(Butler, PA) A criminology student at Butler County Community College wants the public to understand that disciplinary practices such as zero-tolerance policies in education may disproportionately affect minorities, result in suspensions or expulsions and fuel a juvenile school-to-prison pipeline.
A graphic design student wants to “show off everything I have been able to do here” to the public as an exhibitor in BC3 @ Cranberry’s portfolio and art show whose work appeared on a NASCAR truck racing in Fort Worth, Texas, and in Bristol, Tenn., in April 2023.
Madison Feicht and Steven Merzlak will showcase their academic research or artistic skills during free public events on BC3’s main campus or at BC3 @ Cranberry.
Feicht and other students in BC3’s president’s scholars program who expect to graduate May 15 from the college will present their capstone projects to the public from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. April 29 in the AK Steel Lobby of Succop Theater on BC3’s main campus in Butler Township.
Merzlak and other students in BC3 @ Cranberry’s visual communications programs who expect to graduate May 15 from BC3 will discuss their creations with the public and prospective employers during a portfolio and art show from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. May 3 at BC3 @ Cranberry in Cranberry Township.
The events will include light refreshments.
Feicht, 20, of Bruin, is a 2022 graduate of Karns City Area Junior-Senior High School and Merzlak, 22, of Cranberry Township, a 2019 graduate of Seneca Valley High.
Public presentations finalize capstone project
Capstone projects in BC3’s president’s scholars program are designed to introduce students to advanced research and presentation methods, according to Annie Lindsay, a BC3 associate professor and interim program coordinator. Public presentations conclude the capstone project, Lindsay said.
BC3’s president’s scholars proposed their capstone project topic in December to a committee of BC3 faculty and administrators, according to Lindsay.
Arica Angert, Mackenzie Birckbichler, Gabriel Cornetti, Natasha D’Amico, Nathan Kelly, Hannah Lindsay, Lucas Ray and Liam Robinson will join Feicht as BC3 president’s scholars presenting their research to the public.
Angert, Birckbichler, Kelly, Lindsay, Ray and Robinson live in Butler; Cornetti, in Sarver; and D’Amico, in Slippery Rock.
Angert, 20, is a graphic design student whose presentation is titled “The Robotic Artist.”
Birckbichler, 19, Nursing, R.N., will discuss “Social Media Effects on Depression Symptoms”; Cornetti, 20, business administration, “Agricultural Marketing”; D’Amico, 20, biological science, “Estimating Greenhouse Gas Emissions from Organic Fast-Food Waste” and Kelly, 20, business administration, “Community-Based Nonprofits’ Online Advertising.”
Lindsay, 19, early childhood education (Pre K-4), will discuss “An Educational Environment’s Impact on Teacher Burnout”; Ray, 20, psychology, “Adapt and Overcome: The Future of Climate Change in Butler County” and Robinson, 19, engineering, “The Design and Preparation of Formula 1 Racing Tires.”
Angert, Cornetti, D’Amico, Feicht, Kelly and Lindsay intend to transfer to Slippery Rock University of Pennsylvania following their graduation from BC3.
Angert plans to pursue a bachelor’s degree in fine arts with a concentration in graphic design; Cornetti, in finance and in accounting; D’Amico, in integrative biology; Feicht, in criminology and criminal justice; Kelly, in accounting; and Lindsay, in early childhood education.
Ray intends to pursue a bachelor’s degree in applied developmental psychology at the University of Pittsburgh and Robinson, in mechanical engineering at Penn State Behrend.
A zero-tolerance policy “hurts a lot of kids because children at that age make mistakes that could affect them later in life.”
BC3’s president’s scholars program is in its 10th year.
It includes a full-tuition waiver for up to 18 credits each semester and may be funded through various named scholarships from the BC3 Education Foundation. It is available to Butler County residents in the Top 10 percent of their graduating class and who have achieved at least a 3.5 grade-point average at any of Butler County’s public high schools.
A cyber school student counted in those public schools’ graduating classes is also eligible. Students must also enroll at BC3 in the first semester following their high school graduation to be eligible for the program, and are required to take scholars-only courses and maintain at least a 3.5 grade-point average at BC3.
Feicht said she chose her capstone project, titled “Education, Not Incarceration” after taking a juvenile justice and juvenile delinquency course at BC3.
“In the future I would like to research different disciplinary policies and see what could be applied differently,” Feicht said. “I don’t think a lot of people are trying to look at what could be done.
According to a July 2023 American Bar Association report, “Black students are 2.2 times more likely to receive a referral to law enforcement or to be subject to a school-related arrest as are white students. … Students with disabilities are more than twice as likely as nondisabled students to be suspended in K-12 settings.”
A zero-tolerance policy, Feicht said, “hurts a lot of kids because children at that age make mistakes that could affect them later in life.”
“It was like a dream come true. It’s a great portfolio piece.”
“A good way to show off what I have done”
Students in digital audio and video production, graphic design and photography programs will display their work during BC3 @ Cranberry’s portfolio and art show, according to Kristine Allen, a BC3 assistant professor and coordinator of the three programs.
Guests and employers can view logos, technical illustrations and posters; portrait, outdoor and architectural photography; and videos created by students in the programs offered only at BC3 @ Cranberry.
Students taking art classes at BC3 @ Cranberry will also exhibit works such as acrylic and water color paintings, charcoal and graphite drawings and prints, said Michael Putorti, a BC3 faculty member.
Many students will have resumes and business cards available, Allen said.
His exhibits in BC3 @ Cranberry’s portfolio and art show represent “the culmination of everything I have worked on over the past two years,” Merzlak said. “It’s a good way to show off what I have done and a good way to show off everything I have been able to do here.”
Merzlak as a 12-year-old played a stockcar racing video game “that had a paint booth in it,” he said. “I was tired of driving as known professional racers. They were cool, but I wanted to be me for once. And I started to think about what I wanted if I were to drive, and what I wanted my car to look like.”
The first car he drew was silver with green stripes.
Merzlak enrolled in BC3 @ Cranberry’s graphic design program, where he learned to use Adobe software products – “the tools the pros use,” he said.
He posted his design for a NASCAR truck on social media and tagged racer Colby Howard, Merzlak said. Howard later contacted Merzlak to ask whether he could use the design on his truck, Merzlak said.
The design appeared on the truck Howard raced in 2023 at Texas Motor Speedway in Fort Worth on April 1 and at Bristol (Tenn.) Motor Speedway on April 8.
“It was like a dream come true,”
Merzlak said. “It’s a great portfolio piece. Wherever I go in the future, it’s something that will always be there, something that proves I can work in a professional environment.
“Without going to BC3, I don’t think I would have been capable of this level of work.”
