Communication Day - Dr. LaValley, Ashley, and Dr. Hopeck

In this special live episode of Campus and Character, we take you right into the energy and excitement of Communication Day at Commonwealth University–Bloomsburg—and you can feel it from the very first moment.

Hosted on location, this episode brings together faculty leaders, student voices, and behind-the-scenes insights from one of campus’s most dynamic annual events. Department chair Dr. Angela LaValley kicks things off by sharing the heart behind Communication Day—a celebration of how communication shapes every major, every career, and every relationship. From overcoming the fear of public speaking to preparing students for a rapidly evolving, AI-influenced world, her perspective sets the tone: communication isn’t optional—it’s essential.

Then, the spotlight shifts to students, where the episode really comes alive. Ashley Altman, a driven double major and student leader, shares her journey from switching majors to stepping into leadership roles across multiple organizations. Her story is honest, relatable, and motivating—especially for students still trying to find their place. Her advice? Get involved early, take risks, and don’t wait to grow.

Finally, Dr. Hoek pulls back the curtain on what makes Communication Day so impactful. What started as a student idea has grown into a 14-year tradition powered almost entirely by student initiative. From panels on AI and study abroad to internship prep and relationship research, the event reflects the wide-reaching influence of communication in today’s world.

What ties this episode together is a clear message: leadership starts with connection. Whether it’s in the classroom, on stage, or in everyday conversations, the ability to communicate well opens doors—and builds character along the way.

If you care about leadership, student growth, or simply finding your voice, this episode will leave you inspired and ready to take the next step.

Transcript

Communication Day Interviews

SPEAKER_03 0:00

Welcome back, friends. You're listening to another episode of the Campus in Character Podcast, where we explore leadership stories to inspire growth and connect leaders. I'm your host, Dave McGullis, and I'm with my very special guest and chair of my department, Dr. Angela Lavalle. How are you doing, Dr. LaValley?

SPEAKER_02 0:13

I am doing well.

SPEAKER_03 0:15

We're here at Communication Day. Now, this is a big event on campus. Do you know how long it's been going on?

SPEAKER_02 0:20

I would say well over a decade. I want to say this morning I heard that this is the 14th year of Communication Day, so we have been at this for quite a while.

SPEAKER_03 0:31

I know that I presented at one of the early ones, but I cannot remember the exact year, but I know it had been over a decade for sure. Now, what's this communication day all about? We call it communication day, but what really takes place today? What are we are we celebrating anything? Like why do we have a day for this?

SPEAKER_02 0:45

Well, the goal really is to showcase everything that we can do and that students can do uh being involved with communication, whether that's communication studies, media and journalism, uh, the various uh projects they can work on, career avenues, and all the things that communication skills will help them with in their personal and professional lives. So it's really meant to showcase all things related to communication.

SPEAKER_03 1:13

And communication, believe it or not, touches on every major at this university. I know a lot of people are like, I'm a biology major. Why would I need that course? Because in biology you need to communicate.

SPEAKER_02 1:21

Oh, absolutely. I cannot think of any career where you do not have to interact with people or communication tools in some fashion.

SPEAKER_03 1:30

Aaron Powell One thing I really love about the the communication studies department is that you focus a lot on oral communication and public speaking. Can you tell us a little bit about your public speaking courses?

SPEAKER_02 1:42

Sure. So, you know, public speaking, and I know there's a lot of students out there who, you know, you have to take that class for your major and you don't want to. Uh the the goal really is, uh I tell my students this when I teach public speaking, uh, at the beginning of the semester, I say, you know, I don't expect all of you to walk out of this class saying, I love public speaking, I want to do this every day for the rest of my life. Uh the goal really is to get you in a place where you're comfortable engaging in public speaking. So, you know, in those classes, in your job in the future, when you have to give a speech, you have to give a presentation, you know what to do. You know how to prepare, you know how to deal with the nerves that come with public speaking. Uh, so it's a great class. I've had lots of students, they wait till their junior, senior year to take it, and they say, Wow, I really wish I had taken this as a freshman. It would have made the rest of college so much easier.

