A Criminal Justice associates degree is just one of the many majors offered at Northeast Community College. With this degree, students can apply their education directly on the job, just after two years, or they can continue with a four-year degree. In the two years at Northeast, many hands-on opportunities are given to the students. Along with field trips and work shops, a career day is put on by the college students for high school students who are interested in the public safety career field.

The Criminal Justice Career Day was on September 29th, and it was organized by Colleen Barnes who is a Criminal Justice instructor. Matt McCarthy, the Criminal Justice director and instructor, says “Criminal Justice Career Day is nice because it exposes [the high school students] to criminal justice on a more realistic scale, as opposed to what they see on TV.”

Throughout the day, students had the chance to meet with parole officers, law enforcement officers, and current Criminal Justice students. The program’s newest addition, the Law and Public Safety Training Lab, was put to use for the students to see imitation crime scenes up close. McCarthy says this lab was their favorite part of the day.

Visit http://northeast.edu/Degrees-and-Programs/2015/Criminal-Justice-Law-Enforcement/ for more information about the Criminal Justice program at Northeast Community College.