Certified Leader

Figure 1 (See Note)

As a new freshman, you are probably overlooking new ways to get involved on campus. You may have heard speakers say this at orientation the first week of school. Maybe you are involved on campus. But If you are not, here is a great way to help. You can become a certified leader here at Bloomsburg University. The Center for Leadership & Engagement allows you get certified up to three levels each consisting of workshops, community service hours, team building and a reflection you have to write. The office is located behind Northumberland Hall on the lower level (Figure 1). You will see a sign in front of a tree saying "Center for Leadership and Engagement" as seen in Figure 1. 

  When you walk into the office you will notice around the office everything decorative with their logo, four bulletin boards each containing pictures of people who have completed a level of there certification, and more information about what you what they do at the center. In fact, if you are interested in applying, there  is a bulletin board listing for part-time jobs. They also have a waiting area that is set up very nicely. The chairs are blue with a light blue and green octagon pattern shape. Some of the chairs are set upright next to each other that makes it look like a sofa. In the center and on the side of the chairs is a brown coffee table with side tables on the side. On top of the center coffee table their is a bowl filled with Hershey kisses for a refreshment. On the smaller and side tables are different info guides regarding to jobs, study tips and strategies, and college success. On the window they created two trees and each leaf has a name of each people who became certified leader.

Someone will greet when you first walk through the door asking, "Are you interested in becoming a certified leader". He or she will may ask you to have a seat in the waiting area while they are gather a packet of information. Someone that you might interviewing you is Linda Ngohe. Linda is a part time student worker for The Center for Leadership and Engagement. She is a black woman who wears glass and her hair stands out. Its almost like a curly afro. Its unique to me because of how natural and long it looks. As I inteviewed her, even though she had a professional position, you could tell that she was very nervous by the tense look in her eyes.

For level one, someone like or Linda will say that you can complete level 1 & 2 of your certification but you can not work on level three until you complete those levels. Level one, you have to complete a "Campus community assessment, serve as an active member such as a sport or Living Learning Community for at least five hours, serve as volunteer of community service for at least five hours and completion of the self reflection experience after you complete all the workshops. There are eight workshop all together for the first level.

The first workshop is called "Self assessment". The Self Assessment is where you will focus on who you are as a person, identifying strengths,weaknesses, values and needs. It is more of an exercise to seek the uniqueness about yourself that makes you a great leader. The second workshop is called " Self Structure". Self Structure discusses academic career goals and learn ways to organize their week routines effectively manage their time. The third workshop is " Broadening your Prospectives".  Broadening your prospectives is a workshop that you would gain understanding of peoples identity and culture. The fourth workshop is "Stages of group developement & decision making". They mainly talk about theories and practices  in an effort to understand the different roles of leadership Workshop Five, Six, Seven and Eight are Skill set that all tie together. Communication & Conflict Management skills, Critical thinking & problem solving, Public Speaking & engaging with others, and Interviewing Strategies & Skills. They sound exactly what say. These workshops are guides to help shape and form you as a leader to gain a prospective.

Level two is pretty similar process but instead works in steps as seen in figure 2 below. This level has actually has tracks that you can follow. Student Organizational Leadership, Community Engagement Leadership, Group Leadership, and Social Leadership. Having a track helps you to stand out because the track you choose show that you are passionate about that category. When you complete this workshop you have to complete 10 hours of community service and of course the reflection.



Figure 2

Level Three is the maximum level that you can achieve. You have to first speak with a CLE leader to discuss interest and proposal of ideas. At this level you is where you get to test you leadership skills from all the workshops you attended. You must have a minimum of 16 hours of you leading, organizing a large event on campus such as community service (Figure 3). For the  workshop, you have to attend one professional prep workshop about "How to brand yourself as Husky Leaders" and "Connecting your leadership experience with your academic Major or Discipline". The last task of the workshops you have to complete a mock interview of what you did every level, you will be finish every workshop. The last steps are turning in the reflection and you will become certified level three.


Figure 3 See Note.

 For more information, please visit The Center for leadership website for further assistance or feel free to stop by at anytime.

Events, Banquets, and Parties

   Shawnee Inn is such a beautiful resort with so many things going on. "The most popular part of the resort is their banquets," exclaims Jimmy Cox, a banquet server at Shawnee Inn. Jimmy is one of the best servers Shawnee has because of his hard work and loyalty. For being in high school, he still has time to work most of the events that Shawnee Inn hosts. Shawnee hosts from golf outings to sweet sixteen parties to weddings.

Front Entrance of Shawnee Inn

   The historical Shawnee Inn captivates you by its majestic mountain scenery and remarkable charisma. The calm flowing Delaware River sets the mood for this resort and with a beautiful view of the pure green golf course gives a vibrant touch to it. Every day in the spring you can smell the freshly cut grass of the golf course as it lingers throughout the air.  Shawnee Inn offers so much more than just parties and events. "The golf course and the river combined make a really naturalistic view for weddings," explains Jimmy. As you walk through the brightly green short cut grass with the aroma of fresh air filling your nose, you can see the slow moving Delaware River where many people had their wedding next to. On the other side of the river is the tree filled woods. The dark green trees give the area such a graceful and sophisticated feel to it. To the left of the front lawn is the volleyball court, tennis court, and the little hut that holds the rafts and kayaks for the river adventures that Shawnee Inn provides. To the right reveals the antique Shawnee Inn resort.

Actual Picture of Shawnee Inn Golf Course

    Shawnee has events almost every single day. They are always super busy with them because they won't just have one event in one day, sometimes they will have multiple. "There is not a moment you are not moving while working here, "laughs Jimmy.  Most events are held in the Worthington Ballroom or out on the front lawn by the river sanctuary. The Worthington Ballroom is spacious and elegant. As you walk through the doors of the ballroom you step onto a red and black checker carpet with a built-in hardwood dance floor. The crisp white walls capture your eyes as the chandeliers create a welcoming ambience. The large windows give the room a natural lighting as well as having a view of part of the enormous golf course. Just by the set up of the ballroom, the antique look of history flourishes in the room with a modern day touch. Having a party in this room would truly make you feel like royalty.

