Bloomsburg University Student to Graduate College and High School Weeks Apart

As Bloomsburg University seniors anxiously await their chance to walk across the stage and receive their diplomas on Sunday, May 15, Max Norfolk, from Danville, a computer science major, is in a unique situation. This spring, Norfolk will graduate from Bloomsburg University and Danville High School, just weeks apart. 

Norfolk started college before he had finished middle school. He enrolled in the Advanced College Experience (ACE) program at BU while in 8th grade in 2017. "Starting college so early was a little weird at first," said Norfolk. "But it wasn't too hard to balance all my classes. During the day, I go to campus and attend classes like a normal college student. The only difference is that at night I still have my high school classes to finish online." 

The most challenging part of the program, according to Norfolk, was scheduling. "In the list of who gets to pick their classes, those of us in the ACE program are at the very bottom," said Norfolk, "It was easier to enroll in my upper-level classes than the lower-level ones." 

"I wasn't apprehensive about this when I first started at BU because I didn't even know that graduating from both college and high school at the same time was even an option. But, when I needed to eventually take English 101, I couldn't get into it," said Norfolk. "I had to speak to the computer science department chair, who spoke to the English department chair to get special permission to take the class over the summer." 

Norfolk's favorite class during his undergraduate career was compiler construction. "This class may officially be a class, but it is not typically offered. I was able to take it as an independent study with Dr. William Calhoun," said Norfolk. Compilers simply explained, take computer code, and tell the computer how to use it. 

Dr. Calhoun spoke highly of Norfolk's work they did together. "He created his own computer language during his individualized instruction called "Jazz," which is a variant of Java, and created a compiler for it," explained Calhoun. "He is a very intelligent young man and did excellent work." 

"I worked with Dr. Calhoun on research before taking this class," said Norfolk. "It was a lot of fun. Our class gave me a lot of freedom to go off on tangents from what we were originally learning to explore things that were interesting to me." 

During his previous semester's research with Dr. Calhoun, Norfolk was able to publish his work on the cost of a positive integer in the Rose-Hulman Undergraduate Mathematics Journal. He also spoke about the project at a Mathematical Association of America section meeting. 

"The most difficult class I had to take was probably the software engineering capstone," said Norfolk. For his capstone, Norfolk worked with a small group to develop a location-based texting app for Android devices. "It was simply a lot of work. It took about 15 hours a week to program the app with my group." 

"The application allows individuals to communicate via anonymous texts within a geographical boundary," explained Dr. Curt Jones, Max's professor for the software engineering capstone. "For example, parents at a sporting event or students at a Model UN event could communicate without providing personal data. Max ensured that his team completed an outstanding project by working together as a unit with everyone contributing." 

Norfolk is not the only member of his family to participate in the ACE program. His older brother, Zachary, participated in the program, graduating from BU just one year after graduating from high school. His younger sister, Alexis, has just started the program while dually enrolled in 7th grade. His other brother, Jack, is currently taking some of his general education requirements through the program while also enrolled as a high school freshman. 

After graduating, Norfolk plans to further his academic career in a Ph.D. program. He has been accepted into a program at Penn State to study compilers and continue his research as a research assistant. "I would love to do research in the technology industry to see the practical applications of what I work on." 

Norfolk doesn't think that he has missed out on having a normal college experience by completing his undergraduate career early. "I don't think that anyone has had a 'normal college experience' because of the COVID-19 pandemic," said Norfolk. "I knew that I wanted to get a higher degree, and getting a jump start on my education made sense." 

As he reflects on his time with the ACE program, Norfolk says it has been a rewarding experience. "All of my professors and classes have been great. All my professors have been very nice and genuine people who were helpful to me during my time here." 

Norfolk's hard work over the past five years has not gone unnoticed. Dr. Drue Coles, the professor for COMPSCI 386, Operating Systems, reflected on how Norfolk chose to complete an extra credit project with independent research on advanced elements of computer programming despite high grades in the course. "The overall result was an elaborate exercise in creativity that went far beyond the requirements of the maximum extra credit possible. Max could be forgiven for coasting through his final weeks as an undergraduate, but instead, he is keeping a heavy foot on the gas." 

TALE Outstanding Teaching Award Winners

From left to right: Dr. Christian Grandzol, Dr. Kerrie DeVries, and Dr. Scott Inch

DeVries is an assistant professor in the Department of Psychology; Christian Grandzol, is a professor in the Department of Management and International Business; and Inch is a professor in the Department of Mathematical and Digital Sciences. The faculty were nominated by graduating seniors from the class of 2021-22 and selected by TALE's Outstanding Teaching Award Committee. Three Bloomsburg University of Pennsylvania faculty members, Kerrie DeVries, Christian Grandzol, and Scott Inch were named the University's 2021-22 Outstanding Teaching Award recipients by the Teaching and Learning Enhancement (TALE) Center.

"Congratulations to this year's TALE Outstanding Teacher Award recipients," said Bloomsburg University president Bashar Hanna. "I am grateful to Kerrie DeVries, Christian Grandzol, and Scott Inch and all our outstanding faculty members who go above and beyond in support of our students and their success."

Dr. Kerrie DeVries creates an inclusive learning environment for students. She is fearless, inspiring, and uplifting. One nominee writes, ”Dr. DeVries dives into one of the toughest issues in the nation today [racism]…with grace, understanding, and pragmatism. She encourages tough but eye-opening conversations.” Her teaching methods compel students to explore their world and discover how they can make a difference. She is applauded for her ability to “relate, analyze, and execute very challenging curriculum” with composure and humility. Dr. DeVries’ courses explore race from a psychological perspective and the role of both cultural and social psychology in group and identity formation. Her research examines psychological factors leading to college retention for diverse student populations.

