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Biology student dives into coral restoration project  

Caitlyn Collins has reached new depths in her study of marine biology.

Quite literally.

The second-year biology (M.S.) graduate student spent part of her summer research work at the Roatan Institute of Marine Science in Honduras where she not only helped with a coral restoration project but learned to SCUBA dive to fully participate in the underwater data collection.

“The idea of jumping into the water, not knowing what was under you, and looking straight out into the blue would freak me out,” said Collins, who visited the institute with her coral reef ecology class through the Chincoteague Bay Field Station in Wallops Island, Va. “Now, I feel like it was the most incredible thing I’ve ever done, and I can’t wait to get back in the water.”

She added, “I found the endless blue calming and the weightlessness of diving relaxing. I got to swim with sea turtle and get up close to groupers and sharks, something I never thought I would do. I learned the diversity of coral and was able to see it in person, something you can’t really understand by just learning about it during lecture.”

Her underwater work was done as part of a coral restoration project being conducted at the Roatan Marine Institute.

“They’re taking fragments of Acropora cervicornis (Staghorn Coral) and Acropora palmata (Elkhorn Coral) and connecting them to a tree,” Collins said. “This tree will allow them to grow without the threat of predation and disturbance. Once the fragments reach a certain size, the fragments are replanted onto the reef.”

This is done in an effort to help restore coral reefs. Both of these corals are extremely important to the foundation of coral reefs and are a critically endangered species, according to Collins.  

“I was able to collect data on what species are on the reef, the type of substrata they’re living in, and the temperature and depth they are found at,” said Collins, who was taught to SCUBA dive up to 20 meters into the ocean and collect data. “Before this trip, I had no experience SCUBA diving and doing field work in the water. Now, I have done 25 dives and have learned techniques for collecting scientific data underwater.”

Even after experiencing the depths of the ocean up close, Collins believes the best part of being in Roatan was being exposed to the culture of Honduras.

“I got the opportunity to meet local people who knew so much about the ocean and the coral reefs around them that you would never know after being there for only two weeks,” said Collins, who’s working with Thomas Klinger, professor of biological and allied health sciences, to study the effect thermal stress has on the metabolic rates of sub-tidal species of sea urchins found in the Caribbean. “This data will be used as part of my thesis work to show the ecological impact these species of sea urchin will have on the coral reefs in the Caribbean.”

All of her collected data will give insight into the potential impacts of climate change on oceanic life.

“After I graduate, I would love to work at a marine station like the Roatan Institute of Marine Science,” Collins said. “This trip gave me valuable experience I would need to start a career like this. The experience helped me build field skills as a marine biology and also learn how to collect data while under water.”

Biology intern gets hands-on herpetological experience

Alyssa Williams, a biology major focused on ecology, conservation and field biology, interned this summer at Refreshing Mountain’s Wildlife Center in Stevens. 

She cared for reptiles and amphibians at the facility and taught school groups about herpetology. As part of her internship, she practiced snake identification in the Pocono Mountains. She and her coworkers identified a total of 23 snakes including a copperhead and timber rattlesnake. 

A summer in the Smithsonian

It’s a popular summer destination for tourists, but for one recent Bloomsburg University graduate it was simply the next step of her career pursuit.

Keara Drummer, a graduate student pursuing her masters in biology, is no stranger to museums and paleontology studies. During her time as an undergraduate at Bloomsburg University, she interned with the American Museum of Natural History where she had the opportunity to work with Invertebrate Paleontology Collections. This summer at the Smithsonian, she had the opportunity to build upon her pre-existing knowledge.

“My first internship was what I’ve been doing as an undergraduate collections assistant,” Drummer said. “The second internship was to get new skills in collections management. Conservation is inherently a large part of taking care of collections. Therefore, a set of skills I most definitely need to be a successful museum collections manager somewhere.”

Under the instruction of conservation specialist, Cathy Hawk, Drummer spent this past summer as a conservation intern working with a variety of specimen types including the new t-rex exhibit.

“My favorite experience was helping with the photo documentation of the new "Nation's T rex" for the new Deep Time fossil hall exhibit coming summer 2019,” Drummer said. “I got to hold and touch a Tyrannosaurus Rex and work and learn from one of the most influential natural history conservators in the world, Cathy Hawks.”

