---
Section A·Page 8
The University Daily Kansan
Monday, May 7, 2001
Race ya
Resident assistant Shanna Coldwell, Kearney, Mo., sophomore, left, and Falestine Afani Ruzik, Minneapolis, Kan., freshman, try to outreach each other before being yanked back by bungee cords. The students participated in the Daisy Daze festival Saturday in Ellsworth Hall. Photo by Aaron Showalter/KANSAN
Engineering dean returns to classroom
Mullinazi says he needs to get back
Bv Ali Brox
Special to the Kansan
Tom Mulinazzi wears a Jayhawk every day. In fact, if anyone notices him not wearing one, he'll give that person a dollar. He wears the Jayhawk as a symbol of his loyalty to the University of Kansas and the School of Engineering.
"I try to convey to my students that you want to be loyal to your company," he said. "My dad said, 'If a company makes money, I'll be rewarded, therefore, son, always be a company man.' My dad was very wise."
Mulinazzi, associate dean of the School of Engineering, will step down from his administrative position this summer and return to the classroom full time. His area is civil engineering with an emphasis on transportation. Mulinazzi, who has been the full-time associate dean since 1992, hasn't taught in his area in 14 years.
"feel like I'm losing knowledge because so much has changed and become computerized. I need to get back." Mulinuzzi said. He's especially looking forward to the increased interaction with students once he's back in the classroom.
However, Mulnazzi said his tenure as associate dean hadn't completely removed him from students' lives. He teaches an Introduction to Engineering class for students who are in the school but haven't decided in what area they want to specialize. He helps them decide what kind of engineer they want to be, or if they want to be one at all.
"He sees his program as successful even when a student decides not to be an engineer because it's better a student knows now as a freshman," Dean Carl Locke said.
Chad Gustin, Overland Park senior,
took Mulinazzi's Introduction to
Engineering class his freshmen year.
Gustin was having trouble fitting in his
first month at KU, and Mulinazi took the
initiative to find Gustin after class and
take him to lunch.
"We talked one on one, and he really helped me," Gustin said. "It just shows how much he cares about students. He helped me realize I could be a successful engineering student."
As last year's president of Tau Beta Pi, an honorary engineering fraternity, Gustin had the opportunity to work more with Mulinazii — because Mulinazii was the faculty mentor for the fraternity.
"He's one of the most influential people in the school of engineering." Gustin said.
Mulnazhit hopes his class helps students with the transition from being a high school student to being a serious college student who will succeed at the University. He said high school was too easy, and students needed to look at college as a full-time job.
I want students to change their mindset from how little can I do for an A to how much can I learn," Mulinazzi said.
Ann Phillips, director of academic services, said Mulmazhi had made the associate dean position more important than it used to be by adding programs.
She said Mulinazi started a club to help engineering students improve their oral communication for hiring.
"He's very animated," Phillips said. "He does a good job with parents and students."
game becoming faster and coaches substituting so often, officials decided the score table needed an extra set of eyes.
Outside the School of Engineering, Mulinazzi is an assistant scorekeeper at men's basketball games. In 1985, with the
"I toot the horn and keep track of fouls." he said.
Mulinazzi said the hardest thing about leaving his position would be no longer officially representing the School of Engineering.
Brian Hannon, Basehor senior, knows Mulinazzi from his involvement in Tau Beta Pi.
“In the four years I've been here, enrollment in the School of Engineering has increased dramatically,” Hannon said. “He's a big part of that. He's charismatic and promotes the school very well.”
"The School of Engineering is an easy sell," Mulmazi said. "We provide a good undergraduate education and send students everywhere, from MIT to Stanford."
A proud Notre Dame graduate who also played in the school's band, Mulinazzi is loyal to the crimson and blue.
"Part of my life is here." Mulinazzi said about his tenure as associate dean. "I'm not a graduate, but I'm very loyal. I'm looking forward to going back to teaching."
Edited by Jay Pilgreen
Internships helpful for securing a job
By Cynthia Malakasis writer@kansan.com Kansan staff writer
Jennifer Dwan will spend the summer applying the knowledge she has acquired at the University of Kansas in the past three years.
Gail Rooney, director of University Career and Employment Services, said an internship was extremely important for a student's professional future.
Dwan, College Park, Md., junior, has been hired as an intern by a national consulting firm. A business and chemistry major, Dwan said she chose an internship because she wanted to experience the work setting while she was still in college, before she went out into "the real world."
Apart from having the opportunity to apply, classroom-acquired skills, she said, an internship also helped students establish contacts in their professional area of interest, and maybe even secure a job after graduation.
"National data shows that between 20 to 30 percent of interns are hired by the company in a fulltime position after graduation," she said.
Rooney said that students planning to intern should take advantage of campus career fairs, work on their resumes and their interviewing skills, and make sure they obtain background information about the companies they were targeting.
She also said that they should start looking for an internship as early as a year before the time they were planning to intern.
But the majority of students started their search later than that, Rooney said.
David Vera, Quito, Ecuador, senior, started looking for a summer internship in early February.
Vera, an architectural engineering major, said he talked to one company about an internship. After that fell through, Vera sent his resume out to more potential employers at the beginning of April.
"I started too late," he said of his search.
I started too late, he said of his search. Vera thinks he will still get an internship before he graduates. He said that he plans to graduate in December and that he would be disappointed if he hadn't had an internship during college.
But not all students feel an internship is necessary.
Nicholas Dinham, Chicago senior, said he thought that about 90 percent of people in his field of study, business administration, got an internship, but he wasn't looking for one.
"I can prove my worth once I get a job," Dinham said. "It's not too essential."
— Edited by Brandy Straw and Jason McKee
kansan.com
$30K TO $50K (First Year!)
Pitch Weekly is seeking Sales Account Executives
If you are willing to work hard in a challenging environment, we have a career with unlimited earning potential. Applicants must be extremely motivated results-driven and possess excellent time management skills. Compensation package includes salary commission/ bonus medical/dental, 401k and more.
Interested Candidates should call:
816-218-6744
Outside Sales: Press 1 Inside Sales; Press 2
E-mail: resume@pitch.com
Call anytime- our lines are open 24 hours a day.
All inquiries are strictly confidential.
PW PitchWeekly
3535 Broadway, Suite 400 Kansas City, Missouri 64111
For more information, visit
www.newtimes.com
WD LIQUIDATION SALE Wilderness Discovery
Wilderness Discovery Camping Equipment
4 person Eureka Timberline Outfitter Tent
2 person Eureka Timberline Outfitter Tent
Sleeping Bags - Down to 20°
Sleeping Bags - Down to 0°
Sleeping Pad
Backpack
Coleman 2 Burners Stove
Colman Single Burner Stove
Fuel Bottle (Full)
Fluorescent Lantern
Air Mattress
Ice Chest (12 gal)
Water Cooler (5 gal)
Water Jug (2 gal)
---