RECRUITING — Dareick Barr, recruiter for the United States Capitol Police and former Martins Ferry resident, spoke with an interested Franciscan University student during the school’s third-annual Criminal Justice Fair. — Christopher Dacanay
STEUBENVILLE — About 35 agencies were represented at Franciscan University of Steubenville’s third-annual Criminal Justice Fair, meant to connect students and the general public with employment and education opportunities, the fair’s organizer said.
Charles Nemeth, professor and director of Franciscan’s criminal justice bachelor’s degree program, said no registration was required for the fair, which was open to the public and even received some high school-age attendees. Different organizations providing information at the fair included law enforcement, prisons, forensic labs, private security, military and juvenile counseling.
With the two previous years drawing about 20 and 30 agencies respectively, this year’s fair was the biggest yet, Nemeth said, and it was a possible record-setter for criminal justice programs in general.
“It is the largest criminal justice fair I know of anywhere in the United States,” said Nemeth, a former professor at the John Jay College of Criminal Justice in New York City. “This is exclusively dedicated to criminal justice, and that’s very rare. … I don’t know any larger (fairs), and I’ve been around.”
“It’s important that our students get exposed to the reality of criminal justice,” said Nemeth, who founded Franciscan’s criminal justice system in the fall of 2020. Nemeth said the fair enables that exposure through allowing students and others to speak with individuals active in criminal justice fields, with the added benefit of internship or employment opportunities.
Nemeth said, “You can study, but that’s not enough, you have to … go into the world and see how all the theories work … and all these agencies have a lot of experience testing everything.”
Planning for the fair, which took place in Franciscan’s J.C. Williams Center, began in February, Nemeth said, with the bulk of outreach to agencies being done by Adrian Lee, administrative assistant for the criminal justice program.
Among the fair’s attending agencies was the United States Capitol Police, which recruiter Dareick Barr said is the “federal law enforcement agency in charge of protecting the legislative branch of (the U.S.) government. Our primary responsibility is to protect the members of Congress and any foreign dignitaries on Capitol grounds from crime, disruption and terrorism.”
A former Martins Ferry resident, Barr said this is his second year at the fair, and he always makes a point to “give back to the community” by doing recruiting in the Ohio Valley. Also, Barr said there are plenty of federal law enforcement openings, and the Capitol Police are looking for young people to “lead us into the future.”
Also present was the Ohio Investigative Unit. A unit agent, who asked not to be named, said the organization does “plain clothes,” undercover investigations into illicit operations including liquor violations, human and drug trafficking, illegal gambling and food stamp fraud. The agent said the unit can be requested for help by any other agency, and covers six districts throughout the state.
The Ohio State Highway Patrol’s Trooper Troy Thompson and Melissa Rath, dispatch supervisor, advertised the patrol’s various branches of duties because, as Thompson said, “We do a lot more than stop cars all day long.”
Ave Maria School of Law representatives Natalie Brazzale, assistant legal consultant, and John Czarnetzky, CEO and dean, advertised the Catholic law school in Naples, Fla. Czarnetzky said three qualities that describe the school are “Catholic, conservative and competitive,” adding, “We think that the Catholic formation (and) community equips our students to literally go out there and change the world.”
Fataou Morou, special operations supervisor for the U.S. Border Patrol, spoke about how the organization enforces U.S. Code Title 8, which encompasses laws on aliens and nationality, through technology, prosecution, public affairs and intelligence. Morou said the Border Patrol handles a lot more than simply “what people see on the news.”
Chris Taylor, a 26-year special agent for the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, described the difficulties of the DEA’s work but added, “If you get the job, you don’t even feel like you’re working because it’s fun.”
Nemeth said he is the criminal justice program’s only full-time professor, working alongside about 17 adjuncts. The program, which he said offers between 80 and 90 majors, is “exceptional,” particularly because of its unique perspective of morality in addition to professional excellence.
“There’s not a program in the U.S. that has the stress on the moral, ethical traditions that make things right, good and beautiful,” Nemeth said. “This program trains people in the perennial truths of the Judeo-Christian and Catholic heritage. It’s also grounded in the natural law.
“You will not find many criminal justice programs that give a lick about the moral dimension of anything, but we do, and we’re one-of-a-kind that way. And that’s another reason I think we’re growing so much.”
Grace Jones and Audrey Moreau, Franciscan students studying in the criminal justice program, took advantage of the fair, making their way around tables to speak with the representatives. When not networking, they advertised for the program at a table for Franciscan, providing information about various program-affiliated student groups: United States Coast Guard Auxiliary, Alpha Phi Sigma honor society and Lambda Alpha Epsilon professional society.
Moreau, a senior who transferred into Franciscan from another Catholic school, said she appreciates Franciscan’s criminal justice program because it approaches the field holistically and is “more grounded in Catholic values.”
Jones, who is pursuing a minor in forensic accounting, said the program stuck out to her while applying for schools because of its focus on the natural law without sacrificing real-world practicality.
Also networking at the fair were accounting students Abigail Spence, a junior, and Isabella Zampino, a sophomore. Spence said the two wanted to attend because, even though they are not in the criminal justice program, any organization will need business staff, and there are opportunities for forensic accountants, Zampino added.
“It’s really good that they have this opportunity,” Spence said.
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