WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:02.000 music 00:00:02.000 --> 00:00:08.000 Welcome everyone to the 2023 Careers Day. My name is Omar Melchor. 00:00:08.000 --> 00:00:13.000 I am one of the faculty in the criminal justice sciences division. And I want to 00:00:13.000 --> 00:00:17.000 welcome and introduce Dr. Mari Sakiyama who is going to be moderating the panel. 00:00:17.000 --> 00:00:23.000 And she's going to be introducing the panelists for the event. 00:00:28.000 --> 00:00:33.000 We have a wonderful alumni here so, if you're a panelist, 00:00:33.000 --> 00:00:36.000 it would be fantastic if you could come up to the table over here. 00:00:36.000 --> 00:00:45.000 I know three of you but two of you today was the first day I've met. This is so exciting. 00:00:45.000 --> 00:00:50.000 Thank you very much. Okay, so as they are settling in 00:00:50.000 --> 00:00:55.000 I would like to go, I guess, from this side of the table. 00:00:55.000 --> 00:00:61.000 We have Sabrina Hunter working for Salem Police Department 00:01:01.000 --> 00:01:09.000 as a detective in Persons Crimes Unit? Yes. Okay. Excellent. Welcome. 00:01:09.000 --> 00:01:16.000 And you graduated in the class of 2007, bachelor of science in law enforcement which 00:01:16.000 --> 00:01:22.000 was I think long before I came along here. The name wasn't criminal justice back then. 00:01:22.000 --> 00:01:26.000 No, it was specialized to law enforcement. 00:01:26.000 --> 00:01:31.000 Alright, next we have, I'm so sorry if I butcher your name. I should pronounce you as 00:01:31.000 --> 00:01:34.000 Hustin Demir. Did I say it correct? Welcome. 00:01:34.000 --> 00:01:39.000 So you work for Washington County Sheriff's Office as a forensic technician 00:01:39.000 --> 00:01:46.000 and a forensic science unit. Welcome. You graduated in 2015 00:01:46.000 --> 00:01:50.000 from I'm assuming a criminal justice degree? Criminal justice and forensic anthropology. 00:01:50.000 --> 00:01:54.000 And forensic anthropology. Okay. Thank you very much, Hustin. 00:01:54.000 --> 00:01:58.000 And we have, I'm assuming, you must be Mayra? 00:01:58.000 --> 00:01:62.000 Mayra Mendoza, thank you very much 00:01:58.000 --> 00:01:62.000 for coming. 00:02:02.000 --> 00:02:05.000 You graduated in 2018 and also criminal justice. Correct? 00:02:05.000 --> 00:02:12.000 She's working as a parole & probation office out at Polk County Community Corrections. 00:02:12.000 --> 00:02:20.000 Welcome. And we have Kevin Jones. He is as Dr. Melchor indicated 00:02:20.000 --> 00:02:24.000 he works for the Federal Bureau of Investigation, aka FBI, 00:02:24.000 --> 00:02:31.000 as a tactical analyst and your graduation year was 2012 and from criminal justice as well. 00:02:32.000 --> 00:02:39.000 And then we have our NTT faculty member, Jerielle Cartales. 00:02:39.000 --> 00:02:42.000 Did I say it correct? Cartales, close enough. 00:02:42.000 --> 00:02:46.000 I'm the wrong person to be pronouncing people's last names, I guess. Okay. 00:02:46.000 --> 00:02:54.000 Alright. So you graduated from 2013 with a bachelor's of science and biology. And she 00:02:54.000 --> 00:02:59.000 received a master's in forensic anthropology from University of Dundee in Scotland. 00:03:00.000 --> 00:03:06.000 Welcome all. So since I would like to leave some time for questioning, 00:03:06.000 --> 00:03:11.000 I won't be able to ask all of the questions to all of the panelists. 00:03:11.000 --> 00:03:16.000 And if you would like to jump in, students, parents, please feel free to do so. 00:03:16.000 --> 00:03:21.000 Okay so, if I may, I would like to start with you Sabrina. 00:03:21.000 --> 00:03:27.000 What do you, in your profession, what does your typical day consists of usually? 00:03:28.000 --> 00:03:33.000 Like Mari said, I'm a dectective, I work in the sex crimes and child abuse unit. 00:03:33.000 --> 00:03:37.000 So my day is very unpredictable. I attend a lot of meetings. 00:03:37.000 --> 00:03:41.000 I interview children at school, at children's advocacy centers. 00:03:41.000 --> 00:03:44.000 I do write a lot of reports, a lot of desk work. 00:03:44.000 --> 00:03:47.000 And lately, I've been writing a lot of search warrants. 00:03:48.000 --> 00:03:56.000 As a detective my job is, I started as a police officer, but now 00:03:56.000 --> 00:03:59.000 My calls used to take approximately an hour to a half-hour. 00:03:59.000 --> 00:03:63.000 Now my cases can be worked for several months, up to a year. 00:04:03.000 --> 00:04:08.000 So it takes a lot of research and a lot of digging, rather. 00:04:08.000 --> 00:04:15.000 Okay, let me ask the same question. How about you, Kevin, typical day for you? 00:04:15.000 --> 00:04:20.000 It's very similar to Sabrina's. Every day is a little bit different. 00:04:20.000 --> 00:04:25.000 Essentially, I spend my days on finding people, places and things. 00:04:25.000 --> 00:04:27.000 And progressing all of our federal cases in Salem. 00:04:28.000 --> 00:04:32.000 We cover the five counties surrounding Marion County and, 00:04:32.000 --> 00:04:35.000 it's always a little bit different. It's always a little bit unpredictable. 00:04:35.000 --> 00:04:39.000 But they're always busy so, I do have that going for me. 00:04:40.000 --> 00:04:44.000 Thank you so much. So more folks are coming in. 00:04:44.000 --> 00:04:51.000 We're doing the panel session, alumni right now. Welcome. 00:04:51.000 --> 00:04:56.000 There's some empty seats over here, as well. 00:04:57.000 --> 00:04:65.000 Alright, how about you Hustin? Why did you choose to come to Western Oregon? 