The Department of Criminal Justice at New Mexico State University is partnering with the Tulsa Police Department (TPD) for a student internship program. TPD also will be on campus later this month.
The paid internship offers students hands-on law enforcement experience while earning the final 15 credit hours needed for their bachelor’s degrees in criminal justice.
“Being in the criminal justice program and working for the agency gives students the ability to undergo training and receive employment upon graduation, supporting a student’s education costs as a result,” said Marija Dimitrijevic, criminal justice professor and coordinator of the partnership.
From April 29 to May 3, officers from the TPD will be on campus to speak with students about the program and career opportunities. All NMSU students are welcome to participate. NMSU alumni David Medrano and Troy Honeycutt are TPD recruitment officers that look forward to visiting Las Cruces.
“The reason why I wanted to get into recruiting is because of opportunities like this,” Honeycutt said. “I wanted to go back to my hometown and recruit fellow Aggies and give them the opportunities that were given to me. At first, Tulsa wasn’t on my radar as a college student, but it has been wonderful for me and my family.”
Medrano graduated from NMSU as a first-generation college student struggling to make ends meet. For him, the ability to connect with students of similar backgrounds is empowering.
“I'm the representation of that light at the end of the tunnel,” Medrano said. “When a first-generation college student sees me and learns my story, they’re able to see themselves accomplishing the same things. Sometimes that’s all we need is a visual representation of what’s out there for us.”
“The quality of our program is really reflected by the quality of our graduates,” said Dennis Giever, professor and department head of criminal justice. “David and Troy are examples of why I can sit there confidently and say, ‘We've got a great program.’”
Giever points to the NMSU criminal justice program’s history of producing outstanding graduates. The internship program itself is a result of the efforts of one alumnus.
Jesse Guardiola, NMSU recipient of a Distinguished Alumni Award, recently left Tulsa police after 26 years. During his time as an officer, he recruited many NMSU students, including Medrano and Honeycutt. Through his consistent visits to the NMSU campus and the success of the recruited students, the partnership grew.
“What the TPD does is they start working with students very early and in high school,” Giever said. “They're not coming to the college trying to sign students up the day of. Instead, they develop a relationship with the students over the years. So, each time they come to campus they reach out to the students they’ve talked to in the past and they’re encouraging and stay in contact with them.”
Honeycutt and Medrano credit NMSU criminal justice professors and staff with the strength of the partnership.
“The staff and faculty are all so accommodating to us and their students,” Medrano said. “They understand and they see when there is a possibility for a student to progress and find a career. I've seen professors excuse someone from going to their class just so they could come and talk to us, which is phenomenal.”
Interested students can learn more about joining TPD by visiting https://www.tulsapolice.org/jointpd. Get involved with the criminal justice department by visiting https://crimjust.nmsu.edu/index.html or emailing Marija Dimitrijevic at marijad@nmsu.edu.
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CUTLINE: From left: New Mexico State University criminal justice department head and professor Dennis Giever, criminal justice professor Marija Dimitrijevic and Tulsa Police Department officers and NMSU alumni David Medrano and Troy Honeycutt have all played a part in the successful partnership between NMSU and the TPD. From April 29 to May 3, officers from the TPD will be on campus to speak with students about the program and career opportunities. (Courtesy photo)