SPEAKER_03 2:40

That's an absolutely true story because I had my advisees come in and say, I just took that public speaking course and I really enjoyed it. I didn't think I was gonna like that at all. I don't like speaking in public, but I actually really enjoyed that course. And full disclosure here, when I was an undergraduate, I was the guy in the back of the classroom with my hat down. Don't call on me. I don't want to speak in public. I definitely don't want to get in front of a classroom, and now I do it for a living. So you never know how things are gonna go.

SPEAKER_02 3:03

Oh no, same same way. In in high school, I was terrified, terrified of public speaking. But once you practice it, it's it's a whole lot easier.

SPEAKER_03 3:13

You're exactly right. Once you practice it, it's it's kind of I tell my friends, it's kind of like riding a bike. Absolutely. You know, you get on it, you know, it can be bumpy the first time around, but then you get used to it. The more you do it, and the better you get at it. So I really enjoy that. I wish I would have taken a public speaking course as an undergraduate. I'd probably be better now. And I always say public speaking and an acting course.

SPEAKER_02 3:31

Oh, yeah.

SPEAKER_03 3:32

It doesn't matter what you do, you can do some acting, no matter if you're a professor, if you're a nurse, whatever, doctor. You know, it always helps the have that performance feature. And people really like when you can tell stories and you can act a little bit. So uh the two courses I missed out on that I uh maybe I'll take one of your courses.

SPEAKER_02 3:47

Yeah, you absolutely can.

SPEAKER_03 3:48

How about that? And so do you teach uh any acting too on the side or no?

SPEAKER_02 3:52

I do not, but you know somebody. I I oh yeah, I I know somebody.

SPEAKER_03 3:56

Well, I said earlier you're the chair of the department. Can you tell us a little bit about your role as chair of the huge department now, communication, studies, media, and journalism? Can you tell us what's what's your day-to-day look like?

SPEAKER_02 4:06

So, day-to-day, I mean, I I kind of become the the funnel for all the information going in and out of the department, uh, helping students uh navigate classes that are going to be available. Obviously, their advisors do do most of the heavy lift on that. I schedule the classes for the semester, uh, respond to to student questions, uh help work on recruitment for for the department, which is another thing that that communication day is about. Yeah, you know, getting getting folks to know what communication studies, media, and journalism is and what they can do with it. So so that's really uh a lot of it, kind of being that in-between, uh, between the students and the faculty and the administration.

SPEAKER_03 4:50

Uh that's she's out there everywhere 24 hours a day. I send her emails all the time, and she's getting right back to me, and I'm like, how do you do that? And then these long student emails, they have very uh detailed questions that are multi-step, and you you respond back with so much detail, and I love that about your responses. Um, it's been a great pleasure working with you. What are some goals you might see for maybe the university or the communication studies program? Like, is there something you see like, hey, this this AI thing's coming?

SPEAKER_02 5:18

Oh gosh, yeah.

SPEAKER_03 5:21

Like, is there something that we should be just you know thinking about? It's coming down the road.

SPEAKER_02 5:25

I mean, I think, you know, a AI is the hot topic right now. And I know there's a lot of, you know, pros and cons out there, the the great things that AI can do for us, but also uh some of the concerns about you know people's jobs being taken by AI. And that's a place where you know really having those skills and interacting with other people, you know, s some jobs might become automated by AI. Um not as much the the you know face-to-face people who want the the hands-on interaction. So I think, you know, continued focus on you know human interaction and building those skills uh is is gonna be key. And I think for for the department as a whole, just really letting folks know who we are and and what we do and what they can do if they're involved with any of our programs is is gonna be you know a a real priority for us.

SPEAKER_03 6:28

You're absolutely right. You know, one thing that AI cannot do very well, public speaking.

SPEAKER_02 6:32

Oh no.

