Program for the 2022 PDI

Alicia Sprague

Personal/Professional Enrichment

Monday, January 10^th 2022

9:00 AM

90 minutes

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Are daddy longlegs really the most venomous spider in the world? Can scorpions glow in the dark? What is an arachnid, anyway? Join us for this interactive session as we answer all these questions and more! Participants will leave with a basic understanding of arachnid characteristics and orders. No prior knowledge or experience with biology necessary!

Goals: 1. Identify basic arachnid characteristics 2. Gain familiarity with the different orders of arachnids 3. Gain an appreciation for these wonderfully weird animals. Audience: Anyone interested in learning more about the natural world and the creepy crawlies that live in it.

ComPsych

Personal/Professional Enrichment

Monday, January 10^th 2022

9:00 AM

50 minutes

Virtual Session

This session is offered by ComPsych, our 3rd party EAP provider. Training will be interactive and offered virtual from the comfort of your home/desk. You will receive a link 1 week prior to the webinar.

If you’re struggling with challenges and uncertainty about life, and you’re not sure what to do next, this session is for you.

Jan Pierce,Emma Chavez,Debbie Mayer

Personal/Professional Enrichment

Monday, January 10^th 2022

10:00 AM

50 minutes

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We are here to help. Employee Assistance Program (EAP), CARE Program and Employee Housing Programs help employees and their families navigate difficult life situations that affect overall health and well-being. Whatever your goals, these programs provide resources to support you and your family as part of your employee benefits. Learn about the many offerings available that support positive change and improve well-being, including holistic health services; financial, legal and work-life resources; connections to programs that provide basic necessities; and housing programs and resources that help employees meet their housing needs.

The goal of the presentation is to inform the campus community of the many resources available to help deal with everyday challenges. Target audience is any CSU employee that may benefit from knowing about services and resources whether for themselves, their family or colleagues.

Alison O'Connor,Amy Lentz

Personal/Professional Enrichment

Monday, January 10^th 2022

11:00 AM

50 minutes

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This session will cover the basics of starting seeds indoors. Learn about the techniques and equipment needed to jump-start your summer vegetable garden.

This class is for all audiences; the goal is to provide information to encourage seed starting at home.

Juan Rivas

Personal/Professional Enrichment

Monday, January 10^th 2022

1:00 PM

50 minutes

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Creating a podcast centered around a person's interest. We will cover basic equipment (microphone, recording software, mixers), host websites, scripting, hosting, publishing schedules, video and live sessions, etc.

Target Audience: Anyone Encourage audience to start their own podcast. Provide audience with "benchmarks" to give their podcast a good start. Discussions around funding, sponsorships, and other types of support.

Brittney Wolf

Personal/Professional Enrichment

Monday, January 10^th 2022

1:00 PM

50 minutes

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The Enneagram is a personality typing system that can help us learn about our core motivations, better understand our patterns of behavior and chart a path toward growth. This session will explore the Enneagram system by discussing each of the 9 types, some tips on discovering your type and how to use your type to develop both personally and professionally.

This session is directed toward anyone interested in personal and professional growth. Whether you know your type or not, this session will provide in-depth information about the Enneagram and also discuss resources and ways to integrate your type into your own development practices.

Alicia Sprague

Personal/Professional Enrichment

Monday, January 10^th 2022

2:00 PM

90 minutes

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Do all spiders spin webs? Do spiders have a brain? What are the common species of spider in Northern Colorado? If you've ever been curious about spiders, this is the class for you! We'll cover basic characteristics of a spider, some of their coolest adaptations, and review why you can probably leave that spider in the corner of your bedroom alone (I promise, it doesn't want to end up in your mouth while you're sleeping).

Goals: 1. Identify basic spider characteristics 2. Review spider-specific adaptations 3. Cover some of the most common species in Northern Colorado Audience: Anyone interested in learning more about the natural world and the creepy crawlies that live in it.

Kirsten Slaughter-Rice

Personal/Professional Enrichment

Monday, January 10^th 2022

2:00 PM

80 minutes

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Yoga Nidra is a form of guided deep relaxation done in a relaxed yoga posture that brings about “conscious sleep” through a guided meditation. The class will explore techniques to help participants release stress, settle the body, and encourage better sleep. Take a moment to move, find your breath, and find release. Recommended that participants have a yoga mat or towel and a blanket, towel, or pillow.

