So a few years ago one of the things
that we talked about is the idea of
creating a program for practitioners. You
look around the country and you'll see
that many PhD programs in criminology or
criminal justice are really for people
that have the time and the ability to go
through these programs full time so
essentially they abandon you know their
work they abandon sometimes their
families, we wanted something a little
different. We wanted to do something for
practitioners for those first responders
out in the community to learn something
and be able to advance their career to
the doctoral level while still
preserving their jobs and keeping their
families.
I came to Tarleton about four and a
half years ago almost five years ago
with Dr. Del Carmen to pursue the PhD
program. Upon interviewing, it was very
apparent to me that the administration
was not only as supportive, but they were
very encouraging of us going forward and
pursuing a PhD program that worked
specifically with criminal justice
professionals. It's not every day you
find an academic administration that is
willing to go out into the community to
work with professionals and kind of
break that mold of what traditional
academics typically is. It's been very
exciting to see the first students going
through the program now and to know that
they're taking back what knowledge we're
giving them and skills that we're giving
them back to their communities and
really giving back.
When I was a child I
really always knew that I wanted to be a
police officer and I really wanted to
live in the same community and police in
the same community life so I dedicated
my education around being a police
officer and one day even really being a
chief of police and really that's what
drew me here to Tarleton State University.
I was able to have a group that I could
lean on a support group, a fun atmosphere,
but also the opportunity to learn from
other people within the organization.
That right there just opened up a whole
new passion for learning for me and
that's really what drew me to the
doctoral programs I was offered here at
Tarleton State University as well.
I really
started with my background in a knack
for technology to begin with. I was
always very technically oriented and
then when I decided that law enforcement
really needed that level of expertise or
that level of training I decided to
focus my efforts in teaching law
enforcement what I knew already about
Internet, Internet crimes. So for me the
focus for doctoral students will always
be about getting them hands-on
experience in training seeing things as
they are, not from a textbook perspective,
but from a real-world perspective. It's
that hands-on practitioner knowledge
that they're going to need in order to
go back to their agencies and
departments to really make a difference.
I'm a crime analyst by training and it's
like a data scientist for criminal
justice system so when I heard that
Tarleton is going to have a PhD in
predictive policing I got very excited,
but I was also a little bit skeptical
because having a program with the
full-time law enforcement
students is challenging. When I came and
I saw the faculty and I saw the students
and how enthusiastic they are about the
program and how helpful they think the
program is going to be for the community
I got really excited and I said I'm in.
I knew I wanted to go back for my PhD, 
 but
the timing was just never right. I wanted
a program that would allow me to have
face-to-face contact with my instructors
that would allow me to continue to work
while I was in the program. When I found
out that there was an opportunity to
attend such a well-thought-of program
and be a part of history in the making I
felt like this was my time.
It's really
important for our students to have a
solid foundation in criminological
theory and so I spent a lot of time
helping our students make the connection
between theory and practice
and once that connection is made that
empowers our students to engage in
powerful research at the local, state,
national, and international levels.
Tarleton is a place of growth and
opportunity for students and faculty
alike. Tarleton offered me the
opportunity to engage in applied
criminal justice and criminological
research which is so important for our
students and for our communities that
our students eventually serve.
I believe that we're leaving our
students with a legacy that
practitioners and academics can come
together and actually work together to
make society a better place. The PhD
program at Tarleton State University is
one of a kind. I believe that this
program is going to be among the few
programs in the United States that are
going to create a paradigm for academia
in the 21st century. We see that these
individuals are going to graduate with
doctoral level education while at the
same time preserve their experiences
that they had. They're going to be
powerful components in the community to
be able to advance criminal justice to
the next step so for me that legacy is
something that is going to continue and
only get better as the years progress.