SPEAKER_03 6:33

I don't I don't see that at all. Yeah, if you want to throw something into a chat box or a search and look for some just basic information, it's great at that. But public speaking, we're not there yet. I don't know if we'll ever get there, but yeah.

SPEAKER_02 6:45

Uh it's it's an it's an interesting new world out there.

SPEAKER_03 6:48

We're always talking about AI in almost every class we have, though. Whether it's on the media side or the communication studies side, always talking about AI. So we're here at Calm Day, it's part of the National Communication Association Student Club. This has been going on for over a decade. It's a lot of fun, a lot of uh student engagement um with different professionals in the field, faculty, some staff members here presenting as well. Students are fired up about this event. It's only once a year, it's every spring. So if you're missing this year, that's okay. There's another one coming up next spring. And uh they'll be planning it. Look for advertisements. If you're a student on campus, why don't you get involved? Check out the National Communication Association Student Club. Do they meet on Mondays?

SPEAKER_02 7:26

I know they they adjust it as the semester goes, depending on people's schedules, but usually it's uh a once-a-month or or so meeting. They they plan events like this, they do a lot of other professional engagement activities, helping folks look for internships, prepare for for interviews. It's a great group, and you do not have to be a major or a minor in in communication studies or media and journalism to be involved. You have any interest in communication, we would love to see you there.

SPEAKER_03 7:57

And this is open to all students at the university. So come on out and join the group. Um, you can find their information on social media, so go ahead and just search for the National Communication Association Student Club at Bloomsburg, and you'll be able to get in contact with them. Thanks for being our guest. Absolutely. We are here live at Communication Day at the Commonwealth University Bloomsburg campus. We're talking to people who are presenting at Calm Day. We're learning more about what happens here at Calm Day. Stay tuned. We're gonna take a quick break and we'll be right back with more live coverage from Communication Day at Bloomsburg.

Commercial 1

SPEAKER_03 8:32

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Ashley Interview

SPEAKER_03 9:10

Welcome back, friends. You're listening to another episode of the Campus in Character Podcast, where we explore leadership stories to inspire growth and connect leaders. I'm your host, Dr. David McGollis, and we're here live on the campus of Bloomsburg. I'm trying to give everyone the crowd, like, let's cheer a little bit. This is our first live podcast. So, all right, give us some love here. I'm here with a very special guest. And your name is Ashley Altman. Ashley Altman. Ashley, what is your major?

SPEAKER_01 9:32

I'm a media and journalism student as well as a communications study, so I'm a double major.

SPEAKER_03 9:37

Double major. How did you decide on the double major?

SPEAKER_01 9:40

Well, at first I applied to Commonwealth University as an early childhood education student. And then the Friday right before add and drop, I switched to media and journalism because I'm passionate about public relations and digital communication. And then I just added the COM Studies major because, like honestly, I ran out of credits like for the media and journalism major, but I was very passionate about the public speaking class and interpersonal communication.

SPEAKER_03 10:05

So that's a nice thing about how our curriculum is set up. If you plan yourself like really well, you can probably get a double major. Yep. You can certainly get a major and a minor. Um, I know some of you in this room who have I've interviewed have multiple degrees as well, whether it's a major and a minor or a double minor. So that's an exciting thing about being a student here at Bloomsbed. How did you get here? What made you want to come to campus here?

SPEAKER_01 10:27

So when I initially took American Sign Language in high school, I'm from Long Island, New York. My professor, not my professor, sorry, my teacher um went here and she had an admissions representative uh come on a Zoom with us. And I loved, you know, what he was talking about, and I thought the campus is really nice. So I took like an in-person visit, and just when I like first walked in, I like realized that like this was my campus. Like every other campus that I toured, I didn't really like vibe with. This campus was like the one that kind of spoke to me.

SPEAKER_03 10:55

So you went from sign language.

SPEAKER_01 10:57

Yeah. I did a lot of switches.

SPEAKER_03 10:59

To Bloomsbury. I that's an amazing connection. I would never have guessed that. That's that's awesome. So Long Island, it's kind of far away.