   "Working at Shawnee Inn as a banquet server isn't just serving drinks and food or just setting up the buffet table, its so much more than you can imagine," Jimmy says as he paces around the plate storage room. He grabs a dark brown cart with two levels to hold all the plates. He starts loading up on everything he needs for this banquet in the Worthington Ballroom. Luckily he is not alone in this. With him he has the managers, other servers, bussers, and also the kitchen staff providing the event with food. Jimmy prances along grabbing everything he needs to set up the long, white linen covered table that lies across from the two entrance doors for the buffet. It practically feels like he is speed walking back and forth grabbing freshly cleaned silver utensils, sparkling water glasses, enormous shining silver chaffing dishes, red napkins as red as blood, and of course all of the plates. He knows he only has a certain amount of time to complete everything as he trots in black dress pants with black non-slip shoes, a smooth, ironed white button up shirt, with a black vest and bow tie as well. He places everything on the buffet table and then starts working on the other tables for the people to sit and eat at. It feels like white takes over the room with the table cloths and seat covers being striking with white color but fortunately the red napkins gave a more flower look to it like roses sitting upon each plate setting. Finally everything is set up. The last thing to bring out is the food but first the people and guests enter. "You are dealing with people the whole time. You have to be kind and understanding with the guests," Jimmy says with a more displeased face. "Sometimes certain guests will have more problems then others. You have to be ready for those who give you more of a hard time. Most events go smoothly with minor problems but you will always get that one or two people that find something wrong in everything," Jimmy clarifies as he laughs.



Actual Picture of Worthington Ballroom

    As the night finishes after the guests eat their food and with music slowly starting to fade, the people start to leave. Now Jimmy and the rest of the staff start the clean up process. They grab all of the linens and napkins and throw them into a large rolling bin for them to be taken to get cleaned. "At the end of the event, all of us move rapidly because at this point we all want to leave," exclaims Jimmy with a tired vibe. Removing the plates, silverware, and glasses bringing them all to the dish washers to clean means getting closer to being done. The dish washers take care of the plates and glasses by putting them away and the banquet servers take care of separating the silverware and bringing them back into the silverware storage ready to be used for the next event. Now that everything is finished the staff comes together to talk about the night and how they believe things went. "I thought it ran smoothly," Jimmy says as he is ready to leave. The staff breaks apart and everyone goes home calling it a rap.

    The ultimate goal that Shawnee Inn tries to achieve is to make sure that the people who are take part in this event are enjoying their time. The staff tries to make everything perfect for them. They strive to make it the best night and a memorable one as well. Shawnee Inn truly cares about their guests and really do want to make sure they've had a good time.

Sabrinas Cafe

Looking for a nice place to get Breakfast or Brunch? Sabrinas is the place to go. Coming through a part of Drexel University at first sight lies a village type building with tall pointed pillars Surrounded by so many houses and looking like an house lies Sabrina's Cafe. With its grass and front lawn so nicely well kept and its pink flowers in the middle of the lawn covered in snow brings out the small bright blue sign in the middle of the lawn that reads " Sabrinas Cafe". Large Windows surrounded around the building lets you see the faces of many customers inside enjoying their food. This well known restaurant in the area has many college students, walking pass back and forth attracting the attention of others.

As customers walk in they are greeted at the register by a tall young looking waitress wearing a bright pink apron who happens to be a local college student. "How many people do you have today" "Just two" a man responds. While walking to be seated you hear various conversations and laughter of customers sitting around enjoying their time. Customers can notice the nice paintings and pictures on the blue and grey colored walls around the restaurant. Most of which include old famous artists like Elvis and The Beatles. The inside of the restaurant was designed into the look of a old house giving everyone an at home feel experience. All woman employees have a bright pink apron and the men employees wear black. 

Many small oval shaped tables and  wooden chairs stationed around to give the customers an at home experience. On top of each and every table consist of a large pitcher of ice cold water for customers to have at their own request. Blue and white laminated menus lie on the table in front of the chair. Inside the menu buyers can see lists of the their traditional breakfast and lunch. The menu also has its separate side for their signature dishes which include the 2 main ones "Famous Red Velvet Pancake "and the "Stuffed Challah French Toast".

"Being a chef and owner at Sabrinas Cafe isn't just about preparing and cooking the food for the customers its my life and what I always wanted to do as a child . Working as a manager at a Carrabba’s Italian Grill in New Jersey and being part of an industry has motivated me to finally have something of my own. I really wanted to open my own restaurant and I wanted it to be exactly the opposite of a large impersonal chain. " Executive chef Lance says as he grabs his ingredients to prepare his meal. He grabs the lettuce and the tomatoes out the bottom of the refrigerator then a cutting knife and board from the dish rack. In the midst of a crowded day he has several workers helping him to get things done in a timely matter. With him he has 2 prep cooks, managers, and sometimes waiters when there is an emergency. " Creating the menus is one of the hardest things I have to do but I have been very creative making a different menu every 2 weeks" Lance takes pride in having different menus of foods so customers don't feel tired of the same thing." Taking the time to teach and show other people how to do things is what I like most about the job and it gets them ready to move up. In this business, it only depends on how far you want to go. The industry is set up to allow people to move forward.”

Standing next to Lance is Melissa Junior at Drexel University standing next to the plate rack in the kitchen. She puts her blonde curly hair out of her face and into a bun and smiles happily as she makes her way from the back of the kitchen. From the moment she greets me you could tell she is a friendly person. "I have been working here for a internship for college for 5 months and I also plan to have my own restaurant someday when I get older" she quietly says "I like to work with the people here , they make me feel welcomed and I love the atmosphere inside of here". Looking up at the kitchen hangs a line near the back counter, there has many different orders on a ticket and which they were placed.The many different orders had different lengths in paper. " The temperature of the water stays at 75 degrees and you have to wear gloves while washing dishes so you won't get burned. Also every dish has to be completely dried before they can be used. "At first Melissa came off as shy but as soon as you get to know her she is a friendly person". Says one of her co-workers

At the end of the night Melissa is still working hard as she cleans up the remaining dishes  to finish her shift. As of from many customers Sabrina's Cafe is the "best place in town to get high quality food at a low price.

Women's Swimming Making a Splash

Upon walking into the pool at the Nelson field house the musky smell of chlorine hits you upon opening the front doors. The Bloomsburg University Women's Swim Team, comprised of 25 talented young women, have proved that they all deserve a spot on this competitive Varsity team. The Men and Women's head coach Stu Marvin who stands 6 feet tall with a thin frame and encouraging smile from ear to ear, and also alumni to the bloomsburg swim team, has lead these devoted women to a so far undefeated season of 7-0. These ladies could be the only team to come close to this goal since the 1978-1979 team. With their team goal in mind, these ladies could become only the second team ever in Bloomsburg Swimming History to finish a regular season undefeated. 

Sitting on deck at the pool, taking in the scenery, a banner on the second level that reads "Club Stu. Its all about you!" along with some well used, rusty, gym equipment that you could hear clanking in the background. Maroon and gold streamers and balloons hanging from he balcony overlooking the crystal blue pool, along with 8 posters all decorated for a different senior who will be graduating at the end of the spring semester. The lights shine bright and the music plays loud, making for a motivating environment. A white board next to the pool reads "21 days until PSACS!" A huge hanging banner reading "Bloomsburg University Huskies Swimming" serves as the focal piece of the pool.

