Resident Assistant to mentor your community and help make sure our students are safe and secure, they too are students. The Residents Life Coordinators are their supervisors and are there to mentor them.  The RLCs are also on call 24/7 in case of an emergency in the res halls. Each building or tower has at least one professional staff member working towards creating the best environment possible for their community. These professional staff members are have or are working towards their masters degree in higher education or a related field.

When might you interact with one of our pro staff? There are a handful of times that they are present around the community. They live in the same community you do, so they are always around.  You may find them at one of your house meetings or events; maybe even see them eating in the cafe or working out. Sure, some of you will interact with them through behavior meetings due to policy violations, but most of you won't! Each of the pro staff also advise several different student run organizations in housing. If you happen to be involved in one of our three hall councils or SHAC (Student Housing Administrative Council),youu will get to know a few of the pro staff members pretty well.   Maybe you will get involved in our Sustainability Committee, NRHH (National Residence Hall Honorary), or CRB (Community Review Board). You are sure to have the opportunity to meet one of our wonderful pro staff.  If none of the fit into your schedule, or you just want to talk, you can always stop into your buildings main office and schedule an appointment to meet with one with one of them.

Look for more opportunities to  get involved in my Pounce Into Involvement post!

Residence Life Coordinator Spotlights

Let's All Go To the Movies!

From my other post you may have learned that I am a film major here at UWM, which means one of my favorite past times is going to the movies! If you like the movies, then Milwaukee is the place for you! We have some great historical theatres right in our area that lets you indulge in the art and culture of cinema. Not to mention, countless film festivals are held in the area as well! That means you have the opportunity to see movies by up and coming artists, UWM community members, and some reinvented classics.

Landmark Oriental

Landmark Oriental

The Oriental Theatre is located a mile north of downtown, a mile south of our main campus, and 1-3 blocks from some of our Residence Halls.  It is at the heart of Milwaukee's alternative East side. It's home to 3 premiere screens.  Every Friday and Saturday before the 7pm show in the main theatre, the lush sounds of the Kimball Theatre Pipe Organ introduce the film, reminiscing the glory days of the theatres.

One of my favorite memories is my first year going to the Rocky Horror Picture Show. The Oriental Theatre is the U.S. record holder for a current and continuing film engagement. The Rocky Horror Picture Show has played as a midnight film since January, 1978. Rocky Horror now shows every second Saturday of the month. It was a great time getting to interact with the cast shadow preforming the movie. We went on one of their themed nights and it was a sight to see.

Downer

Downer Theatre

Just a few blocks North East of the Oriental you can find the two screen theatre located on  Downer Avenue in Milwaukee's upper East side. Downer Theatre is the oldest operating movie theatre in Milwaukee and embraces screening some of the finest in independent film and foreign language cinema.

Fox Bay Cinema Grill

Fox Bay Cinema Grill 

This place is great! It takes dinner and a movie to a whole new level. It is one of the first of its kind in the Milwaukee area. The theatre itself has been around since 1951.  In  2000, it was restored, introducing the new grill menu. What is nice about this place is you get the large screen but not as many people. They have a select number of seating in their theatres to give their guest the room to dine. With a much more classic cinema experience this theatre runs more of the main stream films including 3D flicks!  

UWM Union Theatre

Union Theatre

One of the great things about UWM is that we have our very own theatre on campus! It is home to several different genres of films and film festivals. The best part is that its free to UWM Students with your student ID. It screens films across the board; from UWM student and faculty work to main stream films.  Its located on the Union 2nd Floor on the east side. Its a great place to take advantage of while you are a UWM student!  So be sure to check out their list of special events and festivals they have here!

Flicks

If you are looking to check out something even closer than the Union Theatre, you can always check out Flicks. It is located in the lobby of Sanburg is FREE to all our residents and their guest! It offers our students movies that are fresh out of the theatres just before they hit DVD. They often have the movies running Thursday through Sunday with multiple times each night! I highly suggest checking it out!

Check out their facebook page and such here.

Don't forget about the Milwaukee Film Festivals!

Milwaukee is home to some great film festivals that is a rare opportunity to be apart of! I suggest when the time comes get involved by volunteering or just going to the movies! Some great ones to look into are the Milwaukee Film Festival and the LGBTQ Film Festival which is sponsored and run by the UWM Film Department!

So, UWM students, can't wait to see you at the movies!