SPEAKER_01 11:06

Yep.

SPEAKER_03 11:07

What do you love about Bloomsburg?

SPEAKER_01 11:09

Um, it's very different from Long Island. Like it's very busy, like every street is filled with a store or a bunch of houses. And I kind of like the role part of Pennsylvania, you know, being able to like walk in like an open area and by the lakes and stuff. That's something that Long Island just doesn't have. We have beaches, but it's not the beach, right?

SPEAKER_03 11:27

Yep. And it's not quite beach weather here, and um at least Pennsylvania, it's pretty cold. It's a warm day today, but it's still pretty cold. Actually, are you involved in any student clubs or any organizations?

SPEAKER_01 11:37

Yes, I am the secretary of Lambda Pi Ada, which is the Honors Society, um, the Communication Studies Honors Society on campus, as well. I'm I'm the vice president of PRSSA, which is a media and journalism club.

SPEAKER_03 11:49

So you're in both majors and you have leadership positions and both clubs that deal with the major. That's fantastic. So, what would you like to do when you graduate?

SPEAKER_01 11:58

Um, I'm currently looking for social media or public relation positions. I have been doing a lot of interviews for jobs. Hopefully, one of them gets back to me at some point. But I pretty much have been just going on LinkedIn and applying to a bunch of jobs and handshake like as much as I can. That's what I do in my free time.

SPEAKER_03 12:14

So if you know anyone out there looking for a social media expert, we got one right here. You don't have to look any further. We got one right here. Ashley, um, you can look her up, send her, send her a message on LinkedIn. Are you on LinkedIn? Yep. All right, you can send her a message on LinkedIn. She'd be more than happy to work for $10 million a year. It'll be fine. That's her starting salary, it's no big deal. So uh just joking, just joking. Uh, what made you want to get into a leadership position?

SPEAKER_01 12:35

Um, it always started because in group projects, I was always the designated leader, even when it wasn't assigned. Like everybody just came up to me and asked what was due and when is it due. So then I was like, it can't be that hard to just, you know, accept a leadership position and just have everybody come and ask me what the plans are. And being secretary of Lambda Pie Ada, I get so many emails a day asking the point systems, what's meaning's coming up. So it's kind of nice having that responsibility to communicate to the other members of what's going on.

SPEAKER_03 13:04

That's awesome. Now, what are some projects that you work on in this group?

SPEAKER_01 13:08

Um, with Lambda Pie Ada, so today we're actually doing a panel on being a communication studies major or minor. So that's what I've been working on. With PRSSA, we just uh booked our Panera fundraiser. So we're hoping to get some money from that. And we're currently trying to book a trip to Harrisburg for a PR convention in Mar in April. Wow. So hopefully that works out. But besides that, I've been doing a lot of independent work, just trying to build up my portfolio and stuff like that. Yeah. And I work at marketing and communications with Jamie North in Arts and Admin. So I am gonna be doing headshots later on for um communication day.

SPEAKER_03 13:43

So you are so busy. Yep. Where do you find time to sleep?

SPEAKER_01 13:46

I do not know.

SPEAKER_03 13:47

Wow, that's awesome. I love to see the energy. You know, you're only here for a limited amount of time at the university. So you might as well make the most of it. You might as well get a double major, minors. We also have some minors in the um media and journalism area as well. So you can check out one of those minors, especially if you're a com studies major. If you're a com studies major, you can minor over in the media and journalism side. And if you're a major in media and journalism, you can minor over in the comm studies side. So think about those things because you're just gonna build your resume more and more, which is what you want to do while you're here. Um, I got some rapid fire questions for you, okay? So, first thing that comes to your mind, Ashley, what is one word that describes you?

SPEAKER_01 14:23

Friendly.

SPEAKER_03 14:24

Friendly. I see that all over your face. You have a huge smile on your face right now.

SPEAKER_01 14:28

Thank you.