Lauren Minford a brown haired, cheery, well built, muscular freshman who is a distance swimmer walks into the pool. As we begin talking she informs me that "Stu has worked so hard to build up this team and it is really paying off." However she also adds "its not just natural talent that leads us where we are. Every girl on this team works hard at every practice, everyday." The women take this knowledge, that they need to put in hard work, into every practice.

The combined Men and Women's team, who practice together, total roughly 60 swimmers. It takes 3 different practices to fit them all into the pool comfortably. Minford informs us that "Our practices are split up into sprint group and distance group". She also says "Our practices are specific to the events that we swim." If a sprinter did a distance practice it would not be very beneficial and the same goes for a distance swimmer doing a sprint practice. "All practices are well thought out in order for each swimmer to get the most out of every workout." In the morning the team's both arrive at the pool at 6:30am to lift weights and do dryland workouts. Both sprint and distance groups come together in the mornings to build the necessary muscles needed to pull their bodies through the water efficiently.

A typical morning practice is composed of either a 17 station dryland circuit or an hour and a half swim workout depending on the day. The team's circuit works on many if not all of the muscle groups necessary for swimming. The circuit contains exercises from planks to boxing with a punching bag to benchpress and other weight lifting exercises.  "Morning swim workouts are tough because we cram a lot of yards into a short amount of rest, so we don't get much rest in between sets" Lauren declares grabbing her arm as if in pain. After morning practice and a day crammed with classes and studying, these swimmers still have one more practice to look forward to but not before they are split up into their designated groups.

A distance swimmer is an individual who swims the longer events in meets. Meaning "Anything over a 200. So a 500,1000,1650 free and 400 IM." In order to be able to complete these events you have to have stronger shoulder, arm and leg muscles than a typical sprinter because they use these muscles for a much longer period of time. For this reason, distance group or "D-crew" as they nicknamed themselves, has to "swim mostly freestyle", or front crawl as many know it. Along with this, distance group does a lot of what they call "pull". They put a special shaped buoy between their legs that helps them float. With this the swimmer uses only their arm muscles to pull themselves through the water, without using their legs to kick. This helps them build their arms and shoulders muscles. "To strengthen our legs we do a lot of kicking  because when we are swimming a mile which is 66 laps, our arms get a little tired as you can imagine and we have to rely on our legs to take some of the pressure off of our arms". While Distance group pounds out yards at every practice, sprint group trains in a slightly different manor.

A sprinter is considered a swimmer who swims 200's and below of any stroke. For this I talked to sophomore Marykate Boylan, a lean muscular 100 and 50 freestyler. Boylan admits "being a sprinter has much more to do with technique than anything else. Being aware of body position is one of the keys to efficiency." Sprinters tend to be very technically aware because they don't have much time to fix something if they mess up during a swim. "We swim for 4 laps as opposed to 66. If we make a mistake it is harder to recover from it in that short of a time." A typical sprint practice involves a lot of fast swimming with little rest in between swims. "While we might be swimming half the yards that distance group does, we are still getting out butts kicked everyday." All of the hard work from both distance and spring group pays off when it comes meet time.

At swim meets both distance and sprint groups come together under the goal in front of them, to post best times and bring home a win. Swim meets are set up in the way that every event must be swam and every swimmer must swim at least 1 event but no more than 4 events. There are also high pressure and intensity relays at the beginning and the end. Lauren pleasantly states "At meets you will never see anyone sitting down or being distracted by anything. We are all cheering trusting that the hard work we have put into practices pays off with a win." Coach Stu enforces strongly the positive environment on the pool deck. "Stu tells us that during practice its all about hard work and pushing each other but at meets its all about attitude" Lauren tells me, which is a far cry from her High School team coach who's attitude screamed I don't want to be here! "This is because on the pool deck emotions are high and it is easy to feed off of each others energy and vibes, good or bad" Boylan exclaimed smiling, knowing that the Huskies do an excellent job of enforcing a positive attitude. The womens team pulls together to enforce the positive attitude surrounding them by cheering and supporting their fellow team mates. Marykate grinning says "As much as people think swimming is an individual sport, its also a team sport. It would be hard to do any of this without teammates who push you in practice and cheer for you during meets. on the outside it looks like an individual sport, but on the inside its much more than that."

These ladies have clearly been working hard for many months, starting their season in late September, and practicing twice a day 5-6 times a week. Their hard work and drive has lead the way to an undefeated season so far and with a PSAC win in their grasp, these ladies are hoping to reach out and grab a well deserved victory. In order for everything to fall into place they must have a good attitude come meet time and let their hard work show.

Not Your Average Auto Parts

Coming from a small Pennsylvanian town lies a small, privately owned Carquest. Carquest is a national corporation that was, in recent years, bought by Advanced Auto Parts. For Mike Mummey, his Carquest has stayed the same for 25 years regardless of the intentions of Advanced Auto Parts. Owner Mike Mummey has lived in Palmerton, Pa all his life and upon graduating high school, Mike has worked hard his entire life to run the productive business he has owned for a quarter of a century.

Figure 1

Upon walking into this small structured building, the universally loved "new car" smell filled the nostrils. Bolts, tools, and small appliances filled the room as they sat on royal blue metal shelves that reminded me of shelves that a hardware store would have. The white tiled flooring bared a few black streaks from the shelves being moved on them. Straight back from the door was a large desk spread to the width of the store which held four company computers surely used by the cashiers (Figure 1). Hung on the walls were huge pictures in glass casings with black frames. The frames held pictures of old vintage cars that must have been employee favorites.

"This store is a parts importer where we order any kind of auto part you can think of. We buy from large corporations and distribute them to garages or the "do-it-yourself" workers who need the parts. We don't hire mechanics to fix cars, or even fix cars in general." Explained Mike.

The clarification between an auto parts dealer and a garage is needed when there is a fine line separating the two types of business.

"HEY!" exclaimed a new and merry customer who had a grizzly beard and a tan Carhart jacket which seemed to be the jacket of choice in this town.

"HEY! Ron, how are you doing?!" questioned the shorter, glasses wearing cashier that had not been visible behind the cashiers' computer before.

"Do you have those front brakes I called last week about?" the customer asked.

"Sure do. Here you go, and remember, those rear brake rotor sizes are larger in the back than the ones you got in the front. So just make sure you remember that when you're putting this in. Take care Ron I'll see you around buddy." the employee determinedly explained.

"Don't treat me like a woman Rick I know how to do this! Haha! Be good now." replies Ron as he exits the store. 

