Nicola Collett

Biography

Nicola is a first year PhD student in Criminology, within the school of School of Social Sciences. Nicola has been a student at Keele University since 2013 completing her Undergraduate degree in Geography with Criminology before embarking on an MA in Criminology and Criminal Justice.

Alongside her MA Nicola worked for the Charity Leaders-Unlocked as a Project Co-ordinater for the Staffordshire Youth Commission, and later the Cheshire Youth Commission. This enabled her to gain experience in active research within the local area funded by the retrospective Police and Crime Commissioners.

Research and scholarship

Research project

Research topic: Understanding the influence of an early life criminal record on adult life courses’

This research will explore the lived experiences of adult men and women, now aged twenty-five and over, who have transitioned into adulthood living in the UK with an early life criminal record. Specifically, this research is focusing on people living with a criminal scrod relating to one or more non-custodial sentence(s) attained under the age of eighteen. This thesis will question the degree to which these ‘lesser sentences’, do in fact have lesser consequences for those receiving them. It will also explore the complex ways in which early life criminal records can influence an individual's identity and sense of self as they proceed through the life course.

Supervisors: Dr Mary Corcoran and Dr Steph Alger

Further information

Nicola has been awarded her Introduction to Teaching and Demonstrating certificate and taught on several modules at Keele University within the School of Social Sciences. Recently, Nicola has also conducted sessional teaching at the University of Nottingham.