According to Drummer, the insight she gained this summer will carry into her graduate studies and potentially her future career.

“The knowledge gained about NMNH (National Museum of Natural History) itself and the conservations and collections skills I've learned and the networking I did this past summer is something I am thankful for every day,” she said. “I learned a lot about wet specimen and their care/needs. I am bringing that knowledge back to Bloom for their Biological Teaching Collections and the Paleontology Teaching Collections.”

Although most of her summers were spent working with paleontology, Drummer plans to focus on her degree in biology.

“I never wanted to go into paleontology specifically, but I wanted to work with collections of any variety,” Drummer stated. “I want to become a museum collections manager, scientist, specialist, etc. I like paleontology, but I'm at Bloom still to obtain a MS in Biology to make myself more marketable for other natural history collections (ornithology, entomology, invertebrate zoology, mammals, Invertebrate paleontology, vertebrate paleontology, etc).Who knows, maybe I'll end up as a paleontology collections manager? But, I'm just going where the wind takes me. I'm pretty open to any genre of natural history if it includes caring for a collection.”

IT intern discovers new corporate career option 

An internship with PPL Electric Utilities opened the eyes of Bloomsburg University information and technology management senior to alternate career opportunities and helped to prepare her for the semester ahead.

For Laura Bruaw, summer mornings kicked off at sunrise at PPL in their IT department helping users with technical issues they experienced with Office 365. Throughout the day, she was responsible for 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.

In addition to assisting with technical developments, Bruaw underwent professional development.

“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.”

During the upcoming semester, courses such as Business Communication and Report Writing will allow Bruaw to put her new skills to the test.

“I definitely think my confidence and ability to communicate are my big takeaways from this internship,” she said. “I feel like everything I learn from this point on in my classes will be a bit easier for me to process as I can apply it to a real scenario that I've experienced.”

At a company primarily recognized as an electrical provider, Bruaw experienced the business side of operations introducing her to new career possibilities as she enters into her senior year at BU.

“I've always been interested in becoming a database administrator or data analyst, but this summer really opened my eyes to the role of a business analyst and I think that's definitely a career path I could see myself pursuing,” she said. “I knew I wanted to work in corporate IT, and this helped solidify that, but now I feel like I have even more clarity going into my senior year and preparing to job hunt in the spring.”

Senior places Top 13 in national sales competition

The art of being a good salesperson is more than just asking someone to buy a product or service. It’s a learned skill. For Bloomsburg University senior Brendan Matthews a mock sales pitch in his advanced selling class evolved into competing in the National Collegiate Sales Competition (NCSC) this spring.

Matthews, who is a management major with a minor in professional sales, competed against 144 students from 72 universities finishing 13th overall, the best placement ever for a BU student. As a team in its eighth year competing, BU placed in the top 16 among the schools.

“We have been competing here for eight years,” said Monica Favia, chair of the Department of Marketing and Professional Sales. “While Unfortunately, Brendan did not make the final four, it was still gave an outstanding showing.  Most importantly, every student who attends usually has at least one job offer and frequently more, depending on the degree that they pursue it. Every BU student competing this this year has at least one job offer and in some cases two or three.”

Matthews went into the competition with a strategy for his success despite waking up ill the morning of the competition. 

“Each round I was selling the same product to a different group of buyers,” he said. “Some buyers were very nice and others were difficult, so I started by introducing myself to develop a personal connection. I then set an agenda for the pitch so they knew what to expect.”

The NCSC offers students the opportunity to display their skills in sales which often times leaves them with many opportunities for their future.

“It's a great experience to put yourself out there,” said Matthews. “There are a ton of employers there actively looking to hire students for full time jobs upon graduation. It’s also a great opportunity for students to connect from all over the country and learn more about themselves, their sales programs, and what they are looking for in a career.”

Following his May 2018 graduation, Matthews will begin a position at CH Robinson, a supply chain logistic company located in Conshohocken, working with their full sales cycle.

In addition to Matthews’ efforts, junior Britny Keyes played a large role in BU’s ranking. Other team members included Brittany Satiago, Asia Harding and graduate students, Joe Devine and Josh Salak.

BU’s sales program is the only one in the State System.

Sales competition draws largest field of participants

Two days of competition came down to 15 minutes.

