CENTER VALLEY, Pa. — A Penn State Lehigh Valley (PSU-LV) adjunct instructor’s work in the juvenile probation field was recently recognized on a state level.
Corallys Fernandez, an adjunct instructor for PSU-LV’s criminal justice program, was named Probation Officer of the Year by the Juvenile Court Judges’ Commission and will be accepting the award at the organization’s annual conference on Nov. 7 in Harrisburg. The award is open to all counties in Pennsylvania and is given to a probation officer who has shown leadership qualities and skills, professional development, problem solving and initiative, and community development. Fernandez was nominated by her deputy chief and was one of 40 nominees across the state.
Fernandez has worked in Lehigh County’s juvenile probation office for 10 years. She started in 2014 as a secretary for the department and worked her way up the ranks, becoming a probation officer in 2016. She has been an adjunct instructor for PSU-LV’s criminal justice program since the spring 2023 semester.
Winning the award was a complete surprise, Fernandez said.
“I was very shocked and honored to have won this award,” she said. “My deputy chief nominated me. The significance of this award is to be recognized for my exemplary efforts and achievements. So, to be nominated by my upper management and then selected out of 40 nominees in the state of Pennsylvania is a huge honor.”
Debra Dreisbach, assistant teaching professor and PSU-LV criminal justice program coordinator, said, “Corallys is a relatively young professional, so for her to win this award is amazing. She teaches Juvenile Justice for us every spring and is very personable. Juvenile Justice is a somewhat challenging area to teach, and she handles it very well.”
Dreisbach adds professionals like Fernandez bring valuable real-life insight to the criminal justice program.
“Our adjuncts really bring their expertise and talk to students about what it’s really like in the field. For as young as she is, she’s really outstanding. It’s quite an honor to have her. She’s a woman of color, and that’s really important. Our students are so diverse — they really see themselves in her, and they can relate to her. We’re always striving to bring diversity to our program.”