More than 40 parochial middle school students participated in Concordia's second annual Academy for Excellence on Friday, April 18. The middle-schoolers examined crime scenes, conducted chemical lab tests and interrogated witnesses as part of the day-long mock investigation on campus.
The students, from Nebraska and five surrounding states, were nominated by their school principals for their outstanding academic ability, character and leadership skills.
The day began with class sessions covering bone identification, GPS technology and psychological profiling. Lessons learned in the classroom would be needed to make deductions about the perpetrator of the crime.
"It has all been very interesting." said Josh Sugita, from Grand Island, Neb. "We found a lot of clues and many suspects. We had fun and learned a lot, too."
Participating Concordia professors and students remained in character during the day, dropping comments or behaving suspiciously to help move the plot along.
Parents of the middle-schoolers were also on campus. They were given overviews of the college selection process and financing a university education in sessions were led by university staff and current parents of Concordia students.
A closing banquet wrapped up the day's events and gave the junior sleuths an opportunity to make their case. Each group of middle school students presented research and accused one of the suspects. Guest speaker Tim Huntington, a certified forensic entomologist, reviewed the findings and indicted two suspects from the faculty; one of the seven groups of students had arrived at the same conclusion.
Following the presentations, Concordia Provost Dr. Jenny Mueller-Roebke bestowed each academy member with a medallion and Pete Kenow, vice president for institutional advancement, awarded certificates.
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