Student Notes

Yan Shan Yu, a second-year MA student in the Forensic Mental Health Counseling program, has a passion for conducting research related to the topics of sexual grooming, educator sexual misconduct, and sex-related crimes. As an undergraduate at John Jay College, Yan completed two independent projects under the guidance of Dr. Elizabeth Jeglic on the relationship between sexual grooming and the victim’s age and gender. Her master’s thesis focuses on the prevalence and characteristics of educator sexual misconduct.

Yan recognizes the vulnerability of the child student population, along with the trauma that survivors of sexual crimes face. “I realize the topics of my research are considered taboo by many and sensitive for most people. However, this reality also drives me to continue my work in the field,” she says.

She hopes her research can support the development of measures to preempt the irreversible pain and suffering of potential sex crime survivors. “Educator sexual misconduct has been under-researched for too long, and I am determined to raise the related issue of under-reporting,” says Yan.

While working toward the publication of her master’s thesis, which Yan began as a McNair Scholar during her undergraduate days, she is also an assistant scholar and senior staffer in John Jay’s Office for Student Research & Creativity (OSRC). Yan hopes to continue her work mentoring students who have a passion for research and aims to obtain her counselor license after graduation, to help serve the members of her community, specifically survivors of sexual crimes.