Student Program: Criminal Justice

Josh Goliber

Joshua Goliber graduated in 2017 with his Associate degree in Criminal Justice and now works as a corrections officer. He initially attended a four year school, but decided to attend Mount Wachusett Community College’s Criminal Justice program to move quickly into his career.

“Compared to a private school, I felt I had more of a connection at the Mount. I was closer to the professors, smaller class sizes, it’s kind of like a hidden gem,” said Joshua.

The MWCC Criminal Justice program provides students with academic preparation for career entry, transfer to four year institutions and lifelong learning through Many area public safety professionals, including police officers, corrections officers, and federal criminal justice employees get their start at MWCC. In the program, students can select a law enforcement concentration or a corrections concentration.

“After I graduated, I immediately joined the workforce. I got a job as a Corrections Officer which is totally perfect for what I went to school for. My education at the Mount definitely helped, and the connections that I made there also helped me get my job,” Joshua said. “I would advise anyone who’s considering or debating taking Criminal Justice courses at the Mount to absolutely go for it. I feel the most rewarding career out there, working for law enforcement, is not an easy job, but at the end of the day, I feel that I’m helping people.”

Denise Gosselin

Going to the Mount was a tradition in my family. The year I graduated, my father graduated with his degree in nursing. MWCC made so much possible for me.

MWCC Alumna of the Year 2011

Gosselin, a native of Lunenburg, is an associate professor of criminal justice at Western New England College and is the author of Heavy Hands: An Introduction to the Crimes of Family Violence, a leading textbook in the field of domestic violence, and of Smart Talk: Contemporary Interviewing and Interrogation.

She earned an associate degree in law enforcement in 1976, then went on to earn bachelor’s and master’s degrees in criminal justice from Westfield State University and a  doctorate in criminal justice at Capella University, while raising a family.

Along the way, she has broken barriers for women in the field by becoming the first uniformed officer for Lunenburg and the first female campus police officer at MWCC. In 1978, the Massachusetts Senate honored her as the first woman appointed constable for the city of Fitchburg. Gosselin retired as a trooper from the Massachusetts State Police in 2002. She served as a uniformed officer, as a drill instructor at the department’s academy, and as a major crime detective.

“The education that I received at Mount Wachusett Community College launched a career in policing and my future in academia,” she said. “Going to the Mount was a tradition in my family. The year that I graduated, my father graduated with his degree in nursing. For my father, it was a second career after service in the military. For me, it provided the beginning of a criminal justice career that made me yearn for more education. Mount Wachusett Community College made so much possible for me. It is an honor to be recognized as Alumni of the Year.”