WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:04.000 Welcome to the career panel. So now I am putting on a 00:00:04.000 --> 00:00:08.000 different hat, I am going to be interviewing 00:00:08.000 --> 00:00:12.000 these fine people over here, but I am going to start by having 00:00:12.000 --> 00:00:16.000 them take turns just telling you who they are, and 00:00:16.000 --> 00:00:20.000 what they do, so that you get to know them. So they will briefly 00:00:20.000 --> 00:00:24.000 do that, and then we will go into asking them questions. So we will 00:00:24.000 --> 00:00:29.000 start with Omar. 00:00:29.000 --> 00:00:32.000 Hi everyone, welcome. As 00:00:32.000 --> 00:00:36.000 Vivian mentioned I am Omar Melcor, and I was actually 00:00:36.000 --> 00:00:40.000 a student here, so I sat in your spot 00:00:40.000 --> 00:00:44.000 many many years ago. I was here from 2006 to 2009, 00:00:44.000 --> 00:00:48.000 completed a Bachelors Degree in Criminal Justice, 00:00:48.000 --> 00:00:52.000 with a minor in Spanish, and after that I went on 00:00:52.000 --> 00:00:56.000 to pursue a Masters Degree in Criminal Justice from the University of Nevada 00:00:56.000 --> 00:00:60.000 in Las Vegas, I was there for a couple of years. I graduated 00:01:00.000 --> 00:01:04.000 and then I came back to Oregon, and I thought about exploring 00:01:04.000 --> 00:01:08.000 different careers in law Enforcement, etc. 00:01:08.000 --> 00:01:12.000 But I ended up at applying for a PHD program at Portland State 00:01:12.000 --> 00:01:16.000 University, and somehow I was accepted! 00:01:16.000 --> 00:01:20.000 So I have been in that program for 00:01:20.000 --> 00:01:24.000 a little over four years, and the plan is to finish that 00:01:24.000 --> 00:01:28.000 this summer, I have been teaching here, for the Criminal Justice Department 00:01:28.000 --> 00:01:32.000 for approximately the same time, and I teach a lot of the introductory 00:01:32.000 --> 00:01:36.000 courses and also some upper division courses. 00:01:36.000 --> 00:01:40.000 My focus in terms of research and 00:01:40.000 --> 00:01:44.000 my area in the criminal justice program is juvenile justice, and specifically 00:01:44.000 --> 00:01:48.000 the intersection between immigration 00:01:48.000 --> 00:01:52.000 and crime. I live in Salem 00:01:52.000 --> 00:01:56.000 I have a beautiful daughter, 00:01:56.000 --> 00:01:60.000 I am a first generation student, which means I am the first in my family 00:02:00.000 --> 00:02:04.000 to ever graduate college, and i am also a first generation immigrant. 00:02:04.000 --> 00:02:08.000 Which means that I was born somewhere else. 00:02:08.000 --> 00:02:12.000 My name is Deputy Sam Hatch, I am from the Polk County Sheriffs office, 00:02:12.000 --> 00:02:16.000 I graduated from Western in 2015 with a 00:02:16.000 --> 00:02:20.000 Bachelors of Science in Criminal Justice and a Minor in Social Science, 00:02:20.000 --> 00:02:24.000 After I graduated I started looking for a job 00:02:24.000 --> 00:02:28.000 and right around that time there was a lot of jobs but a lot of people looking 00:02:28.000 --> 00:02:32.000 for it, so I got a lot of my experience working at Spirit Mountain Casino working in security, 00:02:32.000 --> 00:02:36.000 a very unique position there, 00:02:36.000 --> 00:02:40.000 and in 2016 I got in at Polk County Sheriffs Office working the 00:02:40.000 --> 00:02:44.000 corrections division, and I have been doing that for almost three years now, 00:02:44.000 --> 00:02:48.000 its a very uniques setting and it has its challenges 00:02:48.000 --> 00:02:52.000 and it has its rewarding factors as well. Prior to coming to Western 00:02:52.000 --> 00:02:56.000 I grew up in St Helens Oregon, which is in Columbia county, very much like 00:02:56.000 --> 00:02:60.000 Polk County in size and demographic ways, 00:03:00.000 --> 00:03:04.000 after graduating from highschool the reason I 00:03:04.000 --> 00:03:08.000 chose Western and came here was to become a teacher, 00:03:08.000 --> 00:03:12.000 but during that time theres a lot, 00:03:12.000 --> 00:03:16.000 the recession there was very few jobs and I had a brother who went here 00:03:16.000 --> 00:03:20.000 and graduated in 2011 I sat in a couple CJ classes 00:03:20.000 --> 00:03:24.000 and I knew this really hooked me and this is a really rewarding 00:03:24.000 --> 00:03:28.000 career choice that you can get into and especially a very rewarding 00:03:28.000 --> 00:03:32.000 program you can get into, learning more than just what you can on the job, 00:03:32.000 --> 00:03:36.000 but learning a lot more of the theory and practice behind 00:03:36.000 --> 00:03:40.000 the criminal justice program. Hello, I am Sabrina Hunter, 00:03:40.000 --> 00:03:44.000 like Omar I am a first generation college graduate, 00:03:44.000 --> 00:03:48.000 I graduated from here quite a while ago in 2007, 00:03:48.000 --> 00:03:52.000 I just aged myself, but I grew up in a family 00:03:52.000 --> 00:03:56.000 of police officers so I knew from a very young age, four years old to be exact, 00:03:56.000 --> 00:03:60.000 this is what I wanted to do. I did a lot of research on college 00:04:00.000 --> 00:04:04.000 up and down the west coast and I picked western because of its 00:04:04.000 --> 00:04:08.000 small feel, the class sizes are comparable 00:04:08.000 --> 00:04:12.000 to like high school classes. If you are looking at a bigger university 00:04:12.000 --> 00:04:16.000 there is 100's and 100's of people and you never see or talk to your professors, 00:04:16.000 --> 00:04:20.000 because they are to busy for you. Western 00:04:20.000 --> 00:04:24.000 was a great fit for me, after I graduated 00:04:24.000 --> 00:04:28.000 from there I did a lot of volunteer work until I landed my 00:04:28.000 --> 00:04:32.000 dream job at Salem Police Department. When I am not on crutches 00:04:32.000 --> 00:04:36.000 I normally work patrol, graveyard shift, 00:04:36.000 --> 00:04:40.000 right now I am assigned to our detective unit, so its kind of a blessing 00:04:40.000 --> 00:04:44.000 I am very involved within the agency as well, 00:04:44.000 --> 00:04:48.000 not only do I work patrol, I am a part of our domestic 00:04:48.000 --> 00:04:52.000 violence team. I am a cadet advisor so i 00:04:52.000 --> 00:04:56.000 say kids but younger people ages 14 - 21 who are interested in 00:04:56.000 --> 00:04:60.000 becoming police officers, there is a program they go through which 00:05:00.000 --> 00:05:04.000 trains them as well. Lets see, 00:05:04.000 --> 00:05:08.000 I am an ROTC instructor so new police officers I teach 00:05:08.000 --> 00:05:12.000 some Writing, police authority and such, I am also a 00:05:12.000 --> 00:05:16.000 Field Training Officer, so every new police officer that goes through 00:05:16.000 --> 00:05:20.000 about a year of training gets assigned to an FTO, 00:05:20.000 --> 00:05:24.000 I am on our threat assesment team as well, so 00:05:24.000 --> 00:05:28.000 if you are in school and another student threatens to bring a gun to school 00:05:28.000 --> 00:05:32.000 or something of that nature I am assigned to follow up on that and look into that. 00:05:32.000 --> 00:05:36.000 Recruiting team i have a table upstairs 00:05:36.000 --> 00:05:40.000 and hopefully I will see some of you guys as well, and I am also a part of 00:05:40.000 --> 00:05:42.000 our Marion County Human Trafficking Task force. 00:05:42.000 --> 00:05:47.000 So yeah, my name is Kevin Jones, and I work for the FBI in Salem. 00:05:47.000 --> 00:05:51.000 I have been with the FBI now for about 8 years, I was 00:05:51.000 --> 00:05:55.000 a student here at Western Oregon University, I graduated in 2012. 