It's time to begin your climb

Some see an uphill climb as a sign of struggle. Here, we see it as a sign of strength. People who can see past the easy path know how to get the job done. They answer “you can’t” with “watch me.” They work harder. Make more with what they have. And take every challenge as a new way forward.

Bloomsburg sees this and unleashes it. We see hustle as business sense. Persistence as rigor. Grit as mental toughness. Heart as emotional intelligence. Work ethic as a prerequisite for success. If you’ve got a forward focus and the spirit to back it up, BU is your place. Your onward and upward await!

Designed to help students learn, understand, and appreciate the rich cultural heritage of people of African descent, the Sankofa Conference promotes unity and understanding and is a forum for discussion and learning. This year’s conference features a series of virtual workshops, highlighted by the Keynote address on Wednesday, Feb. 24, entitled “Black in America,” a conversation with minister, activist, and scholar Nyle Fort as well as the family George Floyd.

Bloomsburg University is hosting a virtual event, “A Taste of the Arts,” to showcase the visual, musical, theatrical, and literary work of students. It will be held on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday, March 4 to 6, at 7 p.m. This event will be available on the Arts in Bloom Facebook page and YouTube channel. In addition, the media and journalism department will screen student-produced short films. This is an interactive event where viewers can participate in the comment sections.

Despite many COVID-19 pandemic-related fundraising challenges, BU alumni and donors answered the call to assist students in their time of need. The response helped create opportunities and alleviate financial stress for students. In addition to regular fundraising efforts, these challenges sparked the Strengthen the Pack Campaign for emergency student aid, which raised more than $105,000 from 241 donors.

Continuing a pledge to bring diversity, equity and inclusion to the forefront of the campus community, Bloomsburg University President Bashar Hanna along with Chad Dion Lassiter, executive director of the Pennsylvania Human Relations Commission recently hosted an “Evening Conversation on Equity, Inclusion and Becoming a Better BU.”

Juliette Gudknecht is an analytical type who likes to solve problems. Majoring in physics was an obvious and fitting choice for her at Bloomsburg University. Then she discovered how mathematics could be used to solve real-world problems. And her sights were set. “I took one computer science class and fell in love with programming. I’ve always been fascinated with science, specifically astronomy.”

A remote sensing geography class played a key role in the conservation of a 14-acre southern Florida forest home to protected wildlife that’s been fending off urban and commercial development for the past 60 years. The residents’ plea to save Nickels Forest was aided by the proposed data analysis of area satellite imagery by Bloomsburg students this past fall for their Remote Sensing of the Environment class.