As Mike walks to the front desk to see what the yelling is about, he returns a loud shout to the now gone customer. Mike was 6'3 and had a lender statue. Dressed in jeans, a Carquest polo shirt, and sunglasses that look like a prop from the movie, The Matrix, the owner Mike retreats back to the back of the store where the main storage area was. This room was much larger than the one used by normal customers and was used mainly for storage. From the time a part came into the store until the time it left, here, on these much larger but exactly the same looking shelves as the front main room was where the part would stay. The shelves were 10-12 feet taller than those in the front and had many more and much larger parts (Figure 2). This room was organized part by part and even had an assembly bench for one or multiple employees to take parts apart or piece together for the customer. Brakes, tires, and mufflers were only a small fraction of the plethora of parts that were in this room. Not only did large parts stay back here but also the expensive, technical ones that are too valuable to hold in the front of the store.

Figure 2

On the way back to the front was the managers office where Mike, his co-manager and wife Michelle, and another assistant had their offices. Cluttered and filled with paperwork were two large brown mahogany desks that had a shine from the large energy-efficient light attached to the ceiling. Above the work spaces were cabinets of matching wood and color tone. In between the woodwork were pictures of family and friends. The 3 black leather rolling chairs looked new and didn't give much walking space in the room.

"The environment of this business has been the same for as long as I can really remember. Some of these workers have been here longer than I have and still teach me about the business that I own. Everything has been kept loose at the shop for a long time and I wouldn't want it any other way. I have a lot of respect for the employees here and they all show me respect as well. Our family here has worked together and made success for years." Mike had talked about while reminiscing a small amount. 

Private business gives many personal connections that do not happen in larger corporations and this shows true in Mike Mummey and his Carquest. His relationship with his family, customers, and employees have never been looked at as separate things. Calmness and friendship filled the air as the "new car" scent had surely become unnoticed. This auto parts store is writing a great story that integrates professionalism with a loose family setting that couldn't have been written anywhere else besides in a small town that holds a small auto parts store.

Life in the ER

     Dim lights, eggshell colored walls, white tiles with splashes of green, and the scent of a freshly cleaned floor, its no other place than the Pottsville hospital. The word EMERGENCY in big red letters awaits you as you walk through the front door. Many believe that the doctors are the important people in hospitals, but really, the nurses are what keeps it going. Robin is one of those people, a nurse at the Pottsville hospital and has been for over 13 years.

     "I love my job, I wouldn't change it for the world," exclaimed Robin, with a slight Cuban accent, as she cleans off her snowman scrubs. Robin, who is tall, gorgeous, and has skin that was kissed by the sun, is constantly busy. She states, on average she sees, between 15-20 patients on a daily basis. With life how it is today, everybody always in a hurry and being selfish, aggressive drivers, its not out of the ordinary for a nurse, like Robin to see such a significant amount of patients in an eight hour period, ranging from the flu, to vehicular accident victims. "My favorite part of my job, is when we see leaving through those doors. I love knowing that we helped that person." She knew she wanted to become a nurse about 30 years when her grandfather was sick and a nurse would come everyday to help him. She said to her grandfather, "Popop, one day I'm going to be that lady so I could take care of you." Robin loves helping people and this is why she excels at her job.

      She states, "I think some people believe nurses are unappreciated, but in fact we really aren't." If one was to ask a civilian casually strolling down the street if they feel nurses are under appreciated, they would probably say yes. "Of course the doctors and surgeons make the big bucks and seems as if they only see the patients for just a moment, but they have much more knowledge than us," Robin voiced. Some may not know, but doctors have almost 12 years of schooling before they can practice their specialty. That is so much more knowledge and experience behind them, compared to a nurse's 4 years of schooling, so it sort of makes sense that a doctor would make a significant amount of money more a than a nurse. She includes, "They also have to take their cases home with them, and remember what patient takes what medication and all of their medical history." Getting into medical school is a tremendous feat itself and not to mention all of the late, caffeine filled nights studying while in med school. Doctors really do a lot of work, it just may seem different because not all people see what goes on behind the scenes. The nurses do the "dirty work" but that is what they signed up to do.

     A nurse has numerous jobs to do, especially in a hospital setting. "My job here is to do charting, which is pretty much assessing the patient, relay messages they tell me to one of our doctors on call, administer a drugs, stay on my toes incase of an emergency, all while keeping a smile on my face," Robin chuckles. Depending on the work environment, the job description of all nurses are pretty much the same, some more high stress, such as ICU nurses, and some more of a relaxed environment like an in home nurse. Robin paces from one room to the next as two patients, one in 239, the other, 242 ring their buzzers. After finishing in 242, she stops to take off her black Dansko clogs to rub her left foot, slides it back on and glides to 239. Clearly in some sort of suffering, she does all this while still keeping a big, beautiful smile on her face, like a child on Christmas morning.


     "I get along with all of our doctors and other nurses, there are some patients that test my last nerve, but I just put a smile on my face and continue to do my job the best I can,"she remarks. "I don't know how to does it, keeps a smile on her face when I know on the inside she wants to scream in their face," added Judy, another nurse at the hospital. To be a nurse, one must always keep their cool and never get frustrated, especially with patients, thats a great way to loose a good job. Working in a hospital is like working in any other place, the coworkers are almost like family. Everyday the same people, and over time they grow on you and eventually becoming best of friends.

     I notice a little wrinkled old man, with white hair walking around in his polka dotted gown pulling his IV stand around, like he was walking a dog. He said he was in there for chest pains, and significantly enough he was in room 239, the same room that Robin respond to just moments ago. Heart disease is the number one cause of death in the US, so it is not uncommon for any person to go to the hospital with chest pains. Carl was his name, and he states that, "The staff at the Pottsville hospital is some of the most friendly people I have ever met." He specifically mentions Robin as "the nicest and most beautiful nurse" that has treated him in his 76 short years on this Earth.  He has traveled all over the world with the Navy, and has seen many hospitals. "I expected them to treat me like another old fart on the street, but they actually took the time to talk to me and made me feel special, its a shame to say, but these people are nicer than my wife" declares Carl with a tiny grin on his aged face. After our talk, Carl waddles toward the elevator which "dings" about every 45 seconds.
  
     Sirens fill the air as a big red ambulance pulls up, and a large, muscular EMT dashes in with a patient on stretcher. "MVA," he yelled in a deep voice. About 4 nurses jump into action as soon as the EMT busted through the emergency room door, a doctor, in a lab coat and gloves in hand, followed not long after. "We need to get him to the OR," demanded the doctor. After everything settled down, the nurses returned to their station. Robin walked over and said, "See what I mean when I said stay on my toes."

 

 

Being a head coach for Women's Lacrosse at Bloomsburg University


"Let's work hard today ladies", that's usually how coach starts off practice. Whether we are inside the gym because of the bad weather, or outside on the turf at Stephen Petit Stadium and a cold, sunny day, coach Shannon Hertz always has us going one hundred miles an hour and giving our all.

