February 15, 2017

Volunteerism this week’s topic on Infinite Opportunities

Contact: Kevin Hensil, khensil@passhe.edu

Harrisburg – Students from Bloomsburg, Clarion and Indiana Universities of Pennsylvania will discuss ways they volunteer their time while attending Pennsylvania’s State System of Higher Education universities on this week’s edition of Infinite Opportunities. The episode also will include visits to the campuses of East Stroudsburg, Kutztown and Lock Haven universities.

Infinite Opportunities airs at 9:30 a.m. each Sunday on the Pennsylvania Cable Network. The half-hour, public affairs program features roundtable discussions with faculty, staff, students and alumni from the 14 State System universities talking about a range of higher education issues. State System Chancellor Frank T. Brogan moderates the weekly discussions. Each program also offers viewers the opportunity to “travel” back to the universities to learn more about how they address the various topics on campus.
This week’s panel will feature:
•Maggie Anthony, a junior at Bloomsburg University, who has traveled to and volunteered in several Central American counties, including Honduras, Nicaragua and Costa Rica. She will talk about being a “global citizen,” as well as the importance of local community service. “As college students, not only is it our job to preserve the area we temporarily call ‘home,’ but we also need to show respect to those around us by giving back to the community in a number of ways,” Anthony says.
•Olivia Chuzie, a senior at Clarion University, who will talk about the personal benefits of volunteering. “You can’t put a price on volunteering; the selfless art of just being there and helping another human without the slightest need for anything in return,” Chuzie says.
•Olivia Wolfe, a senior at IUP, who will discuss the importance of “speaking up” as a volunteer, and committing to a project, then actually doing it. “Volunteering can be hard work, but it doesn’t have to feel like it—you are helping others in a tangible way,” Wolfe says.
Each episode of Infinite Opportunities airs twice on PCN. This week’s program will be rebroadcast at 6 p.m., Feb. 25. Prior episodes, including those from the first two seasons, also can be viewed at www.passhe.edu/InfiniteOpportunities.
Pennsylvania’s State System of Higher Education is the largest provider of higher education in the Commonwealth, with more than 100,000 degree-seeking students and thousands more who are enrolled in certificate and other career-development programs. Collectively, the 14 universities that comprise the State System offer more than 2,300 degree and certificate programs in more than 530 academic areas. Nearly 520,000 State System university alumni live in Pennsylvania.
The State System universities are Bloomsburg, California, Cheyney, Clarion, East Stroudsburg, Edinboro, Indiana, Kutztown, Lock Haven, Mansfield, Millersville, Shippensburg, Slippery Rock and West Chester Universities of Pennsylvania. The universities also operate branch campuses in Oil City (Clarion), Freeport and Punxsutawney (IUP), and Clearfield (Lock Haven), and offer classes and programs at several regional centers, including the Dixon University Center in Harrisburg and in Center City in Philadelphia.