Briana (Brie) Bernstein has worked at UCSC’s Bay Tree Bookstore for the past three years, primarily in the course books department. A Stevenson student about to graduate with a degree in Psychology, Brie spent a few days in Dallas, Texas at the Campus Market Expo (CAMEX) in March of 2014, a conference specifically for the collegiate retail industry. Brie was there at the invitation of Rafter, a company specializing in alternatives to traditional textbooks, such as text book rentals, and e-books.
Representatives from Rafter were quite impressed with Brie’s excellent communication skills, technological ease, extensive knowledge about the textbook industry gained during her years at the Bay Tree Bookstore, and especially with her clear and honest representation of the student perspective regarding text books and other course materials.
And Brie did not disappoint! She was a featured panelist in a session of 150 participants on the topic of digital course materials. Although CAMEX caters to college and university campuses, Brie seems to have been one of the only student voices at this year’s event, and the audience couldn’t get enough of it! The audience was eager to hear Brie’s thoughts on what students think about e-books, and about how students acclimate to changing technologies. Brie made clear that in order to effectively market to students, providers must understand what students want, how students use such materials, and how students demand changes that keep pace with changes in delivery technologies.
It’s not every student worker that gets an all-expenses paid trip to a national conference, and Brie made the most of it. In addition to her duties at the conference/expo, Brie took in several museums, jazz clubs, and was grateful that her trip allowed her to participate in some 50th anniversary observances of the assassination of President John F. Kennedy.
Brie credits her student staff opportunity at the Bay Tree Bookstore with building many skills – administrative, leadership, team building, process improvement, and more. Given this knowledge-base, and her performance in Dallas, it’s no surprise that Rafter was very quick to offer Brie an attractive internship following her graduation.
Our congratulations to Brie, to the Bay Tree Bookstore, and to the power of the student voice.
