What interested me about Elms was its size. Academically, I needed a smaller school with a smaller campus because I felt I just needed the attention you get in a small classroom. I liked how I could build a relationship with my professors, one on one, a lot easier than I could at a bigger school. And that was important to me. I was always interested in Criminal Justice.
So all of that together made the perfect fit for me.
When I got into Elms, I wanted to do policing and some kind of investigative work, and that is something I am still interested in. But Elms has opened my eyes to see how many different routes a criminal justice degree can take you. It’s made me realize how many opportunities there are, whether it’s going into law enforcement or doing something more administrative like in a mayor’s office.
For my Criminal Justice internship, I worked in the office of Springfield Mayor Domenic Sarno. That means I’d take phone calls but also handle walk-ins from residents who came in with issues. I’ve posted on the mayor’s office’s social media pages, responded to emails from other departments, and I’ve written some of the mayor’s proclamations. They had me do a little bit of everything so I could learn about pretty much everything a mayor does. I’ve watched the mayor give a press conference, I’ve been to the city Menorah lighting ceremony, and I went to the flag-raising ceremony for Black History Month.
The internship was not what I expected – and it is really nice that it was not what I expected. It’s been a lot of fun and very interesting. It’s been nice learning about city government and politics, and I got a lot more of an understanding of it by being involved with it.
Criminal Justice major
Mendon, Ma