00:05:55.000 --> 00:05:58.000 I was lucky enough to land an internship 00:05:58.000 --> 00:05:60.000 in 2011 so 00:06:00.000 --> 00:06:04.000 if you do decide to come here one of the main things you are going to have to decide 00:06:04.000 --> 00:06:08.000 to do to get your degree in Criminal Justice is your practicum, which is internship. 00:06:08.000 --> 00:06:12.000 And I was looking around for all sorts of internships, I didn't know where I wanted 00:06:12.000 --> 00:06:16.000 to do it. During this process you are assigned a faculty 00:06:16.000 --> 00:06:20.000 advisor. Mine was Dr Murphy who is sitting over there with the glasses shaking 00:06:20.000 --> 00:06:24.000 his head. He helped me a lot through the whole process, and so I ended up 00:06:24.000 --> 00:06:28.000 finding out that the FBI had an internship process, I didn't know that 00:06:28.000 --> 00:06:32.000 and I was crazy enough one day to apply for it, 00:06:32.000 --> 00:06:36.000 never thought in my lifetime I would ever work for the FBI, 00:06:36.000 --> 00:06:40.000 Unlike Sabrina's family background, I grew up in a 00:06:40.000 --> 00:06:44.000 family of no police officers and an overall dislike 00:06:44.000 --> 00:06:48.000 for police officers, so it was kind of unique because I always thought 00:06:48.000 --> 00:06:52.000 the FBI was cool, so I decided to give it a go. I have a lot of 00:06:52.000 --> 00:06:56.000 family members looking at me, why would you go into the FBI? 00:06:56.000 --> 00:06:60.000 What? I said yeah I think its cool 00:07:00.000 --> 00:07:04.000 I don't know anything about it, at all, but I think its 00:07:04.000 --> 00:07:08.000 cool. So with his help I applied and he helped guide me through 00:07:08.000 --> 00:07:12.000 the whole process, and I got in. 00:07:12.000 --> 00:07:16.000 So I started off as an intern. I worked up in Portland 00:07:16.000 --> 00:07:20.000 and did that for about a year. After that 00:07:20.000 --> 00:07:24.000 right before graduation they called me and said hey we are about to 00:07:24.000 --> 00:07:28.000 post a new job, are you interested. 00:07:28.000 --> 00:07:32.000 I said hold on, will I get payed at this job? They said yeah, so I said I'll do it! 00:07:32.000 --> 00:07:36.000 yeah whatever it is I don't care! So I graduated and literally 00:07:36.000 --> 00:07:40.000 at the football field here, I graduated here on a saturday, and 00:07:40.000 --> 00:07:44.000 that night I was on a flight back to Quantico, and I spent a week in Quantico 00:07:44.000 --> 00:07:48.000 and got some training there. I came back, and I worked 00:07:48.000 --> 00:07:52.000 up in the Portland office with our confidential human 00:07:52.000 --> 00:07:56.000 sources and things like that. I worked in that program for about two years, 00:07:56.000 --> 00:07:60.000 and then I was lucky enough to get selected for a job based out of Salem, 00:08:00.000 --> 00:08:04.000 as a staff operations specialist. So basically 00:08:04.000 --> 00:08:08.000 does any one here watch Criminal Minds? Geez I didn't know if that was 00:08:08.000 --> 00:08:12.000 old school now or if that was something people still watched 00:08:12.000 --> 00:08:16.000 I guess it still is. Who's the gal, the analyst who always 00:08:16.000 --> 00:08:20.000 like, who is it? Penelope 00:08:20.000 --> 00:08:24.000 So I am like the guy version of Penelope Garcia. 00:08:24.000 --> 00:08:28.000 Except for she works a lot faster than I do. 00:08:28.000 --> 00:08:32.000 And she is able to solve a lot more crime than I can in a day, or at least a 30 minute episode. 00:08:32.000 --> 00:08:36.000 But thats what I do, I work in Salem and I 00:08:36.000 --> 00:08:40.000 am our only analyst in Salem, and I 00:08:40.000 --> 00:08:44.000 support an office of eight special agents, one supports 00:08:44.000 --> 00:08:48.000 my two supervisors, we have a Russian linguist who works out of 00:08:48.000 --> 00:08:52.000 our Salem office, we have a forensic accountant who works there, 00:08:52.000 --> 00:08:56.000 so we are our own little unit and 00:08:56.000 --> 00:08:60.000 that unit will respond to all crime 00:09:00.000 --> 00:09:04.000 that the FBI has an interest in in the five counties surrounding Salem. 00:09:04.000 --> 00:09:08.000 On the side, when I am not catching bad guys or at least 00:09:08.000 --> 00:09:12.000 trying to at a rate faster then Penelope Garcia, I also 00:09:12.000 --> 00:09:16.000 teach classes here at Western. It was a great opportunity for me 00:09:16.000 --> 00:09:20.000 to gain some experience with education, and I also think it is a great opportunity 00:09:20.000 --> 00:09:24.000 for students to learn. And this University has done so much for me, 00:09:24.000 --> 00:09:28.000 and I really do think that with the due diligence and 00:09:28.000 --> 00:09:32.000 taking some time to ask some good questions and get to know people around here, 00:09:32.000 --> 00:09:36.000 you guys will benefit as much as I have. Thats it for me, 00:09:36.000 --> 00:09:40.000 So you realize that the faculty do more than just teach you, 00:09:40.000 --> 00:09:44.000 they also serve as people who guide you and know what its like 00:09:44.000 --> 00:09:48.000 to navigate this career. Now we will have 00:09:48.000 --> 00:09:52.000 Elizabeth speak. Hi! 00:09:52.000 --> 00:09:56.000 I actually work in the juvenile 00:09:56.000 --> 00:09:60.000 system. My name is Elizabeth Quintana, I am presently 00:10:00.000 --> 00:10:04.000 working at Marion County Juvenile department. My role in the juvenile department 00:10:04.000 --> 00:10:08.000 is as a juvenile probation officer. So that means I 00:10:08.000 --> 00:10:12.000 within that line I graduated from Western in 00:10:16.000 --> 00:10:20.000 prior to graduation. So, I was already working 00:10:20.000 --> 00:10:24.000 for the county in that point in time. It is nice to have a job prior to 00:10:24.000 --> 00:10:28.000 graduation, and it helps a lot when it says you are coming from this school. 00:10:28.000 --> 00:10:32.000 One of the things you should note is that within our own 00:10:32.000 --> 00:10:36.000 agency we have a standing joke, but 00:10:36.000 --> 00:10:40.000 when we ask people where they graduated from, you will find 85% 00:10:40.000 --> 00:10:44.000 of the people working right now at Marion County Juvenile Department 00:10:44.000 --> 00:10:48.000 come from Western Oregon, and so many of them have their 00:10:48.000 --> 00:10:52.000 degrees directly from here. My rule as a juvenile probation 00:10:52.000 --> 00:10:56.000 officer is I kind of consider myself a broker of services. 00:10:56.000 --> 00:10:60.000 It is not necessarily to get kids in trouble. I actually 00:11:00.000 --> 00:11:04.000 have quite a passion working with kids, I have always worked with them, 00:11:04.000 --> 00:11:08.000 age range from 10 to about well 00:11:08.000 --> 00:11:12.000 the biggest age is going to be 20, so 00:11:12.000 --> 00:11:16.000 it is a large range, and I have always enjoyed working with 00:11:16.000 --> 00:11:20.000 kids, so I made a decision for 00:11:20.000 --> 00:11:24.000 Criminal Justice actually by meer fluke. I came to this school actually 00:11:24.000 --> 00:11:28.000 to do education as well. I wanted to be a history teacher. 00:11:28.000 --> 00:11:32.000 But as I was here 00:11:32.000 --> 00:11:36.000 I ended up getting a relief job, because obviously 00:11:36.000 --> 00:11:40.000 we need employment right, as we still go to school. I started working for 00:11:40.000 --> 00:11:44.000 the juvenile detention facility in Marion County. 00:11:44.000 --> 00:11:48.000 And what I found was it was a set group of kids 00:11:48.000 --> 00:11:52.000 that needed so much support, and I do have a passion for that. 00:11:52.000 --> 00:11:56.000 And after working there for a few 00:11:56.000 --> 00:11:60.000 months, I made the decision that that was better, it was better 00:12:00.000 --> 00:12:04.000 to change what I was going to do. So I ended up graduating here, 00:12:04.000 --> 00:12:08.000 and instead of teaching, I became a probation officer through the county. 