Idaho State University Continuing Education and Workforce Training hosts an annual Emergency Medicine Conference (EMC) each year. The purpose of the conference is to provide contact hours for our local and regional first responders.

New Year’s Resolutions have been a tradition dating back centuries. From what I could find in the very short amount of time I scoured the internet, the practice dates back to the ancient Babylonians and Romans. If you would like to read up on the history of New Year’s Resolutions you can do so, at the same place I did, here.

2023 flew by. This year has sailed past me faster than any I can remember. It is beyond me that the year is a few days shy of being complete. One of the best parts of this time of year, for me personally, is receiving cards from loved ones with year-end letters in them. 

I love reading about people’s reflections on the year gone by. These letters serve not just as a reminder of the milestones you may have missed in your loved one’s lives, but also as a reminder to look back at your own year. 

Below is a list of topics I like to reflect on.

I am not a fan of turkey. It's ok...but I much prefer ham for holiday meals. Growing up, though, we always had turkey for Thanksgiving. While I didn't much care for a slice of the 20 lb bird, I did love what my mother and grandmother did with the leftover meat. They turned it into turkey fricassee, which I love.

My family is not big on keeping recipes secret so below you can follow the recipe we used growing up. 

Idaho State University’s 2023 Homecoming is slated for next week. The amicable weather, in our high-mountain desert town, this time of the year makes for a perfect backdrop for the planned festivities. Homecoming runs from September 18-23 with a plethora of activities for students, staff, faculty, and the community. 

Many of us have seen the purple “Kind Community” signs all over town. This time of year they pop up on street corners and banners throughout the community. For those of you unfamiliar with Kind Week, you’re in luck! This blog aims to get you in the know. 

I am in the throws of trying to re-landscape my yard. This was not a project I necessarily took on by choice. My yard had become infested with weeds and after a few summers of trying to rid my yard of them, I gave up and dug everything up. 

As fall approaches and winter looms around the corner I find myself in a race against time. I have so much to do to prepare my lawn (and home) for winter. Below are a few tips of things to make sure you don’t forget to take care of before winter begins. 

National Mental Health Awareness Week is October 1-7, 2023. Idaho State University’s Continuing  Education and Workforce Training will host Mental Health Awareness Week events on October 2-5, 2023 with Best, LLC hosting events on October 6 & 7. 

ISU Continuing Education and Workforce Training classes are free to attend. This year’s courses feature a selection of professional guest speakers from our area. Topics include Food, Insecurity and Mental Health, It’s OK Not to be Ok, and PTSD in Veterans. 

Last week we wrote about campus resources for current and incoming students. This week, let’s focus on the fun! ISU has many, many activities for students, staff, faculty, and the community. Below are some upcoming fall activities.

This past Monday summer hours for ISU’s staff ended. For those not “in the know” summer hours are midfield working hours during the summer semester. Summer hours see us working from 7:30 am-4:00 pm with a half-hour lunch. The schedule change to the traditional 8:00 am-5:00 pm (with a one-hour lunch break) is a reminder that students will return to campus. 

I look forward to the start of the fall semester. Our building is quiet without the bustle of students who fill our halls and break areas during the school year. In the fall, our student employees return, and with them, their eagerness to learn. 

As we welcome our transfer and freshman students to campus, don’t forget that they may be unfamiliar with resources and clubs on camps.  Below you will find links to a few resources on campus.

Our department covers workforce courses such as apprenticeships, customized training, and health programs. These programs are designed to give students the skills they need to start a new career. Other courses we offer include professional development, culinary, and skills development classes. These classes make up the Continuing Education portion of our offerings. 

Our Continuing Education courses are not designed to move a student into a new career but they can upskill a student's resume. Courses such as our Excel and Quickbooks classes are valuable upskilling offerings.

As you may be aware, our Fall 2023 Catalog is hitting mailboxes soon and is up online now. If you are interested in changing careers, we encourage you to enroll in one of our programs or reach out to us directly. 

For those interested in taking one of our Continuing Education classes, I have listed some of the benefits of lifelong learning below.

I was 24 years old when I traveled outside of my home country for the first time. On a whim, I decided to travel to Europe with another young woman, a girl I barely knew—mutual friends, studying abroad in Malta was the catalyst for our decision to book a flight to Europe (and visit them along the way). 