SPEAKER_03 14:29

What's your favorite thing about Bloomsburg?

SPEAKER_01 14:31

Uh uh the people and my friends. They really make the place. They do. Yep.

SPEAKER_03 14:37

That I just love the community here on campus and even off campus. I I lived in the community for 13 years. I met some wonderful people, lots of lots of lifelong friends. Um, I'd actually consider my best friend to be here at the university. So um, what's your favorite song?

SPEAKER_01 14:53

Oh, I am listening to Table for Two by Megan Moroni. Her new album came out. I'm just obsessed with it, but that's probably my favorite song. I listened to it on the way here.

SPEAKER_03 15:01

Has anyone else heard that song? Anyone in the crowd? No, we got some no's, we got some maybes, no.

SPEAKER_01 15:06

You guys should listen to it. It's very good.

SPEAKER_03 15:08

So we're gonna listen to it later? All right. We'll get actually we can play it on the radio station. It's a good song. Play it on the radio station. How about time? Um, what's your favorite TV show? Or if you have a T. Maybe not TV, maybe it's streaming.

SPEAKER_01 15:19

So currently I'm watching MasterChef Canada, and that is my comfort show. I just love cooking shows, and it's inspiring me to be a better cook. But that's what I'm currently watching, Master Chef Canada.

SPEAKER_03 15:29

So, what do you like to cook? Is there something you really like to cook?

SPEAKER_01 15:31

Um, ramen. Ramen? Microwave ramen, yeah. That's probably my favorite. I know.

SPEAKER_03 15:36

How many of you consider that cooking? Is that cooking? Microwave ramen cooking by a show of hands. Uh yes, I hear some message.

SPEAKER_01 15:41

If you put it in the pot, it's considered cooking. You let the water boil.

SPEAKER_03 15:43

Oh, you have to let the water boil. That's the threshold for cooking. Can you let the water boil? Um, my favorite thing to make banana bread. Oh. With chocolate chips. My kids, my kids love it. I made it last night, actually, and then they they say, I'm having bread for dinner or breakfast. They want to, yeah, I'm having bread for breakfast, Dad. But it has chocolate chips in it. That's that's a dessert. That's not breakfast. That's a dessert. Okay, what's the best professional advice you have ever been given?

SPEAKER_01 16:08

Uh, get involved. As a freshman and sophomore, I was not involved in anything, and then I decided junior year to be involved in everything. And truly, like being in a club freshman year probably would have helped me get out of my comfort zone uh quickly and probably uh have more long-lasting friendships. A lot of my friends that I met in clubs, I met junior year. So I feel like if I met them freshman year, we would have had like more time.

SPEAKER_03 16:30

That's right, and had two more years together. Yeah. Um, who inspires you?

SPEAKER_01 16:35

Uh, probably my parents. Um, I'm a first gen graduate. Um, both my parents didn't go to college, and neither did my grandparents, and they put a lot of pressure on me, like not like specifically like anything crazy, but they have no idea about college. So every time I tell them I have an assignment due, they're just like, oh, that's great. Like, and I try to explain it, they don't understand, but they always um tell me I'm proud of every they're proud of me every single morning. I literally just sent them a picture of my outfit for calm day to day, and they said that they were very proud. So that's always nice to know.

SPEAKER_03 17:05

Yeah, they I can see why they'd be proud. You're excellent, you've been an excellent student and a great person to interview as well. I'm glad you came up here. Uh best pizza in Bloomsburg.

SPEAKER_01 17:14

Oh, see, I'm from New York, so I don't really think any of the pizza places here.

SPEAKER_03 17:18

Sorry, not a good question. How about the any other food? Hot dogs, best hot dogs in the pink wieners for sure. Really?

SPEAKER_01 17:24

But if I have to say a best like food place, fourth taco for sure.

SPEAKER_03 17:28

You like the tacos? Yep. Or so what's your favorite taco?

SPEAKER_01 17:31

Uh I get the Adobo Taco, I think it's called. Um, that's really good. Anyone else tacos? It's three dollar tacos for Taco Tuesday. So it can't beat that deal.