Goal: To take a break and practice breathing and meditation techniques to reduce stress and promote relaxation Targeted Audience: Everyone is welcome. No previous yoga or meditation experience is required.

Ashley Mehaffie,Leslie Peterson,Jackie Swaro,Erin Malone

Personal/Professional Enrichment

Tuesday, January 11^th 2022

10:00 AM

50 minutes

Virtual Session

Considering pursuing a graduate degree or certificate with your Employee Study Privilege? Come learn from two College of Business enrollment counselors how to navigate and apply for a program while utilizing ESP, focusing on two of our most popular programs, the Online and Evening MBAs. We will touch on how to find a program that's right for you, typical application materials needed, an overview of the ESP, and tips and tricks for your application. While we will focus on College of Business programs, the information covered can be used to apply to the graduate program of your choice! HR representatives will join us to answer your questions related to utilizing ESP. Please Note: This session will be geared towards those who already have a bachelor’s degree.

Target Audience: CSU employees with a bachelors degree, wanting to learn more about how to utilize their study privilege for graduate education. Goals: Identify personal goals. Learn how to navigate a graduate application. Understand "where to go from here," and who to contact on your academic journey.

Dawson Metcalf,Kirsten Slaughter-Rice,Katie Wimp,Jason Scott,Shawn Utecht,Tom Peppard

Personal/Professional Enrichment

Tuesday, January 11^th 2022

11:00 AM

50 minutes

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This session is geared toward Administrative Professionals and how to create sustainable and equitable change in our organizations and departments. Participants will receive information about the Administrative Professional Council, the importance of shared governance in the decision-making process, and how one can become involved with the council.

Goals: Share information to how APs can approach creating change within their organizations/departments. To explore the concept of shared governance and how it leads to a more equitable decision-making process. To better understand the mission of the Administrative Professional Council at CSU, and the role it plays in forming new policies and practices at the institutional level. Targeted Audience: Administrative Professionals at CSU

Alison O'Connor,Amy Lentz

Personal/Professional Enrichment

Tuesday, January 11^th 2022

1:00 PM

90 minutes

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If you've recently moved to Colorado, you probably realize that gardening in our semi-arid climate can be challenging! Join Amy and Alison from CSU Extension for recommendations of how to approach landscape management, turf care, and growing vegetables.

All audience types will benefit from this class; the goal is to provide facts and resources to foster successful gardening.

Mel Lafferty ,Margit Hentschel

Personal/Professional Enrichment

Tuesday, January 11^th 2022

2:00 PM

50 minutes

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Are you having trouble finding balance in your life due to work and life stress? Research on mindfulness practices shows benefits that may offer an increased ability to transform stress, improve mental clarity, and strengthen concentration. This session is designed to explore mindfulness meditation and supportive yoga breath for your daily life. We will begin with an overview of these benefits, offer a brief background on mindfulness and yoga breath practice, and engage participants in "hands-on" practice of these techniques. Audience participation will be invited in a "learning circle" format. A "beginner’s mind – present moment" philosophy is embraced and no previous experience is required. Guided practice sessions will range from 5-15 minutes, followed with time to share experiences and learn from each other. For those interested in continuing a daily mindfulness practice, we’ll offer tools you can take with you. We look forward to sharing this workshop together with you.

The goal of this session is to find balance from within that can be taken into everyday life. Everyone is welcome.

Joy Nyenhuis

Personal/Professional Enrichment

Wednesday, January 12^th 2022

9:00 AM

2 hours

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CliftonStrengths provide us with lenses to understand what we do best. How can you leverage your Top 5 CliftonStrengths Talent Themes to improve your personal effectiveness? To deal with time management challenges? Better manage your attention? Have more energy? Join us for this workshop style session with time for learning, reflection, and discussion. Participants will leave with personalized ideas and strategies to address time management challenges.

Anyone who has taken the CliftonStrengths assessment and knows their Top 5 Signature Talent Themes (bring your list) and is interested in leverage those to address time management challenges and improve their personal effectiveness.