Being a head coach for a division II team can be tough at times for her. Coach Shannon is also a mom. With her transition of being an assistant coach at division III Catholic University of America in Washington D.C to Bloomsburg University, Shannon was forced to move to Bloomsburg without her husband who still has a job in D.C. "Being away from my husband and not seeing him a lot is emotionally and physically hard and sometimes draining dealing with my two sons by myself." Her day consists of waking up early to get her two young sons, Jackson and Jayden ready for daycare while managing to get ready for work herself. After she drops the kids off at daycare or the babysitters, she gets into the office and plans her day by laying out a practice plan, and all the paperwork she has to get done that day. With all the chaos, her day never goes according to plan and things like practice usually change. Shannon usually makes practice from 6-8am or 3-5pm, depending on the weather and her schedule. She has to leave her office by 5:30 everyday to go get her kids from day care. Being a head coach means everyday is different. Some good days, some bad.

"There are no days off when you are a head coach because if you aren't on the field coaching, then you are in the office doing emails, and other paperwork." All the paperwork, recruiting, and fundraising; otherwise known as the office part is the least favorite part of Shannon's job. To Shannon this is her least favorite because she would rather be out on the field interacting with the team. "Scholarships are the most stressful part about recruiting because the college itself doesn't have enough money as I would like to give to my players. I believe every player deserves money when it comes to playing at a division II level." In order to keep our scholarships, Shannon stays on top of the teams grades and school work. Each player has to meet with coach every other week for an academic meeting. In these meetings we go over things such as classes, grades, and even life in general. Whenever a team member has a problem or is stressed out about anything, we always turn to Shannon first because she was in our shoes once and understands what we are going through.

Being a head coach was something Shannon always wanted to do. She worked her way to the top and started her coaching career off at her alma mater, Lock Haven University as an assistant coach. After She went to Catholic University of America where she spent three years as an assistant coach. When the offer as a head coach for Bloomsburg opened up, Shannon knew she had to take it. Being a head women's lacrosse was something Shannon wanted to do not only to support her family more, but also for her love of the game. "I enjoy practice more then games" says coach Shannon. She believes the team does most of our improvement in practice and her favorite thing is watching us get better everyday. " When I watch the team play, I notice the lightbulbs going off in their heads and it makes me so happy to know that they are understanding and getting better."

I like division II better then division III because I feel there is more team interaction. For example, in division II teams have fall ball practices and tournaments, where as division III doesn't. This means that there is more room for team bonding. Coach Shannon is all about team bonding. This past fall she divided our team into four separate groups, each group had to come up with team name, theme song, color, and logo. This gave the girls a chance to hangout and bond with girls they don't normally hangout with outside of lacrosse. She has little activities set up for us every once in a while that gives each team a chance to earn points. At the end of the season, the team with the most points, wins a prize. "Team bonding is probably my most favorite thing about coaching because I love seeing the girls interact with one another and make memories with there teammates. When there is a good team bond, it shows on the field and overall the team improves."

Coach Shannon Hertz loves being a head coach even with the hardships that come with it. "My team is my second family and I wouldn't trade them for the world." Shannon's goals as a head coach for the future are to win a PSAC (Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference), and just overall have her team improve each and everyday.

Pink Hands of Hope

Figure 1

     While driving down Trindle Road in Mechanicsburg, PA, various different shops line each side of the lengthy, narrow stretch. However, one store in particular called  Pink Hands of Hope Thrift Store stands out among the rest. "We're located on East Trindle Road. You won't miss us," explains Brian Gaughan, the Co-Founder of Pink Hands of Hope, when interested customers first contact his establishment. Brian’s undeniable charisma and enthusiasm compels most callers to pay a visit to the store. Once they arrive at the store they find Brian’s brief, straight-forward directions were accurate. As the patrons pull into the small parking lot, a supersized white and pink adirondack chair sitting beside a large sign with two  handprints, each one a different shade of pink, lets them know they have arrived at the correct destination. (Figure 1) From the vertical pink stripes adorning the white cinderblock exterior, to the minute details such as the pink paint splattered rocks surrounding the shrubbery near the entrance, the appearance of the store is pleasing  to the eye and has the ability to awaken the girly girl inside of anyone. The front display window decorated on the outside with pink accents encases beautiful wedding gowns. Hanging inside of the front window is also a bright flashing sign letting bargain hunters know that Pink Hands of Hope is open and ready for business.
 
     Inside of the store, a friendly, middle-aged woman stands behind the counter greeting customers with a warm welcome.  Racks full of sweaters, jackets, jeans, dresses, shoes, and every other wardrobe essential span the length of the alternating rosy pink and white cinderblock walls. (Figure 2) Other racks consisting of baby clothes, medical scrubs, and wedding dresses camouflage the neutral, washed out carpeting. Not only does the store sell clothing, but they also sell books, jewelry, purses, furniture, home goods, and holiday decorations. Selling these other items broadens their customer base. The aroma reminds me of my grandparent's basement, stale and musty yet filled with character. The woman tending the counter treats every shopper with such respect, and makes the atmosphere very customer orientated. However, she is not the only one with this attitude. Brian, an average height, gray-haired man, is just as welcoming and willing to share the mission of Pink Hands of Hope.

Figure 2

Figure 3

     On June 1, 2009, Pink Hands of Hope opened in Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania after Brian's wife conquered her battle with breast cancer. After Brian's wife endured four major surgeries and chemotherapy over a span of eleven months, they began looking for financial help. "You see pink ribbons all over the place so there's got to be help out there, right?" Brian hypothetically asks. Unfortunately, Brian found that no one was able to help him while his family was knee-deep in medical bills. Brian explains, "I'm middle class with three daughters to support so I started down the path to set this up." Brian and his wife chose to start their non-profit organization, Pink Hands of Hope, to help survivors and women fighting not only breast cancer, but all types of cancer. "Any women that comes in our door that's fighting cancer, we give them free wigs, free clothing, free chemo caps, free prosthetics, and free bras". The sense of pride and satisfaction is tangible as Brian speaks of the work he does with the women who come into his shop. Last year in 2014, Pink Hands of Hope helped 227 women. The ability and plethora of resources to help that many cancer patients and survivors out of such a small store astonishes all who hear the story of Pink Hands of Hope. When patrons and visitors of the store express their admiration of all his work, Brian leads them outside the store to show them the "Wall of Hope." (Figure 3) One side of the building consists of 500 cinderblocks, where all the survivors that Bryan, his family, and volunteers have helped place their handprints along with their names. "The goal is that when somebody comes in and they say, I just got diagnosed with cancer, I'm going to take her out here and show her all the people who beat the disease before her so it offers her the hope that she can beat the disease too." The combination of Brian's charisma as he spoke and seeing all the names of the survivors united is inspiring and makes myself and others want to know more about how we can help.
    
