Courtney Ross, Assistant Director of Campus Activities and Programs, has been named the winner of The Bucknellian’s Staff of the Year award.
Ross began working at Bucknell in 2022 and has played a major role in planning and coordinating events and activities for students to enjoy. She is responsible for many of Bucknell’s weekend events, including those at Uptown. She oversees the CORE programming board and their Friday night and festival events, as well as the CAP center’s regular programs and activities, including spin classes, movie nights and the Tasting Program for 21+ students. Ross is additionally responsible for overseeing marketing and social media for CAP center projects, which likely all Bucknell students have seen and engaged with.
Ross considers working with the students to be the most significant part of her role at Bucknell. She explains, “Working with students is why I do what I do, so working with and for the Bucknell students is truly what keeps me going through the long hours and hard days. Coming from a much larger institution, it has been amazing getting to know so much more of the campus community and building relationships with students.”
The Bucknell community has certainly felt her commitment to both the school and building relationships with students as well. Kat Liloia ’26 shared with the Bucknellian her appreciation for Ross during her time here: “Courtney is the most caring staff member on campus. She always checks on her students and goes out of her way to brighten their day. She has made the biggest difference in my Bucknell experience, and I know this is true for other students as well.”
Ross has learned quite a bit during her time at Bucknell so far; she explains how each year the culture changes a little bit, and each class is different, so she is constantly learning more about students’ wants and needs when considering how to shape events and programs. Her favorite memories at Bucknell have been “seeing students perform after they’ve worked so hard, like at this year’s Battle of the Bands or the fall Christy’s A Cappella concert.” She has loved creating fun memories and bonding with students during their time here. “Having moments of organic human connection will always stick with me.”
Being selected as Staff of the Year by the class of 2026 is particularly meaningful to Ross, she explains, because they are her first full-cycle class, considering she started at Bucknell during September of their first year. “It’s the bittersweet nature of working in higher education,” Ross explains, “getting to know students and then getting to watch them leave and build amazing lives for themselves.”
When the Bucknellian asked Ross to leave some words of wisdom for the Class of 2026, Ross responded with the following:
“Firstly, congratulations, and I’m wishing you all the best in your next steps of life. Secondly… remember to keep finding joy and continue the passions that [you] have found here at Bucknell. It can be difficult to balance grad school or a full-time job and life, but it’s so important to keep the hobbies, the relationships and interests that you’ve nurtured here.”
