Cedar Crest College

Sunday, April 21, Alumnae Hall Auditorium at Cedar Crest College filled with students, staff, faculty, and supporters to celebrate the accomplishments of the College's student leaders. This annual celebration, "Best of the Crest," is held by the Student Government Association and acknowledges the contributions of members of the campus community to the College for their involvement, leadership, compassion, and commitment to Cedar Crest. Additionally, new members of the Student Government Association and Student Activities Executive Board are sworn in each year at the ceremony for their term starting the upcoming Fall semester.

The Department of Health Sciences is proud to acknowledge the following students who worked with Dr. Hollie Gibbons, Assistant Professor of Health Sciences, to complete two community-based public health projects. Ela Patel (Public Health major) and Morgan Bentley (Public Health minor) worked with Communities In Schools to complete a State of the Student project to identify nonacademic needs of students in Lehigh, Northampton, and Berks counties. Crystal Levene (Public Health major) and Sara Reagle (Public Health major) worked with Community Services for Children to complete a community needs assessment focusing on Early Head Start and Head Start.

The Best of the Crest ceremony held on Sunday, April 23, at the Alumnae Hall Auditorium celebrated the accomplishments of Cedar Crest College's student leaders. Recognizing excellence beyond the classroom, the awards highlight the contributions made by students through their exemplary leadership in various clubs, organizations, and other opportunities. Best of the Crest Awards Emerging Student Leader - Corinne O'Connor For a first-year student or sophomore who has shown initiative, motivation, and potential for continued student leadership early in their career. Capstone Student Leader - Emily Demarest For a student in their junior or senior year who has demonstrated a capacity for impacting the Cedar Crest community and served as a role model to younger students. Outstanding Student Involvement - Morgan Bentley To the individual who is highly involved within the campus community without sacrificing efficiency and dedication. The Bridge Award - Rachel Bilger To the individual who has demonstrated outstanding innovation and leadership in bridging the gap between co-curricular activities. Unsung Hero - Madelyn Chase For a student from any class level who may or may not hold a formal position, but whose behind-the-scenes dedication and labors have proven invaluable to the success of a project, program, cause, or movement on campus. Student Organization of the Year - Psychology Club For a student organization that has consistently made positive contributions to the campus community and encouraged leadership through its membership, events, or programmatic initiatives. Miguel Marroquin - Lynnsae Powers Dedicated to the family and staff of Miguel Marroquin. Given to the staff member who demonstrates a students-first attitude and commitment to working with students. Outstanding Advisor - Crystal Stubbs Given to the advisor who has been deemed by their club or organization as someone who has shown dedication to supporting the club, its members, and the events and programmatic initiatives created by the membership. Outstanding Graduate Student - Cristina Lemus For a graduate student who has demonstrated a capacity for impacting the Cedar Crest community through their initiatives, motivation, and student leadership. Senior Crest Awards Religio - Carter Reichard The seated figure on the left of the Seal represents a student who strives to apply enduring standards of value to the circumstances of their life, to guide their own actions, and to demonstrate those values to others. Libertas - Rosemarie Kramer The figure in the center of the Seal represents a student who stands as a guardian of the liberal arts and the personal freedom of individuals. Scientia - Joslyn Schwieterman The seated figure on the right of the Seal represents a student who scans the globe for opportunities to extend their learning skills into the community for the benefit of others. Housing & Residence Life Awards Rising Resident Award - Zenaidia Douglas This award recognizes a resident student who can always be seen in the residence halls, engaging with the residential community, and attending events. One to Watch Award - Rachel Bilger Given to a new RA, who has worked as an RA for one year or less, who has exceeded job expectations and really grown into the role of an RA. RA of the Year Award - Catherine Strickland Given to the RA who consistently exceeds the job requirements and develops a strong sense of community in their residence hall. First Year Experience Awards Mentor of the Year - Ali Porchick Awarded to the mentor who has shown exceptional work ethic and support for their students. Rookie Mentor of the Year - Anaya Duncan Awarded to the first-time mentor who has shown exceptional work ethic and support for their students. Most Improved Mentor - Tyssina Bright Awarded to the mentor who has shown exceptional growth and the ability to implement feedback into their role. Lutz Center Awards Volunteer Organization of the Year - Psychology Club Awarded to the club or organization that serves through their interests and actions to recognize, advocate, and effect positive social change for our community. Student Volunteer of the Year - Maliha Asad Awarded to a student who embodies the knowledge of service and accepts opportunities for action while also recognizing, advocating, and effecting positive change for our community. Faculty/Staff Volunteer of the Year - Cara Cavall Awarded to a faculty and/or staff member that actively utilizes their time and skills to recognize, advocate, and effect positive social change for our community. Center for Diversity and Inclusion Awards Inclusion Advocate of the Year - Charlie McClain Awarded to a student who, through their work at the Center for Diversity and Inclusion (CDI) for the last year, has gone above and beyond to fulfill their role as an Inclusion Advocate. Commitment to Diversity & Inclusion Award - Nicole Lewis Awarded to someone who, throughout the year, has embodied the Cedar Crest College Diversity Statement and has encouraged others through their work, academia, and/or service. https://flic.kr/s/aHBqjAB46T