SPEAKER_03 17:40

That was last night. Well, this there's another Tuesday coming. Get out there. Uh, favorite place to study. Last question.

SPEAKER_01 17:45

Uh, Fireside Lounge. I think that's like a hidden that's like a hidden gem spot. And I feel like once I say that, a bunch of people are gonna go to my hidden gem spot. But it's okay. It has a it's a nice aesthetic.

SPEAKER_03 17:55

Awesome. Fireside loans. Ashley, thank you so much for sharing your story, your journey, your leadership, your insights. Tell your parents, thanks for doing such a great job. They're great parents. We appreciate them. If you enjoyed this episode, be sure to subscribe, leave a review, and share with others who care about leadership and character and education and sports. Thanks for listening to the Campus in Character Podcast. We'll see you next time.

Commercial 2

SPEAKER_03 18:19

Are you looking for a smart way to reach an engaged, media-savvy audience? Become a partner of the Campus in Character Podcast by sponsoring the show. Our listeners include students, faculty, alumni, and industry professionals who care about our campus, our student leaders, and the character that drives all of us. When you partner with us, your message is delivered in a trusted, authentic environment, not lost in the noise. Support the next generation of student leaders while growing your brand. Find out how to partner with us at campus and characterpodcast at gmail.com. That's campusandcharacterpodcast at gmail.com. And let's encourage the next generation of

Paula Interview

SPEAKER_03 18:55

leaders. Welcome back, friends. You're listening to another episode of the Campus and Character Podcast where we explore leadership stories to inspire growth and connect leaders. I'm your host, David Mogolis, and I am with a very special guest today, a colleague of mine in the communication studies department. It's Dr. Hopeck. We just wrapped up Communication Day. And so I had to get the advisor of the club who hosted Communication Day on this podcast. And I'm really excited to have Dr. Hopeck with us. Welcome to the show, Dr. Hope. Thank you for having me, Dr. McGolis. Can you tell us a little bit about yourself? How did you get to Bloomsburg University?

SPEAKER_00 19:33

I got to Bloomsburg University uh by probably the most circuitous uh route ever from Pittsburgh. I grew up in western Pennsylvania near Pittsburgh and undergraduate in western New York, graduate work at Purdue, and my first job was actually in East Texas. There was a there were several job openings at Bloomsburg that year. There were six of us hired in that year. Um and my husband, Dr. Green, is also in communication studies, and we knew several of the people at Bloomsburg already that we had gone to graduate school with, and we were like, you know, let's let's apply. And so um we came here. It was a great fit for both of us. There were six positions available, and that was a big part of it. But like I said, I was familiar with the Pashi schools when I was growing up and in high school, I considered attending some of the pashi schools when it's a little bit further away from uh from Pittsburgh. But that's how I ended up here.

SPEAKER_03 20:25

So where did you go to school in Western New York? Kenetius. Oh, I went to Knetius, okay.

SPEAKER_00 20:30

Kenetius College, yeah. It's now Knetius University, but when I was there it was Kenetius College. And you passed a lot of pashi schools on the way to get there. I did. I did. I think I passed most of the now the Penn West uh campuses. Yes.

SPEAKER_03 20:43

So I am a Penn West guy myself. I did go to Clarion for a master's degree, I did go to IUP for my bachelor's degree, and uh I actually even took a class at Bloomsburg at one point. So I have attended a wide variety of Achie schools.

SPEAKER_02 20:57

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 20:58

Um, we love those paschy schools for sure. Yeah. Pittsburgh. How did you leave that city? I love Pittsburgh, like it's it's so near and dear to my heart.

SPEAKER_00 21:07

Well, you know, I I I will say this, it was the year was 2003. It was not the city that it is now. Yeah. Um, so it's really come a long way, but kind of the messaging was in 2003 was to get out of of Pittsburgh because it it did not have the um revitalization that it had then. Plus, you know, I was I was 18. I wanted to try something new, I wanted to, you know, get away from from everything. I wanted to uh, you know, I I guess you know, see the world for lack of a better term. So I was I was just anxious to, you know, to get out and you know, be have a new environment.

