Cedar Crest College

Cedar Crest College celebrated its 150th Commencement Ceremony. The event was an abbreviated outdoor ceremony held on the steps of Blaney Hall on the Cedar Crest College Campus on August 15, 2020. Graduates were separated into several time slots and were presented with their diplomas one at a time to keep with social distancing guidelines. President Elizabeth M. Meade, PhD and Provost Robert Wilson, PhD each gave brief remarks before conferring the degrees. College prizes and awards were announced and students graduating with honors wore corresponding cords, traditionally presented during the ceremony. Each graduate was permitted only a small number of family or friends to watch in order to maintain health and safety guidelines.

The Aspire program provides opportunities for incoming first-year students to engage in full-time original scientific research prior to the start of the fall semester. By participating in Aspire, students get a jump start on the transition to college, start earning college credit early, sharpen key academic skills, and learn research skills through hands-on learning guided by experienced faculty. Students in Aspire will work directly with a faculty member in the biological, chemical, or physical sciences, to learn about what inspires faculty to ask research questions and develop research designs and get hands-on experience collecting and analyzing data. Student Mentors: Brianna Gregory Rachel Justice Ashley Wilkins

Cedar Crest College celebrated the Class of 2020 virtually this year by providing students with a message from President Elizabeth Meade, posting online pictures, and creating a website dedicated to the graduates. The website can be found by visiting: https://www.cedarcrest.edu/may9/index.shtm.

Melissa Rogers, a 2020 graduate of the Master of Science in Forensic Science Program, recently had a manuscript accepted for publication. Her manuscript titled "Use of RGB Values in the Periodic Acid-Schiff Color Test to Determine the Presence of Vaginal Fluid" will appear in Science and Justice, the official publication of the Chartered Society of Forensic Sciences. This is the most recent publication of the Cedar Crest forensic science program dealing with sexual assault investigation. It is also the third publication from the forensic science program in 2020. Other authors of the paper include Janine Kishbaugh, Larry Quarino, and Amrita Lal-Paterson (Delaware Department of Forensic Science).

The Dean's List recognizes students who have earned a grade point average of 3.65 or higher in the academic semester.

Two members of the Doctoral Nurse Anesthesia Program Class of 2022 recently received the following awards: Dominick Richards was awarded the Art Zwerling Memorial Scholarship through the AANA Rebecca Satterfield was awarded the AANA Dean M. Cox Memorial Scholarship

Delphi is the college's honor society for undergraduate students. Students who have a cumulative grade point average of 3.8 at the end of their junior year or their senior year are recognized as members.

Each year, senior students present their research and senior project findings to the campus community through posters, presentations, and information sessions.

The following seniors performed and created websites based on their senior capstone projects: Emma Gerstein Video Presentation link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VnY7r1xixiw&feature=emb_logo Website: https://perfectlyuselessmovement.wordpress.com/ Andrea Abdale Video Presentation link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BH7nuw78OkY&t=1062s Website: https://andreaabdale1.wixsite.com/brokeneccentric Marissa Madson Video Presentation link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2AYgWBRcsbM&feature=youtu.be Website: https://marissamadson8.wixsite.com/marissamadson Yesenia Paula: Video Presentation link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yPjKhIXRJWs Website: https://yeseniapaula.wixsite.com/mysite Jannelle Mohney Video Presentation link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yTDLA_Brg9M Website: https://jkmohney98.wixsite.com/mysite-1

The Education Department had eight students complete their thesis projects as part of the Master in Education. The department would like to recognize the following: Lindsay Steiner: Acquisition of Early Literacy Skills based on Entering Age of Kindergarten Taylor Keinert: The Effects of Homework on Students' Overall Success Aida Rivera Gonzalez: Attitudes & Perceptions of Students in Higher Education in the United States Toward Foreign Language Lauren Berback: Academic Differences of English as a Second Language (ESL) Programs Tara O'Brien: Teachers' Perceptions of Ideal Recess Timing and Duration by Grade Level Lindsay Nelson: Mindfulness and Behavior Management Jodie Thomas: Teachers' Perceptions of Parent Involvement in their Child's Education Zachary McMichael: Tutoring Resources at the College Level: An Investigation of Students' Perceptions

Kayla Bills been selected to participate in the 2021 NEW Leadership Pennsylvania Summer Institute 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.

Alexandra (Ally) Arabio '21 will be a distance intern with the Center for Statistics and Applications in Forensic Evidence (CSAFE) this summer. The CSAFE is a consortium of four universities: Carnegie Mellon University, Iowa State University, University of California at Irvine, and the University of Virginia. Ally will be working with the group on her undergraduate research that she is performing with Dr. James Hammer and Dr. Lawrence Quarino, which is developing a geometric model for handwriting comparison.

Three senior Psychology students orally presented (virtually) the findings of their year-long research projects on April 22nd to the Psychology Department. The titles and names of the students are: "The Influence of Reading Words and Passages of Differing Arousal Levels on Performance and Affect" by Sohinaz Lozano; "The Effect of Presentation and Medium on Recall and Recognition" by Avery Wanamaker; and "The Influence of Colors and Valence of Words on Affect and Memory" by Stephanie Guldin. All three students worked under the direction of Dr. Kerrie Baker, Professor of Psychology. These presentations were to have taken place at Lehigh University on April 25th as part of the LVAIC Undergraduate Psychology and Neuroscience Conference.

Kathleen Mallari, a senior in Global Studies, has been selected to participate in the IMPACT 2020 program this summer. She is also President of our Asian Student Association. IMPACT! (Inspiring, Motivating and Preparing for Action towards Civic Transformation) Program for Filipino-Americans is a professional development program created by the US-Asia Institute (USAI) - is a once-in-a-lifetime experience for Filipino-American young adults to gain a firsthand look at the American government and political system in Washington DC, to engage civically, and to reflect on the role they, as future leaders, might play in strengthening the US-Philippine relationship.

