CU student, Hannah McElheney, is currently attempting to help educate students on Bloomsburg campus services through a podcast.
Many students have mixed knowledge on what they know and don’t know about campus services.
McElheney is a senior social work student who is trying to change that. She also works on campus as an RA. However, McElheney has turned her job into an internship in order to assist more students than just her residents.
“I’m doing all of my normal RA responsibilities… but I’m also doing an informational podcast and self-help groups in all of the residential buildings,” says McElheney.
The podcast
The podcast is called “Services for You at CU”. The first three episodes feature the following services:
- The Women’s & LGBTQ+ Center
- Center for Access and Engagement
- Title IX and Student Conduct
Each episode features someone who works at the service, and they explain what exactly is offered. For instance, when she featured the Women’s & LGBTQ+ Center, she brought student worker Mateo Mitchell as a guest speaker.
When you pay to come to university, you aren’t just paying for classes. You’re paying for the resources that are made for students. Many students aren’t made aware of the resources that are provided on campus. The podcast is supposed to make that easier for them.
“How are you gonna know where to start when there are over 40 offices that might have what you need,” McElheney says, “so my idea was ‘what if I could create a podcast that would simplify them’.”
McElheney chose to do this in a podcast format because she believes that more people would listen to the podcast rather than search through their inbox.
“I just want to get information to students, I just want people to be able to find the resources that they are entitled to,” said McElheney.
The student response
Many students said that they are aware of some of the services, but not all.
Ayden Lieberson, a sophomore chemistry student that lives on campus says, “If you go to campus events you get educated on the services. I definitely have a lot of friends who don’t know how the services work but that’s on them.”
“I’m not exactly aware of everything offered from campus services. I really just know what’s available to me, which I thought was only the commuter services lounge,” says Riley Fisher, a freshman social work student who commutes, “I think it could help, especially commuters.”
