Four years have gone by in a flash!

Freshman year my first class in the Law Enforcement Pathway was Criminal Justice, and as of last week, I’ve completed my last class, Criminal Investigations.

Criminal Justice, Corrections, Law Enforcement, and Criminal Investigations. All classes I’ve taken in my high school career. From my point of view, they all influenced and encouraged me to continue wanting to learn more about our criminal justice system. 

I have learned everything from how to identify roles of the criminal justice system to the levels of security in prisons (not to mention building a Minecraft prison), how to handcuff people, the levels of force police officers go through when arresting an individual, and up to the last things I learned, like how to draw crime scenes and collect evidence properly.  

Along with all my personal experiences, I had a few people go through the classes with me and complete the pathway the same day I did. 

“I loved the Criminal Justice pathway,” senior Delanie Campbell said. “It taught me many things I didn’t know.” 

Campbell’s takeaway from the pathway is that it’s a class for everyone. 

“I honestly think this is a good class for everyone to take because many people don’t know the rights they have as individuals,” Campbell said. 

Learning our rights was a big part of this class as a whole. Understanding that we as citizens have individual rights was eye-opening to a range of minds in the class. 

“You really don’t understand how little you know about your correctional and justice system before taking this class,” senior Jaycee Kurzynowski said. “It challenges your values and beliefs almost constantly and forces you

to look at every angle of a scenario.” 

Kurzynowski agrees with Campbell’s idea that these classes are resourceful for everyone, even if you don’t pursue a career in the field. 

“It is extremely unique and gives you opportunities to learn things that you will love. It is extremely fun, and I can confidently say that Ms. Coleman is one of the best teachers ever,” senior Callie Goodman said.

Goodman acknowledges some of the hands-on learning experiences there are in the class. 

“You get to do a lot of hands-on learning that you don’t see in every classroom, from simulations of scenarios to fingerprinting,” Goodman said. 

The simulations done in class are on a wide projector that comes with a fake gun that is as heavy as a real one, pepper spray, and a Taser. 

On the simulator, there are real-world situations and you have to try and de-escalate the problem. This learning opportunity is a great way to help students learn tactics and honestly let them know if they have the level of persuasion to handle intense situations. 

“My favorite memory is probably using the simulator and being able to be put in real-life situations safely and being able to gain that experience,” senior Jasmine McMillen said. “At one point, I had to de-escalate a school shooting simulation, and I had to apprehend the suspect with the least amount of casualties as possible. It was almost like I was a real officer trying to detain someone!” 

Although these classes were a journey over the last four years of our high school careers, graduation is right around the corner. 

With all the knowledge we have gained from these classes, here are everyone’s plans after high school: 

In the future, Campbell intends to be a ballistic technician and credits Law Enforcement Pathway teacher

Nicole Coleman for teaching her the fundamentals of our justice system. 

“Taking this class made me realize there’s more to being a cop, and there’s a lot more roles that play a part in our society,” Campbell said. 

Campbell also had a prior interest in armory, and finding the job title of a ballistic technician enhanced her interest in learning more about this job field. 

“It also seems like fun to sit in a lab and get paid to know everything about guns,” Campbell said. 

Some have decided to pursue a career in the legal side of things, myself being one of them. 

I plan to continue learning about criminal justice and pursue a career as a prosecuting attorney. 

“I plan on pursuing my associate’s degree in criminal justice,” Goodman said. 

After getting her associate’s degree, Goodman plans to continue her education and has decided to become an attorney. 

McMillen has been accepted into the Univerisity of Kentucky and plans to major in psychology and minor in criminology. 

She plans to use this degree to pursue a career as a Criminal Psychologist. 

Although this pathway has opened doors for many students’ minds, some are only taking the knowledge they learned with them without pursuing it any further. 

“I personally don’t think I plan on doing anything with this pathway,” Kurzynowski said, “but who knows?”

“I hope that students get a good understanding of our criminal justice for their personal lives and are inspired to make changes where they see fit,” Law Enforcement Pathway teacher Nicole Coleman said. “I would like to see my former student in the criminal justice field making a positive impact on our society.” 

If you are interested in participating in this pathway, I highly encourage you to do so.

Learning about the criminal justice system is only one part of the pathway. There are a lot of aspects that go into this opportunity, such as making life-long friends, finding your passion, and exploring different ways to connect with the community around you as a whole.