Preterite 2020 Winners are celebrated at the English Program's annual Celebration of Creativity. PHOTOGRAPHY Winning cover photo: "Colorado Roads," by Jamie Kahn POETRY 1st prize: "So Where's Home?", by Emma Gerstein 2nd prize: "matryoshka," by Emma Gerstein 3rd prize: "Saudade," by Emma Gerstein Honorable Mention: "Awakening," by Emma Casey FICTION 1st prize: "quietus," by Emma Gerstein 2nd prize: "Promises," by Nora Mahmoud 3rd prize: "Alternative Medicine," by Annie Elizabeth Kreiser CREATIVE NONFICTION 1st prize: "Colors in Crisis," by Natalie Bennington 2nd prize: "I Won't Hide from Mike and Ikes Anymore," by Shaylin Troiano

Erin Ryan Meyer '20, Art History minor and History major, under the advisement of our art history adjunct faculty member Julia Marsh, had her paper titled- Pastel Degas: Ballet or Brothel accepted for presentation at the Intercollegiate Art History Symposium at Hood College in Frederick MD March 28, 2020. Although the symposium was canceled due to COVID -19 the Art Department would like to acknowledge her work.

On March 13, nine students are being inducted into the Rho Xi chapter of Gamma Sigma Epsilon, the national Chemistry Honor Society.

Seven MAAT Students (six current students and one recent graduate) had their research accepted to the American Art Therapy Association's 51st Annual Conference. The conference is scheduled for October 29 - November 1, 2020, in Washington DC. The students' work has been accepted in a variety of formats, including papers, panels, and posters, and cover a diverse range of interests and topics. We are proud of their accomplishment and their developing ability to be leaders in the field of art therapy. The students and the titles of their work are listed below. Courtney Bresigner, (Poster) Art Therapy with Offenders: A Special Focus on Male Sex Offender Treatment Elyse Coldren, (Poster) Recommendation for a Multimodal Approach in Art Therapy: Art and Yoga Victoria Kasaczun, (Poster) The Art of Deciphering Awareness: Countertransference versus Parataxic Distortion Hannah Kinsell, (Poster) The Art of Birth: An Exploration of New Mothers' Experience through Art Charlene Natterman, (Poster) Working with Clients with Substance Abuse: Art Prevails Heather Tittle, Steven Long, MD, Christine Largoza, and Sal Panasci, (Panel) Benefits of Art Therapy with Patients with Brain Injury: A Collective Perspective Haley Triolo, MAAT (class of Dec. 2019) and Michelle L. Dean, MA, ATR-BC, LPC, CGP, (Paper) Wounded Healer as Artist: Therapists with Mental Illness Utilizing the Creative Process

Dr. K. Joy Karnas, Professor of Biology, and three research students from her lab, Julianna Marotta ('19), Rochelle Koseki ('20), and Ellen Sherman ('19) published their research findings Triclosan Resistance Derived Across Environmentally and Clinically Relevant Gram-Negative Bacteria in the Journal of the Pennsylvania Academy of Science (Volume 93, pages 83-106). This work builds on a phenomenon noted in Logan Exton's 6th-grade science fair project, in which he observed colonies of bacteria that appeared to be resistant to triclosan, a compound once commonly found in hand sanitizers and still used in consumables such as toothpaste. The Karnas lab followed up this observation by exposing five different species of bacteria to triclosan and found that within a few exposure cycles, they were able to grow in the presence of the compound. The paper details their characterization of these novel strains with altered growth properties and raises concerns regarding how easily antibiotic-resistant bacteria are selected for when antimicrobial compounds are overused.

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.

The Sophomore Expedition is a guaranteed study abroad program. In the spring semester of their sophomore year, students participate in a series of classes to prepare them for the trip. Then they spend 8-10 days traveling as a class to an international destination where they participate in a number of service activities. This year they traveled to London England from February 29th to March 7th.

The Dean's List recognizes students who have earned a grade point average of 3.65 or higher in the academic semester.

Students from the Business Department participated in the Greater Lehigh Valley Chamber of Commerce Young Professional's Council Leadership Summit held at Moravian College on March 5, 2020. Undergraduate Business Administration major Salem Bogewari, and MBA candidate Cassandra Cabral-Castro attended the summit, which included presentations from local industry leaders, networking, and a leadership panel. They were accompanied by Colleen Krcelich, and Dr. Michael C. Zalot, both Assistant Professors in the Business Department, as well as Deborah Accurso, Graduate Recruitment and Retention Coordinator in SAGE. It was a great opportunity for students to make connections and hear firsthand from local industry leaders about their leadership experiences.

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".

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.

An article will appear in Congressus Numerantium and involves decomposing Kenser Graphs into edge-disjoint triangles. Two students at Cedar Crest College, Alexandra Arabio and Leannan Feldman, are working with Dr. James Hammer to extend these results for other cases.

Cedar Crest Junior, Sulakshmi Vaid, in collaboration with the Lutz Center for Community Service and the All In Campus Democracy Challenge Committee, was awarded $1,500.00 by Run With It to help support election education, voter registration, and getting students to the polls during the April 2020 primary election. Sulakshmi was one of 15 students across the nation and the only one in Pennsylvania to receive this grant.

Cedar Crest Sophomore, Carlie Gausch, presented her paper "Proto-Feminism in Christine de Pizan's Life and Literature" at the 14th Undergraduate Conference in Medieval & Early Modern Studies on December 7, 2019, at Moravian College. In a panel entitled "Women and Power," Carlie described this late 14th/early 15th-century woman as one of the first feminists, delineating the differences between proto-feminism and contemporary feminism.

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.