     Pink Hands of Hope mainly depends on the help of volunteers to run the store on a daily basis. While Brian raises money, gets sponsorships, picks up donations, and organizes social events, middle-aged retired volunteers work behind the desk cashing out sales and interacting with customers. From time to time, student volunteers from high schools in the area come in to sort clothes and organize the store. Young kids assist Brian with advertising through Facebook and other social media sites. Since Brian established Pink Hands of Hope as a non-profit organization, they do not have the funds for advertising. Therefore, the majority of their business and exposure come from Facebook, word of mouth, good location, and church partnerships. Churches also hold clothing drives to collect donations for the store. Consignment stores donate clothing once the consignment period ends, and the public drop off donations because the store lacks funds to purchase donation bins. These are just a few examples of how crucial the community's help and involvements is to allow Pink Hands of Hope to continue helping women defeat cancer for years to come.

Building a Park in the Dark

             Nestled in the Pocono Mountains in Northern Pennsylvania, is a small ski resort that goes by the name Big Boulder. As you pull into the parking lot you will notice that the mountain is not very large, only consisting of about 14 trails. You may be asking yourself why you would want to know about this very small resort. Well you will notice that once you buy your ticket from the office in the basement and walk up the staircase to the lifts, that the mountain consists of mostly terrain parks. If you have never been skiing or snowboarding you may not know what a terrain park is. A terrain park is a slope that has a series of jumps, rails, boxes, and other objects to perform tricks on. Now there are many places where you can ride terrain parks but none as good as Big Boulder, at least not in PA that is. That is what makes this resort special.

           Big Boulder's park crew is dedicated to their work and really cares about how their parks turn out. When I interview Tom Schmidt, lead park builder, he said “ We work our butts off to maintain our reputation as the best parks in PA.” You can tell that he is dedicated to his work by the way he sits off to the side of the trails and watches people hit the features and gives them tips on how they may be able to enhance their riding style. But what makes their parks different? Well if you go anywhere else in PA you will notice that there is no “Flow” in their parks. “ We take a lot of time and consideration into making sure that our features flow into each other and there is enough space to make sure you have speed to hit the next one.” said Schmidt. Another nice feature about Big boulders parks are that if you go on a Wednesday there is a brand new park built by Sunday. “ Saturday night after closing and into the opening on Sunday we rebuild all of our parks. Its nice to come back and not ride the same park over and over again.” to go along with brand new parks every couple of days, they also have a variety of parks that range in size.

Figure 2- Love Park

           The biggest part about riding park is not to ride above your skill level. Big boulder does a good job of helping you do that by having a variety of park sizes. Freedom park, the smallest park, is a great choice for beginners. After riding the 2 person lift to the top of the trail you will see that it is not very steep. This helps you to maintain control into features. “ All of the features on Freedom are beginner level. All of the rails are ride on, and the jumps are fairly small.” commented Schmidt. The next park that you may wanna try after graduating Freedom is Boulder Park. Boulder is a midlevel park with gaps to rails and gap jumps. “ This park is probably our most popular because, while it is not easy, most people that come can do most of the feature with ease.” The final park that Schmidt talked to me about was Love Park. This is the largest park that they have. The rails are 15 to 20 feet long with a skate style entry, meaning that you have to enter the rails at an angle. In general all of the feature are more difficult, but none as difficult at the set of three booters at the bottom. These booters (jumps) have a 20 to 25 foot gap to the landing (see figure 2). “ This is the park I enjoy the most. This is where you see all of our park riders busting out all of their biggest tricks. Even some locals show off some pretty impressive tricks on this park.” After see an object flipping through the air I decided to investigate it. I found out that that object was actually Mark Gessner, a local who rides at big boulder quite often. "This park is so sick, we are really lucky to have a place like this so close. Not many places have jumps big enough to land rodeos (540 degree sideways rotation front flip)" These are the people that give Boulder its reputation.

                                       

            Big boulder park may be a small resort but you can easily have a better time here then any where else due to the variety of terrain parks. In Pennsylvania we do not have the best mountains or the best conditions to ride in, but Big Boulder does their best to make the most out of it. Their hard work and dedication has gotten them a good reputation for building parks, so much that they have been hosting the Trans-world Snowboarding “Trans AM” the past couple of years which brings in pros for a park style competition. Thats right you can be riding on the same snow that professionals are riding on, and for a very low price. Big boulder is only $18 for a 3PM-9PM ticket on Sunday night. Maybe the next time you are bored, you will consider Big Boulder Park.

The True Meaning of Teamwork

Figure 1

     When first walking into the office of Head Coach Bill Cleary, the first thing that you come across are three large windows with a red window pane looking out onto the court, overseeing anything that might be going on. Usually, around this time of year he will see either some of the men or women basketball players out there working on their game most of the time. Coach Cleary is in his seventh season here at Bloomsburg University as the women's head basketball coach. At the beginning of a new season no coach knows how well or bad the season is going to be. "Each season is always fun and there are different challenges each year when the season begins", he replies.
     Most of the time time he sits on his computer. As soon as your walk into his office, to the immediate right on his desk the computer sits. Along with his computer is also a mess of papers that deal with team stats, opponent stats, and other materials, such as plays, pictures, DVDs, office supplies, and memorabilia from the past and of his family. Above him are cabinets where he stores all his papers and belongings. On top of the cabinets are pictures from his past seasons and achievements that has has accomplished (see Figure 1). In his office is where Coach Cleary does most of his work for the women's basketball team. While on his computer he does scouting for teams that they play and watches games that they have already played to see what they could better and fix. Coach Cleary says, "Each scout is different, how we prepare for each team is different. Each team is unique with what they do and so we try and exploit their weaknesses best we can".

Figure 2

     The things that Coach Cleary does in his office are very important when it comes to practice and game day. When walking onto the court from the locker room, first thing you notice is the vast gym. The pulled in maroon bleachers span across the entire basketball court. Six baskets surround the gym, he two main baskets are the only two baskets that have shot clocks on top of them. The remaining four baskets are used for when there is not any more room on the two main baskets or if you would just use one of them. When the women practice they all go as hard as they can, so that they all can get better and get ready for their opponent as well. As practice begins they all line up on the baseline that reads in big bold letters painted gold white and maroon saying 'BLOOMSBURG'.
     Before they actually begin practice they stretch and warm up. While they stretch they chit chat about what is going to happen in practice that day.While the coaches are standing in the corner talking about the practice schedule themselves. The girls move from one stretch to next then run down the court and back just once to begin drills that start practice. Breaking off into groups of two's and one group of three and begin shooting at the baskets. Each time you can hear either the ball hitting the rim or swishing through the net. While shooting each girl says "good job" or "nice shot" out loud to one another. There is time on the clock counting down for how long each drill will last. The clock rest high above the gym in the rafters with bright orange lights for all to see .As time expires on the clock they begin scouting for their next team they are about to play. Coach Cleary calls some of players out onto the court to run the plays that the other team will be running. Running  through one or two of their plays and the girls. The starters of the team come out and guard those who are are already on the court (see Figure 2). They run though the plays two or three times to ensure they know how to guard it. There is yelling about who is cutting where on the court, sneakers screeching as everyone is moving, and the sound of the ball hitting the floor when people dribble. At some points Coach Cleary will stop them and make a coaching point about how he wants something to be done. Whether it be a particular way to guard someone or how he wants the girls to rotate when the ball gets passed around. That how one of the teams practices goes, but rarely do they do the same drills two days in a row.
     Just looking amongst all the players and coaches, you can see how well all of them get along with one another. Coach Cleary responds with, "This all started with Coach Decker and myself, this is the environment we wanted to have. Then you have to give the credit to the players for understanding that this is the atmosphere we want to have." It is not that hard to notice this as well. Varying between a game and being away from the sport it is easy to notice how well they get along (see Figure 3).

