 So welcome, everybody. Welcome to Carleton and to the Faculty of Public Affairs. We call it FPA, co-equally. My name is Dr. Brenda O'Neill, and I'm the dean of the Faculty of Public Affairs. And I believe this morning, we have students who are entering the European, Russian, and Eurasian studies program, as well as the political science program. So those programs, and they're in units themselves, departments or schools or institutes, I oversee 12 of them. So that's what a dean does. So that's why I'm here this morning to say hello to you. My colleagues and I are absolutely thrilled that you're joining us this year. Well, just want to take a moment, though, before we do actually start this celebration to acknowledge that Carleton University is located on traditional unceded territory of the Algonquin Nation. And I know that some of you may be attending from outside of Ottawa, from different locations. But I think it's nevertheless important that we take a moment to acknowledge the traditional indigenous lands on which Carleton University fits. And I think we should need to do so with intention and do so purposefully. While I know you're going to be extremely busy with your programs in the next couple of years, I want you to, as one of the messages I want to give you is that it's important to remember that you're part of a broader community. Being online, I think sometimes it does feel a little bit lonely, but I'm hoping that increasingly we'll be moving away from online in the coming year. And one of the strong things at Carleton is that sense of community. And I think our instructors, our staff, everybody's been working really hard this summer to try to figure out how to ensure that that sense of community exists in the coming year. The other thing, the other message that's an important one is, although I said you will be busy with all of your courses, it's important to remember that your university time should be made up of more than just your courses. There's all kinds of events and lectures and talks and all kinds of things that you can do as a student at Carleton. And I think it's important that you can need a whole bunch of different people when you're doing these things. So one of the things that I would say to you is try as much as possible to get involved in these things because it will open up your mind and broaden your experience. And I think you'll be better for it. There's also some firsthand experiences you can take advantage of. So keep an eye out for your email inboxes to get for the messages that are sent out and all these things that you can participate in. One of them is obviously the FTA ambassadors. That's one thing that you could do in the coming year. It's also another one is assistance with your research as you again, move forward in your university career. We have CUREUP, which is the Carleton University Research Opportunity Program that allows you to get paid to actually do research. So there are some really cool and interesting opportunities available to you. So again, I just did wanna make sure that you know how excited we are that you're joining Carleton and that you'll be here with us for the next little while. We encourage you to get involved and we want you to make the most of the opportunities and experiences that are available to you at Carleton. And with that, I will hand it over to Stephanie Bose, the FTA's event and ambassador assistant. Thanks Stephanie. Thank you Brenda. So hi everybody, I'm Stephanie. I just wanted to let you know how the session is going to go and give you a brief introduction to our three ambassadors joining us today. So for the beginning of the session, our ambassadors will be saying a little bit about themselves, their unit and what they wish they knew going into first year. From there, after the three ambassadors have spoken, we'll open up a Q&A. So at that point, feel free to unmute your mic, talk to them directly or you can put it into the chat. Just remember that this session is being recorded. So if you wish to stay private and anonymous, just use the chat and keep your video on. So with all due, I will introduce the ambassadors. So from Euras, we have Lisa from PolySci. We have James and again from PolySci, we have Michelle. So feel free to ask them any questions about what they're about to talk about or any questions that you have going into your first year. So I'm going to pass it off to James and put you into his great hands. Excellent. Well, thank you, Stephanie. It's great to see some prospective students on the call. I guess not prospective anymore. Incoming students. It's great to be with you all this morning. I'm James Press. I am heading into my fourth year in the Department of Political Science here, specializing in international relations and minoring in law and legal studies. I love the department a lot and I'm really happy to be talking about the department. I'll first start on what I wish I knew coming into the program, coming in as a first year student. I wish one of the biggest things I wish I knew or I considered was not to be so rigid in my plan. I originally didn't come to Carleton actually for political science. I came here for the Public Affairs of Policy Management program. But so I set high expectations for myself and I was so rigid on making sure I met those expectations. And I was putting a lot of undue pressure and stress on myself. And as the years have gone on through going into year four, I realized that if I kind of sit back and let follow the path that my degree takes me on, it's a lot more fulfilling. So the number one lesson I think I wish I knew and what I tell everyone coming into first year definitely would be to be prepared to kind of be fluid in your university degree path and your education. And you'll get a lot more out of it at the end. Stephanie, I don't know if you want to pass it off to Anshol or? Yeah, that was just perfect. We're tying. Anshol, go for it. Thanks, Stephanie. And