Students in Dr. Mari Pierce’s Criminal Justice 100 class recently had a chance to hear from three Penn State Beaver alumni about their work in the criminal justice field.
Students in Dr. Mari Pierce’s Criminal Justice 100 class recently had a chance to hear from three Penn State Beaver alumni about their work in the criminal justice field.
Pierce, associate professor of criminal justice, invited the alumni working in different areas of the field to her class to talk about their professional experiences after leaving the Beaver campus, and students had a chance to ask their own questions.
Michael Biskup graduated in the Fall of 2014 and works as a patrolman for the Monaca and New Brighton Area police departments as well as being part of the Beaver County Emergency Services Unit. James Musgrave graduated in the Spring of 2013 and work for Beaver County Adult Probation. And Tiere Phillips graduated in the Fall of 2015 and is in his second year of law school at Duquesne University. Phillips is also a law clerk in the Fifth Judicial District and works as a legal assistant for GNC.
The alumni shared some of their post-graduate experiences working in their respective areas of the criminal justice system. They also shared some advice for the students regarding future careers.
Biskup told the students to keep an open mind and be willing to apply to jobs that are out of the area. Musgrave agreed and said the students shouldn’t “be scared to take a chance.” He said some of the jobs he had before working for adult probation weren’t what he planned to do, but he learned a lot from them and had fun.
Phillips encouraged the students to embrace their journey, take advantage of everything Penn State Beaver has to offer and to do the best they can. He shared that he landed at the Beaver campus after basically failing out of another university, but he got to Penn State and really turned things around. He told the students to set small goals for themselves that will eventually equal a big goal.
Pierce reinforced to her students the idea of pivoting and figuring out how to turn things around if need be. “Skills are important for success, no matter your field,” she said.