Amy Quinn-Sparks,Karin Bright

Personal/Professional Enrichment

Wednesday, January 12^th 2022

10:00 AM

50 minutes

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We will discuss how CSU faculty and staff can use their employee study privilege for online courses at CSU. We will describe what the employee study privilege is and at what institutions it can be used. We will go over the steps that faculty and staff need to take to receive permission from their supervisors. We will discuss how to register for CSU coursework utilizing the benefit. We will point out the ways this process is similar and different when utilizing the benefit for on-campus/face-to-face courses vs. for online courses. We will describe the ways that faculty and staff can be successful in online coursework and how to juggle their work schedules with the needs of coursework. We will discuss the differences between taking coursework due to interest vs. taking coursework to complete a degree or graduate certificate program. We will provide a list of online courses that staff have completed in the past and have provided positive feedback regarding.

Targeted audience: CSU faculty and staff (Academic Faculty, Administrative Professional, and State Classified positions) Potential audience: Students or student hourlies - some of the information will be pertinent, just not the employee study privilege steps. Goals: How to use the employee study privilege; How to succeed in online courses (with some discussion of on-campus/face-to-face courses)

Kirsten Slaughter-Rice

Personal/Professional Enrichment

Wednesday, January 12^th 2022

10:00 AM

80 minutes

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This gentle yoga class will explore yoga postures, breathing techniques, and meditation to help participants let go of stress, tension, and tightness, calm the mind, and settle the body. We will practice basic yoga poses and explore the openness and release that comes from combining breath and movement. Participants will learn techniques they may incorporate into their daily life to decrease stress and cultivate relaxation. Take a moment to move, find your breath, and surrender stress or tension. Recommended that participants have a yoga mat or towel; other props, including a blanket, towel, pillow or blocks are optional.

Goals: To take a break and practice yoga, breathing, and yoga! To practice yoga postures and breathing and meditation techniques to reduce stress and promote relaxation To learn poses and techniques that may be practiced throughout the day to reduce stress and cultivate relaxation Targeted Audience: Everyone is welcome. No previous yoga or meditation experience is required.

Kelsey Stamm,Megan Miller

Personal/Professional Enrichment

Wednesday, January 12^th 2022

11:00 AM

50 minutes

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Do you ever feel disrespected due to your perceived age or appearance? Do you need strategies for stating your opinions with greater confidence? Join these two admissions professionals, who have been working at CSU for about 5 years. Megan and Kelsey are young professionals and are excited to empower others during this interactive session. They will share 5 tips they've learned, along with providing tools and strategies for gaining confidence. In this session, you will learn how to ask for what you need, use your voice, expect respect, progress your career, and be bold!

Attendees will learn how to ask for what they need, how to incorporate language that displays confidence in their workplace, and how to react when they are feeling dismissed. This session is targeted at anyone who considers themselves a "young professional" and would be best for attendees with less than 5 years of experience.

Scott Wiebensohn,Matthew Diven

Personal/Professional Enrichment

Wednesday, January 12^th 2022

11:00 AM

50 minutes

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Wiebensohn and Diven are part of a team that created an online community where library employees and students from varying departments interact and grow together. Bi-weekly topics have varied from bird watching to comic books to gardening tips to CSU homecoming stories! This lively workshop focuses on sharing successes, hurdles, and goals necessary to build community by utilizing online tools as a positive consequence of the COVID-19 pandemic. Sharing a sense of belonging through online threads can transition into better in-person interaction and cooperation. We will have dedicated Q&A time to address all inquiries.

This workshop is designed for all CSU faculty, staff, and students – anyone interested in creating a collaborative and entertaining online community. Attendees will leave not only with the ability to showcase fellow faculty/staff and community members as guest presenters, but also an understanding of Microsoft Teams. Sharing diverse experiences through this growing program can inspire others at CSU to focus attention around strengthening community within departments and across campus.

David Anderson,Pam Smith,Crystal Strouse

Personal/Professional Enrichment

Wednesday, January 12^th 2022

1:00 PM

90 minutes

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In this session we will go on an adventure focusing on the rarest, weirdest, and most interesting plants of Colorado. We will explore our state through the lens of habitats for rare plants, and what the rare plants tell us about our natural history, cultural history, and landscapes. We will connect those stories with a few of Colorado's famous female natural historians.

Goals: Learn about Colorado's rare plants and their natural history, meet local botanists, and become aware of ways you can be involved. Target Audience: Anyone who is interested in plants, Colorado, natural history, and who enjoys a good yarn.