Bloomsburg, a Commonwealth University

Eyeing a fast-paced, interactive marketing internship this summer, Bloomsburg University student Damian Arizini had his career focus lined up just right to kick off his senior of college. Then the COVID-19 pandemic took over. As a result, his internship with beMarketing in Philadelphia became virtual. Arizini adjusted his focus and recalibrated his motivation.

Bloomsburg University students and alumni participated in a virtual networking event on September 10, 2020, entitled: Our World Runs on DATA: An Insider's Guide to IT Careers. Those in attendance heard from leading experts in the field, networked with IT professionals and students interested in the IT industry, and explored career options in Informational Technology such as big data, cloud computing, blockchain, and more. The event, originally scheduled for April 2020 in Philadelphia, was free and open to all Bloomsburg University students, alumni, faculty, and staff members. Keynote Speakers were JD Hannick, global vice president of data at Foot Locker, and Niresh Agarwal, senior director of data science at VMWare.

Bloomsburg University of Pennsylvania recently held its Alpha Alpha Alpha (Tri-Alpha) Honor Society induction ceremony. In all, 56 students were recognized with induction into the honor society that promotes academic excellence, leadership development, and campus and community service for first-generation college students. Induction into Tri-Alpha is earned by outstanding academic achievement and lasts for a lifetime. The Society's mission is to encourage and reward academic excellence among first-generation college students pursuing a bachelor's degree in accredited institutions of higher learning.

Three Bloomsburg University of Pennsylvania students in the B.S. Chemistry - Biochemistry option passed the national American Society for Biochemistry and Biochemistry Molecular Biology (ASBMB) Accreditation Exam. Stepan Budkin, Tara Full, and Jason Stone were among 926 students nationwide that took the rigorous exam in spring 2020 and among the 40.4% (374 students) who passed. Additionally, Stone was awarded certification with distinction for extraordinary success on the exam. Including this year's cohort, nine total BU students have earned the national certification recognition and three have earned high distinction. Bloomsburg's 50% certification rate exceeds the national average of 43.8%.

A total of 81 Bloomsburg University student-athletes have been recognized by the Division II Athletic Directors Association (D2 ADA) with Academic Achievement Awards for the 2019-20 academic year. The 81 recipients were 20 more than last year's total of 61 and were just one shy of the school-record 82 student-athletes that earned the honor during the 2016-17 academic year. To be eligible a student-athlete to receive an Academic Achievement Award, the athletics director of the Division II institution must be a current dues-paying member of the DII ADA. The student-athlete must also have a cumulative grade point average of 3.5 or higher, have attended a minimum of two years of college level work, and have been an active member of an intercollegiate team during his/her last academic year.

Bloomsburg University of Pennsylvania congratulates the nearly 1,100 students who received their academic degrees on Aug. 8, 2020 in a virtual ceremony. The overall grade point average necessary for honors distinction is: cum laude (with distinction) 3.5 - 3.74 overall average; magna cum laude (with great distinction) 3.75 - 3.94 overall average and summa cum laude (with highest distinction) 3.95 - 4.0 overall average.

A school-record total of 208 Bloomsburg University student-athletes have been recognized as Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Scholar-Athletes for the 2019-20 academic year. The 208 Huskies join a PSAC-record 3,762 student-athletes from the league's 18 institutions being named to the list. The 3,762 scholar-athlete total marks 50% of the student-athlete population across the conference. Both of those numbers shatter previous records of 3,117 and 43%, respectively, set one year ago. The league has now registered at least a 30% rate for 12 straight years. The total number of honorees has increased each year since the 2006-07 academic year. Bloomsburg's 208 student-athletes easily surpasses the school's previous high of 164 established last academic year and was tied for seventh-highest among the 18 league institutions. In order to earn PSAC Scholar-Athlete recognition, each student-athlete must have maintained a minimum GPA of 3.25 throughout the year. For a complete list of honorees go to https://buhuskies.com/news/2020/6/22/general-bloomsburg-has-school-record-208-individuals-earn-psac-scholar-athlete-accolades.aspx

The Bloomsburg University of Pennsylvania College of Education recognized its Outstanding Seniors in each of its undergraduate for the 2019-20 academic year. From the Deaf and Hard of Hearing of Education program Julia Krueger was recognized, while from American Sign Language/English Interpreting Kate Andres was named the top senior. In Special Education Abigail Potter is the top senior, while in early childhood education Joseph Kline was recognized. From middle level education Taylor Prehotsky was named the top senior, while Brett Budwash from secondary education was named the top senior.

