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"The educational experience at Point Park has been extremely gratifying. Many of the professors have helped me to develop such strong future goals — and have helped me to believe that I am able to achieve these goals."

Marissa Mantia ‘18 '19

Graduate students in Point Park University’s Master of Science in criminal justice administration program focused their research and presentations on key community and societal concerns: opioid drug use and the need for standard operating procedure manuals for police departments.

“The graduate symposium is the culmination of our criminal justice administration program. It gives the students an opportunity to combine what they have learned in ethics, policy creation, economics and their other courses into a written and oral presentation on a topic they have selected,” explained Richard Linzer, J.D., associate professor of criminal justice and director of the M.S. in criminal justice administration graduate program. 

“Our program is designed to equip students to be successful professionals in today's criminal justice system with an eye on crafting and contributing to the criminal justice system of the future,” Linzer added.

“My favorite course in the graduate program was Ethical Issues in Criminal Justice, taught by Professor Linzer, because he portrayed real-life scenarios to us which made the class really effective,” said Marissa Mantia ‘18 '19, a graduate of Mt. Lebanon High School in Pittsburgh.

Mantia’s career goal is to become a homicide detective. 

She added: “Before I get into policing, I plan to explore my options and first gain experience working in the criminal justice field. The educational experience at Point Park has been extremely gratifying. Many of the professors have helped me to develop such strong future goals — and have helped me to believe that I am able to achieve these goals.”

Graduate Student Research Presentations

  • Elizabeth A. Geis '18,19
    Methodology of Creating Standard Operating Procedure Manual for Police Departments

  • Taiona L. Henry '19
    Evaluating the Effects of Prescription and Non-Prescription Opioids and the Contributing Factors Leading to Heroin Abuse in Women

  • Marissa Mantia '18,'19
    Discovering the Correlation Between Opioid Use and Prostitution

More About: School of Arts and Sciences, student presentations, Mt. Lebanon High School, criminal justice, M.S. in criminal justice administration, research