Dear MA students,
My apologies to those of you who are waiting for an email response from me.
I've been sick and out of commission for the past couple weeks. I'm
woefully behind on my emails as a result but I hope to slowly catch up over
the next week or so. In the meantime, if you have any questions or need
advising, please continue to *email BOTH me and Bill* (worchard(a)qc.cuny.edu)
so that whichever one of us is able to can reply first. Please read on for
some important announcements and updates.
NANCY COMLEY PRIZE
Please find attached the submission guidelines for our annual *Nancy Comley
Prize*, awarded to the best essay written by an English MA, MS Ed, or MAT
student. We hope you consider submitting something, whether it's an essay
you've already written for a class, a work-in-progress, or your thesis
essay. Submissions are due *Monday, May 4*.
CAMPUS & PROGRAM UPDATES
Unfortunately, in-person *commencement* has been canceled. There may be
virtual graduation festivities in the works--I'll let you know as soon as I
know more. And if you had filed to graduate this semester but have gotten
anxiety-producing emails from the Registrar saying that you haven't
fulfilled your program requirements, rest assured that we will make sure
that you all graduate as planned, pending your completion of all coursework
and thesis requirements.
For students currently enrolled in *ENGL 791* and writing your thesis
essays, I'll check in with you and your faculty advisors separately. But
you should be continuing to check in with your advisors and making plans to
hold your oral conferences/exams virtually. I'll be in touch soon with more
info and guidelines.
It's official--*Summer 2020* courses will now all be online. We haven't yet
heard what will happen with fall courses, but it seems possible that
they'll be partially, if not completely, online. Please do go ahead and
register for your summer and fall courses if you haven't already, to ensure
those classes don't get canceled, and I'll keep you posted regarding any
updates or changes to our course offerings.
A reminder that CUNY has extended the deadline for *withdrawals* (W) to May
14, 2020, without academic penalty (W’s do not impact your GPA). You should
be able to withdraw yourselves via CUNYfirst, without any extra paperwork
or approval.
CUNY has also implemented a flexible *Pass/No Credit* (P/NC) grading policy
<https://www.cuny.edu/cuny-continuity/cuny-continuity-for-students/#grade-po…>.
You’ll have 20 business days after you get your Spring 2020 grades to
decide if you want to convert any A-F letter grades to P/NC. And any P
grades from this semester will count toward your MA course requirements.
(Note that taking too many classes P/NC may impact your financial aid or
certain professional certification requirements. Please talk to your
academic advisors and the Financial Aid office before making any changes.)
If you took an *INC* in Fall 2019, you now have until August 30, 2020, to
resolve that incomplete.
RESOURCES
QC administrators held a Virtual Town Hall
<https://myemail.constantcontact.com/The-QView--72.html?soid=1103033957415&a…>
where they answered a lot of student questions. You can also find more FAQs
and resources on the QC coronavirus website
<https://www.qc.cuny.edu/community/Coronavirus/Pages/FAQs%20Resources.aspx>.
If you’re struggling financially, you can apply for a Petrie Emergency
Grant or an interest-free emergency loan from the College. For more info,
email petriegrant(a)qc.cuny.edu and click here
<https://www.qc.cuny.edu/StudentLife/services/Pages/Emergency-Grant.aspx>.
If you’re experiencing food insecurity, you can apply and make an
appointment to pick up food from the Knights Table Food Pantry
<https://knightstablefoodpantry.org/>.
If you’re struggling with your mental health, QC Counseling Services
<https://www.qc.cuny.edu/StudentLife/services/counseling/counseling/Pages/de…>
(718-997-5420) is conducting appointments via telephone and
videoconference. Referrals are available to low-cost, sliding scale, and
pro bono mental health practitioners.
SOME GOOD STUFF
Missing the QC community and want to read some QC writers? The 2020 issue
of *Utopia Parkway* <https://utopiaparkwayjournal.wordpress.com/current/>,
our undergrad literary journal, is out now! And QC Voices
<http://qcvoices.qwriting.qc.cuny.edu/> is still going strong too,
including this powerful piece on COVID-19 in jails and prisons
<http://qcvoices.qwriting.qc.cuny.edu/najet/2020/04/10/jails-and-prisons-are…>
.
