Pathways FAQ
You can see all the Pathways, Skillsets, and Items on DragonCentral.
Video Tutorials:
1. On Your Own Items – learn how to find items that you can complete whenever, wherever and get credit for them
2. Download your Involvement Report – get a list of all the things you’ve done
What’s a Pathway?
Pathways is a program on DragonCentral. We created five different Student Life Pathways just for you! They’re designed to help you get involved in MSUM and build skills over the years. You are not required to participate, but you’ve probably checked off a few items without realizing it! Pathways helps you keep track of what you’ve participated in MSUM.
The Pathways are
• Community Life – getting connected and involved as a Dragon
• Professional Success – developing skills to land that internship or job
• Equity & Inclusion – building knowledge and skills to engage with others
• Contribution & Influence – understanding yourself and how you show up
• Personal Wellness – understanding and using tools to help your mental and physical health.
Each Pathway has three to five smaller skill areas within it. It may help to think of each Pathway as a room with four walls. Each wall is a different skill area with tasks to complete. These tasks are like the bricks that make up the wall! Each time you complete an activity or attend an event, you’re building up your skills.
For example, the Personal Wellness path contains skill areas such as Physical Wellness and Academic Wellness. To build up your Physical Wellness skill area, you can join a club sport or participate in intramurals. You can also watch short videos covering topics like nutrition and alcohol abuse.
Our goal is to help you build that skill through time. You complete a Pathway by attending scheduled events or watching short videos on your own time! Completing an item may include going to an event or attending a workshop – these items will automatically get checked off for you through DragonCentral, you don’t need to keep track. That’s what Pathways is for!
The ultimate goal is to help you identify the skills you’ve built. This way, you can add them to your resume or feel confident sharing what you know in a job or grad school interview one day!
What’s in it for me?
Each Pathway has unique learning experiences to build skills that’ll help you now at MSUM and in the future. By going through each one, you’ll have the fullest campus experience. You’ll be able to find bullet points for your resume. You can also use it to make sure you get the most out of your MSUM experience. And, you know, the obvious: Prizes!!
Where do I go to track my progress? Where do I find the Pathways?
The Student Life Pathways are all on DragonCentral (where else, right!?). Just sign in with your star ID and password. Then you can scroll down to find them right above “Campus Links” or use the menu in the top right with your profile image to get to Paths. After you navigate to your paths, click on one and see what progress you’ve made and what other experiences you can have. Chances are, you’ve checked a few items off a path without even realizing it. Even activities like attending Homecoming count towards Pathways.
Is it all just attending events?
Nope! There are plenty of items you can do On Your Own. We intentionally planned the Pathways so it’s not all just events you have to go to. We know that your schedules are packed with classes, studying, jobs, and more – so take a look at the items you can complete on your own time! These independent activities include everything from watching a few short videos to setting up a LinkedIn.
I’m a senior. How does this apply to me?
If you’ve been involved on campus, you will probably see some items in the different skill areas of a Pathway already marked as complete. The Pathways are a great way to think about the skills you’ve built and what you’ve learned through your involvement – and you can use that info to polish up your resume or when you’re prepping to interview for your dream job.
If you have questions on getting credit for previous experiences, please contact the Office of Student Activities.
Tell me about the prizes.
Prizes will be dependent on the Pathway you’ve completed and we’re developing a “menu” of prizes for the winner to choose from. For one person, it might be Dragon Gear. For another, it might be a ticket to a community event. Most prizes are about $100-$150 in value.
Checking off all the items in a skillset will enter you into a prize drawing! For example, if you complete every activity in the Campus Traditions tab of the Community Life tab, you will be entered into a drawing!
Once you complete all the skills in one of the five pathways, you’ll be put into a mega-drawing for a prize that’s valued around $250. (Get excited!)
If I completed one of these before this year, is there a way I can mark this as complete?
Probably. Some things – like going to a Homecoming Event as part of the Campus Traditions – are easy to get marked off if you did them prior to this year. Other items will be considered on a case-by-case basis. If you have questions, please contact the Office of Student Activities.
Can I apply it to my student organization?
If your organization is planning an event that you believe would meet the goals of a certain Pathway, you can contact the Office of Student Activities to chat about if it would fit the criteria.
Can I only participate in the events listed?
There are plenty of things happening at MSUM, so we want you to do the things that you’re excited about! If you’ve been to an event or had an experience that you think may meet the criteria to complete an item, you can contact the Office of Student Activities to chat about it.
Does my progress roll over into the next semester / year?
Yep! You can work on your Pathways your entire college career and DragonCentral will keep track of all your progress. If you start a Pathway the first semester of your Freshman year, you can finish it your last semester of your senior year (and still get your name put in a prize drawing!).
When can I get started?
Like we said, you already have! Get out there and finish it! We’ll be waiting for you at the end with prizes in hand.
Have questions we didn’t think of? Contact the Office of Student Activities to get your answer.