[police sirens]
[♪]
(woman)
A lot of students decide they want to be
a criminal justice major
because they have watched 'CSI'.
(man)
In 'CSI', you know, they they take these crimes
and they solve them
very fast, very quickly.
That's not how it really truly is.
(woman)
It was an awakening
and it actually got me more excited about the field.
(man)
Thank God for the TV shows is what I can say
because that creates interest in this program.
[♪]
(man)
I decided to pursue this program because
I've always thought highly of police officers.
They all have the same goals
they wanna stop crime,
and they want to help people; rehabilitate people.
(woman)
Criminal justice has been a passion of mine 
for a while now.
I want to be a police officer
so I felt it was the best way to gain the most knowledge.
(man)
I had a friend when I was in high school,
we were very young, we were very close.
He decided that he wanted to get into drugs
and I didn't want that path for me.
(Jordan)
I wish there was something I could have done,
so I became interested in law enforcement.
I get the students engaged.
I am not one of those instructors that stands up
and reads from a 'PowerPoint'
although there are times when I need to!
(Chris)
A lot of critical thinking going on,
a lot a group discussions.
I also teach a class call forensics.
What I have done in those courses
is set up some actual crime scenes
here in the classroom
and we'll be doing some outside.
(woman)
Upper division classes, say individual rights,
we would debate once a week.
And so I give them topics
and they don't know what side they have to debate
(Jane)
but these are topics like the death penalty
or should judges be elected or appointed
or whatever is a hot topic right now.
[♪]
(Tyler)
In this career field
it's really important to be able to
communicate with people
and get to know people and like your peers.
(Jordan)
You have all these other people that are behind you 
that are wishing you the best
and pushing for your success as well in this program
because you know them on a personal level
and they know you on a personal level.
(Megan)
You know I've met other police officers
and just great contacts
and knowing that these people
are enthusiastic about the same things I am
you know, the relationships are unbeatable.
(Jane)
When I see students after the class has ended,
and they're still in a group talking about the topic
or I pass them in the hall
and they're talking about a project we're working on
I find that really rewarding.
(Chris)
In my opinion, I think Green River
does an outstanding job of laying that foundation
and those networking capabilities
for these students to go on
and find some kind of employment
in the criminal justice system.
(Megan)
I don't know if there's any other program
that has the resources and the faculty that we do
so it's just...it's wonderful.
[♪]