Finally, if you live in Queens and want to share your experiences during
the pandemic, please consider checking out the Queens Memory COVID-19
Project <https://qplnyc.urbanarchive.me/cities/nyc>.
As always, please take care of yourselves and your loved ones and your
communities. Bill and I are here to support you as best we can, so please
do email us both if you have any questions or concerns, and thank you for
your patience and understanding if there are delays in our response time.
Best,
Caroline
--
Caroline Kyungah Hong, PhD
Associate Professor of English
Director of Graduate Studies (English MA)
Queens College, CUNY
Klapper Hall 604
caroline.hong(a)qc.cuny.edu*
*she/her/hers*
** Please note that I am off email on weekends and will respond to your
email during business hours, Monday–Friday 8am–5pm. At this time, there may
be a delay in response time.*
Dear All,
I hope this note finds you safe and well. We're forwarding a message from Professor Tougaw about some remote internship opportunities that are available to MA students. The deadline is coming quickly on April 26.
?Best,
Bill (and Caroline)
________________________________
From: Jason Tougaw
Sent: Thursday, April 16, 2020 12:01 PM
To: Caroline K Hong; William Orchard
Subject: Scholarships for Remote Internships
Dear students,
I hope this email finds you well. I'm writing to let you know about an opportunity to receive a scholarship for doing remote internships this summer or fall.
Queens College's Center for Career Engagement and Internships<https://www.qc.cuny.edu/StudentLife/services/career/Pages/default.aspx> is offering $2400 stipends for students to pursue unpaid internships through the Dr. Félix V. Matos Rodriguez Internship Fund. See the attachment for details. The application deadline is April 26. The internships can be for the summer or fall. To apply, you need a resume, application essay, and a letter of recommendation.
Given the fact that we're all sheltering-and so much is uncertain-you probably have questions about how internships might work. Some employers are offering remote internships you can do from home. You do not have to have found an internship to be eligible for the scholarship. The great staff at the Career Center can help place you with an employer. It's a good idea to mention the kinds of work that interest you in your application essay. If there's an organization or employer you know you'd like to work with, mention that too. To see a listings of internships advertised through the college, you can log on to HireQC<https://www.qc.cuny.edu/StudentLife/services/career/Pages/Symplicity-Login.…> with your Queens College CAMS account.
I'll explain some more details below, but my first recommendation is to watch this instructional video<https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JYKJxietda8&feature=youtu.be> explaining the application process.
If you have questions about the application process or about finding an internship, you can contact Lisa Louis-Marijanksi, Associate Director of Education and Internships (lisa.louis.marijanski(a)qc.cuny.edu<mailto:lisa.louis.marijanski@qc.cuny.edu>).
If you'd like help with your application essay, you can contact The Writing Center<https://sites.google.com/qc.cuny.edu/qcwritingcenter/home> to schedule a remote session with one of their peer consultants.
Letters of recommendation can be submitted one of two ways. The writer of the letter can submit it direct to stipend(a)qc.cuny.edu<mailto:stipend@qc.cuny.edu> or send it to you to submit with your application. The option for letter writers to submit directly is intended to give them a little flexibility if they're not ready by the deadline.
In addition to the video, you can find instructions here<https://www.qc.cuny.edu/StudentLife/services/career/students/internships/Pa…>. You can schedule a virtual advising session<https://www.qc.cuny.edu/StudentLife/services/career/Pages/ContactUs.aspx> with a Career Center Educational Officer to get help with your application materials. To submit your application, you can log into HireQC<https://www.qc.cuny.edu/StudentLife/services/career/Pages/Symplicity-Login.…> with your Queens College CAMS account.
You can also contact me with questions.
Sincerely,
Jason Tougaw
Professor, English
jason.tougaw(a)qc.cuny.edu<mailto:jason.tougaw@qc.cuny.edu>
[cid:CDCF625A-B2FB-4514-AD48-E8C4A899E1BB@earthlink.net]
