A chance to immerse herself in the rich culture of Heidelberg, Germany, is proving to be a dream come true for third-year English and modern languages student Hannah Robinson.

Robinson, who decided to study German only a year ago, is taking part in an intensive language study program sponsored by the German Academic Exchange, the largest German support organization in the field of international academic cooperation. She will spend nearly a year overseas as a scholarship student and hopes to come back to Canada fluent in the language.

“I’m a fairly intense personality and tend to go into something all or nothing,” Robinson says. “So when I had decided last summer to learn German, I wanted it to be more than just an interesting hobby that after a while fell by the wayside. Only two months in, and I cannot imagine attempting to integrate myself with this language like I have without being forced to work, play and dream in it.”

She credits her academic mentors—professors Anita Toronyi and Victor Sevillano Canicio from the department of Languages, Literatures and Cultures—for encouraging her adventure with their positive feedback.

Robinson says she went from sharing a bedroom in her parents’ home to living alone in a small apartment in the historic heart of a quintessential German town on what was her very first trip to Europe.

“I’m enjoying the more active lifestyle here,” she says. “People tend to bike or walk rather than drive and the public transportation is amazing. And, as a whole, everything is just so beautiful. There are some mornings it’s hard to make it to class on time because I’m so mesmerized by the city at sunrise or the fog rolling down from the hills—oh, and the food is fantastic.”

With the recent start of the UWindsor semester, Robinson says she is feeling a bit nostalgic for Canada but isn’t close to ready to leave Germany.

“Of course I’ve started to miss my family, but more than wanting to come home, I just want everyone to be here so they could be seeing and experiencing these things with me,” she says. “So, while I’m missing the nest, there’s no way I’m ready to fly back quite yet.”

Learn more about opportunities for international experience on the UWindsor student exchange website.

The Centre for Smart Community Innovation invites applications for paid internships helping one of four community organizations with computer-related functions.

The openings, funded under the Youth Internship at Community Access Sites program run by the Ontario Library Association, involve four partners: Canterbury College, Life After Fifty, Multicultural Council of Windsor-Essex, and Windsor Parade Corporation. Interns may be called on to create or update a website, assist with network trobleshooting, provide training in basic computer and internet use, develop and deliver workshops on specific topics of interest and more.

“We are very pleased to have obtained this funding, which will give students some valuable experience while positioning important community groups for success,” says Bala Kathiresan, executive director of Information Technology Services.

To be eligible, applicants must be:

• currently enrolled in a program or intending to return to school full-time after the work-term;
• between 15 and 30 years old;
• a Canadian citizen or permanent resident; and
• not in receipt of Employment Insurance benefits.

This program is expected to run until March 2015. To learn more about the program or how to apply, contact the centre at 519-253-3000, ext.4572 or e-mail csci@uwindsor.ca.

The Campus Bookstore is preparing for Fall Convocation with a series of specials aimed directly at alumni in the making.

Ring Day, Tuesday, October 7, will feature representatives of grad ring companies Baron Insignias and Jostens on hand to take orders from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Discounts will be available on both precious and semi-precious metals. These deals will also be available to graduands who place their orders at the Campus Bookstore table outside the Convocation ceremonies on Saturday, October 18.

The store is also offering a 10 percent discount on diploma frames until October 17. This deal will not be available at Convocation.

Award-winning photojournalist Larry Towell will discuss what he has seen through his viewfinder in a free public talk entitled “Another side of war: photographs and stories of Afghanistan, Ukraine, Palestine,” on Monday, October 6, at 7 p.m. at Mackenzie Hall Cultural Centre.

UWindsor instructor Marty Gervais calls Towell probably the world’s best-known photojournalist.

“He seems always to be in the right place at the right time with a camera in his hand, and what he comes away with are the most dynamic behind-the-scenes photographs of places that in the headline news,” says Gervais. “His journeys have taken him to Afghanistan, Ukraine, Palestine and Nicaragua, and in each and every case, the pictures peel away the grim personal realities of these places. But Larry’s camera also comes alive in his neighbourhood, a farm in Lambton County where he also photographs his wife and his children.”

Towell’s photographic work has been shaped by his experience as a poet and a folk musician, exhibited everywhere from the Royal Ontario Museum to the Getty Museum, from the Nobel Peace Centre in Oslo to the United Nations in New York, and published in Life, Time, Rolling Stone, Stern, Le Monde, Paris Match, Granta, and in numerous books.

His appearance in Windsor is sponsored by the digital journalism program, the English department, and the City of Windsor’s cultural affairs office, and funded by the Pat Sturn Memorial Endowment. Mackenzie Hall is located at 3277 Sandwich Street.

Towell will also conduct a workshop for all interested students on Tuesday, October 7, from 10 a.m. to noon, in Studio B, Lambton Tower.

The 9th annual Graduate and Professional Schools Fair will bring together representatives from more than 40 educational institutions, both Canadian and international, to promote their graduate programs, post-graduate certificate programs and professional schools.

The event runs 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. October 7 and 8 in the CAW Student Centre Commons:

• Tuesday: business, law and graduate studies
• Wednesday: medicine, health, education and colleges

Learn more about educational opportunities and programs, the admission requirements and deadlines to apply. Find details, including a list of participating schools, on the fair’s website.

Food Services will celebrate Ontario Agriculture Week through Friday by serving special menu items featuring the province’s greenhouse vegetables: cucumbers, peppers and tomatoes.

“It’s a great opportunity for us to share in the fresh produce grown right here,” says executive chef Paolo Vasapolli. “We are so lucky to have these wonderful ingredients available to us.”

In addition to the menu changes, the weeklong promotion will include distribution of cards listing facts about each of these vegetables, their nutrients, and seasonal availability. And yes, DailyNews is aware that cucumbers, peppers and tomatoes are fruits, but is deferring to their categorization by the Ontario Greenhouse Vegetable Growers association, which is providing the materials.

Facility Services is currently in the process of its annual system switch from summer air conditioning to cold-weather heating and is asking the campus community to be patient during this transition.

Maintenance staff spend several weeks preparing equipment at the Energy Conversion Centre, the Central Refrigeration Plant and buildings across campus for the conversion. Once the change is in place October 14 there is no going back until spring.

Switching the University’s centralized system takes a great deal of time and planning: far different from flipping a switch from air conditioning to heat in a private home.

Managing building temperatures during what is called ‘shoulder season’ can often be challenging because changeover schedules are based on what is known about historical seasonal temperatures. Unusual temperature fluctuations over the past few years have made determining this date difficult, though the department carefully reviews the schedule yearly and adjusts accordingly to keep all campus buildings as comfortable as possible.

For questions or concerns, please contact Maintenance Dispatch at 519-253-3000, ext. 2850. Find more information on the Facility Services website.