With plans to attend law school after graduation, PennWest criminal justice major Jessica Ashworth was looking for ways to expand her resume and extend her learning experiences beyond the classroom.

After a quick consultation with her advisor, criminal justice professor Dr. Kevin Courtright, Ashworth is now developing instructor materials for a book written by respected corrections veteran, author, correctional trainer and instructor Gary Cornelius.

“It’s nice to have those relationships,” said Ashworth, who hails from Norwell, Massachusetts. “It’s benefited me to know that if I want extra work or if I need something, it is easy to go to my advisor for that.”

“Jessica's work ethic and her attention to detail are impressive,” said Courtright, a member of the Edinboro faculty since 2001 and the 2021 Edinboro Faculty Member of the Year. “Not only has she excelled in the criminology courses she has had with me, but since I have known her, she has asked for extra work or projects that she could assist with. When an opportunity became available with a colleague of mine who is working with Carolina Academic Press on a book project, I immediately thought of her and knew that she would do a fantastic job.”

Her ongoing work involves carefully reading each chapter of the book, “Stressed Out: Strategies for Living and Working in Corrections” (Third Edition), and creating outlines, sample test questions and PowerPoint slides for criminal justice instructors who utilize the text in their classes.

Cornelius, a 1974 graduate of Edinboro and a 2005 Distinguished Alumni Award recipient, reviews her compositions and provides notes before sending a final version to the publisher. Ashworth will be acknowledged as a contributor in the teacher’s guide, and she has been asked to assist Cornelius and Courtright with the upcoming third edition of “Art of the Con: Avoiding Offender Manipulation.”

“Writing outlines has been great practice for my own classes and how I function studying,” Ashworth said. “I've taken a lot of very interesting classes here, and that kind of drove me to earn a criminal justice degree as well as wanting to become a criminal defense lawyer.”

Ashworth recently spent a semester studying language and culture in Germany and hopes the international experience will help her to better serve future clients.

“These opportunities have been great, and they've not been difficult to get,” she said. “If it’s something you want to do, reach out to your advisor.”