The 2023 Class of the Doctor of Nursing Practice presented the following scholarly project presentations, sponsored by Lehigh Valley Health Network, on April 20: Pear Murphy, BSN, RN, SRNA: Gender-Affirming Perioperative Care for the Transgender Patient Kevin Udo, BSN, RN, SRNA: Culturally Competent Education for Nigerian Women on Epidural Analgesia During Labor Hannah Parker, BSN, RN, SRNA: Use of the STOP-Bang Questionnaire to Increase Referrals for Follow-Up Care for Patients at Risk for Obstructive Sleep Apnea Rochelle Graf, BSN, RN, SRNA; Jennifer Perry, BSN, RN, SRNA; Candice Townsend, BSN, RN, SRNA: The Use of Point of Care Ultrasound in Nurse Anesthesia Practice Liane Bacon, BSN, RN, SRNA: Implementation of an Educational Intervention to Increase the Use of Quantitative Neuromuscular Monitoring Mitchell Dent, BSN, RN, SRNA; Quinn Luckenbill, BSN, RN, SRNA; Peter Caruso, BSN, RN, SRNA: Health Policy Advocacy for Full Practice Authority for Nurse Anesthetists

The Cedar Crest College Honors Program is proud to acknowledge the accomplishments of its seniors who recently attended the Northeast Regional Honors Conference in Pittsburgh. The conference theme was Building Resilience from Tragedy: Understanding Hate, Violence, Loss, & Reconciliation, and this was reflected throughout all of the conference events: the Pittsburgh history tours (e.g., Cathedral of Learning), author talk (Brian Broome "Punch Me Up to the Gods"), Keynote Speech (columnist and feature writer Tony Norman), and intellectually engaging research presentations by students from Honors colleges throughout the northeast. Oral Presentations given by Cedar Crest College students: Megan Dunkle (research mentor: Larry Quarino): The Importance of Bodily Fluid Identification in a Court of Law Patsy Holtz (research mentor: Audrey Ettinger): Resilience in the Face of Controversy: Using Rocio ostofasciata Stem Cells to Study Antidepressant Induced Neurogenesis Khoula Jaber (research mentors: K. Joy Karnas, Rich Kliman, Josh Harrington): Modeling Bacterial Resilience: Simulation of Environmental Antibiotic Exposure to Substantiate the Predictive Power of Mathematical Models Art Show Participants: Megan Dunkle "Leaving Your Mark on the World" Patsy Holtz "Moonlight"

On April 1, 2023, Cedar Crest senior Sydney Jones, along with Dr. Jenny Hayden, assistant professor of biology, attended the TriBeta Northeast District 2 Convention at Penn State Schuylkill. TriBeta is a national biology honor society, and Jones is a member of Cedar Crest College's Theta Psi chapter. The Cedar Crest representatives discussed research with faculty and students from PA, NY, NJ, and DE over the course of the day. Jones presented a poster detailing her independent research conducted with Dr. K. Joy Karnas, professor of biology, and earned a second-place award for her work and presentation.