00:05:05.000 --> 00:05:10.000 I came to Western Oregon because they have a reputation for being one of the 00:05:10.000 --> 00:05:13.000 best schools in Oregon for law enforcement. 00:05:13.000 --> 00:05:17.000 I have always been interested in forensics and I knew that from the time I was in 00:05:17.000 --> 00:05:22.000 high school. And so I decided to come here to further my degree in 00:05:22.000 --> 00:05:24.000 forensic anthropology and criminal justice. 00:05:24.000 --> 00:05:27.000 Perfect. Thank you very much. What about you, Jerielle? 00:05:27.000 --> 00:05:32.000 I did not come to Western for criminal justice. I came to Western for their 00:05:32.000 --> 00:05:37.000 biology and anthropology program. I knew that I wanted to study bones, 00:05:37.000 --> 00:05:41.000 but the forensic anthropology minor didn't exist when I was a student. 00:05:41.000 --> 00:05:47.000 So I kinda of winged it and figured out what I wanted to do. 00:05:47.000 --> 00:05:50.000 I knew that Western was the school that I wanted to go to. 00:05:50.000 --> 00:05:54.000 And then they started the forensic anthropology minor in my senior year. 00:05:54.000 --> 00:05:58.000 So I did my minor in an entire year which I would not recommend to any of you. 00:05:58.000 --> 00:05:60.000 It was very stressful. I don't think I slept at all. 00:06:05.000 --> 00:06:11.000 Mayra, what motivated you to chose criminal justice, in particular? 00:06:11.000 --> 00:06:17.000 I was very interested in criminal justice in high school. I was 00:06:17.000 --> 00:06:23.000 getting myself involved in, in my high school they had like specific criminal justice classes, 00:06:23.000 --> 00:06:28.000 and I just started randomly taking them. And as I started to learn more about it, 00:06:28.000 --> 00:06:32.000 I just really wanted to keep going with it. Then I chose Western, 00:06:32.000 --> 00:06:35.000 started getting myself in more classes and learning about different positions, 00:06:35.000 --> 00:06:41.000 and I was just really into it. I knew I didn't want a regular or all-day office job. 00:06:41.000 --> 00:06:48.000 And so learning about the parole & probation position, allowed me to be out in the field, 00:06:48.000 --> 00:06:55.000 still have office, some court. So it just allowed more moisture and I really liked it. 00:06:55.000 --> 00:06:58.000 Thank you Mayra. Good deed. 00:06:58.000 --> 00:06:62.000 Okay. So let me ask this question to all of the panelists here. 00:07:02.000 --> 00:07:07.000 In what ways do you think your degree from Western Oregon prepared you, 00:07:07.000 --> 00:07:13.000 or gave you an advantage in your profession? Sabina, would you like to go first? 00:07:13.000 --> 00:07:19.000 I would definitely stress writing has been essential to my career in law enforcement. 00:07:19.000 --> 00:07:24.000 As daunting as all of the writing courses are, in high school and college. 00:07:24.000 --> 00:07:27.000 they are insanely important in this career field. 00:07:28.000 --> 00:07:33.000 Every police report that I write is, there's a paper trail of 00:07:33.000 --> 00:07:36.000 of how I am and how I do my investigation. 00:07:36.000 --> 00:07:42.000 Each report I write is seen by DHS, attorneys, FBI, other agencies. 00:07:42.000 --> 00:07:47.000 And, nothing is more embarrassing than going to court and having a defense attorney 00:07:47.000 --> 00:07:52.000 attack your grammar, your spelling, how you form a paragraph. etc. 00:07:52.000 --> 00:07:58.000 So I would say for me, working in law enforcement I'd say more and more 00:07:58.000 --> 00:07:62.000 they are requiring you to have a minimum of a 4-year, sometimes 2-year degree, 00:08:02.000 --> 00:08:07.000 depending on the position. But a lot of the time, a 4-year degree or better. 00:08:07.000 --> 00:08:13.000 So I think that along with connections that this university has. 00:08:13.000 --> 00:08:17.000 I did my internship with the crime lab with the Salem Police Department. 00:08:17.000 --> 00:08:21.000 And I think without that internship, it would have been a lot harder for me to 00:08:21.000 --> 00:08:26.000 initially make connections in law enforcement that I wanted to connect with, 00:08:26.000 --> 00:08:29.000 to get the position ultimately that I have today. 00:08:29.000 --> 00:08:33.000 For me I would stress as well the writing. 00:08:33.000 --> 00:08:35.000 Everything we do involves some sort of writing. 00:08:35.000 --> 00:08:38.000 We have to note down exactly why we're doing something. 00:08:38.000 --> 00:08:41.000 Another thing, the internship. The internship 00:08:41.000 --> 00:08:47.000 really helped me make those first connection to really get going with 00:08:47.000 --> 00:08:51.000 finding a job, getting to know people. 00:08:52.000 --> 00:08:54.000 So I would really stress the writing and the internship. 00:08:54.000 --> 00:08:60.000 The internship basically was what helped me along the whole way. 00:09:00.000 --> 00:09:04.000 Yeah, I absolutely agree with everything that they all said. 00:09:04.000 --> 00:09:09.000 I do think for me personally one of the biggest benefits was 00:09:09.000 --> 00:09:14.000 having access to faculty that supported me through our internship process. 00:09:14.000 --> 00:09:21.000 I think without the internship, I would not have got into the FBI because that's how I got in. 00:09:21.000 --> 00:09:26.000 But having faculty that were there encouraging me to do something as 00:09:26.000 --> 00:09:30.000 ridiculous like even apply for the FBI because I didn't know anything about it. 00:09:30.000 --> 00:09:35.000 I didn't know anybody in the FBI. But having the faculty there to guide me through, 00:09:35.000 --> 00:09:38.000 to say yes, you should do this. Yes, you should apply and then 00:09:38.000 --> 00:09:43.000 just walking me step-by-step through that process was absolutely an advantage. 