Cornhusker State News

Peru State College’s Criminal Justice Club, Kappa Omicron Rho (KOR), recently attended the American Criminal Justice Association (ACJA) – Lambda Alpha Epsilon (LAE) national conference March 20-24, 2022, in Kansas City, Missouri. ACJA/LAE also celebrated their 85th year.

The theme for this year’s conference was Current Issues in Criminal Justice & Policing. KOR members had opportunities to compete in crime scene and physical agility competitions; written exams; attend a career fair; and hear keynote speakers from the criminal justice field.

Faculty members Stephanie Huddle and Joe Schreiner, instructors of criminal justice, along with College staff member, Shawn Sherman, workforce liaison, sponsored the group which attended the annual event.

Huddle commented, “The national conference provides a wonderful opportunity for students to meet other peers and network with professionals in the criminal justice field. Everyone performed well in the competitions and did a fantastic job representing Peru State College.” 

The following are the results of the various competitions and results in which both students and staff participated:

• AJ Hayes (Peru) – Upper Division
• First place in corrections written exam
• First place in homeland security written exam
• Second place in forensic psychology written exam
• Sam Wissmann (Falls City)
• Second place in physical agility female 25 and under
• Stephanie Huddle – Professional Division
• First place in physical agility female 36 and over
• Third place in forensic psychology written exam
• Joe Schreiner – Professional Division
• First place in physical agility male 26-35
• Shawn Sherman – Professional Division
• First place in physical agility male 36 and over
• Third place in homeland security written exam

KOR also received a recognition award for putting the physical agility course together and running the competition. Region 3, of which KOR is part, was the top region at the conference.

Other students attending the conference included Alex Chmelka (Lincoln), McKinley Cross (Buhler, KS), Dakota Ruch (Omaha), and Karington Sims (Kearney).

Cross, a first-time attendee stated, “It was a really good opportunity to get to know my professors and classmates better instead of just in class.”

Continuing, Cross added, “My favorite guest speakers were from the Innocence Program – two men who had been wrongly convicted of crimes they did not commit. This was a fantastic way to expand on learning about this program as we have discussed it in classes.”

Original source can be found here.