This morning saw the culmination of the Annual Care & Share Holiday Community Program, spearheaded by the Office of Student Development, Fitchburg Community Outreach Center (FCOC) & the Mckay Elementary School. Members of Student Development, Materials Management, and TRIO Program gathered in Hammond Hall to gather all the gifts collected for the Care & Share Program, donated by faculty and staff, for delivery to the McKay Campus School. For more than 45 years, the campus community has "adopted" children from the McKay school community to receive unwrapped gifts. This year, 97 Children consisting of 47 families were adopted with Athletics sponsoring 25 children.

Last week, students in Game Design Professor Les Nelken's Virtual Reality Development course wrapped up their final projects. The course introduces students to virtual reality (VR) development, the principles and history of VR and VR systems, as well as how this rapidly advancing medium can be used in interactive and narrative entertainment, education and training, art and film creation, and other content areas. Topics include 3D interaction and VR user interface types, haptics, human perception, social VR, telepresence, augmented reality (AR) and the philosophical and scientific implications of how virtual reality may inform and alter human perception of reality. Students will playtest and critique a variety of VR games and apps, and work individually and in groups to create VR projects.

Yesterday afternoon, Counseling Services hosted a Finals Frenzy event giving out ice cream sundaes in G-Lobby in the Hammond building. In addition to the ice cream, students were offered an array of wellness and relaxation activities.  Counseling Services strives to provide an inclusive space that honors the strengths, lived experience, and uniqueness of each individual. Our counselors provide services focused on wellness, growth, and self advocacy, in order to enhance your success at the university and in the larger community. 

Alumni and Giving Staff were on hand in G-Lobby yesterday to offer students a respite during finals, offering a hot cocoa bar, some Fitchburg State University branded swag, and activities. Students were eager to get a boost and a break.

Last week, students in Professor Sally Moore's The Art of Puppetry class put the finishing touches on their puppets, including attaching the "marionette controller".. The course explores shape, form and movement as it relates to character, mood and atmosphere. The history of the art of puppetry from around the world is discussed through images, videos and readings. Students learn how to construct masks, shadow puppets, hand and rod puppets, and marionettes, and will work in groups to put on performances of folk tales from various parts of the world. Puppetry is also examined as a tool in education, therapy and advertising. Learn more about our Fine Art Program here.

Last week, at the final Simulation Lab scenario, our second year Nursing students got immersed in a hospital patient care check simulation for patient Jackie Johnson, under care for an abdominal procedure. Our Nursing Simulation Laboratory assists nursing students in learning critical thinking and clinical judgment skills in preparation for their healthcare careers. The “manikins” act as lifelike patient simulators, wherein instructors provide real-time feedback via a control center, giving students as close to real-life simulation as possible. Fellow students watch as their classmates work through the simulation. All students and faculty debrief after the scenario.

Students in Theater Professor Mary Vreeland's  Acting 1 class work on their final scenes in Weston Auditorium last week. This course is an introduction to professional stage performance techniques. Students learn how to build a character using techniques such as playing actions, status, physical transformation, improvisation, relaxation and script analysis. Students perform monologues and scene work for the class and analyze and develop them.

Earlier this week, students in Biology and Chemistry Professor Dr. Michael Nosek's Cell Biology course work on the last  experiment in the Antonucci Science Complex.  In this course, cellular and subcellular structure and function are covered. Major topics include membranes, cell organelles and biogenesis, energy metabolism, regulatory mechanisms, signal transduction, DNA structure and function, transcription and translation, cell cycle control, and cancer development. Laboratory experiments focus on current cell biology methodologies and instrumentation, and include spectrophotometry, cell fractionation, microscopy, electrophoresis and cell culture technologies.

Students enrolled in the Fitchburg State University Police Program's Recruit Officer Course (ROC) had their last monthly meeting of the semester earlier this week in Kent Auditorium. After inspection, students made their way to the auditorium where Professor Michael S. McCutcheon introduced Captain Christopher Garcia of the Fitchburg Police Department, who discussed the department's Civilian Traffic Control Specialists positions, which will pay $57 an hour to staff road details. Fitchburg Police Officer Ryan Kreidler later spoke with the students about the importance of physical fitness and the goals needed to be reached to advance in their careers. Learn more about our Criminal Justice Program here.

Students got a chance to unwind yesterday afternoon, the last day of class, at the Fitchburg Activities Board (FAB) sponsored ChristmasHanukkahKwanzaKings event. Various student groups were on hand to spread holiday cheer with food, crafts, the wildly popular stuff-a-plush, and much more.