Figure 3

The women's basketball team, has the greatest group of players and coaches that everyone loves to see play and hang out with any time. Each and everyone of them know how to put a smile on anyone's face or even just be there to help you in a time of need. They are all truly inspirational to anybody who meets them.                 

    

In the Life of a True Hero

     Imagine going to work, saying goodbye to your family, and knowing that there's a chance you might leave them forever and never coming home. Imagine a job that  puts you under intense scrutiny by the media and the community that you swore to protect everyday. Making arrests, dogging bullets, dealing with some of the worst criminals society has to offer, and saving lives as just part of a typical day in the office. It takes a true test of character, will, determination, and devotion to take on such a job as this one. This for tells the job of a true hero, a police officer.
    
     People become police officers for many particular reasons whether it's to serve justice, to protect people, save lives, help people make better choices in life, or just for the vast variety in diversity of job tasks it takes someone who willing devotes their lives to making a difference. Endless possibilities occur when saving the life in the line of duty. Police officers may have to face there fears when battling against a hot fire with black cloud blowing in there face making it hard to breathe while trying to pull a person from a burning car or house fire. They could also serve in a first aid to a shooting where they need to calm the bleeding victim down from their shrikes of pain while compression the bloody wounds and being able to stomach the site of it all. For my father, Police Chief Barry Templin of Douglassville Township Police department, his reason to join was very clear. "I became a police officer because the profession I was in was becoming boring and monotonous. It didn't seem to have a purpose," he proclaimed. "The police profession sparked my curiosity because I would get to give back to our community and I would get to see things that people will never see in a lifetime. No two days are the same. The profession is exiting, and I felt meaning and purpose when it came to going to work."


Chief Barry Templin

     Police Chief Templin has been a cop for 24 years now and a police chief for 10. He stands at 6'4'' and is roughly 275 pounds. Looking into Chief Templin's green eyes and noticing his military crew cut and brown mustache shows his strong, intimidating demeanor as a cop. Then you are slowly relieved but the rushing feeling of his strict but fair attitude when on the job.

     Chief Templin has worked all his life being an officer at Douglass Township. He stated off as a patrol officer made his way through the ranks by becoming a Lieutenant, then a Sargent, and finally when the old chief retired was offered Chief. In the township you will find ten other officers including two secretaries in the office. His officers are very qualified some having a pervious history in the military. One if his officers is also on the SWAT team and very qualified and well trained when it comes to their firearms. The other officers need at least a college degree and Chief Templin is very strict on who he hires to represent his department. This is essentially the crew Chief Templin works when coming into work each day.

Front of Douglass Township police department.

     Chief Templin wakes up early every morning around 6 so he can get into the office by 7. The night  time officers are usually rapping up at this time as the morning shift begins to come in. When coming up onto the station you get a sense of safety and security running through you because you know each officer in that building is willing to do anything within their power to protect you and their community from the evil in the streets. The building has a make up of brick wall and has a sign welcoming you into the station. Tons of cop cars fill the parking lot that the officers take out while on duty everyday of the job. Some include typical patrol cars, jeeps, and a dodge charger typically used for catching speeders. Coming through the door, a secretary, found to the left and a two way mirror to the right. You must know the pad code at the door to actually get you into the station. Once in the station there typically sits three to four officers working at there desks in full uniform. The desks take open up the floor by sitting pushed against the walls going around the rectangular room standing on a brown carpet. Towards the back of the room contain two separate rooms that belong to the Chief and Sargent of the station.

     Each morning starts with roll call where Chief Templin goes over the what happened on the night shift, any updates the officers need informed of, and what to expect and what tasks to handle for the day. After, he then checks the record management system to approve and review calls written by the officers the previous night. Doing all the paperwork contains, to some, the most stressful part of the job. Chief Templin believes the complete opposite. "The main source of stress in this job when I was working the street was the shift work.  Too many times than not, it took away from my personal life" he stated in a lower and sadder tone of voice. "I was unable to attend many family functions and events because I was working.  I dealt with the stress by working out.  Many times I would get done work at 0600 hours and be at the gym at 0630 hours working out to relieve me of my stress." Stress makes it very difficult on officers to cope with when on and off duty. They see the worst society has to offer and need to find ways of coping healthy so it doesn't effect their family life or the life they live off the job.

      Once the record management system has been completed that day, there's a meeting with the township manager to discuss and new or important factors that  go on in the community and need addressing. Also at thee meeting topics, some of the occurrences that are taken place more frequently then others and new methods to handle in order to deter them form occurring again are discussed upon. "The most common occurrences that my police officers face on the street are your routine activities such as: traffic accidents, traffic stops, domestic issues, drug issues, and thefts.  I am in an administrative position so my duties are more in line of keeping the police department running smoothly and making sure the police officers have the tools to do the job." For the chief of police conducting meetings occurs as an essential part of there jobs. Meetings keep the township up and running and all the officers in order. All meetings stay open to the general public to come and listen to how the police are keeping their community running and in order. Attending these meetings brings a sense of relief to the citizens of the community knowing that the township runs as it should and that the officers keep deterring crime in which in return make the streets safe.

     UCR's or Uniformed Crime Reports show another essential job for the Chief to handle. UCR's measure time and place. Uniformed Crime Reports are data collected from the police departments about the arrests and criminal activity in there community. URC's take place once a month. They also represent the primary source of crime rates for the media. As good as the reports on crime state, they may not always come out very accurate. The UCR's weakness shows that not all crimes  report to the police and not every arrest that's made actually go to trail and convict that criminal which can be very discouraging at times. "A thing that discourages me at time in our profession is dealing with the judicial system when writing up the UCR's. At times the end result of a case does not turn out how you wish it would especially for the victim," Chief Templin stated with distaste. When writing up UCR's the Chief gets to see all the crimes that were actually convicted and those they were released and then report it to the State Police so they can log it into their statistics.