James, thanks for that. So hi, guys. It's so good to see that there are some people here. But like James said, the faculty of the Department of Political Science is a department that has so many engaging professors and lecturers and things you just wish you learned before, but here you are. One of the things that I wish I knew getting into first year was it's not a slight academic, it's a little to do with how students and your peers are. Now, first year, everyone is just trying to be sort of a better person or just a better version of themselves. And as every person you meet just know they're also, they're going to be shy, they're going to be nervous meeting someone new, someone they've never met, they don't know what you're going to think of them. So interact with as many people as you can because you're going to get to learn so much about them, their programs and school as a whole. So interact with as many people as you can meet. I know it's going to be a bit different. It's going to be socially distanced this time and with masks, but please do so. And about my unit, like James said, we have one of the best professors, and I'm not just saying this because I'm in this, but I have taken other courses and policy professors are always there to help you out. It is a big and content heavy courses, every of them. So they're always there to help you out and teams are amazing. And we're always here to help you out really. Thank you, Stephanie. Thank you, Anshela. That's great. So now I'm going to pass it off to Lisa. And when she's finished, feel free to ask any questions that you wish. Hi everyone. I'm doing a double major in political science and European Russian studies. One of the biggest things that I, not that I regret not doing, but I think that I would have started earlier is being more involved in the various societies because they initially give you experience. For example, I'm the president of the European Russian study society. And that has given me immense experience. So when there's interviews and you can actually bring experience now from jobs, but kind of derive them from other sources. So there's, you can be a Senator at Carlton. You can be on one of the committees. There are so many opportunities. You can be an undergraduate representative for your department. There are so many opportunities that you can take part in that will benefit you both professionally and academically and help your growth. Also, I'd highly recommend what I took part in was, I utilized the libraries, for what it was called, but it was peer on peer. It was another student that comes and helps you. For me, it was economics. I thought it was super hard. It wasn't my favorite subject. So there are subjects like law. They have past sessions that would, they do mock exams, which is really great. If you have any doubts, worries, or anything, I would highly recommend that. And I think you should really cherish every single semester, every year, because it really flies by. Like I'm starting my fourth year and it just feels like yesterday that I was the first year. So I wish you all lots of luck and start looking into participating, getting to know everyone because you're gonna build connections for a very long time that will surpass the university experience. Thank you. So true, definitely true. And I'm finally glad. And please check out all the events that the university and Carleton, sorry, Carleton and the faculty host, because for URS, they host so many events that are so great, like alumni events where you get to see which career paths you can take and then you can actually build contacts with those people and see what would interest you in the future, as well as they have that in URS and political science. Yeah, for sure. And having the faculty events, it makes networking that much more interesting because all the people that you're networking with are in the same interest that you have. So I definitely, I really enjoyed the faculty events quite a bit. So with that, if anybody has any questions, please feel free to unmute your mics now, ask the questions or type them in the chat. Just gonna wait a couple of seconds here to see if a question will come in. Feel free. Stephanie, I also think, and Shulin, I kind of skipped over why we chose our unit and what our favorite first year experience was. I was just thinking about that. Go ahead, Shulin. Maybe, yeah, maybe we can loop back in. We're not as prepared as European and Eurasian studies, but let's go back to that, I guess. Maybe hopefully we can get some questions from that. So I guess I'll start with a few things about our unit, why I chose it, why I love it and some career opportunities. Like I said, I didn't originally come to Carleton for political science, but I came for the equally as great PAPM, Public Affairs Policy Management Program. And that was a great program, but I was really attracted to the fluidity of the political science department, the amount of electives you can take, the kind of areas that you can specialize in, international relations or political theory. So I was really impressed by the department's ability to kind of tailor their class offerings to students' interests, which is great, as opposed to a prescribed set of classes, which is awesome. And also our professors are the best in the business, like Anshul said. They have great research experience, they have great practical experience and where better to study politics than in the nation's capital, right? The capital connection that Carleton always touts, we have great connection to Parliament Hill, we have great connections to embassies and to think tanks in downtown Ottawa. There's no better place to study politics or start a career in public service or in politics than in Ottawa. I always love to talk about all the opportunities that Ottawa as a city and Carleton as a university has given me. I've been able to work on Parliament Hill as a parliamentary assistant to