A Farewell to Spreadsheets

by Nel Tristan

Students are expected to make the most of the tools they are given. In an age where technology can streamline quite a few workplace processes, the Student Center IT Developer team has developed a program allowing managers to easily monitor student development by modernizing a previously cluttered system.

The Level Up Professional Development Program is a student-made Web application whose accolades include the Council for Advancement and Support of Education’s 2019 Circle of Excellence Silver Award, the National Association of College Auxiliary Services’ 2020 Innovative Achievement in Auxiliary Services award, and the 2020 Excellence in Student Training Award, as presented by the Association of College Unions International. Their recognition of the program’s potential opens many possibilities for further implementation of the application and draws more attention to the ingenuity at play in the Student Center. By allowing students to set concrete goals and providing accessible training programs that cover a broad range of subjects, Level Up helps redefine workplace learning. Students are able to pace themselves alongside the evolving demands of the current job market. After completing their assigned training, students receive the chance to “level up” and gain access to further training and even an increase in pay, encouraging constant professional growth.

From a managerial perspective, Level Up accumulates data which was previously only viewable through a bulky network of spreadsheets, allowing managers to better surmise the progress student employees have made in their training.

“The great thing about Level Up is that it puts things into perspective more than anything,” says HR Manager Erik Ramirez. “Excel, Word, and spreadsheets are all great but when you can actually use technology in your favor it really does help out quite significantly. And it’s helped me in my role where I can actually focus on more important things in regards to HR.”

Whether the task be onboarding or training, Level Up places all of the essentials for student employees in one convenient location for both managers and employees to track. Operations Manager Kendi Rosas Goss says, “The Level Up program has provided the Operations team a more standardized way of tracking our student staff’s training. It has allowed our student staff to visually see their training progress and know in advance all the necessary steps they need to complete in order to level up. This program has enabled us to track our students’ progress from their hire date and ensure that our training is consistent across the board.”

While certainly beneficial to managers, Level Up also provides resources to student employees working at the Student Center. Students learn to connect their current responsibilities with long-term goals. The application helps users visualize their progress and document the skills they obtain during their time at the Student Center by utilizing the résumé-building section provided. Students are encouraged to foster meaningful interactions with the full-time staff and fully integrate themselves into a professional work environment.

Level Up also assists managers in monitoring their retention rates. “It really kinda puts a good picture on why people are staying or leaving,” says Ramirez. “It’ll help me talk with the directors to let them know what the climate is with the department. I’m able to have a brief exit briefing to ask them some basic questions. Hopefully, with Level Up, if I can’t meet with them, I can send them a little survey that’s auto-generated.”

In the current economic climate, finding employment opportunities best suited to a student’s needs remains a crucial element of life. Level Up strives to redefine the learning curve and prepare student employees for future success.

by Nel Tristan

On paper, not having to get out of bed or leave your room to go to class sounds amazing. Whether you’re tucked up in your blankets and pajamas for that 8 a.m. lecture or lounging on the couch for an afternoon discussion, all you have to do is place yourself in front of your webcam and make sure your family doesn’t walk in during class.

The COVID-19 pandemic has forced all classes to go online for the rest of the quarter, and necessitated some big changes in our lives. Starting with receiving a bombardment of Canvas notifications.

The shift to online learning has caused a lot of stress for some students. Some packed up and left right after the announcement was made, others struggled to get back to their home state—or home country—before it was too late. Now situated at home, or lingering behind on an almost-empty campus, students are left with plenty of online discussions and Zoom meetings to fill the void in-person classes left.

For seniors, what could be the last classes they ever take at UCI are now being conducted in their homes. No matter the major, students are disappointed at having their time on campus cut short, and at being unable to attend their commencement in person until winter at the earliest.

“Having to do my last quarter at UCI online is a little disappointing,” says senior Anthony Cano. Attending classes may not require much effort, but taking the extra time to understand all the material is proving to be a struggle. “The thing I miss the most about class is the clarity. If there was something I didn’t understand, then I was able to have an actual conversation with the professor, instead of having to communicate through email.”

Students have fewer opportunities to bond with their professors during office hours, or readily communicate with fellow classmates in discussion. They also find themselves with a lot more downtime on their hands between assignments, with nowhere to go. “I would destress at the gym,” says senior David Pham, “but I have switched over to cycling around the neighborhood. Overall, I miss being able to have a separate workspace for friends and school, but they’re all mashed up in a small, cramped bedroom.”

Classes which relied on in-person interaction have converted to online discussion boards, which can leave students feeling a little overwhelmed at having to keep track of them all. Sophomore Emely Oporto says, “I’m not a fan of online classes. I feel that online courses aren’t as engaging and it is very easy to get distracted. I miss discussion sections the most because I was able to ask clearer questions in person than I am online. In math and science- based courses, it can be much easier to understand problem explanations as they are being solved in front of you.”

There are, of course, a few silver linings to the online shift. “I miss having to cook my own meals the least,” Oporto says. “My mom is the superior cook, so meals have been easier.”

