Events

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Virtual Opportunities For Our New Norm

Plenty of us will find ourselves spending a lot more time at home over the next few weeks as the pandemic plays out. It's important to not let the uncertainty of the situation take over our emotional and physical health. Structuring our days to build in physical exercise, hydration, and a proper lunch break can help split the workday for those not used to spending this much time at home. Haven't talked to your friends in a while, now may be a nice time to take advantage of that Face-time app and get some quality time in. Here are some virtual opportunities to keep your spirits lifted and mind-expanding as we live and work from home. Check out the following ideas and comment and/or message us with any new ideas!

ONGOING EVENTS:

MOVEMENT:

DANCE: The Debbie Allen Dance Academy is offering a number of its classes via ZOOM! Registration fee is $3.

Locally, Dance Place and Joy of Motion are live-streaming a selection of their classes.

Get your lunchtime yoga on with Bluebird Sky Yoga’s free daily online classes or check out the DC-area fitness group 202Strong, they'll live stream free daily workouts at 12 PM EST via their Youtube page. All the strength and circuit classes will be saved to its account, so you can access them later, too. (h/t Washingtonian)

ENTERTAINMENT:

MUSIC: Reinventing the Piano (for pianists and experienced and aspiring composers) and three months of free guitar, bass and ukulele lessons from the iconic guitar company Fender

OTHER: Gamification (Gamification is the application of game elements and digital game design techniques to non-game problems, such as business and social impact challenges) | Positive Psychology Specialization Project: Design Your Life for Well-being | Bluprint is offering free classes in online arts and crafts from now until April 16 | LinkedIn Learning - my now and forever love for FREE classes like graphic design, Adobe Premiere, search engine optimization, and many others. Sign in HERE.

Watch the Met Opera nightly and sing along with the new “Flatten the Curve” song by Church Night’s Linsay Deming (h/t 730DC)

Take a virtual tour of museums like the Rijksmuseum, the Guggenheim, the Musee d’Orsay and Mexico City’s Museum of Anthropology. (h/t 730DC)

On the JFK Kennedy Center FB Page, you can view all of the past free Millenium stage performances.

SXSW is canceled, but Mailchimp is putting the festival’s shorts online for folks to stream at home.

PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT:

Freelance: Freelance job boards like Upwork, Fiverr, and GURU "can help get your name out to clients and establish your reputation as a reliable freelancer who provides quality work products. Different sites focus on different industries and types of jobs, so whether you’re a writer, a video editor, an SEO specialist, or anything in between, you can find the niche you want to work in." Full Vault article HERE.

Learn: Show future employers that you used this time wisely by refining existing skills or building new ones. For regular readers, you know my love of LinkedIn Learning borders on the excessive. (I talk about it. A lot.) I'll come straight to the point and simply recommend the following courses: Google Analytics Essential Training | Marketing Tools: Digital Marketing | Introduction to Graphic Design | GarageBand: Podcasting.

LinkedIn Learning | Creating Online Video with the iPhone Tired of watching The Office for the third time (as if)? Well, here's a friendly reminder that Georgetown students have free access to LinkedIn Learning, so take advantage of the extra time you might have on your hands to learn that skill you've always wanted to! In this two hour course, learn with Nick Harauz the fundamentals of shooting great-looking video with an iPhone.

Give: Build your career story - and resume - by donating your skills to organizations in need. A special thanks to our Pre-Law Advisor for the great finds! Check out these virtual volunteer opportunities, courtesy of DoSomething, Idealist, Operation Warm and CareerAddict

Network: According to Umesh Ramakrishnan, Co-CEO of Kingsley Gate Partners, networking is particularly important right now. "Resumes don't win jobs, relationships do. Sending your resume with the hope that it gets from 'HR' to the 'Hiring Manager' can be wasted energy. Build your LinkedIn profile and connect directly with people. " Full Forbes article HERE

Remember, when I said you should sign up for industry briefs and you thought "Great idea!" but then forgot? Well, now is the time. Here are few to get you started: Retail: NRF Smartbrief | Entertainment: Variety | Journalism: NiemanLab | Communications: AdAge Wake-Up Call

Take Courses / Learn Something New. Take courses to fulfill prerequisites or to learn/enhance a soft and hard skill(s). Coursera and LinkedIn Learning offer an array of courses, from Python to becoming an EMT to bioinformatics. Learn a foreign language or a soft skill, such as how to influence people. Check out this list of Ivy League free courses.

Work on Personal Projects. Get ahead of your senior thesis or junior research project; write a blog with content you are passionate about (topics could range from baking cakes to climate change); learn a language; and/or work on a career development task listed above.

Volunteer. This is my #1 recommended suggestion for filling your time and continuing your skills journey and story during the pandemic. Below are primarily mental health and health-related volunteer opportunities given your curiosity in the health and science field, however, volunteer in any area of interest.

The big takeaway is this: Don't pause your life - or career - because you can't be "out there." And don't dwell on the could-have-beens. Friends, it's time to think creatively and get proactive.

LEISURE:

ART: Check out Deb's Virtual Art School for ages 3-100 and Lunch Doodles with Mo Willems for the young and young-at-heart.

WRITING: Writing Tips with Kate DiCamillo, two-time Newbery Medal winner and The Art of Storytelling from award-winning team at Pixar Animation Studios

Check out the Pandas! That's right, the DC National Zoo hosts a panda cam where you can peek at the fur balls in action, or not so much action, actually.

When you get sick of binging and streaming videos and are growing one with the couch: If you've never taken advantage of DC Public Library's incredible collection of ebooks, movies, audiobooks, and even online courses, now's the perfect time to start. (h/t 730DC)

I've applied to all the jobs and watched all the movies. What else you got? In between Zoom meetings and assignments, it's a great time to build your skills. Check out Making a Short Film: Start to Finish via LinkedIn Learning. Feeling stiff from all that sitting? Do you like animals? Check out (virtual) goat yoga brought to you from the fine folks in Walnut Creek Farm in Salem, VA!

Lunch Doodles with Mo Willems | HERE Kennedy Center Education Artist-in-Residence at Home Mo Willems invites YOU into his studio every day for his LUNCH DOODLE. Learners worldwide can draw, doodle and explore new ways of writing by visiting Mo’s studio virtually once a day for the next few weeks. Grab some paper and pencils, pens, or crayons and join Mo to explore ways of writing and making together. New episodes will be posted each weekday at 1:00 p.m. ET and then remain online to be streamed afterwards.

Take a tour of British Royal homes from the comfort of your living room!

“100 things to do while trapped inside” USA Today’s list is kind of basic (surprise) but we like “put together the best-looking charcuterie board using only what’s in your fridge,” “draw a self-portrait,” “learn to use your non-dominant hand” and “interview your grandparents.”

Volunteer Projects: If freelancing is not your style and you just can't take another single class - even for funsies - think about using your unique skills to give back. The Center for Social Justice put together an amazing list of volunteer projects. I handpicked a few to spotlight for the creative crew. Love museums? Become a "Citizen Archivist" with the National Archives. Similar digital volunteer roles are available at the Smithsonian and the Library of Congress. Love books? You can help Project Gutenberg by proofreading eBooks, procuring eligible paper books, or by burning CDs and DVDs for people without Internet access. You can also consider reading and recording books in the public domain for LibriVox. Love art and design? Check out the virtual volunteer opportunities offered via UN Volunteers. Love web design, sound editing, or general communications work? Volunteer your skills through Catchafire.

For a full listing of Georgetown's academic calendar, please visit this link.