A new Graduate School initiative is underway to provide support and build community among Miami University graduate students – and the Rinella Learning Center (RLC) is at the forefront. The new initiative, Professionalism 101, brings together resources across campus through a workshop series designed to help graduate students in their academic, personal, and professional journeys.

Tory Lowe, Learning Specialist in the Rinella Learning Center "We talk a lot about academic support strategies but realized there wasn’t a lot of support for graduate students outside of their department,” said Tory Lowe, Learning Specialist in the Rinella Learning Center. “We wanted to provide an opportunity for students to seek help and learn about strategies in a safe and open space."

Lowe and Dr. Ana Baratta, also a Learning Specialist in the RLC, led the inaugural Professionalism 101 workshop, focused on helping international graduate students thrive in Oxford. Baratta and Lowe were invited to deliver two additional sessions based on the success of the first session. Additional sessions included “Time Management for Graduate Students,” and “Critical Reading Strategies for Graduate Students.”

Dr. Ana Baratta, Learning Specialist in the Rinella Learning Center Baratta and Lowe welcome the opportunity to expand RLC’s learning support services to the graduate student community. From their own years of graduate study, the duo bring stories, anecdotes, and perspectives that promote graduate school success. “Being able to tap into our own past experiences as graduate students and our knowledge of how people learn has allowed us to provide practical and research-based information to both domestic and international students,” Baratta said. “Additionally, sharing our own experiencing is helping to demystify their graduate school experience.”

Plans are already underway for RLC to contribute additional workshops for the Professionalism 101 series in Spring 2019. The Rinella Learning Center will present on “How to Teach Effectively,” part two of “Thriving as an International Student,” and “Combatting Imposter Syndrome” over the course of spring semester.