The ICE Chest

March 2009

Volume 1, Issue 6

Center Staff

Marlon Anderson
Director

Ann Margaret Trujillo
Associate Director

Jennifer Lilly
Assistant Director for Volunteer Services

Gregory Frieden
Administrative Associate II

Migel Navarro
Graduate Assistant

Matthew Morris
AmeriCorps VISTA

Tracy Hunt
Graduate Intern

Erica Proo
Student Assistant I

Casity Williams
Student Assistant I

Eraldo Elizondo
Student Assistant I

Women’s History Month 2009

March is Women’s History Month. A month dedicated to celebrating the contributions and accomplishments of women. As stated by Gabriela Gonzalez and Anne Hardgrove, Co-Chairs of the Women’s History Month Committee for 2009, “During the National Women’s History Month, UTSA honors the contributions made by individuals and groups who have worked for the betterment of historically-underrepresented peoples, especially women.”

Under the coordination of the Women’s Studies Institute, there are many events planned for this year’s Women’s History Month, including films such as “Iron Jawed Angels,” which chronicles the story of women’s suffrage, lectures such as ”They All Want Magic: Curanderas and Folk Healing ,” panel discussions such as “Reflections on my Life as a Graduate Student”, and the annual Women’s Fair.

For information on the above events and the complete listing of all events please follow this link http://utsa.edu/wsi/calendar.pdf.

UTSA United to Serve – April 4, 2009

The 5^th annual United to Serve, an event that brings together students, faculty, staff, alumni, and friends in service to the greater San Antonio community, will take place Saturday April 4, 2009. UTSA’s United to Serve event is one of many projects taking place at Texas universities as part of the UT System’s United to Serve initiative.

Individuals and groups are invited to sign up online beginning March 4, 2009 by visiting UTSA United to Serve Registration. Fourteen different projects are posted with 15-50 volunteer spots available at each. Projects range from a painting project with Boys Town, to volunteering with a tennis tournament benefitting Any Baby Can, to helping sort donations at Goodwill, and many more!

All participants will receive a t-shirt, and will be invited to a volunteer recognition event during National Volunteer Appreciation Week later in the month of April. United to Serve is sponsored by the Office of the President, The Inclusion & Community Engagement Center, and Volunteer Organization Involving Community Education & Service (VOICES). For more information please contact the Inclusion and Community Engagement Center at 458-4770.

Be a part of the tradition!

Volunteer of the Year Award & Scholarship

The UTSA Student Volunteer of the Year Award was created to honor an outstanding student for their time, effort and personal commitment to volunteerism and enhancing civic life in their community. Applicants should also embody the true spirit of civic engagement and volunteerism. The $500 Sandra Cisneros Scholarship award is presented to the winner.

Applicants must be currently enrolled at the University of Texas at San Antonio, be in good standing (financial, discipline, academic, etc) with the university and have at least a 2.50 overall cumulative GPA. Students may not be paid for the services they represent on this application. Students who are or have been associated with national service programs are eligible to apply.

Applications must be completely filled out to be considered and can be found at www.utsa.edu/ice/vs or at the ICE Center front desk. A selection committee will evaluate all applicants and select the finalists and the winner. The winner will be announced at the University Life Awards, April 2, 2009.

The Inclusion and Community Engagement Center (University Center 2.01.04) must receive your application by Friday, March 6, 2009 at 5:00pm to be considered. For more information please go to www.utsa.edu/ice/vs or contact Jennifer Lilly at (210) 458-4770 or jennifer.lilly@utsa.edu.

UTSA Allies Training and UTSA Allies/GLBTQ Mixer

Ally Logo

On March 4^th and 18^th, the Inclusion and Community Engagement Center will again be offering “Becoming an Ally” training for administrators, faculty and staff. The UTSA Allies Program seeks to empower administrators, faculty, staff and students to create and maintain a welcoming and inclusive environment for all gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, and questioning members of our campus community. UTSA Allies will help GLBTQ students find their place and remain a vital part of the UTSA community by providing support, resources, and educational programs.

In the spirit of this commitment, the Inclusion and Community Engagement Center will be hosting a UTSA Allies/ GLBTQ student organization mixer in the Tejas Lounge on March 25, 2008 from 5 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. The mixer will offer faculty and staff the opportunity to interact and network with students in a light hearted and open atmosphere. Refreshments will be served and as always, everybody is welcomed! The GLBTQ student organization meeting will follow at 7 p.m. in Hidalgo Room UC III (2.214) as usual. We hope to see everyone there!

Important Dates and Times are listed below

Wednesday March 4, 2009
SD 310– "Becoming an Ally"
Bio Science and Engineering Building (2.102) 1:00 p.m. ~ 4:00 p.m.

Please visit TXCLASS to sign up for this class.

Wednesday March 18, 2009
SD 310 “Becoming an Ally”
Frio Street Building Multipurpose Room (1.402) 9:00 a.m. ~ 12:00 p.m.

Please visit TXCLASS to sign up for this class.

Wednesday March 25, 2009
UTSA Allies/ GLBTQ Mixer;
Location TBA 5:00p.m. ~ 6:30 p.m.

Student Leader Spotlight

Kelly Gambill

Each month The ICE Chest will spotlight a student who demonstrates strong leadership skills and qualities and/or actively pursues opportunities to give back to UTSA and the San Antonio community. This month’s spotlight is on Kelly Gambill

Junior Kelly Gambill is working hard to make an impact at UTSA through her active student leadership. Kelly is an Incarnate Word High School graduate and a San Antonio native. She is a civil engineering major with a minor in business, and she is a member of the Honors College.