Row of police cars at the station.

     Since the UCR's take place only once a month Chief Templin then has extra time on other days to patrol the streets. He usually goes through all the neighborhoods and businesses to make the patrol car seen to the community. Allowing the patrol car to be seen helps to deter crime and build up community relations. While on patrol Chief Templin came up onto a familiar road. "This was my first arrest was, a D.U.I. arrest," he said excitingly."I observed a van drive up onto the sidewalk and crash into the guiderail of an overpass bridge on SR-0073.  The driver fled from the van and I pursued him on foot and caught him later hiding behind some bushes.  The driver was two times the legally limit." This was one of Chief Templin's proudest moments not because of the man who could have veered off the road at any point and harmed himself or someone else on the road, but for the fact that now he felt as though he was finally making a difference protecting the evil from the prey. While going down some narrow woods in the back of the township as the sun started setting you could almost get a sense of sadness and a stern but serious look came across Chief Templin. Across from a small bridge was a dark house in the back of the woods with just a little light shinning in the window. It was a house you would see in a horror movie and think to yourself, why would these idiots head into that house. "The most severe call that I handled was a triple homicide on July 02, 2011.  One of the deceased was a two year old child.  It was very emotional and shocking to every police officer’s psyche," Officer Templin stated with despairing mournful sound in his voice." This gives witness to just one of the many horrible sites that the police come across on this cruel job. On a better note there are also things the chief Templin enjoys doing on the job, mostly with giving back to the community.

     "Some things that I enjoy about police work are running programs that give back to the community such as: the D.A.R.E. program in which we speak to elementary school children about the dangers of drugs, alcohol, and peer pressure; Drug Take Back Initiative program in which the public is allowed to turn in their unused, unwanted or expired medications to be properly disposed; the Premises Alert program in which allows our police department to better handle some-one who is autistic, mentally ill, or has some other mental disability when they come in contact with police by having their information beforehand." Police work contains more then fighting crime or seeing all these terrible acts of violence. Sometimes the most important way to give back to the community involves being there and helping someone in need, helping them learn right from wrong so that they have a chance at  wonderful and successful future.

Police Glock 22 with Chief Templin's badge and cuffs.

     As a ending to the very long day in the life of a police officer chief Templin heads back to the station to finish paperwork, take incoming calls, or clean his weapon, the Glock 22 (.40 caliber). A cops weapon arises as an essential part of him and his duties. Unlike many people think its a last resort in self-defensive when his life or the life of another innocent civilian gets threatened. All cops come extremely well trained when it comes to handling, operating, and shooting the weapon when needed to. During the academy they learn how to operate their weapon to the fullest extent. They know to take it apart piece by piece and re-assemble it once again. They know the in and outs of the weapon and how to handle it with care and precision. They know how to properly clean the weapon and finally how to execute with shooting it so they it may protect them and the citizens of their township. Many citizens and even the media make cops out as the bad guys when having to use their weapon in the line of duty. Police officers receive notification day one in the academy that lethal force and a last resort in order to control crime. Nothing more, nothing less. "I do not have any real feelings about carrying a firearm.  For me its apart of the police officer’s tool bag just like a flashlight and handcuffs would be.  I really do not think about the possibility of taking some-one’s life because that is something that I nor any police officer sets out to do.  I would rather try to work things out and steer whoever it may be on a more righteous and responsible path.  Deadly force is the last resort; however, for protection of life of myself or the victim, yes, I do not have any hesitation on using it."

     The career choice of police officers contain a very demanding job where anything could happen on any given day. It's a choice, a commitment for the strong, determined, and the loyal. Many obstacles need overcoming with being involved in law enforcement to protect yourself and the community you serve every day. Police officers don't look for the glory, the fame, or a spotlight in the papers, they only need to feel the change they make in their community and that's what makes them true hero's.

Behind The Scenes Of Mens Basketball

     When you hear about the Bloomsburg Men's basketball team all you hear about is the coaches and the players you never hear about what happens behind the scenes. When people talk about the basketball team they love to say "How great that player is" or "Wow that coach did a great job preparing them for that game", but who does all the work behind the scenes? The work that goes unnoticed is the work of the team manager. The Manager does all the dirty work, the stuff the coaches, and the players don't have the time to accomplish. Being a Manager is not an easy job you have to do a lot of things that people would never expect. Josh Tanner, the teams manager, puts his free time and effort to better the team and players. His heart and passion are one hundred percent involved in the team, and he loves what he does despite how frustrating it can be at times.




Figure 1

 " I have to help with every practice, most of the time I sit and do the clock but I also jump in and throw passes to the post players." Josh is very enthusiastic during the practices. He likes to get the guys riled up and gets them motivated for the rough practice ahead. When one of the guys would miss a shot he would always say thing like "don't worry man you will make the next". He is always using his encouraging words to keep up the team spirit. he always knows how to stay positive and put a smile on their faces. Sometimes he would stand up and start to clap and yell just to pump them up. Before each practice he has to get everything ready. He had to grab the balls out of the small gloomy white and grey room with some tall metal cabinets(See Figure 1). Then grab the gold jerseys out of the chilly maroon, white, and grey locker room. So that during practice if coach wanted three teams there would be a maroon, white and gold.

Figure 2

     The huge gymnasium known as Nelson Field House beginning to get filled up and all ages coming into the court (See Figure 2). It was game night the huskies practiced all week preparing for this game. There are four sides of the bleachers two on each sideline, and two on the baselines they are all maroon. Josh in his position at the top of the bleachers on the one sideline preparing to film. "I do this so that after the game the coaches can see what mistakes the players have made and what they have done right," Josh said. If it wasn't for his film how would the coaches and players know where they need to improve? Josh is a huge asset to the team , he isn't just the manager, he's the heart of the team.
     Film is one of the toughest things that Josh has to do because it consists of so much movement and parts of it. Not only does he film the game, but after the game put it up on this website that is orange, black, and grey. Not the happiest looking website online, it has a symbol also that looks sort of like a fan with three fins and it is orange. It is a website just for sports either basketball or football are the most common it is used for. Josh has to go anywhere he can to get a computer to use to add the film to that website, and share it to all the players. If he doesn't do that none of the players can watch the film without the coaches.
     No matter if it's a game or practice you will see Josh Tanner there cheering on the Men's Basketball Team. He will be the first up cheering yelling whether the men are winning a game or even finishing a simple drill in practice. Some days more then others when the team needs him more he will be yelling and trying to get the men to smile. He truly is a huge contribution to the team many people don't know how much he does, and he doesn't get the recognition deserves for the hard work he puts in. So next time you are at a game take a look up at the top of the bleachers, and you will see Josh doing his behind the scenes work.