00:12:08.000 --> 00:12:12.000 As far as what we do in a daily basis, 00:12:12.000 --> 00:12:16.000 your schedule is never the same, which is actually quite brilliant, 00:12:16.000 --> 00:12:20.000 you can come into the day and you think its going to be this, 00:12:20.000 --> 00:12:24.000 but no, because you are dealing with people 00:12:24.000 --> 00:12:28.000 in anything like this everything shifts to what you need, 00:12:28.000 --> 00:12:32.000 because in the end in criminal justice I think you are in the service 00:12:32.000 --> 00:12:36.000 of people, and my job is in the service of those kids 00:12:36.000 --> 00:12:40.000 that aren't responsible for it. 00:12:40.000 --> 00:12:44.000 Thats kinda a little bit of what I do. Thank you very much. 00:12:44.000 --> 00:12:48.000 And for what its worth, I also graduated from Western Oregon 00:12:48.000 --> 00:12:52.000 University before going on to get my 00:12:52.000 --> 00:12:56.000 phd and came back to teach here. So, 00:12:56.000 --> 00:12:60.000 you can see, from what the panelists have said so far, 00:13:00.000 --> 00:13:04.000 variety of opportunities that our program offers. 00:13:04.000 --> 00:13:08.000 And another thing that is coming up is how many 00:13:08.000 --> 00:13:12.000 people who work in these agencies around here are from 00:13:12.000 --> 00:13:16.000 our program, and so that tells 00:13:16.000 --> 00:13:20.000 you a lot about the impact that this program 00:13:20.000 --> 00:13:24.000 has and if you are thinking about criminal justice at all, 00:13:24.000 --> 00:13:28.000 this is the place to be. Alright, so I am going to ask them 00:13:28.000 --> 00:13:32.000 another question, basically what else 00:13:32.000 --> 00:13:36.000 we would like to find out is how their degree in criminal justice 00:13:36.000 --> 00:13:40.000 from here, prepared them for what they do 00:13:40.000 --> 00:13:44.000 so this time I will start with Elizabeth 00:13:44.000 --> 00:13:48.000 and then we will go that way. So if you can tell 00:13:48.000 --> 00:13:52.000 us how your degree in Criminal Justice prepared you for the job you have 00:13:52.000 --> 00:13:56.000 now. One of the things that I loved about the Criminal Justice program 00:13:56.000 --> 00:13:60.000 here is the practical knowledge, meaning its not just the 00:14:00.000 --> 00:14:04.000 cracking a book and getting a whole bunch of facts about things you are not going to use. 00:14:04.000 --> 00:14:08.000 One of the things that you take from here is everything you are going to hear 00:14:08.000 --> 00:14:12.000 within your classes will be applicable to what you 00:14:12.000 --> 00:14:16.000 do. And whatever the field area you are gonna go into in the Criminal Justice field, 00:14:16.000 --> 00:14:20.000 they are gonna throw out some words, big words, and you are gonna think huh, 00:14:20.000 --> 00:14:24.000 well that really be something that I am using? It will! 00:14:24.000 --> 00:14:28.000 And that is one of the things that I really did appreciate is that 00:14:28.000 --> 00:14:32.000 everything you are taking into these classes you will use 00:14:32.000 --> 00:14:36.000 when you go into your prospective fields. Its not anything 00:14:36.000 --> 00:14:40.000 at least in my experience nothing that I took from them 00:14:40.000 --> 00:14:44.000 was not applicable. Everything that I had was something that I could put 00:14:44.000 --> 00:14:48.000 forth and make it work. And so I think in that part 00:14:48.000 --> 00:14:52.000 of the field, is that you get practical knowledge that 00:14:52.000 --> 00:14:56.000 really is something that you are going to apply. Yeah, I 00:14:56.000 --> 00:14:60.000 absolutely agree with everything that Elizabeth just said. 00:15:00.000 --> 00:15:04.000 Everything you are going to be educated on here is going to be something 00:15:04.000 --> 00:15:08.000 at some point or another in your law career you will be able to point it back 00:15:08.000 --> 00:15:12.000 and say oh yeah, administrative subpoena I remember 00:15:12.000 --> 00:15:16.000 hearing about that. Or oh what is hot spot policing, and all of these things 00:15:16.000 --> 00:15:20.000 that are going to be something that when people are discussing it you are gonna say oh ok, 00:15:20.000 --> 00:15:24.000 I remember that. But its not only just the content that 00:15:24.000 --> 00:15:28.000 the degree in Criminal Justice at Western is going to provide you with, 00:15:28.000 --> 00:15:32.000 its also, and the biggest thing I think I benefitted from 00:15:32.000 --> 00:15:36.000 coming to this University was time management. 00:15:36.000 --> 00:15:40.000 You have your criminal justice classes but at any given time you are also going to be taking 00:15:40.000 --> 00:15:44.000 other classes as well, so being able to get yourself organized and 00:15:44.000 --> 00:15:48.000 yourself on point and saying ok I have to study for CJ 213 00:15:48.000 --> 00:15:52.000 for like an hour or so tonight, and then tomorrow I have to study for 00:15:52.000 --> 00:15:56.000 that math one, and then thursday I have a midterm, and being able to 00:15:56.000 --> 00:15:60.000 organize your week, and put everything down in your planner, 00:16:00.000 --> 00:16:04.000 work your plan I think was one of the biggest things I think I learned 00:16:04.000 --> 00:16:08.000 by coming here that I still use today. I still have a planner, I still have to organize 00:16:08.000 --> 00:16:12.000 and even more now than then. So 00:16:12.000 --> 00:16:16.000 I think it was a very good hand in hand between the 00:16:16.000 --> 00:16:20.000 knowledge you get through the CJ program, and the requirement you have to stay organized 00:16:20.000 --> 00:16:24.000 and to make sure that you are knocking it out of the park in all of your classes. 00:16:24.000 --> 00:16:28.000 So. Thank you. 00:16:28.000 --> 00:16:32.000 I would say the most beneficial part of my 00:16:32.000 --> 00:16:36.000 time at Western was the practicum. So my advisor 00:16:36.000 --> 00:16:40.000 at the time was Dr Ginger, he's over there. He 00:16:40.000 --> 00:16:44.000 Had me for four years, and based on my 00:16:44.000 --> 00:16:48.000 I guess personality or style he placed me on a practicum with 00:16:48.000 --> 00:16:52.000 the Oregon State Police. He thought that would best fit my 00:16:52.000 --> 00:16:56.000 style, so during that for an entire 00:16:56.000 --> 00:16:60.000 semester, or term, you are put in 00:17:00.000 --> 00:17:04.000 to the work force for 40 hrs. That is your 00:17:04.000 --> 00:17:08.000 school for that term. So I got to see first hand 00:17:08.000 --> 00:17:12.000 I saw my first fatal car crash, I went to the 00:17:12.000 --> 00:17:16.000 state penitentiary, I saw my first swat raid, I saw 00:17:16.000 --> 00:17:20.000 them blow the door off a house, it was super awesome. I got to see the crime 00:17:20.000 --> 00:17:24.000 lab, and how drugs were tested. I got to run code, 00:17:24.000 --> 00:17:28.000 and for those of you who don't know what running code means its a police officer 00:17:28.000 --> 00:17:32.000 who flips their lights and sirens on and they drive super fast, so that was the first time I got to 00:17:32.000 --> 00:17:36.000 drive over 100. It was great. So a lot of that 00:17:36.000 --> 00:17:40.000 stuff you never see. I have applicants at our agency now 00:17:40.000 --> 00:17:44.000 that didn't go to college, they don't have any idea what police 00:17:44.000 --> 00:17:48.000 officers do, they may have seen a really cool episode of cops once and thought they 00:17:48.000 --> 00:17:52.000 would try it out. With the Practicum program, you get to see that 00:17:56.000 --> 00:17:60.000 In addition to the practicum program, you guys probably aren't oing to like this answer, 00:18:00.000 --> 00:18:04.000 but report writing is a big chunk of my day at work. 00:18:04.000 --> 00:18:08.000 So every single thing I do at work, traffic stops, shoplifts, 00:18:08.000 --> 00:18:12.000 gun shot wounds, people with mental health issues, 00:18:12.000 --> 00:18:16.000 out of control juveniles, we have to write very thorough reports on, every contact 00:18:16.000 --> 00:18:20.000 we have with everyone. And it might not seem like a big deal, 00:18:20.000 --> 00:18:24.000 but those reports are read by DHS, by the district 00:18:24.000 --> 00:18:28.000 attorneys office, by maybe Sam at the jail when I arrest them 00:18:28.000 --> 00:18:32.000 and take them to the jail. So how you can portray yourself on 00:18:32.000 --> 00:18:36.000 paper is huge, so those tedious Writing 111, 00:18:36.000 --> 00:18:40.000 Writing 121 classes might seem annoying while you are here, but they 00:18:40.000 --> 00:18:44.000 will become super helpful down the road. 00:18:44.000 --> 00:18:48.000 Before I move to Deputy 00:18:48.000 --> 00:18:52.000 Sam, I am going to just follow up on what 00:18:52.000 --> 00:18:56.000 was just said about writing 00:18:56.000 --> 00:18:60.000 There is one faculty member who is not here today, 00:19:00.000 --> 00:19:04.000 with us, but she is responsible for 00:19:04.000 --> 00:19:08.000 Writing in our program, and because we have such a strong 00:19:08.000 --> 00:19:12.000 relationship with the agencies around here because 00:19:12.000 --> 00:19:16.000 and beyond actually because of 00:19:16.000 --> 00:19:20.000 the fact that we have a lot of alumni working in these areas, 00:19:20.000 --> 00:19:24.000 and actually running these agencies, 00:19:24.000 --> 00:19:28.000 what we do with our program, is we constantly improve 00:19:28.000 --> 00:19:32.000 on it, is to constantly make it so that its 00:19:32.000 --> 00:19:36.000 applicable currently to the needs of all of these 00:19:36.000 --> 00:19:40.000 agencies, and one of the things that we have heard from the agencies is 00:19:40.000 --> 00:19:44.000 the need for people to know how to write. 00:19:44.000 --> 00:19:48.000 In our program, unlike in many other criminal justice programs, 00:19:48.000 --> 00:19:52.000 you will find that we have a built in writing curriculum 00:19:52.000 --> 00:19:56.000 within our program that helps prepare you for 00:19:56.000 --> 00:19:60.000 your work and life after here. 00:20:00.000 --> 00:20:04.000 And in your work life. So we really really do 00:20:04.000 --> 00:20:08.000 equip you with those writing skills that you need in order to be 00:20:08.000 --> 00:20:12.000 successful in the criminal justice field. So now 00:20:12.000 --> 00:20:16.000 lets go to Deputy 00:20:16.000 --> 00:20:20.000 What I found most beneficial from the CJ program was 00:20:20.000 --> 00:20:24.000 doing the practicum. It gives you kind of a reality check 00:20:24.000 --> 00:20:28.000 there is only so much Cops can show in 30 minutes. My practicum 00:20:28.000 --> 00:20:32.000 I spent my time at Marion County and most of it was at Marion County 00:20:32.000 --> 00:20:36.000 Jail, there is a lot of people that come in and out of the 00:20:36.000 --> 00:20:40.000 facility, and there are a lot of people who come in who are 00:20:40.000 --> 00:20:44.000 addicted to drugs, alcohol problems, and a lot of mental health and behavioral 00:20:44.000 --> 00:20:48.000 health problems. So kind of getting that exposure and 00:20:48.000 --> 00:20:52.000 know what I'm getting myself into and saying yeah, I still want to do this. 00:20:52.000 --> 00:20:56.000 There is a little twist inside you, but it's the adrenaline rush. 00:20:56.000 --> 00:20:60.000 you know, for me I get a lot of people that come in 00:21:00.000 --> 00:21:04.000 that have a lot of mental health problems. You know the old approach 00:21:04.000 --> 00:21:08.000 in corrections was just drag them out 00:21:08.000 --> 00:21:12.000 and put them in a cell and be done with it, theres a lot of skill 00:21:12.000 --> 00:21:16.000 that takes into place what I do and what I have learned coming from Western 00:21:16.000 --> 00:21:20.000 a big part of it is being a critical thinker. Corrections deputy 00:21:20.000 --> 00:21:24.000 we are expected to be problem solvers. Sabrina could bring someone in 00:21:24.000 --> 00:21:28.000 because that was her last resort. They could ask for all the information in the world 00:21:28.000 --> 00:21:32.000 tell us the truth, they say no, ok I am going to take you to jail. 00:21:32.000 --> 00:21:36.000 Well they are in jail so if they don't want to cooperate with us whats the worse that could happen, your in jail. 00:21:36.000 --> 00:21:40.000 So its just kind of being a problem solver, and you get that from being 00:21:40.000 --> 00:21:44.000 taking classes, and just like from writing you spend maybe 00:21:44.000 --> 00:21:48.000 hours writing a ten page paper. Its not just a time 00:21:48.000 --> 00:21:52.000 its to make you really think what you are learning about, what you are 00:21:52.000 --> 00:21:56.000 trying to do. And then when you get to my position now its like wait now I realize 00:21:56.000 --> 00:21:60.000 why I was writing those papers. It wasn't just to waste my time it was to actually 00:22:00.000 --> 00:22:04.000 get me to think what I can do differently. Corrections has this challenge 00:22:04.000 --> 00:22:08.000 o we limit peoples rights. When they come to our facility 00:22:08.000 --> 00:22:12.000 the rights of a phonecall does not exist, so don't ask for that. 00:22:12.000 --> 00:22:16.000 But there are other things that people have to have. 00:22:16.000 --> 00:22:20.000 Its basic human rights, but we have to have maintained 00:22:20.000 --> 00:22:24.000 safety and security of a facility, however we have to keep that in mind 00:22:24.000 --> 00:22:28.000 with a lot of regulations, state federal laws, and a lot of 00:22:28.000 --> 00:22:32.000 different kinds of aspects of your 00:22:32.000 --> 00:22:36.000 how your jail standards 00:22:36.000 --> 00:22:40.000 is what we call them, and a lot of those times what we have to 00:22:40.000 --> 00:22:44.000 do, you know if you get into a position of management you will have to take time 00:22:44.000 --> 00:22:48.000 to read all your policies, make sure they are all 00:22:48.000 --> 00:22:52.000 in line with the state federal laws. Make sure they are correct with the jail standards. 00:22:52.000 --> 00:22:56.000 This is stuff that you learn in college, thats why you 00:22:56.000 --> 00:22:60.000 come here, is to learn to do those things. For me, 00:23:00.000 --> 00:23:04.000 coming to Western and learning all this in criminal justice wasn't just to be another person in the system, 00:23:04.000 --> 00:23:08.000 it was to be a leader, someone who 00:23:08.000 --> 00:23:12.000 wants to make a difference in this field, that is what you are doing here when you come to this 00:23:12.000 --> 00:23:16.000 you want to make a difference, not just be a pawn in the whole 00:23:16.000 --> 00:23:20.000 system. 00:23:20.000 --> 00:23:23.000 My experience I think was 00:23:23.000 --> 00:23:27.000 a little bit different. My degree really was a 00:23:27.000 --> 00:23:31.000 necessary thing to go onto the next step, which was getting a masters 00:23:31.000 --> 00:23:36.000 degree. In order to get a Masters Degree you had to have a Bachelor Degree. 00:23:36.000 --> 00:23:38.000 It was necessary. 00:23:38.000 --> 00:23:44.000 But aside from that I saw my time at Western as 00:23:44.000 --> 00:23:48.000 really, an opportunity to build myself. 