Photo by Nolan Arwy
Bethany Doudna
Staff Writer
Students and prospective students of Franciscan University of Steubenville interacted with representatives from over 10 different law enforcement agencies at a criminal justice event in the St. Joseph Center Friday, Feb. 11.
Charles Nemeth, director of the Center of Criminal Justice, Law & Ethics at Franciscan University, said that the event was intended to spark interest in this field of study, which is new at the university.
The first half of the event took place at 2 p.m. in the St. Joseph Center, where law enforcement agencies, including the United States Secret Service, state wildlife officers, state and county police, and private security presented information on their distinct career options at separate tables.
At 3 p.m., attendees moved to the Gentile Gallery in the J.C. Williams Center for a talk by Nemeth describing the criminal justice major.
Nemeth said that, contrary to popular belief, the criminal justice major prepares students for a broad field of career options.
“People hear about criminal justice, and they think patrol officer in a squad car,” Nemeth said. “And that’s one option, but there’s more! You can go on from this and go into forensic accounting, you can be a defense attorney, a victims’ advocate. It’s one of the most eclectic majors.”
Although this is the first full year the criminal justice major has been in business, it includes between 40 and 50 students, Nemeth said. He hopes enrollment will continue to grow rapidly.
Nemeth said 17 families had reached out to him about the event prior to its occurrence.
The criminal justice department partnered with the admissions team to host the event.
A second, similar Criminal Justice Day event is projected to take place during the summer or fall semester.