Hunt Valley, Maryland - Approximately 350 people attended the American Criminal Justice Association / Lambda
Alpha Epsilon conference in Hunt Valley, Maryland. Peru State students and faculty
brought home four national awards.
Hailey Bouwens (Lincoln, Nebraska), Samantha Daake (Beatrice, Nebraska), and Dylan
Rotert (Lincoln, Nebraska) attended the conference. All three Peru State students
are majoring in Criminal Justice.
The students were accompanied by Danny Hayes, instructor of criminal justice, and
Dr. Amber Mahan, assistant professor of criminal justice; both serve as advisors for
Peru State’s chapter of ACJA / LAE, Kappa Omicron Rho. LAE is a national criminal
justice honor’s society.
Conference attendees received training from Lt. Col. Dave Grossman, who has served
as an Army Ranger, and has taught psychology and military science. He is the author
of "On Combat," "Stop Teaching our Kids to Kill," and the Pulitzer Prize nominated,
"On Killing." "The Bulletproof Mind: Psychological Survival" focused on the responsibilities
of law enforcement and handling the stress of violent encounters.
Throughout the conference, students were able to connect and network with peers and
professionals from across the country. The students were also able to spend a portion
of one day at Ft. McHenry on Baltimore Harbor learning and exploring.
Peru State students and faculty competed in seven national competitions: the Physical
Agility Course; Written Testing in LAE Knowledge, Corrections, Police Administration,
Juvenile Justice and Criminal Law, Crime Scene Investigation, and the Research Paper
Competition.
Peru State College participants earned four national trophies this year including
two first place trophies in the professional division.
Rotert placed 3rd in the Upper Division Research Paper Competition.
Mahan won first place in the Physical Agility competition for women between the ages
of 26 and 35.
Hayes took first place in the Physical Agility competition for men over age 36 and
second place in the examination on Corrections.
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Alexa Cline contributed to this press release.