Kelly is a two year member of VOICES (Volunteer Organization Involving Community Education and Service), and has served as the Special Events Coordinator for the organization during the 08-09 academic year. In this role, Kelly coordinated the Babcock Rd. Cleanup, the Campus Cleanup, and is coordinating the VOICES Beach Cleanup. Under her leadership, the Campus Cleanup grew to over 100 participants this year, compared to about 20 last year.

Kelly is a three year Honors Alliance member. She is also involved with Phi Sigma Pi Honor Fraternity, The American Society of Civil Engineers, and the Society of Women Engineers. When she is not studying, volunteering, or in student organization meetings, Kelly enjoys bowling, painting, and cooking.

When asked why student involvement is important, Kelly said “I love being involved on campus because it makes you feel like you have some ownership in what happens at UTSA and you feel like you are contributing to the growth of student involvement on campus.” To find out more about any of these organizations and how to get involved, email Kelly at ajg391@my.utsa.edu.

Organization Spotlight:
Gamma Phi Beta Sorority

Gamma Phi Beta has been selected as our Student Organization Spotlight for this month for several reasons. One of those reasons is that Gamma Phi Beta was the sorority dedicating the most hours of service to the community in the Fall 2008 semester. The ladies of Gamma Phi Beta dedicated 834 hours of service! That is no small feat considering that the members are attending school, have jobs, are engaged in co-curricular activities, and “having a life.”

Gamma Phi Beta currently has fifty-five members who are dedicated to scholarship, leadership and service to the community. The members of Gamma Phi Beta regularly volunteer at the San Antonio Children’s Shelter – at least twice a month. They engage the children at the shelter by doing crafts and having fun with them.

The chapter also does a significant amount of fundraising for their national philanthropy, Camping for Girls/Campfire USA, an organization that provides summer camp experiences for girls whose families cannot afford to send them to camp. As part of this fundraising goal, Gamma Phi Beta will be hosting the Crescent Classic Moonball – a night sand volleyball tournament. The tournament will take place on Friday March 20, 2009 at the Campus Recreation Center at the UTSA 1604 campus. To inquire about the tournament, including registering, please contact Gamma Phi Beta at gammaphi.zetapsi@gmail.com.

Thank you, Gamma Phi Beta for your dedication to service to the community!

Resource Library

Come check out our growing resource library. Whether you are doing research or just looking for a great book on leadership, volunteerism, or a culture other than your own; come and check out your choice of books.

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Questions or comments? E-mail us at engaged@utsa.edu or call (210) 458-4770

Inclusion and Community Engagement Center

The University of Texas at San Antonio
UC 2.01.04
One UTSA Circle
San Antonio, Texas 78249
Voice: (210) 458-4770
Fax: (210) 458-6927

A Call to Service 2009

AmeriCorps Logo

The week of United to Serve, UTSA’s annual call to service in the San Antonio community, we will be having two informational meetings addressing national service opportunities. This series entitled A Call to Service is an opportunity for students to learn about the options and benefits found in national service.

On March 31^st, the first of the two part series will have a theme of Service and You-Americorps* VISTA, which will focus on the options found in the VISTA branch of Americorps. The second segment will be held on April 2^nd, the topic is Minorities in Service. This session will look into the disparities found among number of minorities who commit to national service and the demographics of the communities in which most programs are based.

Each year, AmeriCorps offers 75,000 opportunities for adults of all ages and backgrounds to serve through a network of partnerships with local and national nonprofit groups. It is truly an opportunity to make a big difference in your life and in the lives of those around you. It’s a chance to apply skills and ideals toward helping others and meeting critical needs in the community.

Vista Logo

More information coming soon!!

Need to Chill?

March First Friday

Do you need to “chill?” Then “Come N Chill” with the Inclusion and Community Engagement Center on March 6, 2009 as we celebrate Spring Break and “First Friday” in the UC Paseo from 11 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. The ICE Center will be providing FREE Refreshments as well as coupons for Free Spring Break giveaways. Students are invited to “Come N Chill” with fellow students as we “Chill” all the way to Spring Break!

*“First Friday” is the ICE Center’s take on the monthly First Friday events held in the arts district of San Antonio. “First Friday” at UTSA is an opportunity for students to unwind and celebrate being a student. Past “First Friday” events have included free t-shirts, free caramel apples, a joint event with the Diversity Month Celebration and the Mystical Arts of Tibet, an event that contributed to Ronald McDonald House Charities, and recently a Home Coming themed event.

Volunteer Opportunity Highlight

The Exxon Mobile Science and Engineering Fair (hosted by UTSA) will take place March 28-31, 2009.

Volunteers are needed in several areas, from competition judges to general volunteers. Email Kai.Kamaka@utsa.edu or call (210) 458-6733 for more information. Details about the program and volunteer needs can be found at https://emtsef.utsa.edu

To find out about more volunteer opportunities visit Volunteer Services.

Get Ready to Celebrate Asian and Pacific Islander Heritage

Power

We are getting ready for Asian Pacific Islander Heritage Month! Celebrated in April on the UTSA campuses, Asian Pacific Islander Heritage Month is a time to learn about and experience a part of a variety of Asian and Pacific Island cultures.

If you or your organization would like to be a part of the planning of the event for Asian Pacific Islander Heritage Month, please contact the Inclusion and Community Engagement Center at 210.458.4770 or via e-mail at engaged@utsa.edu.