Dr. Ivonne Miranda, Assistant Professor of Education and her students Emmeline Bensinger, Teresa Clay, Arielle Gallicchio, Alyssa Horton, Savanah Keefe, Rachel Miller, Julia Pimentel, Lillian Seiling, Jaycie Seland, Autumn Soccio-Knapp, Catherine Strickland and Madison Watson facilitated a STEAM family night at Dodd Elementary school. Preservice teachers expertly ran stations in which students and parents created light-up circuit boards, popsicle wands, friendly robotics, glow-in-the-dark pendulum, and coding a snow plowing course with Dash robots.

Annabella Bastien '23 and Morgan Bentley '24 attended the PLEN STEM Policy seminar on March 14-16. For 40 years, PLEN has been bringing women and marginalized gender groups from across the country and the world to Washington, D.C. to explore careers in policy and connect with public policy leaders. The students had the opportunity to hear from women who are doing the work in STEM Policy and network with them as well as students from other institutions. Some of the sessions included STEM Policy, National & Data Security, Environmental Science & Policy, and Launching a career in STEM policy as well as advice on securing and succeeding in a career on Capitol Hill.

The Department of Chemical, Physical, and Forensic Sciences at Cedar Crest College is proud to announce the accomplishments of seniors Amanda Endy (Chemistry & Forensic Science Dual Major, Biology Minor) and Christina Alberici (Biochemistry Major, Math Minor), who attended the National American Chemical Society meeting in Indianapolis, Indiana, March 27-30, 2023. They presented a poster entitled "Study of the degradation of azo dyes: Sunset yellow and acid orange with zero-valent iron" in the Environmental Division (Research Advisor: Jeanne Berk). The theme of the meeting was Crossroads of Chemistry and thousands of chemistry professionals attended to share ideas and advance scientific and technical knowledge.

Senior nurse anesthesia DNP student Kevin Udo, BSN, RN, CCRN, SRNA, presented his DNP Project poster "Changing the Perception of Epidural Analgesia in Nigerian Immigrant Women Living in the United States" at the 35th Eastern Nursing Research Society (ENRS) Annual Scientific Sessions on March 24 in Philadelphia, PA. The theme this year was Promoting Liberty: Addressing Determinants of Health Through Nursing Science.

The Cedar Crest College Department of Biological Sciences is proud to acknowledge the accomplishments of its research program. Fourteen students presented their data at the 98th Annual Meeting of the Pennsylvania Academy of Science this weekend. Over 100 presentations were made by undergraduate and graduate students from 31 universities, colleges, and institutions, and the twelve posters and talks from Cedar Crest College placed us at the top of the list for total number of presentations. The conference concluded with an awards ceremony where travel grants, research grants, and the Anne Spychala Presentation Awards were distributed. Cedar Crest College received thirteen total awards: 4 presentation awards (Bonser & Edwards, Jaber, Delgado & Heiney, Large & O'Donnell), 3 research grants, (Franzone, Spagnola, Wolfinger), and 6 travel grants (Bonser, Franzone, Jaber, Jones, Lay, Nemec) were awarded to Cedar Crest students, as further detailed below.

The following senior nurse anesthesia Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) students presented their DNP projects at the Annual Philadelphia Advisory Group of Nurse Anesthesia Programs, Spring CRNA/Nurse Anesthesia Resident DNP Projects Professionalism Symposium held on Thursday, March 9, 2023, at Villanova University Fitzpatrick College of Nursing. This event was sponsored by the Pennsylvania Association of Nurse Anesthetists (PANA). The four NAP seniors will graduate in August 2023. Pear Murphy, BSN, SRNA, CCRN Mitchell Dent, BSN, SRNA, CCRN Quinn Luckenbill, BSN, SRNA, CCRN Peter Caruso, BSN, SRNA, CCRN