00:09:44.000 --> 00:09:48.000 I'm going to second that and go with the faculty support was amazing. 00:09:48.000 --> 00:09:52.000 Misty Weitzel is the head of the forensic anthropology classes. 00:09:52.000 --> 00:09:57.000 She's not here today. But she was the guiding, the force behind all of my success. 00:09:57.000 --> 00:09:61.000 She pushed me to complete the forensic anthropology minor. 00:10:01.000 --> 00:10:04.000 She made allowances for the fact that I was doing it in a year. 00:10:04.000 --> 00:10:08.000 She encouraged me and helped me find grad programs. 00:10:08.000 --> 00:10:14.000 She found me my position teaching here. Like the faculty, they're not just 00:10:14.000 --> 00:10:19.000 teach you and done kind of people. They will if you reach out to them, 00:10:19.000 --> 00:10:23.000 they will keep up with you and encourage you through the rest of your career. 00:10:23.000 --> 00:10:26.000 And I really appreciated that. That and the lab. We have a hands-on lab. 00:10:26.000 --> 00:10:31.000 And that was a huge part of how I got to where I am today. 00:10:31.000 --> 00:10:36.000 Excellent. Thank you all so much. Not to discriminate you, Jerielle, 00:10:36.000 --> 00:10:42.000 cuz you work for us. So I know some of you folks here, students, 00:10:42.000 --> 00:10:46.000 are still thinking about whether you should go to college or not, correct? 00:10:46.000 --> 00:10:52.000 So with that being said I'd like to turn and question going backward starting from Kevin 00:10:52.000 --> 00:10:56.000 Is there a disadvantage of others in your profession 00:10:56.000 --> 00:10:61.000 who do not have college degree, in your experience? 00:11:01.000 --> 00:11:05.000 Yeah, I would say that it is a significant disadvantage. 00:11:05.000 --> 00:11:09.000 I was in a very similar situation as a lot of you. 00:11:09.000 --> 00:11:14.000 I did not know if I really wanted to go to college. I just thought it would be fun. 00:11:14.000 --> 00:11:19.000 And I was mainly looking at the fun angle. But looking back now I'm so glad that I did. 00:11:19.000 --> 00:11:23.000 So much so that after I finished here, I went to work for the FBI. 00:11:23.000 --> 00:11:28.000 And then I even went back for a master's degree and worked another 2.5 years for that. 00:11:28.000 --> 00:11:33.000 And because I still find so much value in learning more things. 00:11:33.000 --> 00:11:37.000 It is nice to have that extra degree. But I think more so than that, 00:11:37.000 --> 00:11:42.000 it's nice to know more things because that is actually added value in 00:11:42.000 --> 00:11:47.000 every single aspect of my life. So I would say that it's a significant disadvantage if 00:11:48.000 --> 00:11:52.000 you do not at least attempt to pursue higher education. Yeah. 00:11:52.000 --> 00:11:56.000 In my experience working with parole and probation, 00:11:56.000 --> 00:11:62.000 I do see a disadvantage, specifically in the amount of, years of experience 00:12:02.000 --> 00:12:08.000 in order to move up into different positions or do something within your same position, 00:12:08.000 --> 00:12:16.000 you are required to qualify or apply for certifications. 00:12:16.000 --> 00:12:23.000 And if you don't have like a specific number of years of experience, it will take a lot longer. 00:12:23.000 --> 00:12:27.000 Having that college degree has really helped me just, that college degree 00:12:28.000 --> 00:12:32.000 Kinda replaces the years of experience allowing you to open up more opportunities 00:12:32.000 --> 00:12:36.000 to start doing more of other things you might want to do within the career. 00:12:37.000 --> 00:12:40.000 For example, I supervise the domestic violence caseload. 00:12:40.000 --> 00:12:46.000 And I'm working on to becoming a defense tactics instructor. 00:12:46.000 --> 00:12:51.000 And so that kind of just helps speed up. The college just kind of replace that 00:12:51.000 --> 00:12:55.000 that number of years of experience otherwise required. 00:12:55.000 --> 00:12:61.000 So, definitely I encourage it for, for the college degree. 00:13:01.000 --> 00:13:06.000 I would also mimic what the others have said that there is, I feel a 00:13:06.000 --> 00:13:11.000 big disadvantage if you're not able to pursue further education in forensics. 00:13:11.000 --> 00:13:21.000 You cannot get a job. Our lab is accredited through ANAB as a 19020 forensic 00:13:21.000 --> 00:13:28.000 examination laboratory. And you can't get a job in a forensic laboratory without a degree. 00:13:28.000 --> 00:13:34.000 And without heavy, heavy background in the sciences so I would encourage that. 00:13:34.000 --> 00:13:39.000 And also, you know, a lot of positions you have to at least, if you have to a least be 00:13:39.000 --> 00:13:43.000 certified as a law enforcement officer or something like that you have to be at least 21. 00:13:43.000 --> 00:13:48.000 So getting internships or volunteer positions just to check out what kind of 00:13:48.000 --> 00:13:51.000 different positions are around in the different fields and it doesn't have to be law 00:13:51.000 --> 00:13:55.000 enforcement but whatever your interest is, shadow those jobs. 00:13:55.000 --> 00:13:60.000 Go out and see. Look up those jobs online and find out what those requirements are. 00:14:00.000 --> 00:14:04.000 So you can build your resume based off of the job that you want. 00:14:04.000 --> 00:14:08.000 And make sure that you're above and beyond qualified for it. 00:14:08.000 --> 00:14:12.000 Education is a big piece of that. 00:14:12.000 --> 00:14:15.000 Okay, I'm going to echo kind of what Kevin said. 00:14:16.000 --> 00:14:19.000 When I was in high school, I skipped all the time, I never went to school. 