CSA graduate students make their mark at regional placement conference

Two Bloomsburg University graduate students, Casey Roberts and Sara Wiberg, enrolled in the College Student Affairs (CSA) program, attended the Mid-Atlantic Placement Conference (MAP-C) this past semester.

The two-day conference, sponsored by the Mid-Atlantic Association of College and University Housing Officers, a regional association for residence life/housing staff, which includes Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Delaware, West Virginia, Maryland, and Washington, D.C. The event brought together college and university employers who have vacancies in residence life departments with candidates/job seekers.

“This event was an amazing opportunity to see the professional application process in action without the stress of actually being an applicant,” said Roberts a native of Millington, Md. “I attended MAP-C the year before when applying to graduate school. But now that I’m in a program that is teaching me the skills and vocabulary needed for a student affairs role, I viewed MAP-C differently this time around.”

“My two favorite parts were the ability to meet many potential students and talk about BU as a whole,” said Wiberg, a Mount Joy resident. “Casey and I also went out to the room where all potential candidates waited to be called for their interview and worked to make it fun. We brought out Roongo, our little stuffed Husky, and tried to make everyone smile.”

Roberts felt the conference gave her a chance to put what she is learning into practice.

“It was also great to get to discuss the program with potential graduate students,” Roberts continued. “It gave me a chance to discuss what I’ve been learning in class with others looking to be in the same field. I was in their position the year before and got to reflect on how far I’ve come in terms of my education and experience.”

CSA program director, Denise Davidson, was proud of the work done by the two students.

“Both Casey and Sara have been terrific students academically and have been amazingly supportive of the CSA program and our outreach/recruitment efforts,” said Davidson. “They’ll be missed for sure.”