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My name is John Williams Jr. and I am a freshman from Trenton, New Jersey, and being a Mountie has already changed my life.
MU junior criminal justice major Mike Gray repeated as the discus champion at the 2009 PSAC Track & Field Conference Championships held at Millersville University on May 9th, and won the shot put as well on May 8th.
He also took 7th place in the hammer throw to earn a total of 21 conference points.
Gray becomes the first Mountaineer ever to win a individual title in two events at the PSAC Championship and the first ever to be named field athlete of the championship meet.
Criminal Justice major Michael Gray got a little closer to his goal of a second All American title when he won the shot put with a NCAA provisional qualifying heave of 53-05.75 to highlight an impressive outing for the Mansfield University men’s and women’s track and field teams at the Big Red Invitational at Cornell University Sunday, April 25th.
Gray, who also finished third in the discus with a toss of 158-01, threw almost a foot further than his nearest competitor in turning in the longest throw in the PSAC so far this season.
Earlier this winter, Gray enjoyed a record-breaking season for the Mountaineer men’s indoor track and field team this year. A junior, Gray was almost unbeatable against NCAA Division II completion in the shot put while shattering the school record in the weight throw a combined eight times during the season.
Gray became just the third Mountaineer male athlete to capture a conference indoor championship winning the PSAC indoor title with a toss of 52-07.25 feet – more than 2 ½ feet better then the next closest competitor. He also earned All-PSAC honors by finishing third in the weight throw with a school –record throw of 55-03.75.
Gray was named the male MU Winter Athlete of the Year earlier this year. Last year Gray achieved All American status in the discus throw at the NCAA national Outdoor Championships.
Criminal justice major and senior infielder Drew Bair (Phoenix, AZ) undoubtedly hit his most important single of his collegiate career at Mansfield when he hit a walk-off single in the bottom of the 7th inning in the second game of a doubleheader with East Stroudsburg, capping a big comeback to help the Mountaineers earn a split and the final play-off spot in the PSAC baseball playoffs.
Drew and the rest of the Mountaineer baseball team will play in the 50th annual PSAC conference baseball championships at the Clipper Magazine Stadium in Lancaster, PA, on Monday, May 4th at 6:30 p.m. against Mercyhurst College.
Freshman criminal justice major Jesse Wolski (Barker/Barker High School) was selected to the NCAA Division II Field Hockey All-Rookie Team by womensfieldhockey.com
Wolski, a freshman who played forward and mid-field, was third on the team in scoring with 9 points on two goals and a team-best 5 assists. Jessie was a major reason why Mansfield ended the 2008 season with a 7-12 overall mark and finished 4th in the PSAC West with a 3-6 record. This year Mansfield University Field Hockey Team had the toughest schedule among all NCAA Division II field hockey teams according to the NCAA.
Rachel Boyll is a senior criminal justice and forensics major who lives in San Diego, California, but decided to come, and stay, at Mansfield University for her college experience. She has been the student worker for the Department of Criminal Justice ever since her first semester, freshman year.
Rachel can be found in the Criminal Justice Seminar Room, located in Room #210 Pinecrest, on Tuesdays from 9:00 – 12:00 p.m., and on Wednesdays from 1:00 – 4:00 p.m.
While Rachel is not a tutor, she can provide general advice and guidance on course selection and availability of forensic science courses, and study advice for new students and old students alike.
Rachel is your typical university student – she holds down two part-time jobs (the second at Pizza Hut) and studies.
For her long time loyalty to the Department, Rachel is 1 of 3 CJA students selected to join Dr. Katherine Ramsland, the 2008 North hall Library Visiting Scholar, for a private dinner on Monday, September 29th.
Rachel says this of her Mansfield University experience: “It’s been very different, but I couldn’t have asked for a better college experience. I would not trade it for anything.”
Tim Henke and Pete Tuzzato (B.S. in CJA, 2003) stopped by Mansfield on their way to attend a wedding in New York on August 28th, 2009. Tim and Peter have been friends since their college days as criminal justice majors at Mansfield.
Tim Henke (L) has been a police officer with the Department of Army Civilian Police in Aberdeen, Maryland since July 2008.
Peter (R) has been a Casino Compliance Agent with the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board since January 2009, and is stationed at the Hollywood Casino in Harrisburg/Grantville. Before that, Peter was a juvenile probation officer with the Dauphin County Juvenile Probation Office in Harrisburg, PA.
Senior CJ major Alyssa Greenwalt was the subject of a story entitled "Greenwalt opened the door for undergraduates at Mansfield" in the Spring 2009 issue of CROSSROADS, a publication created by students in Mansfield’s Magazine Writing and Production class. The story described how Alyssa Greenwalt became the first undergraduate student in the nation to be invited to attend The Academy Group's 'Violent Crimes Behavior' 80 hour seminar offered in Manassas, Virginia.
The Academy Group is composed of retired former FBI criminal investigative analysts (profilers) who now provide independent consulting and profiling around the world. Before Greenwalt was invited to attend, "students" normally attending the special two week seminar were profilers from around the world sponsored by their police agency, academics, and mental health practitioners. Greenwalt was recommended by MU criminal justice professor Dr. Scott Thornsley, who earlier was in The Academy Group's first Part I and Part II seminars in 2004 and 2005, respectively. According to the article, Greenwalt was the test case for highly recommended undergraduates.