00:14:19.000 --> 00:14:25.000 I had no goals of actually going to college so I graduated early and 00:14:25.000 --> 00:14:31.000 through myself into the workforce. And quickly realized that I wasn't going anywhere. 00:14:31.000 --> 00:14:36.000 So I started college little bit later. I worked for a couple of years 00:14:36.000 --> 00:14:40.000 and then enrolled in community college. And then I transferred up here. 00:14:40.000 --> 00:14:45.000 I'm from Eugene. And the benefits of college as mentioned earlier, 00:14:45.000 --> 00:14:48.000 I would say Western's practicum program is amazing. 00:14:48.000 --> 00:14:52.000 They threw me into a department so I could go on ride-alongs. 00:14:52.000 --> 00:14:59.000 I could work with detectives. I could go out to autopsies and see actually what is was like. 00:15:00.000 --> 00:15:04.000 College is also beneficial, not to keep harping on this writing thing. 00:15:04.000 --> 00:15:09.000 But that was big for me. And also you get paid more if you have a college degree. 00:15:09.000 --> 00:15:12.000 At least my department does, I'm sure all these other agencies do, too. 00:15:12.000 --> 00:15:14.000 So there's huge bonus there as well. 00:15:14.000 --> 00:15:17.000 You also make yourself more marketable for promotions. 00:15:17.000 --> 00:15:23.000 Certain agencies require degrees to promote and move up in your career field. 00:15:24.000 --> 00:15:32.000 So there's absolutely no, no, nothing bad about college. I support it completely. 00:15:32.000 --> 00:15:35.000 And I had another piece, a lot of agencies and departments also have incentive 00:15:35.000 --> 00:15:39.000 programs to help you earn college degrees or pay back pieces 00:15:40.000 --> 00:15:44.000 of student loans and things like that. And also, there's federal programs for 00:15:44.000 --> 00:15:47.000 student loans if you work for government agencies. 00:15:47.000 --> 00:15:52.000 For those of you that are just getting here, this is our alumni panel. 00:15:52.000 --> 00:15:55.000 These are individuals who came through our program. 00:15:55.000 --> 00:15:59.000 They sat in your same spot, maybe not the exact spot or the same chair, 00:15:59.000 --> 00:15:63.000 But they went to this event. They were students. Eventually, they went on to have 00:16:03.000 --> 00:16:08.000 an amazing career in their field. And we have them here so that you can hear 00:16:08.000 --> 00:16:11.000 what it's like to be in those professions. 00:16:11.000 --> 00:16:13.000 We're going to leave some time for questions a little bit later. 00:16:13.000 --> 00:16:16.000 But for now, Mari's going to resume the panel. 00:16:16.000 --> 00:16:21.000 We're super happy to see that this is a room that is full. 00:16:21.000 --> 00:16:25.000 And you're all interested in our program. Thank you for being here. Mari... 00:16:25.000 --> 00:16:30.000 Thank you. So next question what advice would you give to students 00:16:30.000 --> 00:16:37.000 who are interested in pursuing your career path? Sabrina? 00:16:37.000 --> 00:16:42.000 I would recommend, my specific career path as a police officer 00:16:42.000 --> 00:16:46.000 I always recommend people do lots of ride-alongs, 00:16:46.000 --> 00:16:51.000 not just with my department. I always recommend ride with city, county, and state 00:16:51.000 --> 00:16:56.000 agencies. When I interned here or did my practicum here, I was placed with Oregon 00:16:56.000 --> 00:16:61.000 State Police. While I thoroughly enjoyed it, I realized that was not the right fit for me. 00:17:01.000 --> 00:17:04.000 I then worked for Marion County Parole and Probation. 00:17:04.000 --> 00:17:08.000 Also determined county wasn't the right fit for me specifically. 00:17:08.000 --> 00:17:12.000 And that's how I ended up with a city agency. In addition to those ride-alongs, 00:17:12.000 --> 00:17:16.000 I always recommend that people ride with different 00:17:20.000 --> 00:17:24.000 is obviously going to be different than an officer that just went solo, right? 00:17:24.000 --> 00:17:28.000 And I also recommend a different shifts. So a day shift on a Tuesday, might be 00:17:28.000 --> 00:17:33.000 a little more boring than a Friday night graveyard shift, right, in a busy part of town. 00:17:33.000 --> 00:17:39.000 Mari actually, Professor Sakiyama, rode with me several years ago on a ride-along. 00:17:39.000 --> 00:17:43.000 So we had a great time so, she got to see what I did for work every day. 00:17:43.000 --> 00:17:46.000 Thank you so much Sabrina. That was really fun. 00:17:46.000 --> 00:17:49.000 Sabrina was an excellent police officer to ride with. 00:17:49.000 --> 00:17:52.000 Who has done a ride-along before? Do you even know what that is? 00:17:52.000 --> 00:17:57.000 Okay, could you explain to the what ride-alongs are? Yeah. 00:17:57.000 --> 00:17:61.000 So you do have to be 18. But you can apply for a ride-along. 