Bloomsburg University of Pennsylvania congratulates the more than 2,850 students who were named to the Spring 2020 Dean's List. A full-time student whose semester GPA is 3.5 or higher in 12 or more semester hours of course work for which a grade or grades are received are named to the Dean's List.

The Bloomsburg University of Pennsylvania Department of Psychology virtually inducted 10 new members into Psi Chi, the International Honor Society in Psychology. To be eligible for membership in Psi Chi, a student has to be majoring in psychology, have completed 36 credit hours, have a "B" or higher in PSYCH 281, and completed PSYCH 282. In addition, students need to hold a 3.2 or higher overall GPA and a 3.5 or higher GPA in psychology.

Bloomsburg University of Pennsylvania senior art students have their work featured in an online exhibit at http://bucapstonecourse.com/index.html The student artists were in the department's capstone class taught by Ron Lambert, assistant professor of art and art history, specializing in sculpture and video. The website was created by James Dunlap, assistant professor of art and art history, specializing in graphic and web design and illustration.

The Bloomsburg University of Pennsylvania Department of Political Science has named the winners of its awards for the end of the academic year. Noah Roux and Catherine Jones were named co-winners of the Gloria Cohen-Dion Service Award. Roux was also named winner of the department's Forensics Award. Blair Johnston was named the winner of the Outstanding Political Science Student Award.

The Bloomsburg University Department of Psychology named it Distinguished Students and Ellen Barker Memorial Scholarship winner for 2019-20. Dominic Pinto and Giovanna Fracalossi were named the distinguished students in psychology, while Samantha Carney was named the Barker Memorial Scholarship winner.

The Bloomsburg University Department of Sociology, Social Work, and Criminal Justice named its 2019-20 award winners.

The Bloomsburg University of Pennsylvania Xi Omega chapter of Lambda Pi Eta, the National Communication Honor Society, inducts communication studies majors and minors each year based on their academic achievements. Despite the postponement of the 2019-20 induction ceremony until next year, the chapter welcomed 24 new students.

The Bloomsburg University of Pennsylvania Department of Philosophy has named Keira Frazier of Bloomsburg the 2020 winner of the Carlough Award for the outstanding graduating senior. The award, presented annually for over a quarter century, is named for William Carlough, former chair of the BU philosophy department. The winner of the award is based on a vote of all philosophy faculty, a student's GPA in philosophy and overall GPA as well as the faculty's judgement of the student's achievements and ability. Frazier will attend Penn State Law School in University Park on a full scholarship.

The Bloomsburg University of Pennsylvania Department of Communication Studies has named Geara Leigh Catania the 2020 Student of the Year.

Bloomsburg University of Pennsylvania has announced seven new performance-based scholarships that are funded from the Joan and Fred Miller Distinguished Professor Award. The Millers created the Distinguished Professor Award to support students' pursuit of academic work that is outstanding in quality, socially responsible, and personally meaningful. The faculty recipient of the Distinguished Professor Award, Mary Katherine Waibel-Duncan, professor of psychology, worked with BU's Office of Access and Success to establish the Hike! and Line Out! performance-based scholarships.