The shift to online classes has left some anxious, some bored, and most struggling to adjust to a completely new routine. So far, the student body has been trying to make the best out of their situations, which is all most of us can hope for.

by Alexander Cardona

Through the transition to remote learning, UCI still intends to keep its Anteaters connected in their social, recreational, cultural, and educational pursuits. With its new feature, the UCI Now app allows anyone with a UCInetID to list and partake in a virtual meeting or event. By clicking “Virtual Events” you can see a calendar of events available to take part in during this time of distancing. To add your own event, all you have to do is download the UCI Now app and tap on “Virtual Events.” From there, press “Add” in the upper right-hand corner. Then submit your event details and your event will automatically appear in the app and on the Student Center website.

This feature is intended as a service to the UCI community and to keep us connected and together in the times of COVID-19. Being physically distant from one another does not have to also mean “disconnected.” Here at the Student Center, we will do our best to make sure our fellow Anteaters have ample opportunity for involvement and development opportunities, even as we continue to learn and work from home.

If you see a metal can around campus, please don’t put your trash in it.

Instead, may I make a few suggestions?

Are you stowing some soup that you bought on impulse after hearing someone cough behind you in lecture? Did you wake up with a sore throat and stock up cans in anticipation for a rough week, only to make a miraculous recovery two days later?

Look, we’ve all been there. We’ve all stocked up on food we planned to eat and then forgot as it gathered dust in the backs of our pantries. You have a bunch of food you don’t want, and we have some empty bins in need of donations. I would say that’s the perfect combination.

Consider donating them to UCI’s tenth annual “Clash of the Cans” food drive, open until December 20. The food you donate goes right back to your fellow students. FRESH Basic Needs Hub is always looking for more goods to stock their shelves, and your donation could help out your fellow Anteaters. Don’t be fooled by the name. We are looking for all sorts of goods, like bagged rice, boxed cereal and toiletries. Check out the page on UCI Transportation’s website for a list of items you can donate. Help us reach a goal of 100 pounds of food at the Student Center. If you’ve got plenty of items to give, you can also take a bag from the Information Center home and bring it back to the drop off location.

The Student Center is hosting two opportunities to give back this holiday season. UCIPD’s Annual Toy Drive is collecting new, unwrapped toys for patients ages 14 and younger at the UCI Health Center and other local organizations. Their donation bin can be found in the Student Center Information Center, right beside the “Clash of the Cans” bin. Donations run until December 18.

There’s no need to go out and buy a bunch of goods to donate (though, no one will stop you either). If you’ve got some stuff you’re not planning on using, or want to spread holiday cheer with a bear or two, consider giving back to the community.

There is also an added bonus for any “Clash of the Cans” participants. For every item you donate, you get a free button. There are several exclusive designs, all drawn by Rebekah Li, a UCI student UI/UX designer, featuring our mascot, Peter the Anteater. Go and collect them all.

Current UCI students can watch It Chapter Two for free in the Crystal Cove Auditorium this Wednesday at 7:00 p.m. Free popcorn, bottled water, and Halloween candy will be served along with chances to win an Anteater plush, a hydro flask, movie tickets, a UCI Tee or gift card. Visit studentcenter.uci.edu/uci-movie-nights to learn about ways to win and to read the Official Rules.

Students who upload a selfie taken at the event to their Instagram account with the hashtag #ASUCIMovieNightDrawing by midnight, October 31, 2019, will be automatically entered into an opportunity drawing. But if horror isn’t your genre of choice, add your name to the Movie Nights email list for information on upcoming screenings and be entered for a chance to win a gift card.

ASUCI and the Student Center are co-sponsoring this event as part of an ongoing series called Movie Nights. Events like these are a fun way to add value and enrichen campus life with advanced screenings of popular movies not yet released in theaters, summer blockbusters, classic films, and popular titles.

Part-time gamer and UCI computer science major Tommy Patierno (display name: Chaikitty), 21, faces the undisputed Celeste speedrunning champion TGH for charity at TwitchCon 2019 in San Diego.

The game is called Celeste, and UCI computer science major Tommy Patierno is one of the best. Patierno (display name: chaikitty), 21, will face the undisputed champion TGH in a speedrunning marathon for charity. It is all part of a sold-out three-day conference called TwitchCon 2019. Thousands of streamers, professional gamers, esports enthusiasts and cosplay fans will descend downtown at the San Diego Convention Center. It is a chance to meet celebrities, network with gamers, and watch top streamers compete.

Celeste is a fast-paced single-player adventure. The player races against the clock through over 600 screens of hardcore challenges and devious secrets. Unlike team-play esports like League of Legends and Fortnite, during a speedrunning marathon, the first person to reach the end wins. In the case of Celeste, the first person to reach the summit is the winner. Patierno’s best time is 27 minutes and 53 seconds. Twenty-two seconds behind TGH’s top spot, Patierno will pack his lucky keyboard and reach for a new personal best.