SPEAKER_03 21:44

Yeah. Um I'm from Fungstone originally. Oh, nice. That's yeah, that's where we went, although it was an hour plus north of the city, but that was our city, and that's where I kind of grew up is going to that city. And I have so many fun memories. In fact, we take our kids back there all the time to go to Steelers games and baseball games and stuff. I won't go to Philly, even though I live closer to Philly than Pittsburgh. I wanted to see the Phillies one year, so I got tickets to the game in Pittsburgh instead of Philadelphia. So uh a little fun story about that. Um, we just wrapped up communication day. I presented a communication day. A lot of our colleagues presented communication day. How did this all get started? How did communication day kind of get started? Um, can you tell us a little bit of background about it?

SPEAKER_00 22:33

So, um, communication day, this was actually the 14th year for communication day. And I'm only wrapping up my ninth year here. So it started before me. The person, if you want the origins, that would be Dr. Mary King. She came up with it. And then at some point, um, it was handed over to Dr. Shorter. And then in 2018, I uh co-advised. I or I didn't want to say I co-advised, I shadowed her that year. Um, so I have actually only been working on Communication Day since 2019. As far as how we got started, I am I think it was just an idea that students had that they wanted to do. That's my understanding of it. Um, but I can say how it has kept going through uh 2021 during the pandemic. It was like the last big event in 2020 before everything shut down, um, slid in right before break. And then it was completely on Zoom in 2021. Um, but really the reason why it has just kept going through all those years is because of the student interest in wanting to do this event.

SPEAKER_03 23:43

Yeah. Well, it was evident when I presented there, they were all hanging out, just like, this is so much fun. That's they're just talking to each other and going back and forth in the hallways and just really energized in the care union area. So I enjoyed that a lot, just seeing all the energy and excitement around just what we're doing in the field. There's so many different things that we're doing. Can you tell us a little bit about some of the presentations or some of the topics that were discussed?

SPEAKER_00 24:08

Yes. So there were um, so we always start with our, you know, obviously communication day. So we naturally start with uh communication studies and media and journalism. Um, so we started off the morning with Dr. Elizabeth Petrie talking about how to do an elevator pitch, which is always a very popular topic. I think then students also had the difficult choice of choosing to go to that or going to uh creative applications of AI with Dr. Frelick. Uh, and then we had, of course, your presentation on podcasting. We were able to bring in Christy Hammaker from the Office of Student Well-being and health promotion. We had three panels that were directed at students or given by students. So, one thing we have been able to bring back that we haven't been able to do again because of the residuals from COVID is we had a study abroad panel, which was one of our most popular ones. We also had our communication studies honor society, Lambda Paida, do a presentation um similar to how you know valuable um this major has been for them. And we capped off the date with an um with a panel for uh for internships, specifically for students who might be interested in doing internships. So we had those three as well. We also had Dr. Haverlect uh come in to talk about some of the things that have been going on on campus. Dr. King, I think she had the most participants when she talked about the love lab and relationships, um, which you know is very important for others. And then we had Dr. Huang, who talked about gender differences and language and the importance of it. Um and I think that was also a that was a close second in terms of uh popularity.

SPEAKER_03 25:46

That's an amazing amount of content just shared in a couple hours throughout the day. Is there anything else we should know about communication day?

