APRIL 20, 2022 — The UTSA Department of Criminology & Criminal Justice is using a recent grant from the university to offer a two-day experience intended to immerse students into the field.
Mike Davis, assistant professor of practice, will take a group of 35 students to different areas in San Antonio to interact with various members of law enforcement. The opportunity was made possible by the First-Year Student Experience and Faculty Engagement Mini-Grant program, which is designed to increase overall student-faculty interaction outside of the classroom, to enhance first year students’ sense of connection and belonging to UTSA and to develop impactful relationships among faculty and students.
The first event will take place at 10 a.m. on Thursday, April 21, at the Alamo Area Regional Law Enforcement Academy. Students will spend the day with representatives from police agencies across the region—including the San Antonio Police Department SAPD), the Texas Health & Human Services Inspector General, the Alamo Area Council of Governments (AACOG) Homeland Security Division, the Bexar County Criminal District Attorney’s Office, the U.S. Probation office and many more.
Students will learn about the plethora of careers available to them as graduates, as well as ways in which different areas of law enforcement work together.
“As a UTSA graduate from both the Bachelor and Master of Science in Criminology and Criminal Justice programs, I am excited to be part of this effort to help students who are looking into various fields within the area of criminal justice,” said Marcela Medina, AACOG public safety manager and financial analyst. “I can attest that there are many career options for students and that they will fully utilize their education in so many ways.”
According to Davis, a professor in the UTSA College for Health, Community and Policy (HCaP) many of the professionals who are participating in these events are executive level administrators who are enthusiastic about volunteering their time to mentor students.
“I would like for our students to get to a point where they start looking beyond graduation and begin exploring the rewards, challenges, expectations and the overall nobility of the criminal justice vocation,” he said.
The second immersion event will begin at 11 a.m. on Wednesday, April 27, at the SAPD academy and memorial wall. Community representatives will talk about National Police Week and students will be able to interact with Police Honor Guard Members.
“I am excited to help our students meet with many of the practitioners who they read or hear about in the classroom,” Davis said. “I am hopeful that as our students grow their education at UTSA, they can also gain a better understanding of the various occupational opportunities they could explore when they graduate.”
This immersive experience ties into HCaP’s mission to affect change for complex social issues to improve the well-being of San Antonio.
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