Community College Students bring Research to Conference

Two Butler Community College students presented original research at a March psychology conference at Fort Hays State University. More than 250 students from 25 colleges attended the Great Plains Student Psychology Conference. Butler was the only community college in attendance. The two psychology students who represented Butler are members of SoPsyched, a psychology club led by psychology professors Cheree Encapera and Nathan Swink, Ph.D.

Jamon Sommer, of Wichita, a graduate of Heights High School, and Bailey Counterman, of Towanda, a graduate of Circle High School, were the only community college students to present research at the conference. Sommer and Counterman set up a research model and collected data on body sensitivity from 150 participants. They then designed a poster to show their findings.

“Although Butler students did not place, they did represent us well,” Swink said. “Professors who spoke to our students were impressed to see community college students who designed and conducted their own experiment and collected data.”

Swink is encouraged by the level of professionalism exhibited by the students in SoPsyched. He and Encapera look forward to continue mentoring them.