Director’s Award for Professional and Practical Excellence

Eric Osterberg, 2025 Recipient

This award is presented to recognize outstanding contributions by a graduate student who influences or contributes to the field or profession of criminal justice while earning a master’s degree.

Eric will be graduating from Rutgers-Newark with a master’s degree in Criminal Justice. He first began his studies in criminal justice in undergrad at the University of Maryland-College Park. After graduation in 2022, Eric was unsure what step to make next. That fall, he sat down with his old professor Dr. Madoo. She recommended he check out the Criminal Justice program at Rutgers-Newark as it was the same place she received her masters from. This advice came to fruition with Eric’s enrollment starting from fall 2023.

Eric’s professional history has a long list of working with youth in many capacities. He hoped the masters program could help him understand how to connect his professional interest and his educational interest in a way that best suits his abilities. In Fall 2024, he accepted a role as an intern for Newark Opportunity Youth Network(OYN) and would spend most time in the Newark Branch of My Brother’s Keeper housed by OYN. Working under the executive director, Eric helped to expand the conversation of education beyond the classroom and how we can address making changes in education with steps outside of the classroom. Education is not a one-dimension issue and many students face problems outside of school that may impact their educational trajectory. Through his work with GIS programs, Eric took domestic violence data around elementary schools in Newark to show just one of the many areas that need addressing if the Newark school system wants to improve their outcomes. During his time with OYN, Eric also led the Newark Public Safety Collaborative data read out for the month of November at the Brick City Peace Collective.

His experience at Rutgers-Newark has led to a newfound interest in education and the connection it has to criminal justice. His experience at OYN also spent time at their LEAD Charter school where he experienced multiple CORTICO conversations which look to understand how or why youth may have ended up at LEAD Charter and where they want to go after. Looking forward, Eric will graduate in the spring of 2025 with a masters in Criminal Justice and will look to pursue a career connected to youth.