Cedar Crest College

The Lutz Center for Community Service hosted four students for their "In the Valley, For the Valley" Alternative Spring Break from March 1 - 6, 2026. Takyra Batz, Assistant Director for Community Engagement & Leadership Development, and Cara Cavall, Program Coordinator, coordinated and led the week of service and local exploration. We followed our "In the Valley, For the Valley" model that focuses on sharing our Greater Lehigh Valley community needs, businesses, and sites without requiring a cost to attend the program. The participants received the following (and more) experiences: Godfrey Daniels Tour & Open Mic Night, The Willow: Inspirit Senior Living in Macungie (3 hours), Museum of Indian Culture, PBS39 (3 hours), exploring Bethlehem, JuxtaHub (3 hours), Allentown Farmer's Market, downtown Allentown, Lehigh University's Art Gallery, and much more. The following students used their time off for Spring Break to serve others: Seniors: Stella Oen and Madelyn Updegrove, Junior: Cam Beverage, and First Year: Fox Pisch.

Earlier this month, the Lutz Center hosted seven students for their "In the Valley, For the Valley" Alternative Spring Break. Michele Moyer, Director of Career Development and Community Engagement, and Takyra Batz, Assistant Director for Community Engagement and Leadership Development, coordinated and led the week of service. Alternative Spring Break offers students the opportunity to join their campus community for a week of service to a community, rather than a traditional spring break vacation. The inaugural "In the Valley, For the Valley" model used this year focuses on sharing our Greater Lehigh Valley community's needs, businesses, and sites with our students without requiring a cost to attend the program. Students can fully engage in the community for the full week. The participants received the following experiences: PPL Center Tour, Phantoms Game, ArtsQuest (5 hours of service), Zekraft Cafe - Bethlehem, SteelStacks, Fegley's Bethlehem Brew Works, Wildlands Conservancy (5 hours of service), Nowhere Coffee Co - South Mountain, Downtown Emmaus Shopping (FD Market, Grandpa Joe's Candy Shop, Let's Play Books Bookstore, Conversational Threads Fiber Arts Studio), Cactus Blue Mexican Restaurant, Second Harvest Food Bank (5 hours of service), Martin Guitar Museum, Detzi's Tavern, Udder Bar and the Valley Against Sex Trafficking (5 hours of service). The following students used their time off for Spring Break to serve others: Senior: Rosemarie "Rosie" Kramer, Juniors: Lyss Marino, Lataisha "Latty" Jenkins, Mary Scannell, Sophomore: Deshian Garricks, Maliha Asad, and Alexie "Alex" Blum.

On Thursday, December 4th, students in Adjunct Professor Megan Angelo's ENG 104 Introduction to Creative Writing class presented a public reading at The End bookstore in Allentown. Valeska Barsallo, Fatema Bhalloo, Joseph Dedona, Jaileen Deleon, Angelina Iatarola, Samora Merchant, and Joshua Zalot presented original works of fiction, poetry, and screenwriting to a packed house of family, friends, and community members. The event was a wonderful showcase of student creativity!

On Thursday, November 6th, Jazmyn Davis, Savannah Aguilera, and Sydney Jeker attended the Second Annual Lehigh Valley Nonprofit Impact Conference hosted by the Volunteer Center of the Lehigh Valley at Wind Creek Event Center in Bethlehem. Jazmyn, Savannah and Sydney all seized the opportunity to network and speak with individuals from multiple professional backgrounds - such as CEOs, Program Managers, Volunteer Coordinators, and much more. They also shared that they were challenged to explore their leadership and communication skills by speaking in three breakout sessions that they attended throughout the day.

Corinne O'Connor, Graduate Area Coordinator for the Office of Housing & Residence Life presented twice this past Saturday, October 11th at the Mid-Atlantic Association of College & University Housing Officers (MACUHO) Student Staff Live-in (SSLI) Conference at Goldey-Beacom College in Wilmington, Delaware. Corinne presented two sessions to student staff member attendees from around the mid-Atlantic region. One session was "Wisdom about Wellness: Taking Care of Yourself and Residents" and the second session was "Let's Get Better Together: Supporting your LGBT+ Residents." For the second presentation, Corinne invited two of our Resident Advisors (RAs), Cam Beverage and Catherine Legutko, to co-present with her. Corinne, Cam, and Catherine all did an amazing job and both presentations were well received by the attendees.

Senior social work student, Caitlyn Anders, recently presented her research, The Impact of Time Management Among College Students, at the National Association of Social Workers, Pennsylvania Conference on Tuesday, October 7, 2025. At the Social Workers Level Up Conference, Caitlyn's research poster won 2nd place during the student poster session. Caityln conducted research during the Social Work Research Methods Course Fall 2024 and Spring 2025 semesters. Dr. Chelsea Toth, Associate Professor of Social Work, served as Caitlyn's research faculty advisor. Caitlyn was also the 2024-2025 Cedar Crest College Social Science Undergraduate Capstone award recipient.