00:18:01.000 --> 00:18:08.000 It's just a very short application and you get to select a date and time. 00:18:08.000 --> 00:18:11.000 And if you have an officer in mind you'd like to ride with, 00:18:11.000 --> 00:18:15.000 you can ride in the police car with them and see what they do every day. 00:18:15.000 --> 00:18:19.000 So obviously if you watch YouTube videos or Cops or some kind of show on TV, 00:18:19.000 --> 00:18:22.000 uou might have an idea of what it's like. But once you actually 00:18:22.000 --> 00:18:26.000 set foot in that car and ride with us and come out on make calls with us, 00:18:26.000 --> 00:18:31.000 you truly don't have an idea of what it's actually like to do our kind of job. 00:18:31.000 --> 00:18:34.000 Excellent. What about you? So the question was what would you advise 00:18:35.000 --> 00:18:39.000 students who are interested in pursuing your career path? Hustin, what would you say, 00:18:39.000 --> 00:18:45.000 based on your experience? I would say one of the things that was very helpful 00:18:45.000 --> 00:18:51.000 that a professor once told me was to make sure that you're conducting your personal life 00:18:51.000 --> 00:18:55.000 right now as your building and getting ready for a career, conduct your 00:18:55.000 --> 00:18:58.000 personal life in a matter that somebody would want to hire you. 00:18:58.000 --> 00:18:63.000 So if for example, I'll gear it towards law enforcement since that's where I work, 00:19:03.000 --> 00:19:07.000 if you want to work in law enforcement probably posting photos of underage drinking 00:19:07.000 --> 00:19:12.000 and things of that nature all over your social media is not 00:19:12.000 --> 00:19:15.000 Going to look good during background investigation. And so, 00:19:16.000 --> 00:19:19.000 make sure that your values align with what you want to do. 00:19:19.000 --> 00:19:23.000 So I think that would probably be my biggest piece of advice. 00:19:23.000 --> 00:19:25.000 Thank you. What about you Mayra? 00:19:25.000 --> 00:19:30.000 So with parole and probation I think that one of the best things you can do 00:19:30.000 --> 00:19:35.000 if you have any questions, reach out to your advisor. 00:19:35.000 --> 00:19:40.000 If you're wanting to find an internship, they're very resourceful and can probably 00:19:40.000 --> 00:19:44.000 connect you with a good county for you to do an internship. 00:19:44.000 --> 00:19:48.000 You're also able to reach out to those counties, just on your own. 00:19:48.000 --> 00:19:54.000 Send an email, give a call and we are always open to have interns in the office. 00:19:54.000 --> 00:19:58.000 Just so you can kind of check out a couple days and try to get a feel for it. 00:19:58.000 --> 00:19:64.000 Our days are pretty different depending on who you're interning with. 00:20:04.000 --> 00:20:08.000 So it can be very interesting. But that way you get more of an experience 00:20:08.000 --> 00:20:10.000 before you say this is what I want to go for. 00:20:10.000 --> 00:20:15.000 But stay open minded and reach out. Ask for help. Ask questions. 00:20:15.000 --> 00:20:21.000 And just try it out. That's the best way for you to find out. 00:20:21.000 --> 00:20:26.000 So here's the deal with the FBI. I'll give it to you straight. 00:20:26.000 --> 00:20:30.000 I knew absolutely nobody in the FBI before I started. 00:20:31.000 --> 00:20:35.000 I only knew what I had seen on TV and the movies which is what all of you 00:20:35.000 --> 00:20:39.000 are probably seeing. I did not know. I did not know anything about it. 00:20:39.000 --> 00:20:44.000 I was thinking that before I applied for my internship that 00:20:44.000 --> 00:20:47.000 you know, once I hit that submit button that the FBI was 00:20:48.000 --> 00:20:51.000 going to be like listening to me. They were going to be following me. I was, 00:20:51.000 --> 00:20:57.000 I just didn't know. But I think as far as advise for people that are interested in the FBI, 00:20:58.000 --> 00:20:62.000 or any other agency is just bold enough to just apply. 00:21:02.000 --> 00:21:06.000 I knew nobody. I did not have any special skills set. 00:21:06.000 --> 00:21:11.000 I was, I worked really hard and I was just crazy enough to apply. 00:21:11.000 --> 00:21:16.000 And I applied and I was very surprised when I got an email back from the FBI. 00:21:16.000 --> 00:21:19.000 I immediately thought it was spam. So I thought about maybe not responding to it. 00:21:20.000 --> 00:21:24.000 But I did. And it worked out. And I started the process. 00:21:24.000 --> 00:21:26.000 I did the background. I did the polygraph, all that stuff. 00:21:26.000 --> 00:21:32.000 And I've been there now for 12 years and it's been awesome. It's been a lot of fun. 00:21:32.000 --> 00:21:37.000 And it's not what I expected, at all. But I say that in a very good way. 00:21:37.000 --> 00:21:41.000 But just regardless, if it's the FBI or state police or anywhere else, 00:21:41.000 --> 00:21:44.000 just be crazy enough to even submit an application. 00:21:44.000 --> 00:21:50.000 Because a lot of people, they will immediately think well, I'm not that kind of person. 00:21:50.000 --> 00:21:56.000 I'm not that good. But you are. And just be crazy enough to even try. 00:21:56.000 --> 00:21:59.000 That's essentially the point. 00:21:59.000 --> 00:21:63.000 I did not start out wanting to teach. 00:22:03.000 --> 00:22:08.000 When I was your age and when I was in college, I was very adamant, 00:22:08.000 --> 00:22:12.000 I am never, ever going to teach. I hate talking in front of people. 00:22:12.000 --> 00:22:17.000 It's the worst thing ever. So if you were pursing my career path, 00:22:17.000 --> 00:22:22.000 I have no idea what to say to you. I didn't want to pursue my career path. 00:22:22.000 --> 00:22:28.000 Until I went to grad school and realized that actually teaching is a lot of fun. 00:22:28.000 --> 00:22:31.000 You don't have to be the smartest person in the room, 00:22:31.000 --> 00:22:34.000 you just have to know more than your students. And I can do that. 00:22:34.000 --> 00:22:38.000 Like that is the bare minimum, I can meet that requirement. 