By JENNIFER DYER
It doesn’t take long for freshmen and transfer students to figure out how BYU Info works. With a name you can get the phone number of just about anybody on campus.
However, a wide variety of other BYU resources are also available to students for little or no charge.
From computer labs to career counselling, each department offers valuable resources to students. Sometimes all it takes is asking around to find out exactly what is available.
One well-kept secret, available through the Physical Education Department, is the weight room. While some students are paying hundreds of dollars to join local health clubs, other students are working out for free with the flash of a student ID card.
Part-time students are required to pay a $35 activity fee to use the weight room but the facility is free to full-time students. Even with the activity fee, it remains a bargain compared to memberships at local gyms, said Huy Nguyn, a weight room supervisor and senior from Provo majoring in industrial design.
Non-students may use the physical education facilities when accompanied by a sponsoring guest for a $2 per-day fee.
“We have a fabulous facility. We have more than enough to get you in shape unless you are training for the Olympics,” Nguyn said.
In addition to a wide variety of weight machines, the weight room is equipped with free-weights, stationary bikes, stair masters and Nordic Tracs, Nguyn said.
Students also have access to other facilities through the physical education department, which include nine basketball courts, four indoor tennis courts, racquetball courts and an indoor track.
Through the intramural program, several different aerobic classes are also offered.
“Some classes are free, others cost $20-$30, but still it is cheaper than going to a local gym,” he said. “With their ID cards students get set up with everything they need.”
Nguyn said that five years ago attendance at the weight room used to be five times as high. Attendance fell once the other gyms opened.
“For one thing, students don’t realize that the weight room is here, and students join other gyms for social reasons. Socializing is a big part of why people exercise where they do,” he said.
A weight room monitor who is knowledgeable about using the weight machines and which muscles the machines work is available to help students as well, Nguyn said.
The student weight room is located in 293 SFH and is open from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. Students are required to wear PE issue, which can be picked up in the men’s an women’s locker rooms. They are not required to rent a locker.
Facilities are available to students when classes are not using them, Nguyn said. A schedule may be picked up in 112 RB at the beginning of each semester to find out when they are available.
To help assist students in other areas of their life, services are available to help alleviate the frustrating and time-consuming process of job hunting. Located in D240 ASB, the Career Placement Center, is an office that can help make this process easier.
“It is an office that assists those ready to graduate in locating employers and setting up interviews,” said Lloyd Hawkins, office manager for the Career Placement Center.
They also offer career advisors and workshops on resume writing, letters of application and interviewing skills, Hawkins said.
Wayne Hansen, managing director of Career Placement and Employee Services, said that approximately two-thirds of all BYU graduates go through the Career Placement Center in locating possible employers.
“The student makes the first contact with the office,” he said. “We recommend that they see us two semesters before graduation.”
Students are expected to begin the process by compiling a list of employers they would be interested in interviewing with and putting together their resume, Hansen said.
“(The Career Placement Center) is the way you get jobs. For many this is their first contact with employers,” Hansen said.
He estimates that several hundred employers interview students each year. “They come right to the office to interview,” he said.
Five career advisors are available, each specializing an a particular field of expertise. “They try to line (students) up with a job in their area,” Hawkins said.
BYU’s Alumni Placement Center works out of the same office. It provides the same sort of services to graduates of BYU who are either out of work, changing lines of work or changing jobs, Hawkins said.
“We save students time and money. If they had to find everything on their own and do everything on their own, it would be a considerable burden,” Hawkins said.
“We review their resume to make sure it is a strong document,” Hansen said. “We also have a library of resources to research companies.”
The career library includes information about employers nationwide. This information is submitted by the employers to give students an idea of what the company does. “Some will decide to apply or not to apply with the company based on what they find in the career library,” Hansen said.
The Career Placement Center also does firesides and presentations to local wards, stakes, Parent Teacher Associations and schools, to encourage students to begin thinking about what they want in a job, Hawkins said.
The Reading and Writing Center is another valuable resource available to students.
Divided into two categories, the center is designed to help students in their reading and writing assignments.
The Writing Center assists students with either the composition or refinement of their papers, whereas the Reading Center focuses on helping students before they sit down to write a paper
The Reading Center can be a great resource before students even write the paper, particularly on assignments that ask them to evaluate a text, said Nancy Christianson, coordinator for the Reading Center.
“We find that students know how to write, but often what is wrong with their papers is that they have not evaluated the text efficiently. The Reading Center is a great resource to help students in the early part of the writing process,” Christianson said.
“Individuals can stop by for help on any assignment in any class,” Christianson said.
Kristina Potter, secretary for the Writing Center, said, “Basically we are a place where tutors will sit down and have a half-hour tutorial with you. They review the content, structure and overall quality of the paper,
Tutors are specially trained to be of assistance to students, Potter said.
The tutors, who are both graduate and undergraduate students, “have done an extensive semester-long internship in order to qualify. They are selected as some of the best writers at the university,” Potter said.
The Reading Center also offers courses on speed reading & reading comprehension, textual analysis and argument evaluation, she said.
“The Reading Center is valuable for a student at any stage of education. In fact often it is the older student that finally recognizes the value of the services offered in the Reading Center,” Christianson said.
Also available through the Reading and Writing Center are exam tutorials for the LSAT, MCAT, GRE and GMAT. They also offer a free computer lab with computer tutors on-hand to assist students, Potter said.
No appointments are necessary to use the Reading Center. However, some students will make an appointment and come back every week once they have found a tutor that they work well with, Christianson said.
The Writing Center requires appointments Tuesday-Friday. It is open to walk-ins Monday and Saturday.
The Reading and Writing Center is located in 1010 JKHB.