Dr. Christian Grandzol receives high praise for the job-ready skills that he teaches through class discussions and assignments. Students value the high levels of preparation that Dr. Grandzol puts into his course content which he makes timely and relevant. He is selflessly dedicated to student learning and success. Of special note is Dr. Grandzol’s use of team projects that replicates real-world business practices. Adjectives to describe Dr. Grandzol are “knowledgeable,” “brilliant,” “caring,” “amazing,” and “engaging.” Dr. Grandzol’s scholarly work integrates with his teaching in a variety of ways including the development of Harvard Style case studies on a variety of supply chain management topics and innovative pedagogy. Dr. Grandzol also received the Outstanding Teaching Award in 2011.

Dr. Scott Inch earns accolades for the real-world examples that he brings into the classroom. One student described his digital forensics course as the most challenging, and “exemplary [because] it provided a fantastic benchmark for what I -- as a student -- am capable of in my major.” His teaching creates a space for students to be uniquely “clever and inquisitive.” Always caring and approachable, Dr. Inch facilitates students in their career pursuits. The digital forensics curriculum taught by Dr. Inch includes file systems, traditional hard disk forensics, mobile devices, and Ediscovery. His renown expertise is brought to bear on criminal and civil investigations in the shape of expert reports, depositions, and court testimony.

All recipients will be acknowledged at commencement and be awarded a plaque by the Provost Diana Rogers-Adkinson at a future date. In addition, recipients are awarded a professional development stipend through the BU Foundation.

The 2021-22 Outstanding Teaching Award Committee is comprised of Victoria Geyfman, finance; Michael Hickey, history; Denise Davidson, teaching and learning; David Fazzino, anthropology; Abby Hare-Harris, biological and allied health sciences; and committee chair, L.M. Stallbaumer-Beishline, TALE Director.

COST Research Day 2022 Award Winners

 

COST Research Day 2022, held on Friday, April 29, provided an opportunity for COST students to present the results of their work with faculty mentors and other collaborators.  Professor Emerita and undergraduate research mentor extraordinaire, Dr. Cindy Venn, kicked off Research Day with a keynote address that shared her journey as a researcher and teacher.  The keynote was followed by 46 student poster presentations on topics ranging from hybrid stars to honeybees!  Fourteen Bloomsburg University alumni and friends returned to campus to help judge presentations and celebrate students’ achievements. 

There was a tie for top prize (highest overall scores) and both winners were from Biological and Allied Health Sciences.  Katelyn Kelchner (faculty advisor: Abby Hare-Harris) won for PEX-DETEX Analysis of Splice Donor Variation Indicates an Enrichment of Poison Exons in Individuals with Developmental Brain Disorders and Mitchell Liddick (faculty advisor: Steven Rier) won for Exploring the Impact of Polyester Microfiber Contaminants on the Structure and function of Stream Biofilms

In Biological and Allied Health Sciences, the undergraduate first prize winner was Haley Fiske (faculty advisor: Abby Hare-Harris) for Identification of Poison Exons in Genes Associated with Improved Athletic Performance, and the honorable mention was awarded to Nathan Slotnik (faculty advisor: Kate Beishline) for BORIS Expression in HCT116 Cells.

Among Biological and Allied Health Sciences graduate students, the first prize winner was Oriana Balascio (faculty advisor: Kate Beishline) for Characterizing BORIS Dynamics at Telomeres in a Colon Cancer Cell Model, and the honorable mention was awarded to Braeden Gonzales (faculty advisor: Steven Rier) for Microbial Extracellular Enzymes as Indicators of Riparian and Upstream Forest Cover in Headwater Streams.

In Chemistry and Biochemistry, the first prize winner was Helena Eby (faculty advisors: Ellen Kehres and Michael Borland) for Evaluating the Anti-Proliferative Effects of a PPARβ/δ Ligand Isosteric Selenium Replacement in a Human Melanoma Cell Line with honorable mention recognition for Elizabeth Decoteau (faculty advisor: Matthew Polinski) for New Families of Lanthanide Perrhenate Complexes.

In Environmental, Geographical, and Geological Sciences, first prize went to Lindsey Kerstetter (faculty advisor: Rebecca Bourgault) for Assessing the Cerium Anomaly as a Hydropedologic Tracer in a Forested Northeastern Catchment with honorable mention recognition to Stephen Tapsak and Hannah Jorgenson (faculty advisor: Jennifer Whisner) for Geochemical Analysis of an Acid Mine Drainage Remediation Site Near Ranshaw, PA.

In Mathematics and Digital Sciences, first prize was awarded to Andrew Clickard (faculty advisor: Chris Lynd) for Synthetic Geometry in Hyperbolic Simplices.

In Physics, Health Physics, and Electrical Engineering, first prize was awarded to Aaron Rudolph (faculty advisor: Peter Stine) for Exomoon Detection Using Transit Method, and Honorable Mentions were awarded to John Siebert (faculty advisor: Peter Stine) for Amplitudes and Frequency Correlations of Hybrid Star Candidates and Zach Whisner (faculty advisor: John Huckans) for Design and Construction of an ECDL to Create Rubidium-87 Rydberg.

The Audience Favorite award went to Abigail Lecker of Biological and Allied Health Sciences (faculty advisor: Abby Hare-Harris) for Evaluation of the Effectiveness of a Genetic Variant Curation Assignment.

The COST Research Day Committee gratefully acknowledges support from the faculty of Andruss Library, friends and alumni of the College of Science and Technology, the COST Dean’s Office, the BU Foundation, BU Alumni and Professional Engagement, and a BU Group Experience Grant.