Lock Haven University

10/31/2025 | Press release | Distributed by Public on 10/31/2025 12:08

Six CU Students Present at COPLAC Conference

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Six CU Students Present at COPLAC Conference

University-wide

Posted Oct. 31, 2025

Six Commonwealth University students presented their work at the Council of Public Liberal Arts Colleges (COPLAC) Northeast Regional Undergraduate Research, Scholarly and Creative Activity Conference on October 17 and 18 at Keene State College in New Hampshire.

Ariya Hansen

The students, representing five majors (Criminal Justice, Nursing, Psychology, Social Work, and Sociology), presented their scholarly and creative activity with students from five other COPLAC universities. Megumi Omori, a sociology professor from the Bloomsburg campus, and Gretchen Sechrist, Interim Vice Provost and Dean of Undergraduate Education, accompanied the students to the conference.

Rose Jeffes

"This annual conference is a wonderful opportunity for our students to share their scholarly activity with their peers from other COPLAC schools and to learn about the work of students from other universities and disciplines," said Dr. Gretchen Sechrist.

The students who presented at the conference were:

Ashlynn Kuijpers
  • Ariya Hansen (Criminal Justice, Bloomsburg) - Race and Class Differences in Belief in Hard Work as a Path to Success
  • Rose Jeffes (Social Work and Psychology, Lock Haven) - The Importance of Ethnic Socialization in Transracial Adoption

  • Ashlynn Kuijpers (Nursing, Bloomsburg) - Building Resilience: Empowering Nursing Students to Thrive Under Pressure

    Melanie Mecca and McKenna Miller
  • Melanie Mecca and McKenna Miller (Psychology, Mansfield) - College Students' Perceptions of Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) After An "Autism Intervention"

  • Kirsten Yoder (Sociology, Bloomsburg) - Opinions about the Environmental Dangers of Industrial Air Pollution based on Race and Social Class

Kirsten Yoder

Anyone interested in learning more about the conference or additional research opportunities offered by the COPLAC consortium should contact Dr. Gretchen Sechrist, Interim Vice Provost and Dean of Undergraduate Education, at [email protected]

Categories:

  • Conference

Tags:

  • Research
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