A great place to discover a new you

Many of our students share a common ingredient for success: a willingness to take on challenges. Brooke Shannon is one of these high-achieving Huskies among the Class of 2014 who will soon be walking across the stage at commencement.

Since coming to campus, this chemistry major from Harrisburg has not only forged a love for her academic discipline but has discovered a future in medicine. Bloomsburg prepares students for medical school.

Through our Accelerated Bloomsburg-PCOM Physician Preparation Program, students can pursue a Bachelor of Arts in Chemistry-Doctor of Osteopathy by spending either:

• three years at Bloomsburg University plus four years at Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine (PCOM) 
• or four years at Bloomsburg plus four years at PCOM

It’s a great way to get a head start on graduate school, as well as limit the amount of medical school loans you may face with other traditional options. Brooke’s path to medical school has been facilitated by many of the advantages Bloomsburg University offers to all of its students, pre-med or not.

• Dedicated teacher-scholar faculty 
• Small student-to-faculty ratio which allow students to develop relationships that promote learning outside of the classroom 
• Hands-on experience with research that developed a sense of pride, responsibility and independence not achievable in the classroom alone

Although personal to Brooke, her story is not unique. Each graduating class has hundreds of Huskies who discover a new side of themselves during their time on campus, then take on the challenge to gain the knowledge and skills they need to succeed. Some of them follow a path to medical school similar to Brooke’s. Just ask Dr. Tracey Dechert ’88, who played an integral role in the emergency medical response last year at the Boston Marathon bombing.

Soon, we’ll confer nearly 1,600 undergraduate and graduate degrees. Each graduate has an individual story, but most share similarities with the journeys of Brooke and Tracey. Each story demonstrates how Bloomsburg enhances academic excellence while developing individuals to be contributing citizens.

#FutureHusky #BUClass2014

Matching majors with scholarships

Everyone has a story as to why they chose the major they did. Some stories are long, some are complex, others are comical and others straight-to-the-point.

For Adam Kulp, it’s personal.

Kulp is one of roughly 600 biology majors at Bloomsburg University. And he came to campus three years ago with a promise. Studying biology is Kulp’s first step toward making a difference in the life of his sister, who battles Reflex Sympathetic Dystrophy Syndrome, an incurable disease of the central nervous system. His goal is to someday treat or possibly cure his sister’s disease.

Kulp’s promise is supported by Bloomsburg University. He is among the hundreds of students annually who receive scholarships for tuition assistance, research stipend, conference travel or another academic venture. Kulp is a Biology and Allied Health Science Scholarship recipient.

As an institution, we understand the strong relationship between scholarships and students’ academic interests. Tying scholarship opportunities to specific academic programs and opportunities will contribute to our successes in retention, a term that describes efforts to welcome new students and ensure continuing students return and continue to graduation. It also helps with recruitment by using scholarships to help grow programs deemed high in quality and capacity.

New retention initiatives include:

• Calling continuing students who had not scheduled classes
• Calling continuing students who had fewer than eight credits scheduled
• Creating class schedules for transfer students as they were identified
• Compiling tracking reports that will guide future enrollment management efforts by providing a historic perspective

As a public institution, we take great pride in our ability to develop the potential of each student. We can attest to the success of our focused efforts on providing quality student services, retention programming efforts, and other means to prepare each student for graduation.

It is the Bloomsburg tradition. It is what has helped us become who we are and will allow us to remain a great choice for future students.

#FutureHusky