SPEAKER_00 25:55

So I'm the faculty advisor, so I do kind of the things that only faculty are are able to do, like the room reservations and I connect them and provide um guidance to them. But really, I can't emphasize this enough. This is completely planned, managed, run by the students. It happens because of them. So, like I said, I do the guidance for them, but you know, it's it's a lot of times it's like, you know, what do you want to see? And it's like, you know, you it invite the speakers and then talking through how do you fill in the schedules, how do you put that together, all of the advertising, the thank yous, all of that they they work together. We started doing this a few semesters back. We had a comday committee where students who were in the club and maybe wanted to get a little bit more involved and learn about how to like plan an event, but maybe didn't want to fully commit to completely running Cam Day. We had our biggest crew yet this year. So I am really happy about that. We had a great dynamic group of students. And I know you talked with um Hannah Brown that and uh Laura Lai Birdsall. Um they both have been uh working on Com Day since they've been involved in NCASE. So um really it's it's all about what our wonderful students have been doing. That's one of the reasons why it just it has this momentum, is that it really is like if the students want to do something, they want to see something, um then you know, we do our best to try to make it happen. So yeah, that's the one thing is that I mean, I I really shouldn't be the person who uh is here. I just kind of um you know provide guidance, but really the students make it happen.

SPEAKER_03 27:29

Well, your guidance has been great because I've communicated extensively with Hannah back and forth via email, and she's been so professional, and your guidance has been instrumental in her life and her communication to people. And then I got an email today, actually, a thank you from her for presenting. So, I mean, they're just so professional, so top-notch. I love being a part of it, and I appreciate everything that you are all doing there. Um, the club meets how many times a semester?

SPEAKER_00 27:55

So we meet every so every other Monday. Uh, we meet at 6:30. We meet in the McCormick classroom, 1126. So we are really happy with our new McCormick building. We want to, you know, spend some time there.

SPEAKER_03 28:08

If you're lost at all, go to Husky Sync or you can look up their social media profiles online. We got one more, just quick section here. It's called a rapid fire section. So just one word. That's all I'm looking for for these rapid fire questions, all right? One word to describe you, besides a Steelers fan. We know that. One word to describe me. Bookish. Bookish. You wouldn't be a professor if you weren't bookish. So what's your favorite thing about Bloomsburg?

SPEAKER_00 28:35

Oh, my favorite thing about Bloomsburg, honestly, is the overall environment. I the before I came back to Bloomsburg, I was living in places that were flat and had nothing for miles. I love looking out my window and seeing the mountains. Sometimes on a winter day, I can see the Susquehanna from uh where I am. So I I love that part. I love you know being back in the four seasons of Bloomsburg, and I love the just the the local community as well. It's beautiful. It's a beautiful I know that wasn't one word, but very good though.

SPEAKER_03 29:07

Very good. We'll take it. Okay. What's the best professional advice you've ever been given?

SPEAKER_00 29:13

Apply to graduate school. Yes, I agree. Yeah. Um, I it was it was never a thing that I had considered, but um uh, you know, going back, like it was uh it was something that I hadn't considered, but I was told by professors that like you should consider this, and I was like, I don't know, I'm kind of sick of school, I don't want to do it anymore. But then it was just I I did an internship and it was not it was not great. Um I was and it was just also the state of the world, it was 2006, 2007. I keep saying that I feel like people talked about they knew what was coming. Um so I was like, oh, why don't I, you know, see what graduate school is like, you know. So uh yeah, that's best professional.

SPEAKER_03 29:54

Great advice. Great advice. Yeah. All right, last question. Best pizza in Bloomsburg. I know that's a tough one. It's a tough one.

SPEAKER_00 30:04

Yeah, I'm gonna say you need a pizza, it's good.

SPEAKER_03 30:08

Okay.

SPEAKER_00 30:09

Um, and I've also been it's been a while since I've been there. Uh Penn Pizza, but you know, I think that uh Project Pizza is good contender as well. They're new on the scene, but I would say for consist like consistently, if we want pizza, we always suggest you need a buy um beyond the fountain.

SPEAKER_03 30:26

So absolutely. Well, thanks so much for your time. We really appreciate everything you're doing with the students in the department, calm day, and just your overall presence on campus. We really enjoy it. So thanks so much. And if you like this show, make sure you recommend it to a couple friends. This is the Campus in Character Podcast, and we'll see

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SPEAKER_03 30:44

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