"I chose to become a nurse because I love science, I love medicine, and I love helping others," says Genevieve Ashley '23, a senior in Cedar Crest College's School of Nursing. Genevieve was recently selected to receive an Award for Excellence as a Student Nurse from the Lehigh Valley Health Network (LVHN). She was among a group of nurses and health care professionals across the Lehigh Valley honored for their exceptional care - and one of only two students to receive an Award for Excellence as a Student Nurse. Genevieve accepted the award last month at the 2022 LVHN Friends of Nursing awards program at the Steel Stacks in Bethlehem. "Genevieve exemplifies what it means to be a transformational leader through her compassion for each and every client under her care, her active engagement in lecture, the peer mentorship she provides, her desire to learn more, and her passion for change," says Christine Batchelor, MSN, RN, CNE, who nominated Genevieve for the award. "She is a professional, collaborative, and productive team member within her personal community, on campus, in the School of Nursing, and in the health care facilities."

Nalan Lawson, a student in the Didactic Program in Dietetics, has received the Jane Hartman Award from the Maryland Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics (MAND) Foundation. Scholarships in Jane Hartman's name have been established by both the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics Foundation and the MAND Foundation, honoring her vision of the expanding field of dietetics and nutrition. The award is for outstanding students pursuing an undergraduate degree in dietetics or a dietetic internship.

At the recent annual meeting of the Northeastern Association of Forensic Scientists, three Cedar Crest students garnered awards for academic and research excellence. Recipients included: Megan Dunkle '23 - Recipient of George Neighbor Memorial Scholarship Nancy Lay '23 - Recipient of Peter De Forest Research Award for best undergraduate research poster Skyler Williams, MSFS second year student - Recipient of $2,500 Carol De Forest Memorial Research Grant. Congratulations to all!

A Lehigh Valley shelter will benefit from the consulting work of eleven Cedar Crest grad students. As part of their capstone course, students in the Master of Business (MBA) and Modular Master of Science (MMS) programs served as a consulting group this summer for the Sixth Street Shelter, an Allentown nonprofit providing short-term and long-term transitional housing programs for those experiencing homelessness. Over the six-week project, the group was able to give back to the local community, while getting valuable hands-on experience working with a real organization. The students provided marketing and operations recommendations for the organization with the goal of improving community awareness, donor engagement, the volunteer pipeline, and more. "My professional background has primarily been in the Medical Device and Biotech space," says John Nedick '22, who served as the team captain for the project and graduated from the MBA program in August. "[This project] provided me the opportunity to further explore areas of leadership and organizational change management and to use my business acumen to positively impact my community for the greater good of society. The friendships and networks created because of this experience will certainly pay dividends far into the future." Learn more about Cedar Crest College's MBA and MMS programs.

Rachel Rodriguez and Jordyn Miller, graduate students in the Integrative Exercise Science program, presented their research, "The Effect of Pre-Exercise Carbohydrate and Protein Ingestion on Repeated Sprint Times in a Group of Female College Track Athletes," at the Food & Nutrition Conference & Expo (FNCE) in Orlando, FL, on October 9. The students also won an Outstanding Abstract award. The research study was conducted on the Cedar Crest College track athletes this past spring. Faculty involved in the oversight of the research included Dr. Dianne Babbitt, Associate Professor and Department Chair in the Health Sciences Department, and Tara Miltenberger.

The Art Department is pleased to announce the inclusion of works by Cedar Crest Art majors Mary Jo Scannell and Leanna Pittman in the juried exhibition The North American Hand Papermakers - 8th Collegiate Paper Art Triennial. Artwork for the triennial was selected from a total of 138 submissions from 83 students at 17 schools. This exhibition was juried by prominent paper artists and writers: Mina Takahashi, Editor of Hand Papermaking Magazine; Karen Kunc, Professor Emeritus, University of Nebraska-Lincoln; and Erin Zona, Artistic Director, Women's Studio Workshop. The exhibition is on view at Cedar Crest College in the Center for Visual Research, Miller Building, until October 14. After leaving Cedar Crest College's Center for Visual Research the show will travel to the following locations: Evanston Art Center (Evanston, Illinois): January 14 - February 19, 2023 Morgan Conservatory (Cleveland, Ohio): June - July 2023 (final dates TBD) Lyndon House (Athens, Georgia): October 7, 2023 - January 13, 2024