Said MU professor of criminal justice, Dr. Scott Thornsley, "The fact is that if Alyssa had failed to function well in such a learning environment, then the assumption would have been that even highly recommended undergraduates were not appropriate. Alyssa did do well and her behavior made the staff at the Academy Group feel comfortable about letting other undergraduates attend."
Justine Taylor, a December 2008 Summa Cum Laude graduate, was nominated by the Department of Criminal Justice faculty as their choice for the 2008-2009 “Outstanding Senior in Criminal Justice.” This nomination allows Justine Taylor to compete with nominated seniors across the university for the award of “Outstanding Senior.”
Justine Taylor was recommended primarily because of her Summa Cum Laude honors, as she graduated with a 3.963 G.P.A., and her completion of Mansfield University’s Honors Program. Her independent research project for her Honors Program was entitled “The Need to Compensate the Wrongfully Convicted in Pennsylvania.”
Justine was also recognized for her being named the Outstanding Junior in Criminal Justice and the department’s Outstanding Student in Criminal Justice for the 2007-2008 academic year. In 2008 Justine was also honored with the Honors Program Book Award for the Highest QPA in the Senior Class and the campus-wide Mansfield Foundation Departmental Scholars Award.
According to Dr. Scott Thornsley, her advisor and mentor for her Honors Program, “Justine Taylor is hands-down the best undergraduate student I have taught in my 14 years of teaching at the undergraduate level, both at Mansfield University and at Troy State University. She is an excellent writer, and was capable of doing graduate level work during her junior year here. I have no doubt she will be successful at the graduate and doctoral level, and it would please me to no end if she were to apply for an academic teaching position at Mansfield before I finished my career here.”
Justine is currently living in Middletown, Pennsylvania where she is pursuing her graduate degree in criminal justice policy from Penn State – Harrisburg, and working for the Dauphin County District Attorney’s Office. Justice is awaiting word as to her acceptance into Penn State’s doctoral program in Law, Crime, and Justice, one of the nation’s leading programs in criminal justice.
MU Alumni Association President Jerry Wood (MU CJA major, 1977), provided the “Greetings From Alumni” during the graduation ceremony. Wood is employed by the Dauphin County District Attorney’s Office as an investigator.
Here he is pictured with Tessa Bieber (MU CJA, May 2008) who is the student member of the MU Council of Trustees.
Each semester in Dr. Thornsley’s “Senior Seminar” class students have the opportunity to reflect on some of their experiences during their stay at Mansfield. Below are some of the reasons why our majors in criminal justice believe they made the right decision in coming to Mansfield and majoring in criminal justice... Read more.
Matt Moroski, a Scranton High School graduate and senior in criminal justice, recently returned from his 2008 summer job at the Ocean City, Maryland Police Department (OCMPD) where he worked as a certified police office, which meant, he had to carry a firearm.
Matt says this about his Mansfield University experience: "I feel that Mansfield has exposed me to real world situations as opposed to just a classroom experience. This real life experience has prepared me for my career in law enforcement like no class I could have.
Between OCMPD and great speakers like Roy Hazelwood [Retired FBI profiler who spoke at Mansfield University in 2005, 2006, and 2007, and author of The Evil That Men Do and Dark Dreams], I have had a rich experience here at Mansfield. Mansfield has been a great experience. There are plenty of places to go and see. The faculty are excellent and the classes challenging."
Marisa Fronczkiewicz is a Senior Criminal Justice major graduating in December 2008. In her junior year at Mansfield University of Pennsylvania, she represented the Criminal Justice Club in the 2007-2008 Homecoming events. She was crowned Mansfield University Homecoming Queen 2007-2008 in a campus-wide vote from the student body.
The Criminal Justice Club also elected Marisa Fronczkiewicz to represent the club for the Student Affairs Outstanding Student Award 2007-2008.
She is currently the President of the Criminal Justice Club, Vice President of the Campus Mountie Guides, Vice President of Cedarcrest Hall Council, a First Year Experience Peer Leader, a Residence Life Student Worker and a member of the Spanish Club. Other honors she has received at Mansfield University include Who's Who Amoung Students in American Universities and Colleges, Dean’s List Qualifier earning a Heartly B. Dean Scholarship, Mansfield University Track and Field PSAC Qualifier, Track and Field Scholar Athlete Award and a Residence Life Resident Assistant.
Marisa Fronczkiewicz also completed a summer internship at the White Haven Youth Forestry Camp #2 in White Haven, PA.
What should have been his last semester in college was instead spent at the State Police Training Academy, located in Hershey, Pennsylvania. Josh started applying for jobs and taking exams during the first semester of his senior year. Note: Josh graduated from the PSP Academy in August 2009 and is stationed in Montgomery County.
In January 2009 former Mansfield University CJA major Kenyatta D. Johnson (Democrat-186th Legislative District) was sworn into the Pennsylvania House of Representatives for the first time. Kenyatta’s legislative committee assignments include the following :
Kenyatta also holds a M.G.A. from the University of Pennsylvania’s Fels Institute of Government.
Jay Shaw (2006) graduated from St. Joseph's University on May 10, 2008 with a M.S. in criminology. Jay currently works for the Philadelphia Adult Probation/Parole Department. He writes to Dr. Thornsley "Thank you for challenging me, encouraging me, and supportin
Mr. Joshua Battin, Program Director
212 Pinecrest Manor
(570) 662-4493
Dr. John Mansfield, Chair
209 Pinecrest Manor
(570) 662-4483
Gayle M. Thompson, Secretary
213 Pinecrest Manor
(570) 662 - 4661
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