00:23:48.000 --> 00:23:51.000 Not only as a writer, and as an 00:23:51.000 --> 00:23:54.000 academic, but also as a person. And I really agree with a lot of the things that 00:23:54.000 --> 00:23:60.000 you guys said in terms of becoming a critical thinker for instance, 00:24:00.000 --> 00:24:04.000 thinking about your position in the world, 00:24:04.000 --> 00:24:08.000 I think that happened for me while I was at Western 00:24:08.000 --> 00:24:12.000 So I think that I built myself as much academically 00:24:12.000 --> 00:24:16.000 as I did personally, and I think that is 00:24:16.000 --> 00:24:20.000 a really life changing 00:24:20.000 --> 00:24:24.000 experience in my case. 00:24:24.000 --> 00:24:28.000 Thank you. So this next question 00:24:28.000 --> 00:24:32.000 may not apply to you Omar, 00:24:32.000 --> 00:24:36.000 but, there are some agencies 00:24:36.000 --> 00:24:40.000 that also hire people who do not have a degree. 00:24:40.000 --> 00:24:44.000 And so my question to the panelist would be, how 00:24:44.000 --> 00:24:48.000 getting a degree, and a degree in Criminal Justice, 00:24:48.000 --> 00:24:52.000 set you apart from the people 00:24:52.000 --> 00:24:56.000 in your agency who do not have a degree. So we will start with 00:24:56.000 --> 00:24:60.000 Deputy Hatch. 00:25:00.000 --> 00:25:04.000 For me, what sets me apart from having a degree verses other people, 00:25:04.000 --> 00:25:08.000 in my agency is its getting the experience 00:25:08.000 --> 00:25:12.000 and knowledge of what to expect when you step into those doors. 00:25:12.000 --> 00:25:16.000 You know I work with people who are veterans and have a lot of experience 00:25:16.000 --> 00:25:20.000 in combat zones and such, so they have a really good mentality 00:25:20.000 --> 00:25:24.000 of going into a very stressful situation with people 00:25:24.000 --> 00:25:28.000 and for me, I walk into a facility where it is a 00:25:32.000 --> 00:25:36.000 But we walk in with a lot of confidence in ourselves. 00:25:36.000 --> 00:25:40.000 I can say with graduating with a degree you feel a lot more confident with yourself 00:25:40.000 --> 00:25:44.000 because you took on a challenge that a lot of people will just wait their time until they can turn 00:25:48.000 --> 00:25:52.000 but there is a lot of self rewarding factors that come into 00:25:52.000 --> 00:25:56.000 getting a degree. And you do kind of feel a little snub like 00:25:56.000 --> 00:25:60.000 I challenged myself to make myself smarter, but that just it, you feel more 00:26:00.000 --> 00:26:04.000 confident with yourself and what you are going to do with your career. 00:26:04.000 --> 00:26:08.000 You might start somewhere you do not like, but its getting your foot through the door and working 00:26:08.000 --> 00:26:12.000 your way up. Thats the challenge and knowing you have the knowledge 00:26:12.000 --> 00:26:16.000 versus other people, that helps a lot when it comes down to sitting in front 00:26:16.000 --> 00:26:20.000 of a panel of people trying to tell them you are the best for a job. 00:26:20.000 --> 00:26:24.000 I can stand here in front of other people in the same position that I am 00:26:24.000 --> 00:26:28.000 but I can tell them I invested in myself because this is something I wanted to do 00:26:28.000 --> 00:26:32.000 and I invested and put my time and energy into it 00:26:32.000 --> 00:26:36.000 I am going to be here for you, I am going to do this job as well as I can 00:26:36.000 --> 00:26:40.000 because I know and I am confident in myself that I can do it. Because I came here and challenged 00:26:40.000 --> 00:26:44.000 myself to do that job. Thank you. 00:26:44.000 --> 00:26:48.000 Officer Hunter, yes. So I 00:26:48.000 --> 00:26:52.000 cannot speak to any other agencies, but I know within my department 00:26:52.000 --> 00:26:56.000 a degree is required to promote. So if 00:26:56.000 --> 00:26:60.000 I ever have the urge to move up the ranks to Sergeant or Lieutenant 00:27:00.000 --> 00:27:04.000 Deputy Chief or Chief, there is a certain amount of college 00:27:04.000 --> 00:27:08.000 required for that. It is also very helpful when I go 00:27:08.000 --> 00:27:12.000 into job interviews within my agency for special units, 00:27:12.000 --> 00:27:16.000 I can pull from that practicum experience, or 00:27:16.000 --> 00:27:20.000 as I did not mention earlier, Vivian one of her courses many years ago 00:27:20.000 --> 00:27:24.000 she required us to volunteer as part of our class. 00:27:24.000 --> 00:27:28.000 And write a paper on that, so I volunteered at a Domestic Violence shelter. 00:27:28.000 --> 00:27:32.000 That experience and that volunteering was 00:27:32.000 --> 00:27:36.000 applicable within my agency as part of the DVT. 00:27:36.000 --> 00:27:40.000 And also it earns you a little more money on your paychecks. 00:27:40.000 --> 00:27:44.000 Thank you. Kevin. 00:27:44.000 --> 00:27:48.000 Ok so, to work for the FBI 00:27:48.000 --> 00:27:52.000 there are some entry level positions where, I will be honest, you do not have to have a degree 00:27:52.000 --> 00:27:56.000 You can get in and you can start working 00:27:56.000 --> 00:27:60.000 with that being said though, the majority of people that work 00:28:00.000 --> 00:28:04.000 for hiring for our entry level positions, have bachelor degrees 00:28:04.000 --> 00:28:08.000 Some of them even have Masters Degrees. And that is just 00:28:08.000 --> 00:28:12.000 for the entry level positions for the FBI. Now if you did 00:28:12.000 --> 00:28:16.000 decide to try getting into the FBI without a bachelor degree at least 00:28:16.000 --> 00:28:20.000 there would be a ceiling for how far you can scoot up the ladder. 00:28:20.000 --> 00:28:24.000 How much money you can make in your job, just like it was said, if you have 00:28:24.000 --> 00:28:28.000 aspirations to move up to more senior levels or if you have 00:28:28.000 --> 00:28:32.000 aspirations to try different jobs out that require 00:28:32.000 --> 00:28:36.000 more responsibility, and they often times will require more education. 00:28:36.000 --> 00:28:40.000 So my thought, and this is the same thought I had 00:28:40.000 --> 00:28:44.000 when I was applying to Western is that ok, well I am 17, 00:28:44.000 --> 00:28:48.000 if I could turn 21 and I could already have 00:28:48.000 --> 00:28:52.000 my bachelors degree and then I can go and apply to be a police officer, 00:28:52.000 --> 00:28:56.000 because what else am I going to be doing with those four years anyway. 00:28:56.000 --> 00:28:60.000 At the time I was working at Fredmeyers, and I was like I can have a bachelors degree at a reputable 00:29:00.000 --> 00:29:04.000 university, and be able to apply to a place like Salem PD, 00:29:04.000 --> 00:29:08.000 or Oregon State police and say that I 00:29:08.000 --> 00:29:12.000 worked at Fredmeyers for four years, or I could say 00:29:12.000 --> 00:29:16.000 that I completed a four year bachelors degree from Western Oregon University, 00:29:16.000 --> 00:29:20.000 with a major in Criminal Justice and a Minor in Spanish, while having 00:29:20.000 --> 00:29:24.000 still worked at Fredmeyers. That was my thought process and 00:29:24.000 --> 00:29:28.000 I would say if you are going to 00:29:28.000 --> 00:29:32.000 invest in something invest in yourself and do it now, because you will never 00:29:32.000 --> 00:29:36.000 regret moving forward and there will never be a time where you are going to say 00:29:36.000 --> 00:29:40.000 Many I really wish I would not have 00:29:40.000 --> 00:29:44.000 got my bachelors degree when I was 18. I really wish I had not started that. 00:29:44.000 --> 00:29:48.000 You are always going to than yourself for that, and the same goes for 00:29:48.000 --> 00:29:52.000 any advanced degree you decide to get. If you decide to go fo a Masters Degree you know 00:29:52.000 --> 00:29:56.000 you are never going to sit back and say man I never should have gotten my Masters. 