The Bloomsburg University of Pennsylvania Department of Languages and Cultures named the winners of its outstanding achievement awards in foreign languages for 2019-20. The outstanding achievement award in foreign language goes to a graduating senior in each language who has excelled in the major and in all work at the university; has successfully participated in extra-curricular activities, and is recommended by the majority of faculty in the major language track. The recipients are: Arabic: Laura Comstock French: Abbygail Hill German: Abbygail Hill Russian and Eastern European Studies: Ian Birdwell and Adelina Sacouto Spanish: Abigail Culver and Ayalibis Cruz The awards were to be presented at an end-of-semester awards ceremony that was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Bloomsburg University of Pennsylvania Department of Music, Theatre, and Dance named its senior award winners for its music division. "All three students are very deserving of the recognition. Each of them contributed to the department in their own unique way. We will miss them," said Stephen Clickard, chair of the BU division of music. Randy Baxendale of Nazareth, Pa. was named the outstanding senior in the music liberal arts track major. In his time at BU, Baxendale has been the leader of the trumpet section of the BU marching band, wind ensemble, concert band, and jazz ensemble. He toured with the jazz ensemble through Germany and the Czech Republic in May of 2018. Baxendale has been accepted into the graduate degree program in trumpet performance at Penn State University to earn his master's degree in music performance. Earning the outstanding student senior award for the music audio recording track was Elizabeth Heimbach of Mechanicsburg, Pa. At BU, she performed with the wind ensemble, the marching band, and concert band and also served as a member of the performing arts facilities staff. She interned with Klock Entertainment and was offered a part-time job as media director with them in the Fall of 2019, before graduating. After graduation in December, she was promoted to the full-time position of director of events. Lexi Holtzman of Duboistown, Pa. is the recipient of the outstanding student senior award for the music education track. An active member of the Bloomsburg University collegiate chapter of the National Association for Music Education, she served the chapter as the vice president and regularly attended state and national conferences. In the spring of 2019, Holtzman joined a select group of music education students who presented on popular music pedagogy in higher education at the bi-annual National Association for Music Education (NAfME) Eastern Division Conference. In addition to serving the Bloomsburg NAfME chapter, she was also president of the University Women's Chorale and co-conductor of the student-run acapella group "The Leading Tones."

Bloomsburg University of Pennsylvania senior Brittany Zipovsky placed in the top 16 at the National Collegiate Sales Competition (NCSC), held virtually due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The competition was originally to be held in Georgia.

Two Bloomsburg University of Pennsylvania graduate students, Casey Roberts and Sara Wiberg, enrolled in the College Student Affairs (CSA) program, attended the MidAtlantic Placement Conference (MAP-C) in February. The two-day conference, sponsored by the Mid Atlantic Association of College and University Housing Officers, a regional association for residence life/housing staff, which includes Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Delaware, West Virginia, Maryland, and Washington, D.C. The event brought together college and university employers who have vacancies in residence life departments with candidates/job seekers.

Nearly 200 students from Bloomsburg University recently completed academic internships during the 2019 fall and winter sessions. A for-credit, academic internship must meet certain requirements set by academic departments and includes a formal agreement between the university and the internship site. Students work with a site supervisor and faculty advisor throughout the internship, gaining hands-on learning and practical experience for their future career.

Bloomsburg University honored 147 student-athletes as 2019-20 Bloomsburg University Scholar-Athletes. A luncheon honoring their achievements was held Wednesday, Mar. 4, in the Kehr Union ballroom on campus. The student-athletes honored achieved a grade point average of 3.25 or higher over the past two semesters and/or have a cumulative grade point average of 3.25 or higher and were at least a sophomore academically. In addition to the 147 student-athletes, 45 freshman or transfer students were also honored for achieving a 3.25 GPA in their first semester on campus.

Nearly 50 Bloomsburg University students participated in the intense professional development program at the Greenly Center in downtown Bloomsburg from February 28-March 1, 2020. During the two-and-a-half-day Career Intensive Boot Camp (CIBC), students learned the "soft skills" of professionalism through team building and personal branding exercises, alumni panels and employer presentations, as well as a networking lunch and etiquette dinner. Topics include everything from navigating career paths and company culture to money management, student loan repayment, and job searching. Students also had the opportunity to have their resume and cover letter reviewed and practice their interview skills in person, over the phone, or virtually. Students also got comfortable with professional networking.

