The Criminal Justice Student Association (CJSA) is hosting upcoming events for students to get personal, hands-on experience from trained professionals in the field.
Members of the Criminal Justice Student Association have planned and executed a variety of events that are connected to the field. (Photo courtesy of Geetha Suresh)
Geetha Suresh, criminal justice professor at Stevenson University and the faculty advisor for CJSA, has planned numerous guest speakers and training seminars this spring semester for interested students.
“There are six students in our organization, and our main tasks are event coordinating for spring of 2019,” explained Suresh. In the past two months, there have been more than five opportunities for students to attend lectures taught by real police officers.
“There have been ride-alongs with the Maryland State Police Department, there was a shooter incident situation, and we have many more activities planned in the next month,” said Suresh.
She and her six executive board members are responsible for planning and coordinating a certain type of event from which students can learn more information. One of the board members for the association, Jessica Koch, was given the task of overseeing the next event.
“CJSA is bringing a self-defense seminar to campus on March 28. A martial-arts specialist is coming to teach basic self-defense techniques in Garrison Hall North,” said Koch, specifically in the Claire Moore room. The self-defense training is just one of many events that CJSA is coordinating.
Melanie Milam (public relations), Tyler Chetelat (secretary), and Savanna Greggs (president), speak with other criminal justice faculty and students at a recent open house. (Photo courtesy of Monique Malizia)
Suresh and her board members hope to bring real-life experiences to Stevenson classroom settings, where students can learn from people in the field who deal with adversity every day. April has numerous events in store, according to Suresh.
“There is a mock traffic-stop course that will be held on April 19, where students can learn what to do and what not to do when getting pulled over, and more spotlight speakers who are coming to talk to interested students,” said Suresh. The mock traffic-stop course will be held at 5 p.m.
The hope for these seminars is not only to have students learn from professionals in the line of work, but also to encourage students become involved in their community.
“This association will hopefully connect Stevenson students to the community around them, help them become more involved in their community and even possibly assist them in acquiring internships down the road,” said Suresh.
The next CJSA-hosted event is the self-defense course, which will take place in the Claire Moore room on March 28 at 6 p.m. Check the SU calendar for more times for the latest CJSA events.
