Cedar Crest College

First generation college students share advice with Easton Area High School students during a reunion of Generation Next, a CACLV program that aims to get underserved students to college.

Students enrolled in Rel 225 ("Buddhism in America") taught by Dr. Allen Richardson, Professor of Religious Studies, received meditation training at the Tibetan Buddhist Learning Center in Washington, New Jersey on February 8. The Tibetan Buddhist Learning Center is the oldest Tibetan Buddhist temple in the United States and maintains close ties with the Dalai Lama. Joshua Cutler, co-director of the Center, led the five-hour session in the company of a resident monk. Cedar Crest students learned the basic skills for beginning meditation in the Tibetan tradition and also received an overview of the complex training that monks receive as they achieve higher levels of awareness.

Congratulations to the four Cedar Crest College students who presented at the LVAIC Global Student Conference held at Lafayette College. This conference is for international, multilingual, and globally-minded students to share their research as a poster presentation in their fields of interest. Soyun Rho (English) presented "We Act For All Kim Ji- Young". Minji Kim (Media Studies) created a poster called "Development As Freedom: Sustainability & Self Reliance". Isabel Pichardo (Art) presented "Rearview: A Look Back, How Art and Sustainability Relate". Alexa Spinosa (Biology, Spanish) presented "Alternative vs Allopathic: A Study of Medicine in Peru".

Cedar Crest College students attended the PHENND 11th Annual Service Leaders Summit on Saturday, November 9, 2019 at Drexel University.

Alyssa Rodriguez, a junior nutrition major, presented a poster at the 2019 Food & Nutrition Conference and Expo (FNCE) in Philadelphia, PA on October 28. The conference, sponsored by the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, is the world's largest meeting of food and nutrition experts where more than 10,000 registered dietitian nutritionists, nutrition science researchers, policy makers, health-care providers and industry leaders attend the annual meeting and addresses key issues affecting the health of all Americans. Alyssa's research was conducted as part of the Experimental Foods course (NTR 321) this past spring semester and under the supervision of Shelley DePinto, MS, RDN, LDN, Director of the Didactic Program in Dietetics, and David Hersh, BS, Chef and Lab Technician. The poster was titled as follows: Assessing the Acceptability of Non-fat Greek Yogurt as a Fat Replacer to Produce a Low Saturated Fat Cookie, Alyssa Rodriguez, Shelley DePinto, MS, RDN, LDN, and David Hersh, BS.

Cedar Crest College Athletics - Brownlie and Rosano take home CSAC Player of the Week honors.

The Cedar Crest College Softball team swept Delaware Valley University in a non-conference double-header on Blaschak Field on Apr. 28. Sophomore Danielle Krispin was one of four Falcons to record a two hit game, going 2-for-4 with an RBI in the 10-7 game one win. On April 9 at Widener, Krispin, a Tunkhannock grad, recorded another two hit game in the Falcons 7-4 win.

Cynthia Rodriguez & Marlo Decree presented "Overcoming Obstacles as a Latin X Student" which successfully navigates one's way through higher education in spite of cultural biases and stereotypes against the Latin X community. Learning objectives will include defining what it means to be Latin X, discovering our own Latin X identity and surrounding community, and embracing our rich and diverse culture whilst being open to experiencing other cultures. This will help individuals advocate for themselves as they journey through their academic careers in college.

Sulakshmi Vaid '20 has published her poem "Just Another Day" in NEW JERSEY'S BEST EMERGING POETS 2019: AN ANTHOLOGY. Sulakshmi was solicited by the anthology's publisher to contribute her work after the publisher saw her poem "I Have Never Felt a Zing" in PITCH, Volume 8 (2018). Sulakshmi is a double major in political science and history, with a law minor.

Nine Master of Science in forensic science students (Haley Melbourn, Gabriella Smith, Jessica McFarland, Melissa Rogers, Kelsey Wieland, Delilah DeWilde, Sarah Lighthart, Matthew Quinn, and Alexis Baxter) and Dr. Larry Quarino, Professor of Forensic Science, completed a manuscript titled "Mandatory Certification of Forensic Science Practitioners in the United States: A Supportive Perspective" that was accepted for publication in Forensic Science International: Synergy. This paper is a major component of FSC 512 (Forensic Science Administration) which is a required course in the Master of Science in Forensic Science program.

This year's graduates of the Didactic Program in Dietetics within the Department of Nutrition achieved a 100% acceptance rate into dietetic internship programs. The graduates include Jennifer Beam, Angelica Bonisese, Erin Clarke, Calliope Hersey, Susana Ortiz, and Sean Reed. Dietetic internships are highly competitive, with the national average acceptance rate remaining around 50% for the past five years.

Hannah Alarcon, Kendal Nichols, and Sulakshmi Vaid have been selected to participate in the NEW Leadership Pennsylvania Summer Institute in June at Chatham University. NEW Leadership Pennsylvania is a residential program that provides college women with the knowledge and skills to become effective leaders in politics, public policy, and public service. This six-day program will introduce college students to women leaders who will share their insights on developing their leadership potential. To participate, the students were required to complete a campus application as well as a program application process.

