NIU Counseling Association (NIUCA)
Chapter Report
July 12th, 2014
I. Membership/Board (elected April 2014)
President, Julia Dombrow
Vice President, Kelsey Salazar
Secretary, Julianna Jones
Treasurer, Rachel Schultz
Public Relations Chair, TBA
Faculty Advisor, Dr. Charles E. Myers
Membership as of June 2014: 120
II. Meetings and Summaries
a. 2/24/2014 – Discussed the Colloquium event held during the previous week. Over 80
students, faculty, and community members attended the event over the course of two
days. Discussed upcoming Spring 2014 programming and fundraising options.
Composed a committee and began planning for the annual Celebration of Academic
Achievement (CAA).
b. 3/17/2014 – Discussed to-do list for upcoming events such as the Gerontology
presentation and LGBT Counselor Training. Explored possible ways to market our
events more thoroughly. Opened the t-shirt design/slogan contest for submissions.
c. 3/31/2014 – Created a list of community agencies to invite to the Gerontology
presentation. Finalized speakers for the LGBT Counselor Training event. CAA
Committee updated the board on progress. Distributed a call for intent to run for NIUCA
office to involved students.
d. 4/14/2014 – CEU information needs to be added to fliers for LGBT Counselor
Training, and fliers need to be distributed on campus and in the community. Spaces for
the training are filling up. Discussed plans to seek community sponsorship for the CAA
silent auction. We have received several donations from students already. Top four tshirt designs have been identified and distributed to the student body for votes.
e. 4/28/2014 – Received update from CAA Committee on planning progress. Two
faculty members will be honored (Dr. Toni Tollerud – retiring, and Dr. Steve Moody –
relocating). T-shirt design winner is Daniel Michaels. He will be identified and
presented with a shirt at the CAA. Shirts will be for sale at the CAA. NIUCA E-board
elections were held and all incoming officers were elected with a unanimous vote.
III. Marketing Initiatives
a. Facebook – The NIUCA Facebook page currently has 280 members and serves as a
communication tool for events and information.
b. Twitter – The Twitter feed currently has 24 followers.
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c. Listserv – NIUCA regularly sends emails through the Counseling Department graduate
and doctoral student Listserv. This allows us to share information about NIUCA events
with anyone subscribing to the Listserv.
d. Bulletin Board – NIUCA has a bulletin board located near counseling classes, faculty,
and offices. The bulletin board provides basic information about NIUCA, testimonials
from members, photos from past events, and is used to display fliers for upcoming events.
Bulletin board space is now shared with Chi Sigma Iota.
e. Rebranding – NIUCA is growing and evolving with each year. Rebranding is a
way to demonstrate this growth and attract new members. The logo has been completed
and has been put on yoga mats and t-shirts.
f. T-shirt contest – NIUCA held a t-shirt contest in the spring. Members we asked to
submit suggestions for a NIUCA t-shirt design and members were asked to vote for their
favorite. NIUCA member, Daniel Michaels, provided the winning shirt design. We hope
to make this an annual event.
IV. Technology Initiative
a. Skype has proved to be a valuable tool in allowing commuter students to attend
NIUCA meetings without being on campus. Skype has been utilized at several meetings.
b. Wiggio – NIUCA created a Wiggio account in October 2012. Wiggio is a web-based
program where groups can share documents, schedule meetings and events, and share
information. The NIUCA Wiggio currently has 23 members.
c. Survey Monkey has also been utilized in the search for a colloquium speaker and
voting for the NIUCA t-shirt.
d. NIUCA acquired a Payanywhere device, which allows the organization to accept credit
card for fundraising sales. The Treasurer maintains control of this device.
V. ICA Conference Initiative
a. NIUCA has promoted the ICA conference in all of its literature, on the NIU
Counseling Listserv communications, and on the Facebook page. In addition, NIUCA
plans to host the “ICA Conference Buddies” Facebook page for the fourth year in a row.
On this site, students can communicate about sharing hotel rooms and rides.
b. NIUCA is exploring the possibility of providing travel scholarships to students again.
c. NIUCA has been asked to compose a decorations committee for the 2014 ICA
conference.
d. NIUCA is interested in having a table at the ICA conference.