00:29:56.000 --> 00:29:60.000 They are all going to benefit you, and if its not immediate, it will in the long run. 00:30:00.000 --> 00:30:04.000 Thank you very much. 00:30:04.000 --> 00:30:08.000 Within our agency, the minimum is a four year degree. 00:30:08.000 --> 00:30:12.000 Thus far, at least as a juvenile probation officer it is a requirement. 00:30:12.000 --> 00:30:16.000 And one of the things that I have done in the 00:30:16.000 --> 00:30:20.000 course of the time that I have been there, I have actually done a lot of interview panels 00:30:20.000 --> 00:30:24.000 for new applicants that are coming in and have gotten to see how they 00:30:24.000 --> 00:30:28.000 work the process of how do they actually select 00:30:28.000 --> 00:30:32.000 candidates, and I can tell you it is as simple as this. 00:30:32.000 --> 00:30:36.000 They look at your application, if it says you have a four year degree it goes in 00:30:36.000 --> 00:30:40.000 this pile. If it does not it goes in another pile. Unless it 00:30:40.000 --> 00:30:44.000 looks extremely good, where there is lots to 00:30:44.000 --> 00:30:48.000 it, and it is as simple as that. At least in our agency. 00:30:48.000 --> 00:30:52.000 They look at that. Once they determine you have a four year degree, 00:30:52.000 --> 00:30:56.000 so while you are here if you get opportunities 00:30:56.000 --> 00:30:60.000 for internships for anything that really is in 00:31:00.000 --> 00:31:04.000 service of others, you will find that all of that is applicable on your application. 00:31:04.000 --> 00:31:08.000 That is one of the things they also look at. But four year degrees 00:31:08.000 --> 00:31:12.000 minimum, and within our department we have a detention facility 00:31:12.000 --> 00:31:16.000 as well as an alternative program and a shelter program for 00:31:16.000 --> 00:31:20.000 all of those a minimum is a two year degree, 00:31:20.000 --> 00:31:24.000 and that is coupled with lots and lots of experience 00:31:24.000 --> 00:31:28.000 behind it. So you have your two year degree, as well as 00:31:28.000 --> 00:31:32.000 the experience that makes the four year. 00:31:32.000 --> 00:31:36.000 Or else it is a minimum of a four year degree. 00:31:36.000 --> 00:31:40.000 Thank you very much. So from what we are gathering from the panel, 00:31:40.000 --> 00:31:44.000 I ask this question specifically because sometimes you get 00:31:44.000 --> 00:31:48.000 people advising you and telling you you do not need a degree to go 00:31:48.000 --> 00:31:52.000 into the criminal justice agencies, 00:31:52.000 --> 00:31:56.000 but while that may have been true years ago, 00:31:56.000 --> 00:31:60.000 it sounds like it is no longer true. Even to get you into 00:32:00.000 --> 00:32:04.000 the job that you want to be in, and 00:32:04.000 --> 00:32:08.000 even if you get there the people with degrees are going to be 00:32:08.000 --> 00:32:12.000 promoted above you, and so 00:32:12.000 --> 00:32:16.000 getting a degree in Criminal Justice is really 00:32:16.000 --> 00:32:20.000 highly advisable as we can hear from this 00:32:20.000 --> 00:32:24.000 panel right here. So I am going to 00:32:24.000 --> 00:32:28.000 take some time to let you ask questions 00:32:28.000 --> 00:32:32.000 of the panel, so what I will do 00:32:32.000 --> 00:32:36.000 is since we are getting close to the end of 00:32:36.000 --> 00:32:40.000 the time here, I will have you ask any questions you 00:32:40.000 --> 00:32:44.000 have and if we still have a little time after 00:32:44.000 --> 00:32:48.000 that I will let them in one or two words tell you 00:32:48.000 --> 00:32:52.000 what advice they will give you if you wanted to go 00:32:52.000 --> 00:32:56.000 on the career route as well. Unless that is one of 00:32:56.000 --> 00:32:60.000 the questions you ask. Any questions 00:33:00.000 --> 00:33:04.000 from the audience? 00:33:04.000 --> 00:33:08.000 Does military service help with getting a job in any agency 00:33:08.000 --> 00:33:12.000 like is it required to have a bachelors degree if 00:33:12.000 --> 00:33:16.000 you go into the military before you apply for any agencies? 00:33:16.000 --> 00:33:20.000 Who wants to take that? I can 00:33:20.000 --> 00:33:24.000 talk about Salem, so any military service 00:33:24.000 --> 00:33:28.000 you get what is called bonus points as an applicant. 00:33:28.000 --> 00:33:32.000 So if you came out of the marine Corps 00:33:32.000 --> 00:33:36.000 and Kevin who has no experience both apply and interview exactly 00:33:36.000 --> 00:33:40.000 the same, you are going to move ahead, versus Kevin. 00:33:40.000 --> 00:33:44.000 You win. Everyone moves ahead. 00:33:44.000 --> 00:33:48.000 Except for Kevin. 00:33:48.000 --> 00:33:52.000 With the FBI its a similar thing. It is not a requirement that you have to have 00:33:52.000 --> 00:33:56.000 served in the military, and again it is also 00:33:56.000 --> 00:33:60.000 job specific, so if you want to become a special agent 00:34:00.000 --> 00:34:04.000 you have to have a bachelors degree, minimum, but its the same thing, 00:34:04.000 --> 00:34:08.000 you would get like double bonus points if you have served in the military, 00:34:08.000 --> 00:34:12.000 its the exact same thing. If you walked in, and Sabrina walked in, and she did not 00:34:12.000 --> 00:34:16.000 serve in the military, you would beat Sabrina. 00:34:16.000 --> 00:34:20.000 So it is a similar process. 00:34:20.000 --> 00:34:24.000 If you are looking into like investing 00:34:24.000 --> 00:34:28.000 yourself, if you want to do military first fantastic, 00:34:28.000 --> 00:34:32.000 I believe Western has an ROTC program that you can go into, or even another university 00:34:32.000 --> 00:34:36.000 get your education payed for, and if this is something you want to go into I know 00:34:36.000 --> 00:34:40.000 in the military there is military police stuff that you can get into 00:34:40.000 --> 00:34:44.000 and then come to school, get that education, and by then you are looking at 00:34:48.000 --> 00:34:52.000 so you are putting yourself ahead of the curve for everything else, you have 00:34:52.000 --> 00:34:56.000 experience working in the military, knowing how to work firearm safety 00:34:56.000 --> 00:34:60.000 and all special tactics, and then you have the education on that, so 00:35:00.000 --> 00:35:04.000 you are really benefitting yourself if it is a route you want to choose, 00:35:04.000 --> 00:35:08.000 and again its how you want to invest in yourself and how you want to 00:35:08.000 --> 00:35:12.000 put out for whatever agency you are working for, what you want 00:35:12.000 --> 00:35:16.000 to end up at the end of your career what you said you did, 00:35:16.000 --> 00:35:20.000 and how you really improved the communities that you worked in. 00:35:20.000 --> 00:35:24.000 and to add to that we do see a lot of veterans 00:35:24.000 --> 00:35:28.000 in our program who choose to come into criminal 00:35:28.000 --> 00:35:32.000 justice after their service. The University actually 00:35:32.000 --> 00:35:36.000 has a Veterans office that provides 00:35:36.000 --> 00:35:40.000 excellent support to Veterans in addition to 00:35:40.000 --> 00:35:44.000 whatever support that is in existence on campus. 00:35:44.000 --> 00:35:48.000 So, it makes for a very welcoming place, 00:35:48.000 --> 00:35:52.000 for veterans. What inspired you to stay in Oregon instead 00:35:52.000 --> 00:35:56.000 of moving elsewhere after you finished college? 00:35:56.000 --> 00:35:60.000 I can answer that on my behave. 