Two Wilson alumni who work together at the Abraxas Youth Center (AYC) recently returned to campus to share their experiences with the Gender, Crime, and Justice class taught by Julie Raulli, Ph.D., professor of sociology. AYC is a multi-faceted treatment center for adjudicated delinquent male youth in South Mountain, Pa.

Teaghan Ewing ’24, a psychology and criminal justice major, and Ethan Kron ’24, a history and political science major with minors in sociology and philosophy, both work at AYC. Their majors and minors are what Raulli called great examples of the varied academic experiences you can have at Wilson. In fact, Ewing first visited Abraxas as an undergrad when another of Raulli’s classes toured the facility where Kron was already working. Ewing started working there as a youth development specialist shortly after her graduation in May.  

Although they work in different areas, Ewing and Kron shared how they each play a part in the lives of the male youths placed in their care. Treatment at the Center focuses on three main areas—residential, clinical, and education—and while each area focuses on different aspects of treatment, they all follow the same rules and expectations. “All three areas complement each other, but we’re all consistent in our approach with the students,” explained Kron. Ewing works in the residential area while Kron teaches in the education department.

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Kron said he began working at AYC after he searched for a less conventional teaching opportunity than a regular classroom. The Center has two different programs; one for younger juveniles who display early signs of sexual predatory behavior or fire setting tendencies, and another for older high school students who have continually shown patterns of concerning behavior, leading them to more serious criminal offenses. Kron works with the high school students where the goal is to address their systemic issues, their trauma, and the reasons that they act out in the classroom. Ultimately, he explained, AYC teachers try to help students find an alternative path to avoid funneling into the adult criminal justice system.  

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AYC students attend classes each morning and the rest of the day they are part of the residential program where Ewing works. During the afternoons and evenings, Ewing makes sure that students read and do homework, clean, eat dinner, take part in recreational activities, and attend a group session that focuses on different aspects of the students’ criminal history.  

Most of the students Ewing and Kron work with are in AYC’s 6-month reset program, what Kron referred to as a crash course to being a good kid. “A lot of the skills that we are trying to teach them are transferable skills that they’ll need to take with them when they leave our facility. For them to be healthy, safe and successful in the outside world,” said Kron.

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While Ewing said it was a shock how extreme everything was when she first started working at AYC, she also explained how her work experience directly correlates to the education she received at Wilson. “Everything that I learned in school has something to do with the training that we do at the facility,” she said. Kron agreed as he told the class, “A lot of the things you are learning about in your coursework with Dr. Raulli are theoretical. When you get out into the real world, that theory becomes application in your everyday life.”  

At the end of class, Ewing and Kron answered questions that included a discussion on the impact of the AYC program. Each of their students has a tough story, and Ewing and Kron explained how they try to help each one start on a new journey after leaving the facility. While they may not always be successful, Raulli reminded her students that Ewing and Kron are really doing great work to make a difference in the lives of those in their care.