PennWest criminal justice students gained an inside perspective on future career opportunities during two recent corrections facility visits led by Dr. Kevin Courtright.

Courtright’s corrections class toured the Erie County Prison, where they met with Lt. Paul Gardner, a 25-year veteran and training coordinator. The class was privileged to learn about many aspects of the prison, including the booking process, the Correctional Emergency Response Team room and cell extractions, technology and security, and the restricted housing unit.

PennWest students and staff later visited the State Correctional Institution at Albion for a tour of various prison departments, including housing units, commissary operation, institutional parole and the new award-winning program and housing unit for inmates on the spectrum.

Various job opportunities within the Pennsylvania Department of Corrections were also discussed. The group was led by Unit Manager Chris Seymour, a Lock Haven University graduate, and Corrections Counselor Dante Battles, a 2021 Edinboro criminal justice graduate.

Pictured above at SCI Albion from left : (front row) Maxine Crosby, Lily Deane and Katherine Courtright; (second row) Rylee Haight, Dr. Andrea Wyman, Dr. Kevin Courtright, Dante Battles, Dylan McWilliams and Logan Peterson.