members of Parliament, I work in campaigns. And I often ask myself, would I have gotten those opportunities if I wasn't at Carleton? So I'm forever thankful for everything Carleton has done for me and the opportunities to help me grow and develop. And I'm looking forward to continuing that in my last year of the program here. So maybe Anshul, do you have anything to add to that? Thanks, James, that was great. So for me, the reason I chose this unit to political science was I was just always interested in politics as a kid. And back in high school in Singapore, I had taken a global politics course and that just sort of opened my interest even more. And one of the main reasons I actually liked the unit in Carleton specifically was they were very adjusting. There were so many minors who specialized in so many different things. You can really design your own interests. It doesn't just have to be a straight political science stream. You don't have to just focus on theory. You can do all sorts of things where you can focus on all like I did. So political science and then James as professors are not just good, they're amazing. They really, and even the advisors to sort of help you to design and take and advise you to take courses that are just gonna help you, you know, learn more in the stream. It's gonna help you sort of make career practice. You're gonna choose the kind of courses you take that, oh, what if I do this? Maybe I can, you know, have a shot at this job. So it's, you know, one of the main reasons we did this stream. I'm glad to have many people joining the stream as well. So thank you. Thank you. So we have no questions as of yet. However, I do have some questions from our past sessions that a lot of people had asked. It was definitely a repeat in questions. So any, this is to any of the investors, should I buy the textbook? Maybe I'll go first. I think the student's answer will be different from the professor's answer that writes the textbook. But I'll answer the question first. I think you should wait until the first couple classes to see if you need the textbook. And that will give you a better idea. Some professors as well, especially since moving online have been so kind to put the readings from the textbook online. So hopefully any of our first years will have that experience or they don't have to buy it. But I'd wait for the first couple classes before you open up your wallet. I finally add to that. Some people would say don't buy it, but I would say there are certain classes where the professor really draws from the textbook readings on exams and for essay questions, like for midterms or quizzes. So I would highly recommend you kind of ask the professor what would be from the textbook and as well try to find PDF versions. And I know that the Carlton bookstore will price match any price as well of Amazon or anywhere else. Yeah, of course, I agree with both of them. So I think it's just about you seeing how your first or second week goes, asking your peers, yes, books are expensive, just to let everyone know that. We're not going to share code that they are expensive, they're big. But I guess if your interest is just at large in that course, I'm sure that book wouldn't be an issue. You can always, in the recent times, professors have been very welcoming and they have put the books, they bought it and they put it online. So you just see how it goes, but yes, it's going to be useful for you, don't worry. Yeah, I completely agree. I remember my first semester at Carlton, I bought all the books, brand new, before the classes started, spent thousands of dollars that were unnecessary. And then the professor's like, here's the free PDF. So definitely wait a couple of classes. It will definitely lower your stress level around books, completely agree. And a lot of professors do pull for the books, so it's definitely good to have for when you're studying. So does any of our guests, do they have any questions as of right now? Okay, so I'll take that as a no. And if you do, keep typing in the chat, no problem. I do have another question that is a good question coming from first year students. And that would be, how do you contact your professor in office hours and things like that with an online slash hybrid schedule? I think for every course, as soon as you get the course outlined during the first week, on the top, it says the timings of professors, their office hours, when they can be content and how. So I think every professor might be a bit different as to how they do office hours. I know office hours may, could be a bit different this year, depending on if the professor wants to meet anyone in person, but they always make it clear as to how and when you can reach them. So I'm sure that's not gonna be a problem for anyone. And usually it's always email. Teaching assistants are a little cooler and they go by their phone numbers at times. So just, yeah, read the first page and you'll know everything about the course. Thank you, Angel. That's perfect. So you'll receive, usually receive a syllabus, either the first class the day before or within that first week before the class from your professors. So once you receive that, definitely give it a read as it will tell you what to expect in the course, all the different aspects of the course. So then there will be no surprises while you're in the course. All right, if there are no questions from our first year students today, definitely feel free to reach out to me. I'll put my email in the chat. And Lisa, James and Anshale, if you have any closing remarks, then definitely feel free to take advantage now. Can I ask a question? 