First-Gen Student on a Dual-Degree Path in Public Service

Posted February 29, 2024January 7, 2026 in Accelerated Credits Students, Criminal Justice, Public Administration MPA & EMPA, Students

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A first-generation graduate student from New York, Nathaniel Augustin is pursuing a dual degree in Criminal Justice and Public Administration (MPA) while balancing professional roles with AmeriCorps and the Office of Scholar Development and Fellowship Advising. An alumnus of the Rutgers-Camden Honors College, he returned to campus to deepen his engagement with public-sector work and research. His academic interests focus on sentencing disparities, particularly the contrast between drug-related offenses and crimes against children.

Beginning at Community College & Transferring to a Four-Year University

My academic journey started at the Community College of Philadelphia after earning my high school diploma. As a first-generation student, I chose to start there because I could not pay for school while also avoiding taking out any loans. Thanks to the two years of studying there, I had the chance to connect with programs and offices that helped me understand different ways of thinking about professional education and how to ease into this new way of learning. The dual admissions program offered by the school allowed me to transfer to a four-year institution and obtain my bachelor’s degree. It was this program that introduced me to Rutgers University and the aid that is offered to out-of-state students.

For my work background, I have worked full-time jobs throughout the past five years across different restaurants in Pennsylvania and New Jersey to maintain financial stability and pay for books or technology to support my learning. The Rutgers Career Center, career fairs, and academic advisors have helped me over the past three years understand the different careers my education can lead to after graduation and even provided contact information so I could correspond with professionals and learn more about which paths to follow.

Choosing Criminal Justice & Public Administration

While the motivations for my decision to pursue each degree vary, they all work together to support my goal of working in the public sector. For criminal justice, I am inspired by my desire to understand the criminal justice system and the history that led to its current state. For me, the biggest takeaway has been how deeply politicians are involved in shaping how citizens view the concept of crime and how punishment should be applied. Over the past fifty years, we have seen each presidential administration explain to the public who is defined as a criminal and influence which offenses deserve harsh sentences and which should be reformed.

From public administration, my interest lies in understanding how policies are created and implemented. Learning about the steps and processes the government uses to advocate for and ratify laws is essential to understanding why certain rules become problematic.

Accounting requires literacy in financial statements and transactions. It allows people to understand the “footprints” behind how administrations assemble annual budgets and determine what gets cut, what remains the same, and what gains more resources. Altogether, I decided to study each of these programs because of my desire to be versatile in my research and capable of adapting to sudden changes in any career path I choose.

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Examining Sentencing Disparities & Mass Incarceration Through Research

I am in the planning stages of writing my master’s thesis, and I have a clear sense of what I want to examine. I plan to explore why drug-related crimes often receive harsher sentences when compared to crimes against children. This direction stems from my interest in examining mass incarceration from a different lens. Over the past few decades, administrations have pushed policies that prioritize drug crimes, including mandatory minimum sentences and three-strike laws.

Policies like these have led thousands of people to receive criminal records, limited their employment opportunities, and contributed to mass incarceration. However, when examining crimes against children such as statutory rape, child exploitation, or workplace abuse, while some offenders receive significant sentences, many receive less time than those convicted of drug offenses or even probation, particularly when the offenders are upper-class individuals or celebrities. I plan to use all three programs to discuss their impact on the criminal justice system, assess the effectiveness of these policies, and examine the financial cost of enforcing such sentences on the country as a whole.

Classroom Engagement & Campus Advocacy Experiences

I have had two particularly memorable experiences at Rutgers-Camden. The first was the many times professors engaged students by making jokes or using modern-day examples to make material more understandable. This helped me better grasp the lessons and feel more engaged in class. The second memorable experience was the strike in April 2023, when I had the opportunity to witness faculty come together to protest for contract renewals and address the lack of compliance from the upper levels of the institution.

While I was unable to attend many of the organized events due to preparing for finals, it was still impactful to arrive on campus and see people chanting slogans together. The graduate school contributes to my future goals by offering relevant lessons and clear explanations of how coursework connects to future career prospects.

Career Preparation for Federal Investigative Work

As someone who hopes to work as a criminal investigator for the federal government, the career center has informed me about events and meet-and-greets with agents from different U.S. government agencies and has provided contact information so I can stay in touch and learn how to apply effectively. Additionally, the Honors College deans have helped guide me toward the appropriate contacts whenever new challenges arise as I move toward graduation.