Croton Resident Interns at the Ashland County Juvenile Probation Department and Court

2015 Mar 30

Croton resident, Kelsey Garrabrant, who is a senior political science major at Ashland University, is currently interning at the Ashland County Juvenile Probation Department and Court.

She is a 2011 graduate of Northridge High School.

Judge Damian Vercillo presides over the Ashland County Juvenile Probation Department and Court, where all Ashland county juvenile cases are handled. The court offers careers for probation officers, social workers and attorneys.

"One of my favorite duties was spending the day with the probation officers," Garrabrant explained, "I would accompany them on home visits for several of their juveniles and would be a witness to any probation violations."

Garrabrant was able to sit in on different hearings and trials. She said that being "hands-on with the probation department helped [her] to actually experience the day-to-day life of a probation officer." Her internship duties consisted of filing records of old cases, pulling upcoming case records, accompanying probation officers on their home trips and sitting in on trials.

Garrabrant explained that Ashland University Criminal Justice Program prepared her for her internship by teaching her the terminology used in court and how to perform the duties of a probation officer.

"This internship helped me tremendously by not only supplying new knowledge on various career options for me, such as an attorney or probation officer, but solidifying my choice to choose a career path in the criminal justice field," Garrabrant said.

Ashland University is a mid-sized, private university conveniently located a short distance from Akron, Cleveland and Columbus, Ohio. Ashland University (www.ashland.edu) values the individual student and offers a unique educational experience that combines the challenge of strong, applied academic programs with a faculty and staff who build nurturing relationships with their students.