When he’s not in class, senior organizational communication major (with minors in human resources and business management) Casey Dahlstrom can be found in, well, David Dahlstrom Student Center.

Co-president and community service chair for Keuka’s Campus Activities Board (CAB), Dahlstrom is also an office assistant and event supervisor for Student Activities and co-advocacy chairman for Up ’Til Dawn (St. Jude’s Children’s Hospital).

The Grand Island native aspires to be a student activities director on a college campus, like his supervisor and mentor, Jennifer Furner.

“I’ve worked for Jen since freshman year,” said Dahlstrom. “We clicked from the beginning. She takes you under her wing, leads by example, and is there to guide you, but at the same time, gives you an opportunity to figure it out on your own.”

                                       ^{Casey Dahlstrom}

Earlier this semester, Furner suggested Dahlstrom enter a video competition sponsored by the Association for the Promotion of Campus Activities (APCA). College students were asked to post a video of themselves and their friends showing their APCA spirit on a fan page on Facebook. The most popular video that received the most positive feedback for APCA (and that APCA deemed the most creative with the best content) would win.

“I suggested the video contest to Casey because he has an interest in photography and videography, and makes our CAB video each year. I thought that he would enjoy making the video,” said Furner.

The video Dahlstrom created “is comprised of footage I took at last year’s [APCA] conference and activities around the Keuka campus set to music,” he said.

Dahlstrom was announced the winner at a regional APCA conference held at the Turning Stone Casino in Verona Nov. 1-4.

“When I arrived, I was congratulated on creating a wonderful video,” said Dahlstrom. “I was called on stage and the video was played at the conference.”  

He received a check for $250 and a portion of the expenses he incurs should he attend APCA’s national conference in Atlanta, Ga., Feb. 17-21, where he can enter another video contest.

And Dahlstrom plans on doing both.

“I have another video in the works with footage from the [November] conference and [more recent] events on campus,” said Dahlstrom, who got his start with the video camera making clips to be played at CAB’s end of the year celebration and awards.

“Initially, we thought it would be nice to wrap up the year with a slideshow of pictures,” said Dahlstrom. “Then, I bought a video camera and [started recording events]. I’ve never taken a course in editing video; it’s become a hobby of mine. I’ve learned how to add in music, how long to make each shot, include sound clips, and select appropriate music. People look forward to seeing what I’ve taken throughout the year.”

The conference in Verona wasn’t the first Dahlstrom has attended. He and other students/CAB members have accompanied Furner to the regional conference in the past to see entertainers perform and determine whether or not to bring them to Keuka.

The Association for the Promotion of Campus Activities is a national campus activities organization that was founded in 1994 and services the needs of campus activities programming departments throughout the United States. APCA offers various online services, including artist tour schedules, a campus activities employment search engine, professional training, and various membership services.

“Casey is a bright honor student who is highly involved with our campus activities,” said Associate Professor of Organizational Communication and English Amanda Harris, Dahlstrom’s adviser. “He’s an excellent representative for our college.”

And Furner says he’s well his way to a career in college student activities/affairs.

“He has the basics regarding programming and budget structures due to his experiences in CAB and his role within my office as a supervisor for campus events.  He also has the marketing and advertising structure of the position due to his major.”