Joshua Lucas, a senior student in the Adult Gerontology Acute Care Nurse Practitioner program, presented a poster at St. Luke's 13th Annual Pulmonary and Critical Care Symposium on October 4, 2025. His presentation focused on the ambulation of patients receiving Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation (ECMO) therapy in the Intensive Care Unit. The work was well received by critical care and pulmonary physicians, nurses, and fellows, who offered positive feedback recognizing its potential to reduce the effects of patient immobilization.

On Saturday, May 10, the PPL Center in Allentown filled with students, staff, faculty, and supporters to celebrate the accomplishments of Cedar Crest College's Class of 2025 at Commencement. Graduates and their loved ones gathered to mark this significant milestone, celebrating the knowledge, skills, and experiences gained during their time at Cedar Crest. The event highlighted the values of leadership, service, and community that are integral to the Cedar Crest spirit. We are immensely proud of each and every graduate. Your resilience and commitment have brought you to this moment, and we are excited to see the remarkable contributions you will make in the future. Congratulations, Class of 2025!

On Saturday, May 9, Cedar Crest College honored the Class of 2026 during its 156th Commencement Ceremony at PPL Center in Allentown, Pa. Graduates and their loved ones gathered to mark this significant milestone, celebrating the knowledge, skills, and experiences gained during their time at Cedar Crest. The event highlighted the values of leadership, service, and community that are integral to the Cedar Crest spirit. We are immensely proud of each and every graduate. Your resilience and commitment have brought you to this moment, and we are excited to see the remarkable contributions you will make in the future. Congratulations, Class of 2026!

Delphi, the esteemed honor society at Cedar Crest College, recognizes students who have completed 86 or more total credits (including at least 60 graded credits of academic work at the college) and maintain a cumulative grade-point average of 3.8 or above. These exceptional students are honored as members of Delphi.

Delphi, the esteemed honor society at Cedar Crest College, recognizes students who have completed 86 or more total credits (including at least 60 graded credits of academic work at the college) and maintain a cumulative grade-point average of 3.8 or above. These exceptional students are honored as members of Delphi.

Congratulations to the exceptional students who have been named to the Dean's List for the Spring 2025 semester. This esteemed recognition highlights the dedication and academic prowess required to achieve a grade point average of 3.65 or higher. These students have demonstrated an unwavering commitment to their studies, setting a high standard for excellence within our institution. Please join us in applauding their achievements and celebrating their place on the Spring 2025 Dean's List.

Congratulations to the exceptional students who have been named to the Dean's List for the Fall 2024 semester. This esteemed recognition highlights the dedication and academic prowess required to achieve a grade point average of 3.65 or higher. These students have demonstrated an unwavering commitment to their studies, setting a high standard for excellence within our institution. Please join us in applauding their achievements and celebrating their place on the Fall 2024 Dean's List.

On Monday, January 15, Cedar Crest College students, faculty, and staff gathered for the College's second annual Martin Luther King Jr. breakfast to commemorate MLK's legacy through powerful speeches, performances, and commitments to future acts of service. The morning started with impactful and powerful words from Student Government Association President Noor Hussain, '25, and a Step Dance performance choreographed by Corinne Mundy, '24, performed by herself, Jahniya James, '26, Elayah Toney, '26, and Erika Butler, '27. Further highlights included keynote speaker Dr. Damary Bonilla-Rodriguez, spoken word poetry performed by Dieruff High School group Spittin' Truth, and closing remarks from President Meade.

This November 16, 17, 18 at 7:00 p.m. and 19 at 2 p.m., Cedar Crest College's Department of Performing Arts presents DanceWorks, a yearly showcase featuring original work choreographed by Cedar Crest dance alumnae and current students. By design, DanceWorks challenges choreographers to push the limits of their creativity and create their dances on a 10x10 ft stage. A visual feast, the show features a variety of assorted styles such as jazz, contemporary, step, and modern dance. Saturday's performance will also feature a Q&A session with the choreographers to get inside the minds of the artists, discussing their inspirations and individual creative processes. Led by the guidance and artistic direction of Sarah Carlson, this year's choreographers include: Madison Anusky, '23 Corinne Mundy, '24 Dannica Mitchell, '24 Haven Black, '24 Emma Redman, '24 Abby Engle, '24

This March 23, 24, 25 at 7 p.m. and March 26 at 2 p.m., Cedar Crest Performing Arts will present Jane Martin's controversial play, "Keely and Du." Performances will be held in the Tompkins College Center & Samuels Theatre on the campus of Cedar Crest College, Allentown, PA. Tickets may be purchased online at cedarcrest.edu. The cast includes: Du - Sofia Barbour Keely- Rosemarie Kramer Walter- Andrew Galindez Cole- David Lippincott Prison Guard- Mahek "Jayden" Dhawan Orderlies- Chelsi Fread, Lizbeth Parra, Ashly Rodriguez- Ascencio For information, please visit https://www.cedarcrest.edu/academics/performing_arts/events.shtm

In Spring 2022, Cedar Crest College named Giovanna Sodano as the winner of a four-year, full-tuition scholarship. Sodano competed against more than 80 students from 14 different states at the College's 13th Annual Scholarship Competition held in February 2022.