Bloomsburg University presents “Conversations for the Common Good,” taking place on Tuesday, Oct. 16, at 7 p.m. in Carver Hall, Kenneth S. Gross Auditorium. “Conversations” is a civil discourse, civic engagement, and interdisciplinary event to promote dialogue that unites and bridges political and social divides featuring keynote speakers Lata Nott, Dave Janoski, Kara Schultz, and Joar Dahn. Event co-sponsor, WVIA-TV, will record the event for broadcast at a later date.

The First Amendment of the United States Constitution protects the right to freedom of religion and freedom of expression from government interference. It prohibits any laws that establish a national religion, impede the free exercise of religion, abridge the freedom of speech, infringe upon the freedom of the press, interfere with the right to peaceably assemble, or prohibit citizens from petitioning for a governmental redress of grievances. It was adopted into the Bill of Rights in 1791.

Moving to a city as large and fast-paced as Washington, D.C., for a semester can be a huge leap for any college student but for Deanna Campion, it was a welcomed challenge. Campion, a senior dual political science and communication studies major, is interning with the Coalition for Juvenile Justice this fall through The Washington Center — a nonprofit organization affiliated with Bloomsburg University that provides immersive internships and academic seminars in Washington, D.C.

“I chose this internship, because their views on social justice issues align closely with mine,” Campion said of the coalition, which works to prevent juveniles from becoming involved in the courts and upholding the highest standards of care when they to enter the justice system. “I would be proud to work for an organization that fights for people who may not be able to do so on their own.”

Walk the halls of Keystone Automotive in Exeter and there is a good chance you’ll bump into a Bloomsburg University graduate or a current student. That’s because just in the past year 12 students have landed internships and full-time jobs with Keystone Automotive. Adam Schultz, a 2016 graduate and data analyst for the company, is in charge of the warehouse internship program. “We mainly recruit supply chain students but are open to all business students.” Schultz says, “It’s very flexible. We’re looking for students who want to be leaders, are ambitious, and self-starting.”

Keystone Automotive offers a full-time internship experience in the summer and winter for students. These individuals get the opportunity to experience various aspects of the warehouse management including inventory control, human resources, report creation and many more.

Elayne Che is ready for her “Lizzie McGuire” moment. The junior Bloomsburg University psychology major is also set to see the world. Well, first it will be Europe this fall while studying abroad at the University of Essex in England.

“I was scared at first but glad I’m finally doing it,” said Che, also a Board of Governors scholar and orientation workshop leader. “I want to see the world, and the opportunity has presented itself.”

Che is joining three other BU students this fall in England taking college classes and exploring different parts of Europe to include Germany, Italy and Spain. Specifically, she plans to continue work on her Spanish minor, study sociology, race and gender, as well as possibly a course in trauma in groups and organizations.

Emily Bruno, M.Ed. ’19, a student in the College Student Affairs graduate program, will present an educational session at the annual conference of the Mid-Atlantic Association of College and University Housing Officers in Erie.

“Summer Bridge Programs: Connecting Foster Youth to Higher Education” will provide information about BU’s Anchor Program, which engages youth, ages 15 to 18, involved in the Pennsylvania foster care system in a week-long summer residential college life experience on the Bloomsburg campus. Bruno will highlight the key concepts in a summer bridge program for foster youth and explore the success rates of students attending these types of programs.

An internship with PPL Electric Utilities opened the eyes of Bloomsburg University ITM senior to alternate career opportunities and helped her prepare for the semester ahead. For Laura Bruaw, summer mornings kicked off at sunrise in PPL's IT department helping users with technical issues involving Office 365 — monitoring emails, calls, a Teams site where users can report issues and met with the Office 365 team to receive updates on the status of upgrading users from Office 2010 to Office 365.

“I feel like I grew so much professionally over the course of this internship, which will definitely help me in the future,” she said. “At first, I was uncomfortable in the corporate environment, but I now feel as though I am more confident, especially in my business communication skills which will be helpful no matter where I go from here.”

Two former Chinese majors have discovering professional opportunities related to their previous study abroad experiences in the Far East. Ann Cimera and Ashabria Mangum have landed teaching positions, one at English First International Company and the other a language teacher at a high school. The alumnae express how crucial it is to have a Chinese background.

Whether it’s living in China or traveling, Chinese is everywhere and there is a time when you will need it, they said. Going through culture shock and having that background makes the life after college simpler.

Starting a new career in China was nervous for both of them but when they started their jobs they felt relieved thanks to the help from BU’s Chinese program. Studying Chinese helped them get into something they never had thought of before!