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VI. Continuing Education Units (CEU) – As a result of the efforts by Elisa Woodruff and
Dr. Justin Lauka as the NIU CEU Coordinator, NIUCA is approved to offer CEUs
for eligible workshops and presentations as of March 2013. CEUs were offered for one
event in Fall 2013, and three events in Spring 2014.
VII. Committees
a. Mental Health First Aid and Race to Nowhere: This committee will be focused on
setting up screenings and discussions on the film, Race to Nowhere, as well as,
coordinating Mental Health First Aid workshops on campus.
b. Colloquium Committee: This committee will work on speaker identification, the
application process, and if approved for funding, bringing the speaker/s to campus.
c. ICA Decorations Committee: This committee will coordinate the decorations for the
2014 ICA conference.
VIII. Presentations and Events
a. Past Presentations and Events
i. 4/8/2014 – Issues in Gerontology presented by Dr. Donna Kirkpatrick Pinson.
Focused on issues counselors should consider when working with older
individuals and their loved ones. One CEU was offered.
b. In Planning
i. Fall 2014 – The new NIUCA e-board already has a list of possible events for
the upcoming year including a presentation on working with prison populations.
IX. Workshops
a. Past Workshops
i. 2/14/2014 – 2/15/2014 – Colloquium – Addressing Trauma Through Physical
Release: Trauma Topics and Trauma Releasing Exercises presented by Dr. David
Berceli. A two-day introductory workshop that demonstrated the use of trauma
releasing exercises as a means to help clients physically cope with the effects of
trauma. Over 80 students (from various programs on campus), faculty members,
and community members were in attendance over the course of two days. Seven
CEUs were offered over the course of two days.
ii. 5/2/2014 – LGBT Counselor Training presented by faculty member and
President-Elect of ALGBTIC Dr. Jane Rheineck and Alan Boudreau, an attorney
and professor at NIU specializing in LGBT legal issues. Provided a counselorspecific ally training to help attendees be more aware of various issues and serve
as better advocates to clients in the LGBT community. Approximately 40
students (from various programs on campus), faculty members, and community
members were in attendance. Six CEUs were offered.
b. In Planning
i. Counselor Mock Interview Day – an opportunity for counselors-in-training to
practice their interviewing skills with a variety of potential employers.
X. Alumni Relations
a. NIUCA hopes to draw alumni to workshops and programs by offering CEUs.
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b. The former Alumni Relations Chair, Phet Keobouavanh, started the process of
creating a scholarship for current counseling students. A large part of this scholarship will
come from fundraising done by NIUCA and alumni contributions. To NIUCA’s
knowledge, they are the first student association at the university to attempt this.
XI. Advocacy/Volunteerism
a. 4/12/2014 – NIUCA hosted an NIU Cares Day Team. The team was lead by Julia
Dombrow and consisted of 20 members.
XII. Parties and Outings
a. Every Wednesday – NIUCA members have lunch in the Blackhawk Lounge of the
NIU campus student center.
b. Various potlucks will be held this summer and fall to welcome new students to the
counseling program.
XIII. Fundraising/Treasury
a. Current account balance: $1236.73 (including the $506 that we have set aside for our
scholarship)
b. Fundraiser products outstanding: $200
c. NIUCA’s primary source of funds for FY 2014 have come from yoga mat sales, t-shirt
sales, ticket sales and silent auction items from the 2013 Celebration of Academic
Achievement, as well as funds awarded by the Student Association.
d. NIUCA is in the process of selling yoga mats printed with the NIUCA name and
logo. We will also host another end of the year Celebration of Academic Achievement in
the Spring of 2015 receiving revenue from ticket sales and a silent auction.
e. The NIU Student Association provided $1,848 in FY 14. We have requested $4,193
dollars for FY 15, which is pending acceptance. This money will go toward the 2015
celebration of academic achievement, travel expenses to the Illinois Counseling
Association Conference, registration for our counseling retreat (ABC Workshop),
expenses for a colloquium presentation (or other speakers), and a NIUCA leadership
retreat.
Respectfully submitted,
Erin Sherrill
Past President, NIU Counseling Association (NIUCA)