100%, go ahead, Shawn. Yes, thank you for taking my question. So I'm new to this program and I'm under Roger that's going into, I'm frozen for the first time. And I know that my class is going to be online as opposed to being in person. And I was wondering what I should expect for my first day as a part of this program. Who are your question to? It's to Stephanie. Oh, to me? Yeah. So what program are you going into? I'm going into introduction to European and Russian studies. Okay, so yours. So in general, so I am the events assistant. So I took a different program at Carleton. So actually, if you do not mind, I will pass it into Lisa as she has firsthand experience of how things work nowadays. Yeah, so I actually designed one of the classes with the professor the first years. It's very, I'm so sorry. It's very interesting. So the first year classes are not like, they try to limit the shock of, you're not going to write thousands and thousands of thousands of words. It's very kind of the first class is kind of laid back. They explain everything and don't be shy. Ask the professor or the TA anything. They're there for that. If you have any questions, it's best to ask right away than wait like last minute to ask before the assignment is due. They're very flexible. If you have any issues, they will guide you through them and everything. In terms of content, it's very interesting and it's basic. It's very introductory. So there's nothing very complex in the beginning. It's very kind of eases you into it. And then you get to gradually build on the knowledge throughout each class. Zadran, do you have a question? I do, yeah. So my specific question was, am I right in assuming that this course will require a lot of for say essay style assignments? They are essay, but in my experience, the first assignment that I had was more of kind of teach you how to write. It depends on the professor and everything. They kind of explain, how do you write an essay academically in the academic, keeping like an academic, because it's kind of different from high school. And they kind of explain everything to you and guide you through it. And the assignments, the first assignments are kind of easy and they explain everything. So don't be afraid that it's like too complicated. And yes, usually it's essay style. The midterms are different. They vary from multiple choice or answer. It depends on the professor really. I see then. And my last question, are you aware of the CU 1001 course, which is kind of like the orientation sort of thing on bright space that is available to undergraduates? And I was wondering if on that course, if there is a field on the E-Roost program where I can learn further. So I can actually answer this one as I helped to plan to see you 1001. So now it's back to me. So with that, we do have separate videos for faculty specific posted within the course. So there is a E-Roost video. So you are US. We say E-Roost for short. So you'd be able to do that video. I do believe that some of the faculty members have also posted articles and stories within there. It was completely up to whether the faculty wanted to share their articles or not. So as not being a student, I don't have access to the full course. I couldn't tell you who exactly submitted articles. However, there are things within there. So you can, if you'd like, reach back out to me and I could contact the main coordinator if you're having trouble finding it. But if you do find them, then that's perfect and you won't need me. Nice, okay. Then that sounds very good. Thank you. You're very welcome. Does anybody have any questions? I know Paul wanted to say a few words. If I can add, I don't know, I don't, I think everyone knows that there's a requirement for the language. I would recommend starting right away with one language class a semester preferably or over the summer if you want to take an intensive class. That's great, but starting right away within the first year doesn't mean the first semester or the second starting right away would be great just to get it out of the way and keep in mind the breadth requirements that you have to fulfill and visiting the academic advisor a yearly or per semester would be great too. Yeah, I used to visit them per semester and if you have the time and the extra bit then I definitely do recommend the intensive courses over the summer. I definitely had more luck myself with those. They're just a little bit more chill because if that's the only one you're taking you don't have to focus on a bunch more courses while you're learning a whole new way to speak and all the linguistics. So that is a perfect point from Lisa. All right, Paul, do you want to see a few words? Well, I thought you're probably wondering who this gray haired guy is and whether he's a first year student or not. I was a first year student last century. So my name's Paul Wilson. I'm an associate dean within the Faculty of Public Affairs. So if you heard Dr. O'Neill at the beginning I work for her and my role is called students in enrollment. So helping with promotion, academic discipline if there are ever any kind of problems they come to me, we won't talk about that. So I just wanted to echo what others have been saying that professors are there to help you not only with the content and that sort of thing but if you do have questions it's part of professor's jobs to answer your questions. They will make themself available through quote, office hours which used to be sitting at a desk and people would line up outside of the, you know in the hallway. I don't think that happens so much anymore but they will tell you in the course outline how you can approach them. Is it by email, is it, you know within certain hours and they are there to be accessible. So if you have questions about how things work or you've got questions about content questions about, you know what you heard in the lecture please contact them because not only are they interested in their subjects and interested in helping you but it is their job to do that. Like, you know all human beings sometimes some are better at it than others but, you know, you're entitled to answers and if there's other resources in the university Carleton's got, you know lots of things that can help. So take