Six Psychology students presented at the recent LVAIC Undergraduate Psychology Conference on April 27th held at Muhlenberg College. All six students made oral presentations of their year-long research projects: Jacey Ludlam, Kyle English, Shalen Roman, MaeAnn Brougher, Lillie Fidelman, and Christine Widera. Their research was advised by Cedar Crest faculty Dr. Kerrie Baker and Dr. Sharon Himmanen.

Cedar Crest first-year students Brianna Marerro and Victoria Attinger presented a poster, co-authored by Jennifer Dobrowski, describing their research project conducted in collaboration with Dr. Audrey Ettinger, at the Annual Research Symposium hosted by the Lehigh Valley Chapter of the Society for Neuroscience. This was the tenth year for the LVSfN symposium, and Dr. Ettinger has served on the LVSfN board since its inception.

Four seniors in the Honors Program had their abstracts selected for presentation at the National Conference for Undergraduate Research (NCUR). They attended the Atlanta conference (April 11-13, 2019) at Kennesaw State University, and each presented their capstone thesis in an oral presentation that generated questions and discussions afterward. Fernanda Culichia (faculty mentor: Allison Cornell): "Clearing Up the Confusion: Best Practices for Science Communication." Brianna Hill (faculty mentor: Andre Walther): "A Recipe for You: Using Children's Books as an Early Education Science Literacy Intervention." Haley Krueger (faculty mentor: Audrey Ettinger): "Mental Illness in Historic Fiction: Perception of Mentally Ill Protagonists and Societal Response." Julianna Marotta (faculty mentor: K. Joy Karnas): "Communicating Science to the Public: Empowering the Community to Help Delay the Post-Antibiotic Era." In addition, Julianna Marotta presented a research poster ("FabI Gene Duplications and Overexpression in Enterobacter cloacae Leads to Increased Triclosan Resistance") outlining some of the current results derived from her research in the Karnas Lab. NCUR is overseen by the Council on Undergraduate Research whose mission is "to support and promote high-quality undergraduate student-faculty collaborative research and scholarship." The process for presentation selection is competitive with 80-90% of the abstracts being selected for presentation each year.

Two Undergraduate, Art Therapy students had their research posters accepted to the 50th American Art Therapy Association Conference in Kansas City, Missouri. The students were invited to present their scholarly and creative work in the study of art therapy at the conference that will be held October 30 - November 3, 2019. Charlene Natterman's poster entitled Memory is Not Choice explores how art therapy enhances memory in older adults and Chris Zweifel's poster explores how Art Therapy Promotes Well-Being in Older Adults. Denise Wolf, Assistant Director of Art Therapy, will also be in attendance at the conference as co-presenter for both students.

On Friday, April 26th, 2019, Dr. Elizabeth M. Meade was installed as the 14th President of Cedar Crest College. During the ceremony, The Voices of Inclusion Choral Ensemble performed, Jules Massenet provided a musical interlude, Morgan Maddock and Tori Lawton provided welcome speeches, and Salika Sadek, Rebecca Dolan, Johann Sebastian Bach, and Charles Gounod provided musical processions.

On Saturday, April 13, six students in the Biology Department presented at the Lehigh Valley Ecology and Evolution Symposium. Taylor Robbins, Jaime Matson, and Miranda Fetchen gave oral presentations, and Ashley Judd, Magdalena Dammer, and Amelia Porter-Bacon gave poster presentations. Their research was advised by Cedar Crest faculty Dr. John Cigliano and Dr. Allison Cornell, as well as external collaborators Dr. Miriam Cooperband (USDA) and Dr. JF Therrien (Hawk Mountain Sanctuary). Special congratulations to Miranda Fetchen, who won 2nd place for the best student presentation at the meeting for her talk on "Dietary Habits of the Spotted Lanternfly"!

On Monday, April 1st, K. Joy Karnas, Kassaundra Blodgett ('19), and Miranda Fetchen ('20) represented Cedar Crest College at the 2019 Da Vinci Science Center's Women in Science and Engineering Forum, designed to engage high school women in conversations about careers in science. The evening included a mentoring dinner where the high school students had the opportunity to network with college students and science professions to gain insight into their career paths and receive advice about how to persist in the science fields. Cedar Crest College was a table sponsor for the event, and Dr. Karnas is a member of Da Vinci's WISE Executive Advisory Council that oversees this and other Da Vinci WISE Initiative events.

Mallorie McIlwain and Yessi Paula presented their choreography at the 24th annual Women and Gender Studies Conference at Cedar Crest College on Saturday, April 13. "Fallen" by Mallorie McIlwain and "Girls in the Hood" by Yessi Paula both depicted powerful women who are swept up in precarious circumstances. Both works originally premiered at Student DanceWorks at Samuels Theater in November 2018.

