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Please share something someone said this week that you want to honor, thank/ appreciate them for what they offered.

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Thank you to the students taking headshots , they were the most professional photographers I’ve ever met

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My “one word” summary for the days went from “overwhelming” to “(tremendously) helpful” over the course of the NFO. I thank everyone who put together the event. I could sense thoughtful touches everywhere. Really excited to start the semester!

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I wanted to thank all the people from my department and college for being so welcoming and so hospitable. Joe Bautista and Daniel Hosken really made me feel seen and welcomed as a new faculty member. I also wanted to thank facdev for being and putting on such a wonderful orientation. I really enjoyed the speakers on new faculty experience to know what we are getting in to.

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I appreciate the time, care, and energy that the whole Fac Dev team put into it. What stuck with me is what one of the speakers said, “Progress not Perfection”. Thank you so much for organizing this.

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I really appreciated the thoughtfulness behind this week in terms of its layers, such as how to navigate the university in practical, interpersonal, and political ways. I also appreciated the authenticity, transparency, and support offered from colleagues on how to be successful. It also sent a great message to meet and greet with so many administrators and leadership members.

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Thank you Whitney for being so wonderfully cheerful, positive, and a beacon of warmth and excitement during the entire week, and in your emails before the sessions began. Also, thank you for letting me go a little long with full body rock paper scissors <3.

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Thank you for taking great headshots 📸

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Thank you to the entire New Faculty Foundations Committee for all you did to build this event and everyone in this room right now who stayed until the bitter end on a Friday afternoon! Thank you to Candy, Christian, Sue, Hillary for being a dream team. Thank you to all of you new faculty for being my last new faculty cohort I had the honor to help welcome to CSUN! Come find me in Child & Adolescent Development now!

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I really appreciate my College of Science & Mathematics Table that I had some wonderful discussions with over and beyond the two days we were seated together, Huiling, Jun, Sungwook, and Ryan. I'm looking forward to continuing and building relationships with you all :)

And everyone else—thank you and please be in touch throughout our first year.

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Thank you all for organizing and welcoming us to CSUN! It was a great time to learn about CSUN and connect with diverse people in a similar phase of career change. Thank you again!

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Thank you to Kristy and Nayan for the Equity in Grading workshop. I’ve been studying education my entire career and had never encountered that info- it was such an inspiring way to start the semester ☺️

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I wish to thank Avo for his prompt help with my account issue =)

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Thank you to everyone who organized this event! You can definitely feel all the thought and care that went into every aspect, and I appreciate all of you!

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Xochitl Alvizo, Associate Professor, Religious Studies 

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Best advice for new faculty: Make everything you do EVERGREEN (usable into the future w/out references that make it outdated)

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Jamie Johnson, Research Instruction & Outreach Services, University Library 

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Advice: Support is all around you and the Library is here to help!

Favorite thing about working at CSUN: the hardworking and dedicated students! They continue to amaze me each semester.

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Carmen Saunders-Russell, Health Sciences

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Best Advice: Always make time for yourself. You are a priority.

Favorite place to eat near campus: Maria's and Portos.

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John Valdovinos, Electrical and Computer Engineering, College of Engineering and Computer Science

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Advice to new faculty: seek out friends/colleagues outside of your department or college.

My favorite thing about working at CSUN: always learning something new about our students. They are awesome and hardworking.

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Fatmana Kara Deniz, Department of Special Education, College of Education

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Best Advice: First, don’t hesitate to pick up the phone and ask questions — it’s a great way to connect with people and often leads to faster, clearer solutions than email.

Next, get comfortable with imperfection. Not everything will go as planned, and that’s okay. Focus on learning and growth.

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Nayan Ramirez, Criminology and Justice Studies, Social and Behavioral Sciences

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Best advice: Give yourself a break, take at least one day off!

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Dana Stone, Educational Psychology & Counseling, College of Education 

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Best Advice: Be intentional about making friends here. And then make time to have a meal or grab coffee together regularly throughout the semester. Personal connections make all the difference.

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Whitney Scott, Director of Faculty Development. Home Department: Child & Adolescent Development 

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Advice: Teaching- Be thoughtful of giving too many assignments; if you don't have time to grade it & give students feedback, maybe you shouldn't assign it. Research: Block time on your calendar- it's the only way. Service: When asked to join a committee, pause, ask questions, reply that you need time to ponder, then seek guidance from a mentor. Balance- Contribute to your retirement this year- before you know it, it's been 20 years at CSUN!

Food: Email me and let's go find a lunch place together one day this semester.

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Hillary Kaplowitz | Senior Instructional Designer, Faculty Development  | Lecturer, Instructional Design MA Program, Tseng College 

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Advice: Use your calendar to set specific times for getting things done like course prep, grading, and relaxing.

Favorite places to eat: Bun Me! and King's Burger/Got Sushi?

