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THIS 20YR OLD FEMALE COP-TO-BE: Shows Us That There’s Still Hope for America

(Author’s note:  This is the continuation of last week’s article, which featured brief interview with Kevin Pugh, a student at Indiana State University who is in the National Guard, and Daniel Aaron DeGroff, U.S. Army veteran who served in Korea and is now living and working in Everett, WA.  Due to space consideration, we held the interview with Rachel Jones, 20, of Churubusco, IN until this time.  She is yet another example of the many young people who have a positive attitude, as well as specific goals in life.  For Ms. Jones, her goal is a career in law enforcement.)

Clash Daily:   You’ve just started taking classes, right?

Rachel Jones:  Correct.  I have finished my freshman year as a Criminal Justice major at IVY Tech.

CD:   After studying locally, I understand that you’d like to get a position in the Fort Wayne area, right?   Anything in particular?

RJ:  I am planning on acquiring a job on the Fort Wayne police department either right after I finish my degree or while my degree is in the works in order to get the experience under my belt.  I would hope to get a job that allows me to be out on the streets to get the experience I need but I understand and am okay with working my way up to it, if need be.

CD:   I understand that your eventual goal is the FBI, correct?  Why the FBI?

RJ:   Correct, my end goal for my career is to make my way to federal status. I, for as long as I can remember, have been intrigued by the very morbid portion of crime in the country.  I have a plethora of books that detail the lives of various serial killers and have a wealth of knowledge about their habits and odd statistics about them.  I would love to be a part of a crew that finds those men and women. 

CD:   What lead you to even seek a career in criminal justice/law enforcement?

RJ:   As I’ve mentioned, I’ve always had a fascination with cold criminals.  Growing up, and to this day, my dad has had a similar fascination with the mafia.  I was intrigued by the evil behaviors of these men who looked like everyday people, for the most part.  That eventually stemmed into my fascination with serial killers, which made me realize that a job in criminal justice would be a job I could enjoy and my father always told me that, “if you like what you do, you’ll never work a day in your life”…which is what I intend to do. 

CD:   Your father is a policeman.  What kind of advice has he given you?

RJ:   My father has given me a lot of good advice in my lifetime, but when it comes to my career choice, I can’t recall much advice that he has verbalized to me.  He has given me something better than advice.  By that I mean that my dad has taught me the mind set that may lead me to be very successful in this career as well as potentially save my life.  My dad raised me to be a very calculative person.  He taught me to see every angle and outcome of an event.

CD:   Does it bother you by the way that law enforcement has been portrayed in the media recently?

RJ:   The way the media has been portraying law enforcement is something that weighs on me and it makes my future career even that much more frightening.  Officers have a hard enough time making decisions in their line of duty, and they do not need the added pressure of how the media is going to present it to the public.  Though some recent events do deserve scrutiny, people need to understand that most officers react the way that they are trained to. 

CD:   Have you received any criticism about wanting to go into law enforcement as a career?   If so, how do you respond?

RJ:   I am sure that there have been doubts about my career choice by those I have interacted with.  I am a 5’3″ female who doesn’t even weight 120 pounds.  There is going to be a few raised eyebrows when I announce that I am hoping to join the FBI some day.  But those who are close and dear to me have been nothing but supportive in my decision, which makes up for all the skeptics in my life.

CD:   In closing, any final thoughts?

RJ:   I would like to add that this is a field that I have been wanting to go into for a long time.  I almost didn’t take this path for fear that I may fail, but the second I stepped into my first criminal justice class, I couldn’t stop smiling because I realized I was right where I needed to be. 

Image: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:CBP_female_officers_going_aboard_
a_ship.jpg

Share if you think young people like this give us hope.

John DeGroff

John DeGroff is the original bass player for the Christian rock band Petra. He currently plays for the band GHF which is comprised of other original members from Petra. DeGroff has extensive experience as a freelance music journalist and newspaper reporter as well as an on-line music reviewer. He is a member of the Gospel Music Hall of Fame and lives in Warsaw, Indiana where he is employed as a care giver for mentally challenged adults.

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