Games Done Quick organized this Friday’s Speedruning Marathon. Money raised supports The Able Gamers Charity, a non-profit helping people with disabilities get back into the game with custom setups. They provide modified controllers and assistive technology. The hope is rehabilitation through recreation. Games Done Quick has raised over $22.3 million working with different charities and The Able Gamers have raised over $112 thousand.

Patierno works as a web developer on the award-winning IT Dev team at the Student Center. Some of the more recognizable brands include the popular ZOTFinder app and the newer UCI Now app. His lead development on The Level Up Program won him a 2019 CASE Circle of Excellence Silver Award.

Patierno just laughs when asked about his display name chaikitty. “It’s been so long” he said and vaguely recalls it having something to do with his brother throwing a beanie baby at a nearby chai latte. To become a Chai Guy, that’s what he calls his subscribers, sub to chaikitty at twitch.tv/chaikitty. View over 170 videos and chat with him during a live stream.

You can play some of Patierno’s early iOS developments by visiting landofchaiapp.com. Among his prouder experiments is RetroCube for iOS only, Chai Sprint, and Land of Chai 2. These projects date back to high school as a way to learn to code.

UCI is known for competitive team-play esports and for its amazing gaming arena. But there are surprisingly no Celeste groups on campus and no speedrunning events. According to chaikitty, it is easy to get started. Just pick up Celeste, Super Mario Sunshine, HoPiKo (Patierno’s personal favorites) or similar game to get going. Video game speedrunning could be the next big headline at UCI.

UCI Now app is a free app intended as a service to help the UCI community navigate events in the Student Center with a new option for students to book Courtyard Study Rooms and a convenient way for campus organizations to promote their Ring Mall activities. The app was designed by students for students in cooperation with Student Center & Event Services and ASUCI Visions.

The “CSL” Feature

Provides any student with a UCInetID easy access to real-time availability for Student Center study space. Check availability, confirm, view, or cancel reservations on a first-come, first-served basis any time, anywhere you have an Internet connection. Students can book smart, plan ahead and reserve up to 40 hours each. Located on the first floor of the Student Center, The Courtyard Study Lounge rooms vary in size and include complimentary Wi-Fi, whiteboards, and power.

The “Wayfinder” Feature

Provides step-by-step directions and visual references to help users find their way around the Student Center and locate convenient services. This feature is a technological first on campus that uses 250 Bluetooth beacons located throughout the Student Center to help visitors navigate the unique challenges of the Student Center’s architecture. It is a source of pride for the student-led team of developers and technicians. You can read their Customer Success Story here.

The “Ring Mall” Feature

Is a real-time list of activities on Ring Mall with maps to help you locate an event. Search and sort activities by location, organization, time, and type of food sale. Sponsoring organizations can use the app to edit and promote their event by including a description of their organization, their activities, pricing, food items for sale, and payment options.

“The Student Center” Feature

Is a calendar of events in a convenient list view. Users can view and search two weeks of scheduled events booked through Student Center & Event Services. By selecting a date, the app searches all currently scheduled events and returns a list with the most current information available. The list of events includes an event title, room, start and end times along with a link to “Take me there!” for step-by-step directions to your venue location.

I am pleased to welcome you to the 2019 – 2020 school year. I invite you all to visit UCI’s world-class Student Center recognized internationally by the IACC as a conference center of excellence. I speak on behalf of the entire Student Center team as I invite you to explore the host of services and facilities designed to support our diverse Anteater community.

It is my pleasure to serve as interim director at an exciting time on campus as we welcome our new Vice Chancellor of Student Affairs Dr. Banks. I share Dr. Banks’ passion for student success, and I echo his commitment to transformative experiences in and outside of the classroom. I myself am an alumna of UCI and a 29-year veteran of Student Affairs. I look forward to meeting as many of you as possible in the year ahead and encourage you to stop by my office to share your insights and ideas for making UCI’s Student Center a welcome and inclusive gathering place for all.

Best Regards,
Amy D. Schulz
Interim Director Student Center & Event Services
University of California, Irvine
adschulz@uci.edu

Only one year after the International Association of Conference Centres (IACC) recognizes Student Center & Event Services globally as a conference center of excellence, the Student Center wins the first-ever IACC Americas Innovation award.

The winner was announced at the IACC Americas Connect award ceremony in Philadelphia. Other finalists included Electro-Media Design, consultants in high-performance audiovisual and acoustics, and Sodexo, a leading provider of dining and facilities-management services. The Student Center was the sole recipient of this year’s award for its Real-Time Ops app designed to enhance staff communications and improve customer service.

“It is with great excitement and gratitude that Student Center & Event Services is recognized for innovation by IACC because the award represents the type of organization we want to be. For us, innovation is about making meaningful change for the campus community,” said Director Stacey L. Murren.

The Student Center is the first in Orange County and tenth statewide to achieve the honorable distinction of being counted among an elite group of 385 venues in 22 countries aspiring to international excellence.

IACC is the sole global professional organization that represents venues focused on meetings, training courses and conferences.

AntMedia Videography & Photography

More information on booking Special Events: Registered Student Organizations