The Bloomsburg University Forensics Team won the Collegiate Forensic Association's (CFA) 2019-20 Welch-Strine Cup Championship Sweepstakes Award at the CFA Beach Tournament on March 6-7 in Ocean City Md. The award recognizes the Collegiate Forensic Association's most accomplished speech and debate team for the 2019-20 academic year. This is the first time BU has won the prestigious award since its inception in 2005. The Welch-Strine Cup is named for two of the four founders of the Collegiate Forensic Association, Robert Welch, professor emeritus at Fitchburg (Mass.) State University and Harry C. Strine III, professor emeritus at Bloomsburg University. The late Clarence Johnson, professor emeritus of New Jersey Institute of Technology, and the late Warren Gasink, professor emeritus at East Stroudsburg University, were the other founders of CFA. The Collegiate Forensic Association was founded in 1969 for the purpose of providing a forum for forensic competition to institutions with small budgets and has an educational focus. The results for the Welch-Strine Cup and "Year-Long" awards are calculated from the performances from the students' and universities' top four of seven CFA tournaments in 2019-20. In addition to winning the overall CFA Team Championship, six BU students won both "Year-Long" and "Runner-Up Year-Long" Awards for being the best speaker in their particular event for the 2019-20 year. It's the most BU students ever recognized by CFA for year-long awards. Additionally, BU won the second place Sweepstakes Award out of eight schools at the CFA Beach Tournament. Ten out of 15 BU students won a total of 24 speech/debate awards. Notably, Bloomsburg won the first through fifth place in After-Dinner Speaking and won the first, third and fourth place awards in Parliamentary Debate out of a total of 17 Teams at the tournament. BU narrowly lost to Randolph-Macon College in overall tournament sweepstakes, but finished ahead of Florida College, Shepherd University, Hampton University, University of Richmond, Lenoir-Rhyne University, and Lord Fairfax Community College.

Bloomsburg University recently released their 2020-2021 roster of Husky Orientation & Welcome Leaders (H.O.W.Ls.) for the 2021-2022 academic year. Often the first point of contact for incoming students and their families, H.O.W.Ls. are highly trained students who model and assist in a healthy transition to college life for fellow students. H.O.W.Ls. provide campus tours for prospective and new students and their families, facilitate the transition to college for small groups of new students, and serve as reliable sources of university information in an often-overwhelming time in a student's academic career. "H.O.W.Ls. are critical to the smooth transition to college for new students," explained Kristin Austin, Bloomsburg University Assistant Director for New Student and Family Orientation. "They are their 'go to' mentors, leaders, and role models and help with everything from homesickness and roommate adjustment to where to get the best slice of pizza downtown."

Twenty students from Bloomsburg University participated in a Husky Career Road Trip to the Yuengling Brewery in Pottsville, Pa. on Feb. 20, 2020. Students were given a tour of the brewery while learning the 190 year history of the company and met members of the Yuengling family. Students also took part in a presentation on marketing plans and strategies for product launches led by Tyler Simpson, Director of Marketing at D.G. Yuengling & Son, Inc.

Six Bloomsburg University students participated in a Husky Career Road Trip on Saturday, Feb. 8, to the Lonae A. Moore Memorial Forum. It Begins with Each of Us: Fostering Racial Understanding was sponsored by the Dennis Farm Charitable Land Trust and hosted by the Museum of the American Revolution in Philadelphia. The students attended a panel discussion moderated by Reverend Mother Jo Ann B. Jones, Associate Rector at Church of the Redeemer in Bryn Mawr, Pa. Panelists focused on how "journalism, literature, the arts, and mass media shape and perpetuate perceptions of race." They included Dr. Nilgun Anadolu-Okur, Presidential Professor of Africology and African American Studies at Temple University, Lee A. Daniels, a reporter at The Washington Post and New York Times and V.P. of Publications at the National Urban League, Dr. Charles A. Gallagher, Professor of Sociology at La Salle University and Senior Fellow of the Yale Urban Ethnography Project, and Dr. Monique R. Scott, Director of Museum Studies at Bryn Mawr College.

The Bloomsburg University Forensics team won the Second Place Team Sweepstakes award out of nine schools at the annual CFA/Harold Cox Wilkes University Speech and Debate Tournament the weekend of Jan. 31-Feb. 1. BU narrowly lost to St. Joseph's University, a school with a nationally recognized forensics program, by just 1.5 sweepstakes points. BU finished ahead of Shepherd University, George Mason University, James Madison University, the University of Scranton, Wilkes University, Kings College, and Misericordia University. The team will return to Wilkes University during the weekend of Feb. 15-16 for the Pennsylvania Forensic Association's Annual State Championship Tournament.