Academic Excellence and Personal Growth: Life in Honors College

Being an Honors student has always been important to me and has helped shaped me into the young, independent, driven young woman I am today. I take pride in my academic achievements and awards, as they are some of my greatest accomplishments in my academic career. Being in the Honors College is a privilege and something I don’t take lightly. It’s also not as scary, intimidating, or intense as it may seem. If you are gifted academically, you will find the Honors College to be more rewarding and beneficial over all else. There are requirements to being in Honors, which I believe holds me to a higher standard and sets me apart from my classmates.

I’m so glad that while in my senior year of high school I chose to be in the Honors College at Bloomsburg. I attended a private high school in New Jersey, and I was in the National Honors Society. When it came time to apply to colleges, I knew I wanted to go to a school that had an Honors program. I got accepted into other Honors Colleges at other universities, but I knew the second I stepped foot on Bloomsburg’s campus that this was going to be my second home for the next four years. My grandfather had never been to Bloomsburg, but on Thanksgiving Day of 2021, he told me he thought Bloomsburg sounded like the best fit for me. Fast forward to February of 2022, on the night of his funeral, I came home and paid my deposit for Bloomsburg. He was one of the most influential people in my life, and I knew he was leading me in the right direction. I know I would not be the same person, student, or professional had I picked a different school.

I’m a senior RA in Lycoming Hall, home of the Honors College. This is a full circle moment for me because it felt like just yesterday, I was living in Lycoming as a freshman. In my opinion, Lycoming is the nicest, cleanest, and best place to live on campus. My residents are all driven academically, and I’ve been enjoying watching them succeed. I also wrote my Honors Minor High Impact Experience on being an RA, and I’m so glad I did because I could reflect on how my leadership role has morphed over the past few years. As an RA I host monthly programs for residents, but as an Honors student I get to enjoy attending Honors events each semester. One of my favorites was the “Smarty Plants” event where I got a succulent and decorated its pot. It brings happiness to my dorm room.

Community service has always been important to me. It’s a selfless act, reaching out and helping those in need. A requirement of being in Honors is completing a certain amount of service hours per year. I’ve been doing community outreach for a while now, and it is one of my favorite things to do. In high school, I would write happy messages and attach them to flower vases that were distributed to the homebound in my church community. Sometimes they would write me thank you notes back expressing their appreciation. Even though I never got to meet the recipients, it made me feel really good knowing I brought joy to someone’s day. I’ve been volunteering at the SPCA in Danville for over a year now. If I’m being honest, this is one of my favorite parts of my college experience. I love spending time playing with the cats and taking dogs on nice long walks. The animals desperately need love and attention, and I have plenty to give them during their time at the shelter. This is something that always warms my heart.

My very favorite class I’ve taken so far at Bloomsburg is Honors Critical Reasoning Seminar on Mindfulness and Well-Being. That class was exactly what I needed during the fall semester of my junior year. Fall of 2024 was one of the most challenging times of my entire life due to family and medical reasons, housing arrangements, and just life in general. This class helped me in more ways than I can even count and gave me the proper resources and tools to improve my physical, mental, emotional health and my overall well-being. My class took a trip to the BodyWorks Wellness Studio in East Stroudsburg, and I have to say that was a life-changing experience for me. I did salt therapy for the first time ever and that was very relaxing. The Honors classes are different from regular classes, but in a good way. They are more discussion based and hands on, and I appreciate that kind of learning.

This semester, I’m completing my Honors Capstone Project on “Women in Sports.” I chose this topic as it relates to the foundation of the internship I had over the summer working as a Ticket Sales Intern for the Lehigh Valley Phantoms, a professional ice hockey team. When I was researching topics to write about, I knew I also wanted to make it personal and relatable in some aspect. As an intern for a professional sports team, even though it was only for a couple weeks, I was a woman working in a male-dominated industry. I want to dive even deeper into this topic and educate myself and others more. I’m currently in the process of researching and writing my scholarly paper. After I complete my paper, I’ll then create a poster that I’ll present at the Honors reception in early December. I’m very excited to see how it comes out on the big canvas. This is my last major project for Honors, and I intend to make it notable!

