Receives Doctor of Jurisprudence

Jessica A. Ritsick, daughter of Robert and Marie Ritsick of Still Creek, received a juris doctor degree, cum laude, from American University Washington College of Law in Washington, D.C. She graduated with a 3.73 cumulative grade point average, in the top 15 percent of her class.

While in law school, she was on the senior staff of the American University Law Review and was the managing editor of the student run, scholarly publication the Health Law and Policy Brief. A three-year recipient of the Schuylkill County Bar Association Scholarship, she was also awarded the law school's Stephen and Beatrice Dodd-Toth Scholarship.

During her law school career, she held various legal intern positions, including the Office of Policy at the United States Food and Drug Administration and the Office of the General Counsel in the Executive Office of the President of the United States of America. She is published in the areas of health law and genetic testing regulation.

Currently, she is employed as a law clerk in the chambers of the Honorable Senior Judges of the District of Columbia Court of Appeals and recently passed the New York State Bar Examination.

The granddaughter of Joseph and Marie Kupetz of Tuscarora and Anna and the late Stanley Ritsick of Still Creek, she graduated from Tamaqua Area High School in 2003 and is a 2007 magna cum laude graduate of St. Joseph's University, Philadelphia.