advantage of them ask, you know the student ambassadors if you've got questions because there's lots of people who are willing to give you advice. So take advantage of it you're not bothering people by doing that including associate deans they're happy to help too. Thank you, Paul. That's great and that's a perfect note that your professors are people too there's nothing to be scared of. I always, it's a little different now but I was first class would walk right up and introduce myself and then when you ask questions later have to go to office hours then they know who you are and they're like, oh yeah, you are my student. So definitely good to introduce yourself to the professor whether it be online like we are today or in person. So if there are no further questions we are approaching the end of the sessions we have room for more questions if anybody has any but if not, then I think we can call that a session. Are we all good? I have one last question for Paul Wilson. That's okay. For Paul. Okay, so my question for Paul Wilson is that so I know on the program site that I think your sense of reference to learning I don't understand European language as part of this course and I was wondering if that is mandatory or if there was a class associated with that that I can shake along with this program? I don't know. I've been doing this for a month. I'm from political management. So it's a different program. So I'll bet Lisa knows the answer though. Okay. Yeah, I can answer that. So it's a European language. So it could be Spanish, it could be French, it could be Russian, it could be, what else is there? I think Polish. There is like a whole list of them that you can choose from if you go visit the calendar, the year as calendar, I think it's on there. But if anything, I would contact, I would contact the advisor for the department. They would explain that to you in far more detail than I can. But if you already know French or Russian or any or Spanish or any other years, like European language, you can be exempt from it. You just have to pass a test, a certain test. What, did you have a particular interest in a language? Well, first of all, I'm not taking this course as my major. I'm currently taking journalism as my major, but I kind of want to do a dual credit sort of thing with this thing. So I'm not sure if this will apply to me too, just because I'm not taking Euro specifically alone. I'm taking journalism as well. So I'm not sure if this will apply to me. And to answer your question, yes, I am already studying the Russian language. So I'm not completely into it. If you're doing a double major, like I am, you will have to, it's a requirement. If you're taking a minor, it is not a requirement from what I know. But as a double major, you would be, you would have to take a language. If you're taking, I would recommend continuing Russian then, it'd be easier. Okay, then. And do you think I should fulfill this requirement like later on in my life at Carlton or like as soon as possible? I recommend within the first two years would be the best first, because during your fourth year, you're kind of like I'm in my fourth year and I'm kind of trying to fit everything in and make sure I have all the requirements. And during the fourth year, I know in the first year, you might have a lot of prerequisites that you have to fulfill. So definitely I would look in the second and third year, but preferably from personal experience, I would say first, second and third would be the best years to do it. Fourth is kind of pushing the limit. If you want to graduate. Yeah, okay. So that sounds pretty good for me just because right now, I'm not even sure if I want to do a dual major right now. I'm just sort of figuring out my bearing as to what I'm interested in. So I'm reassured that I can take this up in the second year. Thank you very much. Yeah, of course. And I recommend that if you like to do the decision and not to do extra credits, I would recommend you talk to an advisor. For me, they recommended that I make a decision within the first year because then that impacts your courses because then you have less electives. Yes, I was just about to say the exact same thing as Lisa. And then if you choose to go onto a minor instead of double major, at that point, the requirements are completely different and a language, like our language course might not count towards the minor. So you definitely want to contact the advisors. So if you just go on Carlton FPA and go under units and do Eurus, from there you can see who we are and look at all the different department advisors and everybody within Eurus and they'll be able to help you, no problem at all. Okay, then. So I guess you recommend that I take, say some sort of conferencing sort of call with somebody at Eurus just to make sure that I fill in my requirements. Absolutely. Okay, then what was the website you were talking about? So Carlton.ca slash FPA and then within that you can see our units at the top and you just click on Eurus for the unit and then from there, the unit will say about us, contact us, various things like that and there'll be people underneath that with their emails and phone numbers posted and you'll be able to contact them. Okay, then. Thank you very much. That's very helpful. Thank you. You're very welcome. Do we have any further questions? Right. Well, I did put my email within the chat. If anybody has a question or wants to connect with an ambassador, I can totally help with any questions and get you answers. So please feel free to email me at any time. I'm also the person who sent you the Zoom registration. So if you forget to get my email from the chat today just reply to that email you got yesterday giving you the Zoom information for today and I'm more than happy to help you out. I'd like to thank you all for coming today and I wish you the best of luck in your first year. Best of luck, guys. Bye, everybody. Take care. Good luck.