Name: Christine Kerney
Major:  Communication Sciences and Disorders
Hometown:  Lodi, CA
Class:  Senior

When Christine arrived as a freshman, she knew she wanted to work on campus.  She went to the AS website, completed an on-line application, and was hired to work at the Information Center once Summer Orientation began.  She has been there for three years and is a bit nostalgic about leaving when she graduates in May.  Christine loves her job and the people she works with everyday.  It takes between six and eight students to cover all the shifts and they become a pretty tight group working together. "We're like a family - always there for each other.  They've become my circle of friends who I might not have met otherwise."

The Info Center in the Bell Memorial Union provides all the "411" for everything you want to know about Chico State in addition to information about the local community. As Christine puts it, "We know all the odds and ends and can tie everything together:  directions, campus services and events, and even fun facts.  Did you know there are nine bridges on campus related to the fact that a cat has nine lives?"

Christine is a big proponent of customer service.  And, her customers are not just students.  "We talk to parents, faculty and staff, community members, elementary and high school students who are here for tours and events, etc.  I try to make it personal to go the extra mile.  I try to keep it fresh even though I'm often answering the same questions."  Christine gets to meet a lot of freshmen the first few weeks of school. "They often come to us on a scavenger hunt assignment from one of their instructors. And, some prospective students just call to ask us what Chico is really like."

Christine recognizes the bonuses of working at the Information Center. "This job has taught me how to juggle school, work, and my social life. I've learned to be professional, punctual, and how to network with people.  I feel more connected and involved with campus."  The evidence of Christine's "connectedness" is obvious when you look at her co-curricular involvement.  She was a summer camp counselor with Camp Adventure in Germany where she worked with the children of military families. She has volunteered with all three CAVE immersion trips, as well as tutoring in a classroom, and she is currently a group leader for CAVE's Adopt a Park program.  She supervises 30 volunteers who help with trail maintenance and clean-up at Bidwell Park.  And beyond the Associated Students, Christine is a member of Momentum, one of three dance teams at Chico State.  Most of these opportunities Christine heard about through her work at Information Center.

Upon graduation, Christine plans to do a work exchange in Alacante Spain for a year so she can learn Spanish.  Then she'd like to apply for graduate school to become a bilingual speech therapist.


In Christine's words
Here at the Information Center we know it all'...or at least try to! If we don't know the answer to your question we will do all we can until we get it. This job has not only taught me the responsibilities of a work place, but has made me grow as individual. From getting connected with campus to reaching out to the community I have now done it all!' Thanks AS for being a part of my Chico Experience in my time here at Chico State...now my Alma mater!