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Hillary Kaplowitz sitting outside smiling

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Zeynep Toker, Ph.D. Department Chair and James H. Ring Professor; Department of Urban Studies and Planning

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My advice: Cultivate relationships with faculty at different ranks in your college and in other colleges. Mentorship can take many different forms throughout your time at CSUN.

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Joe Bautista, Department of Art & Design, Mike Curb College

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Favorite thing about working at CSUN: Many opportunities to collaborate beyond your field of study.

My advice to new faculty: Build a good relationship with your department/college staff. It will go a long way!

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Sue Magdziarz, Instructional Designer, Faculty Development

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Advice: Spend some time enjoying nature on campus by visiting the duck and turtle pond in the orange grove.

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Mathew Williams, Director of Instructional Technology | Academic Technology

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Advice: Don't try to do everything at once. Start small and iterate.

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Mathew Williams, Director of Instructional Technology | Academic Technology

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Anne Soon Choi, AVP of Faculty Programs and Initiatives 

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Best Advice: Establish a file naming system and schedule weekly writing and research time into your schedule

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Casey terHorst, Biology Department, College of Science and Math

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Advice: Don't put off the fun things until things calm down, or you'll never do the fun things.

My favorite place to eat: Falafel Palace, though Pita Pockets is making a strong run

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Kristy Michaud, Political Science, College of Social and Behavioral Sciences

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Advice: When things get tough, remind yourself that your Dean wouldn't have hired you if they didn't plan to give you tenure!

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Joshua Chow, University Counseling Services;

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Best advice: When people ask you to do something or be part of something, it is okay to say, "No, thanks," even if it will look great on your PIF. There will likely be plenty of opportunities down the line to say, "Yes."

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David Boyajian, Civil Engineering and Construction Management

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Best Advice: Throw accomplishments onto your CV as they roll in - - put those things in a separate file/folder on your computer too

Favorite things about working at CSUN: how we all stand to be m/billionaires in short-order <ha! ha!> ... well, if that doesn't pan-out, CSUN is located in SoCal, no? So that's wealth in itself!

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Christian Reyes, Instructional Designer, Faculty Development. PT Lecturer, Central American and Transborder Studies

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Best Advice: Use FacDev Commons as a space to do work, relax, or meet with fellow faculty

Favorite place to eat: Bun Me! or Waffle Love

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Candy Garcia, Administrative Analyst, Faculty Development
Advice: Bookmark our Faculty Development events page — we offer workshops and programs that can save you time and help you grow.

CSUN tip: Get familiar with your myCSUN profile — it’s your one-stop for tools, pay, benefits, and more.

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Thank you, Christian for all the embedded QR codes. SUPER helpful for quick addition and saving resources.

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Whitney I appreciate how you centered play and heartfelt connection in learning

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I really appreciate ALL of the thought and energy the team put into this week. I was blown away by how smart and caring you all were. Thank you for what you do to help us thrive and ultimately serve our students to the best of our abilities.

Special shout out to this cohort! What a group of amazing people. I have felt energized all week from speaking to many of you individually, whether it's about your passions or interests. I hope we all stay connected!

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Thank you for organizing this event for new faculty members. I learned a lot from it and felt truly welcomed by you, which made me realize that choosing to come to CSUN was one of the best decisions I have ever made.

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I want to express my gratitude to everyone in the Faculty Development team who made me feel welcome and valued. Additionally, I want to thank all my peers for their thoughtful engagement with the talks, which broadened my perspective and encouraged me to ask insightful questions. I am excited about my role and can’t wait to make contributions to the amazing CSUN community. 😍

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Stephanie I really appreciate your approach to critical inquiry around AI, and your overall ethical and political perspectives on culture and art

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I want to thank the openness from all the students that shared their experiences with us during the tours. Also a special shout out to the folks at my table on the first day. Everyone was very open about their interview experiences and the differences from department to department was very insightful.

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This orientation was such an eye opening event for me.

I came with a mindset of “I probably know everything “. Boy, was I wrong.

I have learned so many new things.

Thank you for organizing an amazing event and an opportunity to make connections with wonderful people.

Hope I will see them often on this campus.

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Ramon, I appreciate how much you care about students and how thoughtful you are about supporting Latinx students. Your enthusiasm for this work is inspiring and encouraging

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I really appreciate Whitney and her team for such an informative NFA sessions.

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M., thank you for standing strong in being an anti-colonial ally to those of us who have been marginalized by various institutions and systems!

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I would like to express my deepest appreciation to Kristy, Dana, and all the other faculty members who generously shared their insights with us on preparing materials for success in education. And, the final day’s well-being training was truly amazing!

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To the Amazing team at FacDev - Thanks to everyone involved. Appreciate all the information over these four days, shared with kindness and openness!

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I really appreciated the entire team of NFO including diverse perspectives/voices in this event. The centering of CSUNs values and equity made me feel like I'm in a good place as a first-gen graduate, Indigenous, and queer faculty here. Thank you for all you do!