Cougar Commons Update: Events, Fiberoptics Installation Successful

The Jan. 22 professional headshot session drew good traffic to the Cougar Commons. Photo by Erica England.

WSU Libraries’ new academic support center, the Cougar Commons saw a brisk start of the year with two events and major construction work to reconfigure networking and power in Terrell Library.

A professional headshot session with Robert Hubner from WSU Photo Services, held on Jan. 22 and cosponsored with the WSU Academic Success and Career Center (ASCC), drew a great turnout, according to Erica England, WSU Libraries’ first-year experience librarian and the Cougar Commons coordinator. Organizers recorded 149 check-ins; of the undergraduates who participated, the majority were seniors (29%) followed by juniors (25%). In addition, 24% of check-ins were graduate students, with 7% faculty, staff, and/or alumni.

Students responded favorably, with one saying, “I am glad that I attended the professional headshots event. I love my pictures. Thank you for organizing and taking pictures.” Another commented, “This is an awesome event and very helpful for students; please keep doing it…also the library is a great central location, so please keep that as well, and also the time slots were nice.”

WSU students workshopped their résumés with industry representatives from seven companies and institutions during the Feb. 9 Résumé Café in Cougar Commons. Photo by Erica England.

The second Résumé Café on Feb. 9, also cosponsored by ASCC, followed on that success, where students workshopped their résumés with industry representatives before the spring WSU Career Expo the following day.

In all, 73 students—from first year to doctoral—attended the event to meet with employees from Catholic Community Services of Western Washington, Enterprise Mobility, Fast Enterprises, Fisher Investments, Idaho National Laboratory, Techtronic Industries, and Naval Undersea Warfare Center Keyport Division.

One more Cougar Commons event, a therapy dog visit, is planned from 11 a.m.-1 p.m. on Wednesday, April 15. The pup stress relief is part of National Student Employment Week.

Construction and electrical contractors began drilling the core of where ethernet and power would be routed on Feb. 24 in front of the Ask Us! desk, working in the early-morning hours before Terrell Library opened to minimize disruption during higher traffic hours, said Alex Merrill, the libraries’ associate dean for technology and operations. The new fiberoptic and electrical arrangement meets code that requires receptacles to be flush to the floor.

Library staff members met with furniture vendors/designers on March 5 to help visualize and realize the Cougar Commons’ physical space.

“Once we have the designs and furniture images, they will be shared so we can gather feedback from the WSU Pullman community as well as the broader Pullman library community,” Merrill said.

In partnership with ASCC and the WSU Undergraduate Writing Center, the Cougar Commons is available to all WSU students, offering drop-in research help, by-appointment tutoring, and drop-in writing consultations. To learn more, visit the website or email England.