Europe was the first continent I got to scratch off of the map. It was this trip that spurred my love of travel and although it has been almost 20 years since I stepped on the plane that carried me there, it remains the trip that brings about the most sensory memory to me when I think back on it. Sometimes I can still smell the hint of perfume that lingered in the air, hear the rush of the small cars, trains, and Vespas as they moved past, and feel the Vencian air. Out of the three countries we visited, Italy remains the most vivid in my memory. 

There's something magical about venturing into the great outdoors and experiencing the awe-inspiring beauty of national parks. This June, I took  my 10-year-old brother and a friend to Yellowstone National Park, the USA's first national park, just a stone's throw away from our home. Having visited the park as a child and young adult, I wanted to introduce my brother and our friend to the park's breathtaking landscapes, abundant wildlife, and unique geological features. 

Southeast Idaho Farmer’s Market and Community Events

Southeast Idaho’s summers are quintessential; they are hot, dry, sunny, and filled with outdoor activities. Those of us who live here are lucky. Abundant trail systems, lakes and reservoirs, world-class fishing spots, and endless stretches of public land are right out our backdoors. (Literally, out our back doors) I can walk to trailheads in Pocatello’s trail system from my house and I live smack dab in the middle of town. The outdoor activities in Southeast Idaho span far beyond the trails and waterways. 

Summer Camps for Kids

Summer is finally on its way. After a long and snowy winter, we are all ready for the sun and the fun that goes with it. Soon, children will be out of school and enjoying their well-deserved break.  Our young citizens will fill their summer with friends and family, outdoor activities, vacations, and summer camps.

The Benefits of Pollinator Gardens

Most of us are familiar with the benefits of bees. These little pollinators are responsible for helping produce 1 in every 3 bites of food we take. The economic benefit of bees is massive; bees contribute to the production of over $15 billion worth of crops each year.  Sadly, 1 in 4 species of bees is at risk of extinction. Mitigating the risk of extinction seems overwhelming and complicated but there are easy ways we can help; by planting a pollinator garden. 

CEWT Summer Classes

Now Open for Registration

It is that time of year again, the time of year when campus becomes quieter.  Gone is the chatter of students and they clammer in the building early morning. The halls and gathering areas sit empty for the summer months. Staff and faculty will temporarily disappear during the summer vacations. And a staff favorite by far, summer hours have started. While the quietness of campus masks the flurry of activity happening in the departments and colleges that makeup ISU. 

Join us for this free event and hear professionals speak on mental health issues in our community. Get informed about local mental health resources. Register: cetrain.isu.edu/mha/

Labor Day was established in 1894 to recognize the American Labor Movement. Celebrated on the first Monday in September, it creates a 3-day weekend for many Americans. Labor Day is celebrated with BBQs, picnics, camping trips, and many other activities. For those of us in Southeast Idaho, Labor Day activities may include a trip to the Eastern Idaho State Fair. For those of you who may not have a weekend full of activities planned, a list of Labor Day activities in S.E Idaho is below.

The POW/MIA flag serves as a remembrance of US missing and captive service members. The flag has become synonymous with American missing service members from conflicts and wars, especially the Vietnam War. While many of us may know the symbol, we may not know the history of the flag.

This is CEWT’s third post and second blog post in our Games Series. Our last blog post focused on the history of games. This week’s blog will focus on the ‘why’ of playing games. But first, I want to give our readers a bit of context on our ‘why’. Why is a continuing education and workforce training program writing about games? This answer is simple…and maybe a bit complicated. 

The simple part is much easier to explain so let's start there. We are writing about games because of the people who work here, and because it does relate to our work but we’ll visit that later on in this article. For now, let’s focus on CEWT’s employees.

Games have been around for over a millennium. This issue of the CEWT blog will focus on the evolution of games.

The oldest playable board game in the world, The Royal Game of Ur, dates back 4,600 years. Its gameplay rules were found written on a cuneiform tablet (dating to 177 BC) and deciphered by curator Irving Finkel. While The Royal Game of Ur is the oldest playable board game known to man, it is not the oldest game in existence. The gameplay rules of many ancient games are lost to history. We know the games exist, we just don’t know how to play them. Senet, a game dating back to 3,100 B.C is one of the earliest known games1. A favorite of King Tut and Queen Nefertari, Senet rules do exist for modern play, but the rules are reconstructed and many variations exist2. It should be noted that royalty’s love of games was not limited to the Egyptians.