That’s what each of the three finalists of the annual Bloomsburg University/UPS Sales Competition were left with to land their final scenario of professional sales, face-to-face with a UPS role player. In total, 39 students put their sales talents to the test in this year’s competition that expanded for the first time into a two-day event.

Irenitemi Famadewa, of Penn State University, Britny Keyes, a junior business administration marketing and professional sales major, and Lauren Kearney, a junior business administration marketing major, advanced through two rounds of competition as finalists. Famadewa took home the grand prize, an iPad Pro and custom Tom James suit. Keyes and Kearney also earned prizes, winning a Go Pro and an Echo Show respectively.

“This competition taught me you're never going to be able to stick with a script,” Keyes said. “As much as you plan what you want to say and in what order to say it, it comes down to what the buyer needs. You aren't in the driver’s seat they are. So being able to let them talk and expand on their experiences is so important for the meeting to be able to flow and feel natural for both the buyer and the seller.”

For the competition, students were judged on their ability to:

Approach – effectively gain attention and build rapport

Needs Identification – obtaining a clear understanding of a customer’s situation in order to prepare a customized presentation

Product/Service Presentation – persuasively match your product’s benefit to meet the needs of the buyer

Overcoming Objections – eliminating concerns or questions to customer’s satisfaction

Close – taking initiative to understand where you stand with a buyer now and for the future

“The competition gave great insight into practicing sales pitches,” Kearney said. “Another highlight is my capability to succeed in these types of situations. I don’t have much professional sales experience, so advancing to final three was a great accomplishment for me.”

Kearney added, “This experience helped prepare for a possible career in sales, because of the role play we took part in. This allowed all of the competitors to gain product knowledge, identity customer needs and find solutions to their problems in a real-life situation circumstance.”

In addition, students were treated to four different professional development sessions and a career far, as well as a networking event with industry professionals to include UPS, Tom James and Gartner.

“Companies saw my potential,” Keyes said. “This is a better way for companies to see what you can do. In an interview they'll read your resume and judge you on just that, but here you have the advantage to actually show them your abilities in action.”

The two-day competition was organized and managed by Monica J. Favia, coordinator of Zeigler College of Business professional sales program. This was the third year for the competition, which saw its interest nearly double after drew less than 20 competitors each of the previous two years.

“This competition adds to the value of Bloomsburg’s sales program, because it provides real-life situations to help students practice and understand what they did right and wrong in their sales pitch,” Kearney said. “I also think value is created when companies take time to participate and help the students in the learning process. It adds emphasis that students should take advantage of the valuable opportunities that Bloomsburg University offers.”

BU's professional sales program — the only one offered in the State System — prepares students in the art and science of professional selling so upon graduation they may be an immediate contributor toward the improvement of shareholder value of any and all organizations that invite them aboard. It’s offered as a specialization within marketing or as a minor paired with any major.

EGGS major lands competitive summer internship

Paleontology isn’t a typical career track for an environmental geoscience major, but that’s not stopping Keara Drummer from testing the waters this summer at the American Museum of Natural History in New York City.

Drummer, a junior, will be among the select few interning to help curators on the Royal Mapes Collection — a scientific collection of over 500,000 fossil specimens, mostly from the Upper Paleozoic of the central United States. She was one of six chosen for this highly competitive eight-week internship.

“It became a target because the internship does basically what I've been doing helping organize the EGGS paleo collection, except on a larger more professional scale,” Drummer said. “I enjoy the nature of the job, and I'm up for the bigger challenge. I've always had a fascination for museums as a kid.”

According to Drummer, the Department of Environmental, Geographical and Geological Sciences has prepared her for this opportunity through individualized instruction, hands-on field experience and networking opportunities with professionals. One connection she says gave her a competitive edge to land the internship was work with paleontology instructor Alan Gishlick, who also works for the American Museum of Natural History.

Gishlick opened Drummer up to the idea of paleontology on a professional level. With his help, Drummer says she had the opportunity to learn about and execute the suggested archival process for fossil specimens, catalog the information of fossils and use the online Paleobiology database to identify taxonomic ranks for the last two years.

While this is not a set career path for Drummer, she says this experience will help her get closer to her career goals and open up doors for opportunities in other fields. She is grateful to the EGGS faculty who have opened her up to so many career enhancing opportunities and allowed her to be a well-recognized student, not just a number in the 150-person lecture hall.