On April 12, Art Therapy Graduate Student Elyse Coldren and Assistant Director of Art Therapy, Denise Wolf MA ATR-BC, ATCS, LPC, facilitated an art experiential at the Third Annual Survivor-Led Symposium Survivor Retreat, "Engaging Survivors of Commercial Sexual Exploitation to End Gender-Based Violence", at Villanova University. This conference is survivor-led and encourages participants to engage in problem-solving scenarios on a variety of relevant topics and current issues in legislation, law enforcement, and education. The art experiential included the creation and exchange of unique and inspiring visual messages in the form of Artist Trading Cards.

Jade Sodon '19, Forensic Science major, has won a position as an Advisor in the National Student Leadership Conference - Forensic Science Program in Washington, D.C. This annual event is held each summer; the Forensic Science Program brings hundreds of high school participants from across the nation. During the program they attend lectures and workshops on fingerprint recovery, impression evidence, questioned documents, forensic psychology, ballistics, DNA analysis, etc. Students also visit the FBI and DEA to hear from forensic experts.

Senior Criminal Justice majors Madison Wellen and Chelsea Wilson and sophomore Criminal Justice majors Morgan Godshall, Victoria Kohn and Adrian Mast are panelists in Lehigh County's Community Justice Panels, a diversion program held on campus for juveniles charged for the first time with summary offenses and/or misdemeanors. The cases are sent by police departments, Magisterial District Judges and the Juvenile Probation Department. The students meet with the juvenile and his or her parents/guardians and discuss the incident, school achievement, future plans and other aspects of the juvenile's life and develop a contract for the youth with assignments which hold the juvenile accountable for his or her illegal actions as well as developing their competencies. If assignments are completed successfully, the charges are withdrawn. The program is supported by the Court of Common Pleas, The District Attorney's office and funded by the Juvenile Probation Department.

On March 23, 2019, Brianna Hill and Julianna Marotta (both senior Genetic Engineering majors) presented their independent research at the Northeast District 2 TriBeta Convention at Bloomsburg University. Dr. Jenny Hayden, Assistant Professor of Biology, was also in attendance. TriBeta is a national honor society for biology students, and Julianna is currently the President of Cedar Crest's Theta Psi chapter. Impressively, Brianna was awarded first place for the John C. Johnson Award for her poster presentation and Julianna was awarded first place for the Frank G. Brooks Award for her oral presentation. Last fall, Brianna was awarded a TriBeta Research grant to support her independent research.

On March 25, 2019, 16 social work students attended the annual NASW Advocacy Day. This annual event is attended by all the social work schools in PA. The advocacy project for 2019 was to advocate for HB 390 which focuses on the importance of certification for school social workers. The Cedar Crest social work majors attended with social work students attending NCC and with the MSW students from Marywood.

During the national celebration of Brain Awareness Week on Saturday, March 16, Dr. Audrey Ettinger and undergraduate students Alexis Calhoun, Lindsey Davis, Michaela Jones, Aseel Khaleel, Haley Krueger, Kassandra Miller, Tatianna Perez, Ashley Ross, and Adriana Sorrentino, participated in the annual Brain Party at the DaVinci Science Center. Students and faculty (and guest scientist Dr. Michael Finley from Janssen) presented hands-on neuroscience activities to members of the public of all ages together with colleagues from the Lehigh Valley Chapter of the Society for Neuroscience (LVSfN). Dr. Ettinger also conducted demonstrations for students visiting DaVinci on field trips as part of their "Healthcare Career Days" program on March 14 and 15.

Two students in the Department of Business, Management, and Economics were recently recognized for academic achievement by local professional groups. Based on the recommendations of the department faculty, Melissa Freitas was awarded a certificate of excellence from The Institute of Internal Auditors (IIA), Lehigh Valley Chapter. The award was given "for outstanding student department contributions, leadership qualities, and academic achievement in the fields of accounting, criminal justice, and business." Anna Holva was awarded a certificate of excellence from the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners (ACFE), Lehigh Valley Chapter. The award was given "for outstanding student departmental contributions, leadership qualities, and academic achievement in the fields of accounting, finance, criminal justice, and business."

Saleh Abuzaid presented a poster entitled, "Should Celebrities Make Political Statements on Global Issues?" Saleh is a first year international student in the Performing Arts program. His exploratory research focused on this debate and he reported the findings at the LVAIC Global Student Conference. His contribution concentrated on how global concerns do not just affect the United States, but also Saudi Arabia and the entire world.

Ravneet Sandhu presented "Consequences of Locus of Control on Free Will Belief and Personal Meaning: If They Can Do It, So Can I." She is a senior at Cedar Crest College where she is majoring in English Literature and Psychology. She grew up in India and believes it was a privilege to be able to conduct research there.

Sophia Eckroth, a junior nursing major, along with Jennie Fritz, contributed her perspective to the LVAIC Global Student Conference by presenting "Life Changing Experiences of Tanzania". This was based on the study abroad trip through the Nursing Department. This trip in January left a special impact on her life personally and resulted in an eye-opening experience.