00:36:00.000 --> 00:36:04.000 Its home, Oregon is definitely home. I mean, we might not always like 00:36:04.000 --> 00:36:08.000 the weather, but it felt comfortable to me, 00:36:08.000 --> 00:36:12.000 and in college one of the things I noted for myself was, you need 00:36:12.000 --> 00:36:16.000 support, there are going to be rough days, and there are going to be 00:36:16.000 --> 00:36:20.000 great days, and there are going to be intermediate days, and when I made the decision 00:36:20.000 --> 00:36:24.000 to stay in Oregon it was because I had friends 00:36:24.000 --> 00:36:28.000 and family that could potentially be that support when I needed them to. 00:36:28.000 --> 00:36:32.000 And then when I looked at this campus, it felt like home. It felt like 00:36:32.000 --> 00:36:36.000 family, and as I continue to be here 00:36:36.000 --> 00:36:40.000 it was the solidifying factor for me, that 00:36:40.000 --> 00:36:44.000 it felt like it was a place where I could 00:36:44.000 --> 00:36:48.000 feel secure, and not feel lost, so that was one of the 00:36:48.000 --> 00:36:52.000 reasons. What are supposedly the benefits 00:36:52.000 --> 00:36:56.000 of getting a Masters over a bachelors 00:36:56.000 --> 00:36:60.000 obviously there is more experience and more dedication involved 00:37:00.000 --> 00:37:04.000 and it is going to look better no matter what but is it truly worth it? 00:37:04.000 --> 00:37:08.000 Yes, it is usually very beneficial, even if you do not see that benefit right away 00:37:08.000 --> 00:37:12.000 In terms a promotion for instance as some of you mentioned 00:37:12.000 --> 00:37:16.000 having a masters degree is going to give you that edge. 00:37:16.000 --> 00:37:20.000 But you know that is something you will explore, 00:37:20.000 --> 00:37:24.000 on a one on one basis with your faculty advisor in the program 00:37:24.000 --> 00:37:28.000 It is especially important if you want to go into 00:37:28.000 --> 00:37:32.000 like my career for example, as a professor 00:37:32.000 --> 00:37:36.000 you have to have a masters to teach at a graduate level 00:37:36.000 --> 00:37:40.000 courses and you have to have a PHD to teach Bachelors or Undergrad 00:37:40.000 --> 00:37:44.000 but I think it was 00:37:44.000 --> 00:37:48.000 Kevin or maybe it was you that mentioned that 00:37:48.000 --> 00:37:52.000 you never really regret getting more education. I think that is especially 00:37:52.000 --> 00:37:56.000 applicable in this case, but that is a decision that you 00:37:56.000 --> 00:37:60.000 do not necessarily have to make alone. I remember for example 00:38:00.000 --> 00:38:04.000 having a conversation about going to a masters 00:38:04.000 --> 00:38:08.000 program with Vivian when I was about to graduate 00:38:08.000 --> 00:38:12.000 from here, and I had that conversation with her and we talked about 00:38:12.000 --> 00:38:16.000 the benefits, the pros and the cons and I decided that it was worth it to me, 00:38:16.000 --> 00:38:20.000 the faculty here actually helped me to apply for the program, 00:38:20.000 --> 00:38:24.000 they supported me through that process, and I was able to get into a Masters Program 00:38:24.000 --> 00:38:28.000 with an assistanship, which means that 00:38:28.000 --> 00:38:32.000 your tuition is payed for, you work for the department in either teaching or research, 00:38:32.000 --> 00:38:36.000 and you also get a stipend with that, 00:38:36.000 --> 00:38:40.000 and as we mentioned, we actually have a Masters program here, 00:38:40.000 --> 00:38:44.000 that has been growing, and we have a couple of assistanships 00:38:44.000 --> 00:38:48.000 as well. Graduate assistanships. So since all 00:38:48.000 --> 00:38:52.000 of you guys have different perspectives, this can be a question for all of you, 00:38:52.000 --> 00:38:56.000 but when you are out and about, and you are going to see stuff 00:38:56.000 --> 00:38:60.000 with your job, because there is brutal stuff out there, how do you handle that. 00:39:00.000 --> 00:39:04.000 And how do you really deal with that after you see that because not everything 00:39:04.000 --> 00:39:08.000 is pretty out there. 00:39:08.000 --> 00:39:12.000 Thats a really good question, pick me pick me. 00:39:12.000 --> 00:39:16.000 So I would say keep 00:39:16.000 --> 00:39:20.000 a list of hobbies outside of work and non police 00:39:20.000 --> 00:39:24.000 friends. So I like when I can walk, I like to go running, 00:39:24.000 --> 00:39:28.000 I like gardening, kind of lame, 00:39:28.000 --> 00:39:32.000 riding my bike, sewing, 00:39:32.000 --> 00:39:36.000 kind of old lady things, but it is very very important to not 00:39:36.000 --> 00:39:40.000 get sucked into the job. Because police officers are technically 00:39:40.000 --> 00:39:44.000 mentally we are always on duty. Even here I am 00:39:44.000 --> 00:39:48.000 scanning for all my exits and thinking about all kinds of 00:39:48.000 --> 00:39:52.000 hypothetical active shooter scenarios while they are talking, 00:39:52.000 --> 00:39:56.000 so it is very important that you 00:39:56.000 --> 00:39:60.000 engage in I guess relaxing things outside of work, 00:40:00.000 --> 00:40:04.000 therapeutic stuff. But, a lot of 00:40:04.000 --> 00:40:08.000 police officers turn to like alcohol or gambling 00:40:08.000 --> 00:40:12.000 and suicide, I am sure you guys have 00:40:12.000 --> 00:40:16.000 watched the news lately that is kind of rising lately with suicide 00:40:16.000 --> 00:40:20.000 in this profession. And it used to be that we did not talk about it, 00:40:20.000 --> 00:40:24.000 Cops are supposed to be tough we do not cry we do not ask for help. 00:40:24.000 --> 00:40:28.000 We are shying away from that now. Our agency has a trauma team, 00:40:28.000 --> 00:40:32.000 we have officers that are very comfidential, 00:40:32.000 --> 00:40:36.000 if I am having a problem at home, like my husband and I are fighting 00:40:36.000 --> 00:40:40.000 or I am filing for bankruptcy or I just went on a call 00:40:40.000 --> 00:40:44.000 where I had to pick up a dead baby or something like that which really bothers me, 00:40:44.000 --> 00:40:48.000 I can ask for help and i am not going to get any stigma from that. 00:40:48.000 --> 00:40:52.000 Is there a maximum age for joining the FBI? 00:40:52.000 --> 00:40:56.000 Is there a maximum age? Again that 00:40:56.000 --> 00:40:60.000 is job specific. So if you want to become an 00:41:00.000 --> 00:41:04.000 analyst or a sport tech or a variety of other jobs no there is no 00:41:04.000 --> 00:41:08.000 maximum age. If you are interested in becoming a special agent with the FBI, 00:41:08.000 --> 00:41:12.000 you have to become a special agent by your 37th 00:41:12.000 --> 00:41:16.000 birthday. And the reason for that is there is a maximum retirement 00:41:16.000 --> 00:41:20.000 age of 57 if you are a special agent in the FBI, and they 00:41:20.000 --> 00:41:24.000 want to make sure they can give you a 20 year pension. 00:41:24.000 --> 00:41:28.000 Do you guys do ride alongs but for forensic 00:41:28.000 --> 00:41:32.000 lab investigators? Like can you be in a lab 00:41:32.000 --> 00:41:36.000 with people who are working on a case? 00:41:36.000 --> 00:41:40.000 Are you asking for the FBI because I do not know who you are where 00:41:40.000 --> 00:41:44.000 are you. Can you stand up when you guys talk so we can put a face 00:41:44.000 --> 00:41:48.000 to the name a little bit. Ok so were you asking about the 00:41:48.000 --> 00:41:52.000 FBI or Salem PD or in General. 