The Community of Literary Magazines and Presses (CLMP) has selected English major and Pitch senior editor Melissa Mahadeo '22 to be a reader for the 2022 Firecracker Awards for Independently Published Literature for the best books of fiction, creative nonfiction and poetry and the best literary magazines in the categories of debut and general excellence. CLMP is a national nonprofit organization that has supported the work of independent literary publishers for more than 50 years. https://www.clmp.org/programs-opportunities/firecracker/

Amber Rose, G'21 was the lead author on a manuscript entitled "Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry of Eight Aminoindanes: 2-AI, NM-2-AI, MEAI, MMAI, 4,5-MDAI, MDAI, 5-IAI, and Rasagiline." The manuscript was recently published in Rapid Communications in Mass Spectrometry, a leading peer-reviewed journal in analytical chemistry. The publication, which was the product of Rose's Master of Science in Forensic Science thesis, can be accessed via the following link: http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/rcm.9207

This summer, graduate students in the business department's Master of Business Administration (MBA) and Modular Master of Science (MMS) program worked together to assess marketing and operations for Bloom, a volunteer-based non-profit that provides assistance to victims of sex trafficking in the Lehigh Valley. In addition to running several emergency shelters for women in the area, the Bloom organization has two retail locations that help generate revenue for the organization: My Sister's Closet in Bethlehem, and Bloom Creative Studio in Bangor. Two teams of students in the business department master's capstone, BUA 650 Integrated Practicum, met with representatives from Bloom to assess their retail operations and provide recommendations to improve the marketing and operational efficiency of each. The students gained valuable hands-on experience working for a crucial local advocacy organization while at the same time giving back service to the community. Team One worked with My Sister's Closet, led by Team Captain Adena Mertz, the team included Tiffany Crush, Valerie Downing, Kyle Elsasser, Andrea Mackiewicz, Karina Ruiz, and Breanna Young. Team Two worked with Bloom Creative Studio, led by Team Captain Daria Warner, the team included Samuel Ajayi, Elizabeth Gwynne, Erika Hanna, Brittany Mokshefsky, Lynn Staples, and Caitlyn Unger. Dr. Michael C. Zalot, assistant professor of business and the director of both graduate programs in the Business Department supervised the student teams. The teams each provided in-depth written recommendations as well as a formal online presentation to Bloom.

Congratulations to Brianna Gregory '22, a senior in the forensic science program, who was awarded the Peter De Forest Research Award at the 47th Annual Meeting of the Northeastern Association of Forensic Scientists held recently in Newport, RI. A panel of forensic science experts selected Gregory's presentation as the most outstanding presentation given at the conference by an undergraduate.

Breille Duncan '22, a senior mathematics major, recently had an article published in a peer-reviewed journal. The article, titled "Exceptional Totient Numbers," was published in the open-access journal INTEGERS: Electronic Journal of Combinatorics and Number Theory. You can access the article at http://math.colgate.edu/~integers/v87/v87.pdf.

Loren Williams, a student in the Master of Science in Forensic Science program, recently had a manuscript accepted for publication in a peer-reviewed journal. The manuscript titled "The Potential Use of Principal Component Analysis and Mahalanobis Distance in Handwriting Comparison" will be published in Problems of Forensic Science which has been published continuously since 1960 by the Polish Institute of Forensic Research. Problems of Forensic Science is one of the leading forensic science journals in eastern Europe. The article will be published in English and in Polish and will be freely available on-line on the journal's website.

