Sinclair Talks returns this year for round two with an open invite to all Sinclair Community College students, faculty and staff.
The typically one-hour long presentations are free to attend, carry no obligations and are not limited to academic-related topics.
Presentations usually begin at noon in the Library or in Building 2334 at the Dayton campus.
This Fall Semester, there are over 30 events scheduled covering a breadth of topics: academic skill enhancement, educational planning, campus resources, career development, and personal, social and cultural development.
“One of the most important purposes of Sinclair Talks is to build student engagement out of the classroom,” said Project Manager Peter Bolmida.
The presentations will cover a wide range of subjects, also target the many challenges that students will face on their academic journey like developing good study skills, managing stress and learning to communicate better with instructors.
“What we’re trying to do is focus in on skills,” said Bolmida. “Things to close the gap, to help students be successful.”
Topics regarding academic skill enhancement will be spread out throughout the fall, with Sinclair’s Library and Research Recourses and Presentation Skills: Kicking It Up a Notch, scheduled to be the first event this fall.
“Let’s say you’re doing your first presentation in your life,” said Bolmida. “If that really freaks you out, you might drop your class. So, what can we do early on to meet the needs of students in terms of skills that they might need to be successful?”
Topics concerning campus resources will be covered in presentations like Financial Aid 101. Topics of educational planning will be tackled in presentations like Career Decision Making: What do you want to be when you grow up?
Cultural, social and International topics are being represented with Constitution Day: Bill of Rights, Diversity and Multiculturalism, and with the International Series,’ featuring Singapore, England and Greece.
Bolmida said that the topic of relationships was brought to his attention as being a major source of anxiety among students.
hat issue will be addressed in the presentation ‘Toxic Relationships’.
Last spring, surveys were sent to faculty, staff and students in an effort to learn Sinclair’s top areas of interest and the results helped influence what would ultimately be featured.
So far, matching up topic suggestions and Sinclair resources has not posed a major problem. Bolmida said that faculty and staff have been very responsive to the program, with many people approaching him to volunteer.
He encourages faculty to bring their classes to events if they feel a featured topic might serve as interesting supplemental material. He added that the diversity of topics offers something for everyone at Sinclair.
“Something that I really enjoy seeing is faculty and staff in the audience,” said Bolmida. “It’s neat to see faculty and staff learning together in the same audience. I think it’s neat for students to see faculty learning with them, you know? It levels the playing field a little bit.”
Contact Bolmida with any questions or suggestion regarding Sinclair Talks at peter.bolmida@sinclair.edu.
For a full Sinclair Talks Fall Schedule visit www.sinclair.edu/talks.