00:22:38.000 --> 00:22:43.000 So if you want to do forensic anthropology, I can speak to that. 00:22:43.000 --> 00:22:48.000 Take advantage of our lab. Take advantage of the people that know more than you. 00:22:48.000 --> 00:22:52.000 And read everything you can get your hands on. 00:22:52.000 --> 00:22:55.000 So the point of college is that you are here to learn. 00:22:55.000 --> 00:22:59.000 Take advantage of your time here and really learn. 00:22:59.000 --> 00:22:63.000 Don't just put in the time for the credit, put in the time for your future. 00:23:04.000 --> 00:23:07.000 Excellent. Thank you all. 00:23:07.000 --> 00:23:13.000 I would to soon turn a table to you and let you ask questions to a great panelist. 00:23:13.000 --> 00:23:16.000 Before I do that briefly, starting from Jerielle, 00:23:16.000 --> 00:23:18.000 the last question I would like to ask all of you is, 00:23:18.000 --> 00:23:23.000 what do you find the most exciting or fulfilling about your job? 00:23:23.000 --> 00:23:26.000 Okay. I said it before, I'll say it again. I love my late. 00:23:26.000 --> 00:23:32.000 I love that we have the opportunity to go to the lab and experience 00:23:32.000 --> 00:23:36.000 and learn from human remains and human bones, hands on. 00:23:36.000 --> 00:23:41.000 But the favorite part about my class is actually my students. 00:23:41.000 --> 00:23:44.000 And not that you guys are all amazing people all the time. 00:23:44.000 --> 00:23:47.000 Because let's be real, I'm not an amazing person all the time. 00:23:47.000 --> 00:23:51.000 Although, I am pretty amazing. It's actually that light bulb moment when 00:23:52.000 --> 00:23:56.000 we're like having a conversation and my students are struggling with something 00:23:56.000 --> 00:23:59.000 and then we manage to figure it out just enough to click it into place. 00:23:59.000 --> 00:23:61.000 and they're like, oh my goodness, this makes so much sense! 00:24:01.000 --> 00:24:05.000 I love that moment. I live for that moment. 00:24:05.000 --> 00:24:09.000 Which is why one-on-one conversations with students are way more fun 00:24:09.000 --> 00:24:13.000 for me than conversations with the class. Because I get 00:24:13.000 --> 00:24:18.000 to have that moment and see that light in your eyes much more clearly. 00:24:18.000 --> 00:24:24.000 I would say the most exciting or rewarding thing about my job is 00:24:24.000 --> 00:24:27.000 finding people that don't expect to be found. 00:24:27.000 --> 00:24:34.000 And I really enjoy that. I like complex puzzles. 00:24:34.000 --> 00:24:38.000 I like every single day, the puzzle is different. 00:24:38.000 --> 00:24:43.000 The offense might be the same but every situation, every single case is different. 00:24:43.000 --> 00:24:48.000 And I really enjoy and have noticed there's a direct correlation between 00:24:48.000 --> 00:24:53.000 the more effort I put into trying to find something, the more rewarding it is 00:24:53.000 --> 00:24:57.000 once we do find that thing that we're looking for. And I really enjoy that. 00:24:57.000 --> 00:24:63.000 And I think that that's whats kept me motivated. And keep me eager to go to work. 00:25:04.000 --> 00:25:08.000 For me one of the best parts is when I'm working with one of my clients directly, 00:25:08.000 --> 00:25:14.000 we're working together over years. And so we really get to know our clients 00:25:14.000 --> 00:25:18.000 Know their struggles, what they're going thru, what they're trying to achieve. 00:25:18.000 --> 00:25:23.000 And so we've worked together and try to help them get back on their feet. 00:25:23.000 --> 00:25:27.000 Try to get things going better for them so that way they don't come back to our office. 00:25:27.000 --> 00:25:32.000 And so the best part is when we're able to see the big turn around in people's lives. 00:25:32.000 --> 00:25:37.000 And they're finally off supervision and I get those occasional 00:25:37.000 --> 00:25:40.000 monthly emails from some on my people who are no longer on supervision. 00:25:40.000 --> 00:25:45.000 Just updating me about how well things are going with them, them finding their jobs, 00:25:45.000 --> 00:25:49.000 buying a car, like the milestones for them. 00:25:49.000 --> 00:25:52.000 It's just really nice to see that big turn around in their lives. 00:25:52.000 --> 00:25:55.000 And see how much people's lives change. 00:25:55.000 --> 00:25:59.000 Man I'm in nerd heaven at my job so, 00:25:59.000 --> 00:25:62.000 breaking it down to a single favorite thing is difficult. 00:26:02.000 --> 00:26:07.000 I'd say one of them is I'm a lifelong learner type. 00:26:07.000 --> 00:26:11.000 And you always have to keep your skills fresh, you know, 00:26:11.000 --> 00:26:17.000 with the world of crime evolving, it is necessary to continue to learn 00:26:17.000 --> 00:26:23.000 modern technology and applications in your field. And I love being able to do that. 00:26:23.000 --> 00:26:27.000 I just go back in January from Texas State University. 00:26:27.000 --> 00:26:33.000 Work sent me there to go to the body farm to do a week and a half long 00:26:33.000 --> 00:26:40.000 couple of courses on recovery ofhumans remains. And that was like the dream for me. 00:26:40.000 --> 00:26:43.000 It was a lot of fun. I've always wanted to go there. 