The screen dance "the skin you're in" by Assistant Professor of Dance, Sarah Carlson, was presented at the Pennsylvania Dance Education Organization's virtual conference on June 22, 2021. The film was created this Spring and featured the artistry of Cedar Crest dancers Arline Almeter, Ashlyn Auriemma, Cassondra Daveler, Brenna Desborough, Megan Fink and Cindy Lozada. "the skin you're in" meditates upon the outer layer of the body, a permeable barrier called skin that comes in many textures & shades. Dancers were invited to reflect upon how their skin has contributed to their self-worth instilling a sense of privilege or oppression.

Zaria Berry, Kayla Bills, Kathleen Graham, Kristina Cagle, and Deva Leach were selected to participate in the 2021 NEW Leadership Pennsylvania Summer Institute through Chatham University's Pennsylvania Center for Women & Politics. NEW Leadership Pennsylvania is a program that provides college women with the knowledge and skills to become effective leaders in politics, public policy, and public service. This five-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. This year the event is taking place virtually.

The Lehigh Valley Society for Neuroscience recently hosted its 11th Annual Undergraduate Research Conference. Two students from Cedar Crest College gave oral presentations about their work. Senior Hannah Kemperman presented her thesis project in collaboration with Dr. Audrey Ettinger, Associate Professor of Biology, titled "The effect of antidepressants on stem cell neurogenesis in cichlid fish Rocio octofasciata". Junior Christina Scaffidi presented on "Testing the effects of anxiolytic drugs on Jack Dempsey cichlid behavior," also in collaboration with Dr. Ettinger. The conference ended with alumni career panels. Cedar Crest alumnae Karen Knecht 2000 (Senior Director of Education, Da Vinci Science Center), Tasha Cornish 2010 (Executive Director at Cybersecurity Association of Maryland, Inc.), and Venesa Cuadrado 2016 (Quality Control Analyst, CAR-T Cell Therapy at Legend Biotech) served as panelists, while Dr. Audrey Ettinger moderated the panel on Education and Administration careers.

Dr. Megan E. Monahan, Assistant Professor of History, is pleased, privileged & proud to announce the recent launch this week of an exciting, innovative student-curated virtual museum exhibit, featuring items from the Marcia Lynn Walsh Alumnae Museum. Graduating senior Carlie Gausch, a double major in History and English, has been hard at work in a unique on-campus internship this past semester under Dr. Monahan's mentoring to create the exhibit entitled "Cedar Crest College Women in the '40s: Country, Camaraderie, and Celebration." This exhibit focuses on life for women during World War II and the years immediately after with artifacts carefully curated to tell the story of Cedar Crest College students. From clothing and purses to historical documents and photos from the time period, this exhibit uses hand-picked items to show what life was like during the 1940's. Congrats to Carlie & enjoy the exhibit! The exhibit can be viewed using this link: https://cccmuseum.wordpress.com/ Join the conversation with #CCCWomeninthe40s

Rabiya Bower, a Graduate student in the Master of Nutrition program has been awarded a position in the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics Diversity and Inclusion Leaders Program. In accordance with the Academy's strategic vision and mission, the Diversity and Inclusion Leaders Program supports active members from underrepresented groups within the nutrition and dietetics profession. Four leaders are selected to participate in a two-year leadership program and are provided mentorship, leadership training, and networking. For more information on the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics Diversity and Inclusion Leaders Program please visit https://www.eatrightpro.org/leadership/honors-and-awards/diversity-awards-and-grants/diversity-leaders-program-award

On Saturday, April 24, three Cedar Crest College psychology majors presented their research at the 35th Annual LVAIC Undergraduate Psychology Research Conference, which was hosted virtually by Lehigh University and DeSales University. These talks were based on year-long thesis research projects the students conducted: Hailey Harrell '22 (with Dr. James Scepansky, associate professor of psychology): "Effects of Article Primes and Photo Exposure on Body Image and Mood" Christina McElroy '21 (with Dr. Sharon Himmanen, assistant professor of psychology): "Perceptions of Personality Characteristics and Political Affiliation Based on Faces of Women" Mercury Waguespack '21 (with Dr. Sharon Himmanen, assistant professor of psychology): "The Influence of Exposure Time and Art Type on Empathetic Responses"