News 21 Nov 2006 12:12 pm
CSPA students win state competition
By Tearra Rhodes
News Writer
During a conference in Syracuse, Canisius students from the College Student Personnel Association, also known as CSPA, master’s degree program won awards at the annual College Student Personnel Association of New York State conference.
The conference was held from Oct. 7 to Oct. 9. There is no faculty involvement in students becoming a part of these competitions or actually competing.
Kelly Showard, an Empire State College graduate, and Paul Kablocki, a graduate of Canisius College, won the Esther Lloyd Jones case study competition.
Amanda Kalal, an Ohio Northern University graduate, and Patrick Marino, a graduate of the Rochester Institute of Technology, placed second in the competition.
Previously, Kalal and Marino won the National Association of Student Personnel Administrators (NASPA) case study competition in March of 2006.
The Canisius competitors placed favorably in the competition by presenting an effective solution to a given case study. These case studies involve a series of events that have gone wrong in a college setting.
The members of each team must then orally present their analysis of the situation to a panel of judges. Kelly Showard said, “There are several key steps to a successful analysis. You have to identify the key players and decision makers, determine what the problem is and how you will address it on several levels. “
She continued to say, “There’s the student involvement, the involvement of the administrators and usually there is a community element as well. The cases are written to require immediate action on the part of the decision making character.”
Dr. Sandra M. Estanek is the Program Director of CSPA who says that what goes on in the competition is what the students learn in the classroom as they strive towards their Master degrees in Student Affairs, a field for those who wish to work with college student populations.
As an example of this, all Hall Directors at the College are graduate students in the program. One of the books used is Issues and Problems in Higher Education, which is offered to students getting their Masters in Student Affairs in the first semester of their second year, as is Linking Theory to Practice Case Studies for Working with College Students.
By teaching with case studies, students know how to deal with situations they may face in their field.
In learning to handle and analyze these case studies in class, students who wish to compete in case study competitions are ready for the challenge.
Showard also commented, “Well, our program preps us for success. I think that having different winners in different competitions just solidifies what we in the program know to be true. We are very well trained and educated in student affairs theory and practice and it shows in times like these.”
Marino says that these wins are beneficial to getting Canisius’ name out into the public as well as CSPA.