00:26:44.000 --> 00:26:49.000 So that is one of my favorite things. I also really like getting called out to major 00:26:49.000 --> 00:26:52.000 cases in the middle of the night. And getting to help with those or 00:26:52.000 --> 00:26:56.000 observe an analyst and help them do their job, 00:26:56.000 --> 00:26:61.000 whatever I can do to be involved and support my awesome co-workers. 00:27:01.000 --> 00:27:04.000 I'm actually very excited to answer this question. 00:27:04.000 --> 00:27:10.000 For those of you that came in late, I mentioned earlier that I investigate crimes 00:27:10.000 --> 00:27:13.000 crimes against children and crimes of sexual nature. 00:27:13.000 --> 00:27:19.000 So I have the very darkest cases, the most horrific things that happen to little kids. 00:27:19.000 --> 00:27:24.000 So I would say the most rewarding part of my job is making a different in a child's life 00:27:24.000 --> 00:27:30.000 Kinda of like Mayra watching kids progress throughout school and see that they have 00:27:30.000 --> 00:27:35.000 made improvements or their doing well or having a kid like, sometimes 00:27:35.000 --> 00:27:39.000 they write me letters and say thank you for keeping me safe or protecting me. 00:27:40.000 --> 00:27:43.000 I know. Thank you very much all. 00:27:43.000 --> 00:27:48.000 Okay, like I said I would like to turn this table around and let you the question. 00:27:48.000 --> 00:27:52.000 But just a friendly reminder and thank you very much Sabrina for repeating yourself. 00:27:52.000 --> 00:27:58.000 what you do after them. So I just want to give you a reminder that Jerielle here 00:27:58.000 --> 00:27:65.000 she's our adjunct professor. She teaches for us, anthropology, forensic anthropology class. 00:28:05.000 --> 00:28:12.000 And Kevin works for the FBI as a tactical analyst. And Mayra, 00:28:12.000 --> 00:28:19.000 she's a parole & probation officer for Polk works County Community Corrections. 00:28:19.000 --> 00:28:23.000 And we have Hustin who works for Washington County Sheriff's Office 00:28:23.000 --> 00:28:29.000 as a forensics technician. Then we have Sabrina, Salem Police department detective. 00:28:29.000 --> 00:28:34.000 Alright does anybody have questions to all of the panelists or 00:28:34.000 --> 00:28:38.000 or any particular one> I guess I see a hand in the back. 00:28:38.000 --> 00:28:43.000 So I just have question for any of you that have a family, 00:28:43.000 --> 00:28:49.000 how would you say that your workload with your family, with your children works out? 00:28:49.000 --> 00:28:58.000 And how do you make that kind of work, having the job and family time as well? 00:28:58.000 --> 00:28:65.000 I'll start. I actually was pregnant with my child when I was here at Western, my senior year. 00:29:05.000 --> 00:29:11.000 So, I think it worked really well. My husband is a police officer as well. 00:29:11.000 --> 00:29:16.000 My ex-husband is also a police office. So my daughter know nothing other than 00:29:16.000 --> 00:29:23.000 a law enforcement family. She became very used to doing Christmas on maybe Dec 23, 00:29:23.000 --> 00:29:29.000 or we would always still find ways to celebrate and do things, maybe just some adjustments. 00:29:29.000 --> 00:29:33.000 My schedule now is very nice and kind of cushy. 00:29:33.000 --> 00:29:38.000 I work dayshift and weekends off and such. But my job is very accommodating for 00:29:38.000 --> 00:29:43.000 you know, if you need to take kids to doctor's appointment or be there for 00:29:43.000 --> 00:29:49.000 teacher conferences or whatnot. I've even had kids, my kids come to work with me, 00:29:49.000 --> 00:29:57.000 not in my job now. But I always found it easy to do. We make it work. 00:29:57.000 --> 00:29:61.000 I would like to know Mark's point of view, if you have kids? 00:30:01.000 --> 00:30:06.000 Just because my career goal is to become a homicide detective or something in that 00:30:06.000 --> 00:30:12.000 pursuit. So I know it's kind of a heavy workload, especially on families. 00:30:12.000 --> 00:30:17.000 So I'm assuming I'm Mark? It's Kevin but I'll forgive you. 00:30:17.000 --> 00:30:20.000 You can call me Mark, too. It's cool. It's totally good. 00:30:20.000 --> 00:30:26.000 So yeah, I actually have three daughters. So I have a 5-year-old, 7-year-old, 9-year-old. 00:30:26.000 --> 00:30:31.000 And I've actually found that the balance has actually been better, 00:30:32.000 --> 00:30:39.000 significantly better than I had expected. It's a nice balance because at work it's 00:30:39.000 --> 00:30:44.000 typically very bad things. It's always the worst people, doing the worst things, 00:30:44.000 --> 00:30:49.000 in the worst ways. But it's nice because, you know, it's kind of the yinyang, right? 00:30:49.000 --> 00:30:54.000 You have all this negative stuff and when I get home it's all great. 00:30:54.000 --> 00:30:58.000 These kids don't know what I do doing the day. They know where I work. 00:30:58.000 --> 00:30:62.000 But they don't know anything more than that which I really enjoy. 00:31:02.000 --> 00:31:07.000 And it's all positive whenever I'm home which is, I think if it were the opposite, 00:31:08.000 --> 00:31:12.000 maybe if I didn't have kids and I still had this job, it would be significantly worse on me. 00:31:12.000 --> 00:31:14.000 But I find it to be a pretty good balance. 00:31:14.000 --> 00:31:19.000 I appreciate that. Yeah, I'm a Mom of six and I've got one next to me. 00:31:19.000 --> 00:31:23.000 Her ideas maybe criminal justice. 