BS in Criminology, Law and Society

Ashley Rodriguez, 2022

Ashley Rodriguez

How did you choose your degree program?

When I entered college, I initially wanted to become an immigration attorney to assist undocumented immigrants in their legal proceedings. I decided to major in criminology to prepare myself with the content I most likely needed to know for law school. I specifically choose Mason to study criminology because Mason's criminology program is one of the top ten criminology programs in the US.

*I want to note that when I began to engage in research activities, I shifted my career goal from attorney to researcher.*

How did your academic experiences in the College of Humanities and Social Sciences impact you?

Due to my enrollment in the Honors College, I had the opportunity to take a variety of CHSS courses that were not required such as philosophy and psychology. I enjoyed these skills and apply some of the knowledge I learned in these classes to my coursework, projects, and everyday life. I appreciated the variety in Criminology, Law and Society courses available because I many of the ideas circulated in these classes give me a better understanding of what my research interests are. I decided to minor in data analysis to be able to have the skills to conduct my own research projects.

What accomplishment(s) during your time at Mason are you most proud of?

In Fall 2020, I completed an independent ‘Research Practicum’ under Dr. Evan Lowder’s supervision to examine racial disparities in pretrial supervision outcomes. From this project, I learned how to conduct descriptive statistics and logistic regression analysis in Stata.

I continued to develop my skills in quantitative data analysis as a Research Assistant in the Early Justice Strategies Lab. I am extremely fortunate to have earned the opportunity to work as a paid research assistant.

During the same academic year, I completed an honors thesis exploring how news reporters use Twitter to tweet about 25 mass shooting events, under the supervision of Dr. Beidi Dong. This project allowed me to further develop my quantitative research skills, particularly in big data and R programming. Through this project, I also earned my Honors Distinction in Criminology, Law and Society.

This past summer, I had the opportunity to develop qualitative data analysis skills as part of a National Science Foundation (NSF) Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU) at the University of South Carolina under the supervision of Dr. Christi Metcalfe. My group studied disparities in bond hearings, which piqued my interested in examining judicial decision-making from the judge’s perspective, and allowed me to learn NVivo.

In the summer of 2021, I worked with Dr. David Wilson, Dr. Evan Lowder, and Dr. Peter Phalen to collect data for and create a model for NIJ's Forecasting Recidivism Challenge. Our team won a total cash price of $18,000.

Last semester, I received a $1,000 research award through OSCAR's Undergraduate Research Scholars Program (URSP) to complete a study on how presentation of risk assessment information might affect court actor decision-making. I conducted this project this semester, and presented my preliminary findings at NCUR.

Finally, this semester, OSCAR awarded me with their Student Excellence Award for my undergraduate research activities.

I think that my most important accomplishment as an undergraduate is through participating in these various research activities, I earned the skills and confidence I need to pursue a career of assisting people within the criminal justice system through research.

Are there faculty or staff members who made a difference during your Mason career? Please give an example of this impact if possible.

Dr. Evan Lowder - She is my main research mentor. She has mentored me through two independent research projects! She encouraged my decision to apply to various research activities such as the REU program and the URSP. She invited me to the NIJ Forecasting Recidivism Challenge team that she assembled. She gave me a position as a research assistant in her Early Justice Strategies Lab so that I could continue to pick up more research skills from her and also to collaborate with other researchers. She nominated me for various awards at Mason. She even guided me through the PhD application process! For as long as I have known her, Dr. Lowder has always pushed me to do my best and to reach my potential. I do not think that I would be pursuing research without her taking a chance on me. I am grateful for all of the time and effort she has spent on me and I definitely believe that she shaped my career trajectory for the best. She is the best!

Dr. Beidi Dong - For being my undergraduate thesis mentor. Whenever I had an issue with my code or interpreting results, he was always there to fix these issues. His positive reinforcement of my skills gave me the confidence to continue learning statistical techniques through a data analysis minor. He also wrote impactful letters of recommendations for me to attend an REU, earn awards, and gain admissions to various criminology PhD programs. His faith in my abilities has definitely helped my Mason and post-Mason endeavors.

Dr. James Willis - I first met Dr. Willis as second-semester freshman. At the time, I was looking for a job and he wrote many letters of recommendations for various job opportunities. Throughout the years, he has kept tabs on my progress which reassured me that I was on track to success. More recently, he has written various letters of recommendations for me to earn awards in the Criminology, Law and Society department and in CHSS. I am thankful for his long-term support in my research activities and his confidence in my ability to excel.

Dr. Mark Rudnicki - After taking one of Dr. Rudnicki's Honors College classes, we stayed in touch. He was always available to talk about philosophy, literature, music, the difficulties of coursework and life in general. Through our conversations, he gave me the confidence to keep my head high and push through the difficulties. I am grateful for his support and friendship throughout my undergraduate education.

What are your current career plans following graduation? What are your long-term career goals?

In the fall I will be pursuing a PhD in Criminology at Pennsylvania State University. After earning a doctoral degree, I hope to enter academia or industry.