00:41:52.000 --> 00:41:56.000 In general, like can you be an intern 00:41:56.000 --> 00:41:60.000 Can I tackle that? 00:42:00.000 --> 00:42:04.000 One of the biggest benefits honestly and I know that I am a little biased because 00:42:04.000 --> 00:42:08.000 I was a student here and also because I am a part of the practicum program 00:42:08.000 --> 00:42:12.000 here in the department but one of the biggest benefits of being here 00:42:12.000 --> 00:42:16.000 as a student of Western Oregon and being a Criminal Justice 00:42:16.000 --> 00:42:20.000 is that we have a network that has been 00:42:20.000 --> 00:42:24.000 built with agencies all over Oregon and also all over 00:42:24.000 --> 00:42:28.000 outside of Oregon and that is something that came before I was here, 00:42:28.000 --> 00:42:32.000 people were mentioning earlier the fact that in some agencies 00:42:32.000 --> 00:42:36.000 we have 85% of Western Graduates working 00:42:36.000 --> 00:42:40.000 there. That is a huge benefit for you! That means that if you come to Western 00:42:40.000 --> 00:42:44.000 and if you are a CJ major and you talk to us we can put you in touch 00:42:44.000 --> 00:42:48.000 with really any profession within the Criminal Justice system. 00:42:48.000 --> 00:42:52.000 So if that is something you wanted to do for instance, all you have to do 00:42:52.000 --> 00:42:56.000 is talk to us and we will put you in touch with the right people. 00:42:56.000 --> 00:42:60.000 That is absolutely doable, and we encourage you 00:43:00.000 --> 00:43:04.000 to not wait until you are a senior or until you get to the practicum stage 00:43:04.000 --> 00:43:08.000 you can do that any time you are a student. You can do a shadow interview, 00:43:08.000 --> 00:43:12.000 you can do ride alongs, we can put you in email communications 00:43:12.000 --> 00:43:16.000 with some of those individuals, and that is a huge benefit to 00:43:16.000 --> 00:43:20.000 you as a student and that is something that is unique to us as a University and program. 00:43:20.000 --> 00:43:25.000 How has becoming a police officer affected your family life? 00:43:25.000 --> 00:43:28.000 Well, 00:43:28.000 --> 00:43:32.000 I am married to another officer, which is super beneficial 00:43:32.000 --> 00:43:36.000 not traditional, but 00:43:36.000 --> 00:43:40.000 my youngest child is eleven, 00:43:40.000 --> 00:43:44.000 I was actually pregnant with her my senior year here, 00:43:44.000 --> 00:43:48.000 so she does not know anything different. It is very normal for her to 00:43:48.000 --> 00:43:52.000 celebrate Christmas on December 27th, or 00:43:52.000 --> 00:43:56.000 for mom to show up at her softball game in my uniform. 00:43:56.000 --> 00:43:60.000 She does not know any different. She thinks it is super cool and she wants to be 00:44:00.000 --> 00:44:04.000 a cop to someday. So I go to her school and 00:44:04.000 --> 00:44:08.000 I talk to her school as well about police stuff, but you learn to adjust 00:44:08.000 --> 00:44:12.000 I would say if you do not have a very strong 00:44:12.000 --> 00:44:16.000 support system you are likely to fail. A lot of 00:44:16.000 --> 00:44:20.000 police families typically, if the 00:44:20.000 --> 00:44:24.000 husband is the police officer and the wife is home, 00:44:24.000 --> 00:44:28.000 it is very stressful to know her husband is out all night 00:44:28.000 --> 00:44:32.000 and she does not hear from him or he comes home late. It does take 00:44:32.000 --> 00:44:36.000 a toll on your family, but if you do not have 100% support 00:44:36.000 --> 00:44:40.000 from them, it is going to be really rough. My family, I mean it is all they ever 00:44:40.000 --> 00:44:44.000 known so. Is there a certain GPA 00:44:44.000 --> 00:44:48.000 you guys require for us to take classes? 00:44:48.000 --> 00:44:52.000 I think I will answer that. 00:44:52.000 --> 00:44:56.000 Basically the way I explain this to students who 00:44:56.000 --> 00:44:60.000 tend to have this kind of question is we tend to build your GPA 00:45:00.000 --> 00:45:04.000 with you. So when you come into our program 00:45:04.000 --> 00:45:08.000 what we do is assign you a faculty 00:45:08.000 --> 00:45:12.000 advisor, so you will be able to build a relationship with 00:45:12.000 --> 00:45:16.000 faculty member in the department who will watch you 00:45:16.000 --> 00:45:20.000 and encourage you and motivate you and point you 00:45:20.000 --> 00:45:24.000 to resources when you need them. We actually are very proactive, 00:45:24.000 --> 00:45:28.000 so that for instance on my advisee list 00:45:28.000 --> 00:45:32.000 we make sure we see you at least once a term, 00:45:32.000 --> 00:45:36.000 and so when you come into see me I am going to take a look 00:45:36.000 --> 00:45:40.000 at your GPA from the start, and then I am going to say 00:45:40.000 --> 00:45:44.000 what happened with this class here, and 00:45:44.000 --> 00:45:48.000 if it did not go well, sometimes it is not because 00:45:48.000 --> 00:45:52.000 you are not a hard worker, sometimes it is simply because life happens. 00:45:52.000 --> 00:45:56.000 You are going through some difficulty, It could be 00:45:56.000 --> 00:45:60.000 unrelated to your education, it could be a family 00:46:00.000 --> 00:46:04.000 situation, and so we are there for you, we listen 00:46:04.000 --> 00:46:08.000 to you and we find ways to correct that GPA 00:46:08.000 --> 00:46:12.000 before you get to far. SO my answer 00:46:12.000 --> 00:46:16.000 is, yes, if you have a GPA that falls behind 00:46:16.000 --> 00:46:20.000 maybe a 2.0 at somepoint the 00:46:20.000 --> 00:46:24.000 university the university is going to send you a warning letter but then 00:46:24.000 --> 00:46:28.000 even then there are resources on campus to help 00:46:28.000 --> 00:46:32.000 you. The goal here is we want you once you 00:46:32.000 --> 00:46:36.000 come in here to succeed. We are not here to exclude you, 00:46:36.000 --> 00:46:40.000 we are here to make sure that if you are struggling in any way 00:46:40.000 --> 00:46:44.000 we have the resources to bring and help you succeed. 00:46:44.000 --> 00:46:48.000 So it is good to keep your GPA up, 00:46:48.000 --> 00:46:52.000 but then we help you to do that. 00:46:52.000 --> 00:46:56.000 So like someone who was in the juvenile system, 00:46:56.000 --> 00:46:60.000 when they were younger, how would that affect them 00:47:00.000 --> 00:47:04.000 going into a career for criminal justice. 00:47:04.000 --> 00:47:08.000 I see, heres the nice thing about it. 00:47:08.000 --> 00:47:12.000 The juvenile system, in the past I do not know how it was, I can only tell you 00:47:12.000 --> 00:47:16.000 where it is moving from right now in the future, 00:47:16.000 --> 00:47:20.000 we do not necessarily see kids as criminals. At least I have never seen any clients 00:47:20.000 --> 00:47:24.000 that I served as criminals, rather it is kids 00:47:24.000 --> 00:47:28.000 who have made mistakes. My job as part of that 00:47:28.000 --> 00:47:32.000 is to help kids to correct those mistakes to the best of my abilities. 00:47:32.000 --> 00:47:36.000 And I also serve in what is called 00:47:36.000 --> 00:47:40.000 a start corp program, which is an intense drug corp program 00:47:40.000 --> 00:47:44.000 and what it does for kids in the long term is it helps 00:47:44.000 --> 00:47:48.000 expunge their record at a very fast pace, meaning 00:47:48.000 --> 00:47:52.000 if they can continue throughout the program and complete it, it expunges 00:47:52.000 --> 00:47:56.000 the record the moment that they enter the program. Also for juveniles 00:47:56.000 --> 00:47:60.000 that do not necessarily fit the criteria for the program, it is 00:48:00.000 --> 00:48:04.000 not a lost cause. It is just 00:48:04.000 --> 00:48:08.000 there is processes that you would have to go through in order to help 00:48:08.000 --> 00:48:12.000 clean up the record as it is. But the important thing is, 00:48:12.000 --> 00:48:16.000 that as long as a juvenile, you took 00:48:16.000 --> 00:48:20.000 the steps necessary to close up 00:48:20.000 --> 00:48:24.000 your case successfully, then as an adult 00:48:24.000 --> 00:48:29.000 it should not impede you from moving forward. Thank you very much for your attention 00:48:29.000 --> 00:48:32.000 applause 00:48:32.000 --> 00:48:35.000 music