Something I value most about being in Honors is the like-minded individuals I’ve met along the way. Even though my friends in Honors are in different majors than me, they have the same academic goals of achieving excellence by making the Dean’s List or President’s List each semester. I’ve discovered we have similar values and drive to getting to where we want to be. Some of my good friends I met during my freshman year through the Honors College, and I hope to stay close with them after I graduate in May. The Honors College has pushed me to better myself academically, professionally, and personally, and I am forever grateful for this amazing opportunity.

— Lillie Corino, a senior business administration and communication studies major at Commonwealth University-Bloomsburg with an emphasis in management and organizational communication, is interning with the Office of Strategic Marketing and Communications this fall. She's a native of Bucks County who enjoys spending time with her family, pets, ESA, watching Friends, seeing Morgan Wallen in concert, playing lacrosse, and going shopping with her mom.

#BloomOnward #HuskyLife

Two Fields, One Future: Making the Most of a Dual Major

Being a double major has between extremely challenging and rewarding at the same time. I'm double-majoring in business administration with a management concentration and communication studies with an organizational concentration. I hope this ambitious goal sets me apart from my peers and makes me a more marketable candidate when it comes to applying for jobs. 

I've been taking classes every single semester, including every winter and summer break, just to be able to graduate in four years. If I remained with only one major, I would've graduated early but knew that I wanted to make the very most of my time at Commonwealth University-Bloomsburg. I figured the sacrifices I'm making now by giving up my winter and summer breaks to work and take classes to get ahead will be worth it and only benefit me as I enter the business world.

The biggest strengths I've developed so far are a strong interdisciplinary skill set, enhanced leadership and teambuilding skills, career versatility, better problem-solving, and conflict management approaches. 

I'll carry these strengths and newly developed skills with me into my professional career after I graduate. It's not been a super easy time, being a double major and taking all required classes for both majors, including general education courses, Honors courses and capstone project, communication internship, and more. I've had one heavy academic journey, but despite the scheduling conflicts, I've always found a way to make it all work.

My parents are both teachers, but I wanted to follow a new and different path for myself. I honestly was not entirely sure what I wanted to do or study, but I knew I wanted to pick a major and start taking classes for my major in my first semester. 

I came to Bloomsburg as a communication studies major after declaring my major on Husky Decision Day back in April of my senior year of high school. An alum spoke at one of the sessions that day and said that she was a communication studies major and worked with Eli Manning once. I remember her sharing her story and that was all I needed to hear to know that I wanted to study the same thing. 

Eli Manning is my favorite athlete, and I think it would be the coolest thing in the world to be able to work with him someday too. I chose the organizational concentration because I wanted to learn how to communicate with diverse groups of people within different organizations.

After getting through my first semester, I wanted to challenge myself to make the most of my college experience. During the holiday break, I spoke with my aunt and uncle who are both in the business field. 

My aunt is in the pharmaceutical sales industry and told me she thought I would like sales. She suggested I pursue a major in professional sales and marketing. She's very smart, and I knew she would help lead me in the right direction. After taking my first classes within the Zeigler College of Business, I knew I made the right decision.

During the beginning of my junior year, I had a moment of realization. I did not want to limit myself in any way with being a specific major, so I made the move to something more diverse and applicable to all areas of business.

And that was business administration. 

I chose the management concentration because one day I want to be a leader and hold a higher position within a company and wanted my education experience to best prepare me for that. I really enjoy my management classes and like how they cover different industries such as finance and supply chain. 

My favorite management class is one I'm currently taking. It's a Zoom class — organizational behavior — with Dr. (Darrin) Kass. Even though it's online, he makes it super fun and engaging. My favorite chapter we've covered so far is Positive Organizational Behavior, which is the study and application of positively oriented human resource strengths and psychological capacities in today’s workplace.

In May, I'll be graduating with my undergrad in two different degrees: a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration (BSBA) and a Bachelor of Arts (BA). I'm also considering pursuing a Master of Business Administration upon graduation.

It's important to continue learning and expanding your knowledge even when you have a full-time job. There's always something new to learn. I'm very excited to see where my professional career takes me and to be a lifelong learner!

— Lillie Corino, a senior business administration and communication studies major at Commonwealth University-Bloomsburg with an emphasis in management and organizational communication, is interning with the Office of Strategic Marketing and Communications this fall. She's a native of Bucks County who enjoys spending time with her family, pets, ESA, watching Friends, seeing Morgan Wallen in concert, playing lacrosse, and going shopping with her mom.

#BloomOnward #HuskyLife