Five A&M-Central Texas students worked for a year, selling sponsorships to raise the funds they needed to cover their travel expenses to the Southwestern Association of Criminal Justice in Houston, October 16-18^th.

Undergraduate students Carlos Bourne of Killeen, Stephanie Polovina of Burnet, and Kathleen Ramillano-Curtis of Temple, Arial Robison of Harker Heights, and Graduate student, Tobias Hitz, Killeen, didn’t come up short, either.

Not only did they raise almost $3,000, they returned to A&M-Central Texas with an armful of awards.

College of Arts and Science and Criminal Justice Assistant Professor, Dr. Tammy Bracewell, accompanied the group to the conference excited for the recognition her students had earned.

“The conference includes colleges and universities from Arkansas, Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico, Oklahoma, and Texas,” she explained. “It’s tough competition and they worked hard to get ready.

“They raised money to get there, but more importantly, they studied and prepared to be ready to win once they got there. They placed 2^nd in the quiz bowl, 1^st and 3^rd place in the undergraduate research paper competition, and 3^rd place in the graduate research paper competition.”

The Criminal Justice Program, too, was recognized in 2019, winning high marks with U.S. News & World Report ranking the online graduate program #22 and The Best Schools.com ranking the online undergraduate program #12 in the U.S.