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

It was about building me

If you told me at the end of sophomore year that the next two years would be the busiest, most transformative, and most rewarding part of my experience at Commonwealth University-Bloomsburg, I probably would’ve laughed — and then asked for a nap. 

Coming back from the Disney College Program, I felt like I had just closed the chapter on a dream. I’d spent months immersed in magic, making guests smile, and living in a place where fireworks capped off the night. Re-entering "normal" campus life felt … weird.

Slower. Quieter. I wasn’t sure how to match the energy I had just come from.

Although, junior year had other plans.

Not long after returning, I threw myself into new opportunities — ones I hadn’t even seen coming. I joined the American Marketing Association and somehow found myself stepping into the role of social media chair, where I got to blend creativity and strategy in a way I never had before. 

I added PRSSA to the mix (because why not?), and suddenly I was surrounded by people who got the rush of campaigns, content calendars, and the power of storytelling.

AMA provides their members with wonderful opportunities to visit marketing agencies to network and understand the marketing industry. We got the opportunity to tour WebFX — a digital marketing agency headquartered in Harrisburg with regional hubs in Michigan, Florida, and Pennsylvania — and I immediately fell in love.

WebFX came to a career expo on campus, so I talked to them to get more information on the company and what careers they have to offer. Julie Gardner, their talent acquisition coordinator gave me information on WebFXU. I attended this program in the spring of my junior year and handed them my resume.

And then over the summer, I landed a job with WebFX. It was one of those “pinch me” moments, where I realized I wasn’t just learning anymore. I was doing.

By senior year, I wasn’t done saying yes. I joined Dance Ensemble, a student-run dance organization. It was something I always admired from afar but never had the guts to try. Turns out, dancing on stage in front of a crowd is terrifying and thrilling and one of the best decisions I’ve made.

These past two years weren’t just about building a resume. They were about building me. From mouse ears to marketing plans, social media strategies to stage lights — I learned what it means to show up, to lead, to create, and to trust that sometimes the best thing you can do is just say “yes.”

— Mia Shrawder, a senior communication studies major at Commonwealth University-Bloomsburg with an emphasis on leadership and public advocacy, is interning with the Office of Strategic Marketing and Communications this spring. She is a native of Mechanicsburg who likes to run, dance, do pilates, cook and bake healthy recipes, read, watch Gilmore Girls, and watch soccer with her father.

#BloomOnward #HuskyLife

Best chapter of our lives

And just like that, junior year of college comes to an end. In the past month, I’ve said, “where has the time gone, I don’t want to be old,” at least once a day. Looking back to the start of junior year, I barely recognize who I was. My priorities were different, the people in my life were different, and I’m not sure where my head was at.

To sum it up, junior year has been a year of growth. A long year of growing out of unhealthy friendships and investing all my time in the positive aspects of my life. As corny and cliché as this sounds, junior year has taught me that the root of happiness comes from self-love.

Like my mom said in a long, much needed motivational text message to me, “Life is about balance. The good and the bad. The thing everyone should realize is the key to happiness is being by yourself, for yourself. It’s so much better to be sad, yet complete, rather than being happy and feel like something missing. Don’t wish away your days waiting for better ones ahead.”

And with that, I focused on making every day count, because soon enough, I’ll be a senior and the greatest experience of my life will be coming to a close. My roommate often says, “Isn’t it unfair this is the best chapter of our life but also the shortest.”

That mentality right there is what goes through every junior and senior college student as they approach the month of May. We begin to reflect on our past three years, but also look forward to what will come next. We are all itching for summer, but none of us are ready to leave our home. It’s crazy to think that only three years ago, I came into this unknown town and have created some of the best memories, met some of the best people, found my dream hobby, and learned what I am looking for in a future career.

College has changed me in the best ways possible, and I’m just not ready to let that go. I’m not sure I’ll ever be ready to say goodbye to this place, but the best I can do now is be thankful for every day, even the bad ones, because at least I’m in Bloomsburg.

— Megan Hawbecker, junior mass communications major #AGreatPlaceToBeYou #HuskyLife

Longing for the past, restless for the future

I find myself at a standstill as I finish my junior year of college. I’m constantly reflecting on the past, letting nostalgia overwhelm me with the way things used to be. I see myself maturing on social media and investing myself in work rather than going on personal adventures. I blame email for my transition into adulthood. My email is always open on my desktop and the worst part is that I get excited to see who’s reaching out or responding to my messages.

Just for the record fellow students, that’s when you know you’ve completed your transition into the real world.

We all want to stay young forever. I would stay 21 years old for the rest of my life if it were possible. I remember reading a quote on the internet that said, “A year of hurting so bad, but living so good.”

I find these words constantly floating around in my head as I live out my last few years as a young adult. I truly find my early twenties as the years we are living so good. We are free of most major responsibilities, we develop our passions, we meet our forever friends and most importantly, we build the foundation for our future. As much as this is the time of living so good, I also see it as the time of hurting so bad. We face several heartbreaks, we leave friends behind, fail tests and seem to face more rejections than anything else. Every day I remind myself that this is all part of the process.

Sophomore year will always be my favorite year out of the four. During that period of time, my friends and I were carefree, balancing on the fine line between freedom and responsibility. We didn’t know what the next year would have in store for us, nor did we care. We finally lived in our own apartments and had our cars with us, which gave us every reason to explore whenever we could.

Yes, we had schoolwork that needed to done, but it did not seem as important as the life lessons we chose to face instead. Staying up all night, broken down vehicles, driving hours to get diner food, flying across the country, and doing it all with the friends who continue to make my heart full will forever be the memories of my sophomore year.

The moments we share together as we grow up are equally as memorable, but reflect a new stage of life. Getting the call that we received the internships we have strived for, seeing our stories being published, and planning our last year together as college students is this stage.

If I have any advice for an underclassman, it’s to make the most of your first two years of college. If you’re questioning going out with friends, do it. If you’re not sure you want to spend those extra dollars, do it. Those are the moments that turn into the memories we will always carry with us.

— Megan Hawbecker, junior mass communications major #HuskyLife