00:31:23.000 --> 00:31:27.000 It's very possible. If you ever need anything just email Mark and I'll get back to you. 00:31:31.000 --> 00:31:34.000 I'm just wanting to ask any of you guys, when you are troubled, 00:31:34.000 --> 00:31:39.000 what helps you push through? What motivates you? 00:31:40.000 --> 00:31:46.000 My dog. My dog is very good at figuring out when I'm stressed, 00:31:46.000 --> 00:31:50.000 usually when it comes to grading. And providing all of the appropriate amounts 00:31:50.000 --> 00:31:55.000 of snuggles. So I stay home and grade because we're hybrid 00:31:55.000 --> 00:31:60.000 a lot of the time and so that works out pretty well for me. 00:32:00.000 --> 00:32:06.000 I would second the dog. I have a Great Dane so I need big snuggles. 00:32:06.000 --> 00:32:10.000 That and just getting out in nature. I find that that really helps calm me down. 00:32:10.000 --> 00:32:15.000 So going to the beach or going on a hike with my husband and our dog. 00:32:15.000 --> 00:32:19.000 Those things are really helpful. And also having a support system in your life 00:32:19.000 --> 00:32:24.000 outside of the realm of your work. Don't make all of your friends cops, if you're a cop. 00:32:24.000 --> 00:32:28.000 Don't make all of your friends FBI agents, if you're an FBI agent. 00:32:28.000 --> 00:32:31.000 You know, have people outside of that because it an get 00:32:32.000 --> 00:32:40.000 easy at times to get burnt out and have not necessarily the most positive outlook on 00:32:40.000 --> 00:32:44.000 the world and society. So it's helpful to have those other people that 00:32:44.000 --> 00:32:49.000 help bring that back into reference. Excellent point. Thank you, Hustin. 00:32:49.000 --> 00:32:57.000 I hope you have a dog, too, Mayra. I don't but... suppprt systems like she mentioned. 00:32:57.000 --> 00:32:64.000 Keeping your work life and your personal life separate, the separate side of friends is big. 00:33:04.000 --> 00:33:10.000 Don't make your co-workers like your main source of support. 00:33:10.000 --> 00:33:13.000 It's really great to like vent because they understand what's going on. 00:33:13.000 --> 00:33:18.000 And so that's also really nice, having the people who know what's going on 00:33:18.000 --> 00:33:23.000 give you some advice or help you if needed. But also having that kind of like getaway 00:33:23.000 --> 00:33:30.000 for you personal life, so that not everything revolving in you life with the issues at work, 00:33:30.000 --> 00:33:33.000 or the cases you're handling or the things you're seeing. 00:33:33.000 --> 00:33:36.000 It's nice break and that's very important. 00:33:36.000 --> 00:33:41.000 This might be a big question but what the different similarities between 00:33:41.000 --> 00:33:45.000 state, federal and like county law enforcement? 00:33:45.000 --> 00:33:49.000 I would say where your funding comes from. 00:33:49.000 --> 00:33:53.000 So, you know, federal is going to be the overarching agency. 00:33:53.000 --> 00:33:57.000 They have, like, the rules all the way up at the top. 00:33:57.000 --> 00:33:63.000 The lower agencies, then you go to state, county and then city. 00:34:03.000 --> 00:34:07.000 So you have to meet those minimum requirements and you can exceed them. 00:34:07.000 --> 00:34:12.000 But you at least have to meet minimum requirements of your state and federal laws. 00:34:12.000 --> 00:34:16.000 And then funding, for your position specifically. 00:34:16.000 --> 00:34:20.000 My internship was with city police at their crime laboratory. 00:34:20.000 --> 00:34:26.000 And that was really nice. I know from like the cop angle of that, 00:34:26.000 --> 00:34:30.000 you know, you're respond time and having backup are a lot easier because 00:34:30.000 --> 00:34:37.000 everybody's closer by. When you go to a bigger agency, like county or further up, 00:34:37.000 --> 00:34:42.000 it might take might take a longer amount of time for your backup to get to you 00:34:42.000 --> 00:34:47.000 if you need help in a situation because your district and service area is a lot larger. 00:34:48.000 --> 00:34:52.000 Ok, to wrap this up, really the one thing that I 00:34:52.000 --> 00:34:56.000 want you all to get out of this panel and kind of the reason why we put it together, 00:34:56.000 --> 00:34:61.000 is a very simple thing. This are individuals who were sitting in your spot one day. 00:35:01.000 --> 00:35:08.000 And if you were to ask them or myself, as actually was in a panel a couple of years ago, 00:35:08.000 --> 00:35:14.000 we never thought that we were going to get here, to where we are today. 00:35:14.000 --> 00:35:19.000 And what I want to say to you is, give yourself the opportunity to come here, 00:35:19.000 --> 00:35:23.000 to experience this university, this program, this faculty. 00:35:23.000 --> 00:35:27.000 When I took my very first criminal justice course, I had no idea what I wanted to do. 00:35:27.000 --> 00:35:30.000 I'm a first-generation student and a first-generation immigrant. 00:35:30.000 --> 00:35:33.000 When I took that first class I was blown away. 00:35:33.000 --> 00:35:39.000 I mean, it completely changed the way I saw so many things and I decided to pursue 00:35:40.000 --> 00:35:43.000 A degree in criminal justice. And the rest is history. 00:35:43.000 --> 00:35:47.000 So, you know, I'll leave you with that. Give yourself the opportunity. 00:35:47.000 --> 00:35:51.000 Give us a chance. Give this program a chance and one day you can be sitting 00:35:52.000 --> 00:35:55.000 on that side of the table, instead of seated on this side. 00:35:55.000 --> 00:35:59.000 So with that, thank you all. Thank you to the panelists. Thank you. 00:35:59.000 --> 00:35:68.000 applause & music