MikeMooreMedia
RCC Criminal Justice Program 09.27.24
Valerie Bowers, Instructor. What the program offers, employment opportunities, demographics, partnership with Mars Hill University, BLET.
www.RockinghamCC.edu
- Broadcast on:
- 27 Sep 2024
- Audio Format:
- other
Mike Moore Media. - It's our monthly podcast with Rockingham Community College. And on our media line right now, I have Valerie Bowers, Criminal Justice Instructor at RCC. Hello Valerie, how are you? - I'm doing well, how are you doing today? - I'm doing just great. And I know you have a busy, busy schedule. So we'll jump right into this because I know you have classes and everything going on. But first I wanna find out a little bit about Valerie Bowers and how you came to this program there at Rockingham Community College. - Well, sure, so I'll give you a little bit of background about my education and just my career and we'll go from there. So I attended Appalachian State University where I majored in Criminal Justice and I minored in Sociology for my undergraduate. Go Apps, I loved going there. It was amazing and a great experience. While at Appalachian, I was strongly encouraged to apply to John Jay College of Criminal Justice in Manhattan, New York because at that time, it was the only school on the East Coast that had a criminology and deviance specialization. So I had considered going to law school and had been accepted to a few, but decided to my mother's amazement to go into a different area of criminal justice focusing on advocacy and working with victims up in particular. So I applied and I was accepted to John Jay and I got my masters there and I specialized in criminology and deviant behavior. It was after that point that I came back home to North Carolina and I was actually trained to do, by the state of North Carolina, to do forensic interviewing, which is a very particular type of interviewing where it can hold up in court well. So I would interview victims as well as alleged perpetrators and I would be the voice for these people in the courtroom. So that way they wouldn't have to continue retelling their story over and over again, which really is another form of re-victimization when someone has to continue telling their story. So I specialized in sexual victimization crimes. So the people that I worked with had really suffered some horrendous experiences. So it was really an honor to be able to be the voice for the voiceless because many times people will not speak up. So I worked in that for quite a few years, helped with investigations and assessments, as well as ended up having training for mediation. So in circumstances where you're trying to have victims as well as perpetrators and/or their families get involved to have this restoration process to move forward with life, I was able to mediate those conversations and keep them on task and in a positive light. So after I worked in the field, and actually while I was working in the field, I started teaching part-time for, it was actually Cleveland Community College in Shelby, North Carolina. And I taught for the program there while continuing to work. And after my daughter was born a few years after, I actually came to Rockingham County, decided to have a new start and start somewhere, where it reminded me of home, but had I believe so many opportunities and a great place to raise a child and came here and started working at Rockingham Community College. And I actually was working as an academic advisor initially, until I had been here for about a year or so when they realized my background and my training and the opportunity came open to become the program coordinating faculty for the Criminal Justice Program. And I applied and they accepted me as the full-time faculty and I've been here with the program for going on two years now. So I really love the students who are part of the program, they're fantastic and it's been such a neat opportunity to work with them. And is it okay if I share a little bit about the program itself? - I wish you would please, yes, yes. - So the Criminal Justice Program here at RCC is considered an associate and applied science degree. And it's a two-year program. We actually have it set up where if a student has taken BLET, which is basic law enforcement training, which we also have here at Rockingham Community College, we will give them credit for five of those courses for our curriculum program automatically. - Wow. - Mm-hmm, so that way they are even a step ahead. So in the program, we are actually about 70 to 72% female, which is amazing to me because growing up and going through the programs in the past, it was predominantly male. So the demographics of Criminal Justice are really changing and I think females are starting to see the opportunities. So it's not just police work, it's also working in the court system or victim services or working in correctional field or working in re-entry programs, substance abuse. There's so many options with a Criminal Justice degree that people do not realize. Even working in social work, there's a lot of social workers who started out in Criminal Justice. So I'm trying to just share the opportunities with the community because a lot of times I think people associate Criminal Justice curriculum as it's the BLET program. Those are actually two separate programs. Now they can go together, like I said, if you're planning to be in police work, but there are lots of other opportunities in the Criminal Justice field that a lot of times people don't know about so they don't consider. We have been blessed to get an agreement with Morris Hill University last year where our students here, RCC, can complete their two-year degree and they can actually go to Morris Hill either in person or online and in two years or less, they can complete their four-year degree with Morris Hill, which is fabulous and also have the opportunity to consider if they would like a master's degree, which if they complete their four-year degree at Morris Hill, Morris Hill will allow them to complete a master's in only one year more instead of two years, but that's an agreement with Rockingham Community College that we have made with them. So that's really gonna open the door for even more possibilities for our students in the future and education is power, I think. So I'm really excited about that for them. - Yeah, wow, Valerie, I am just, I'm so impressed with just first your credentials, your background, the specialized areas that you worked in with the courts and all of that, that's absolutely fascinating. This could be a whole series of programs, I believe. (laughing) - We should revisit this sometime, but what you are bringing to the criminal justice program there at RCC is phenomenal. So thank you for giving us that background and kind of making that, showing us a difference there between, we'll hear so much about the BLDT program, but now we see-- - We're just fabulous, by the way, we have a great one. - Yes, you do. - And if anybody's considering it, they definitely need to come here and talk with John Edwards. He's fabulous, they know what they're talking about, they're very invested in their students. So we have a very good relationship with that program and also the criminal justice curriculum program that I'm the faculty for here. We have very good relationships with our community partner, so at the courthouse, at the sheriff's apartment, at other agencies within the community, such as Help Incorporated and some attorneys here in town. And so that way, students have the opportunity to shadow and/or have internships, so they can get that experience and kind of narrow down what exactly they wanna do when they're done. Because a lot of times, students will come in and they'll say, "Well, I'm not really sure. "I might wanna be a police officer, "but I'm kind of interested in victim services." So then we can connect them with people out in the community who are wonderful and more than willing to do so, and that way they get experience and can see what it's like. So it's not just imagining what it could be like, but actually being in real time, this is what the job is, this is what it entails, and this is something that you could consider or not, depending on what your interests are. - Mm-hmm, yeah, wow, this is absolutely amazing, because I had no idea where we were going with this program today and what you're doing there, and I said, "This is so impressive," and how fortunate we are to have a program like this in place right here at Rockingham Community College. I wanna go back to what you were saying about the changing demographics. Why do you think that is? You're seeing more females into this program. - Well, to be quite honest, it might partly be because there is a female in the position of faculty. So sometimes when you see someone who looks like you, you say, "Well, wait a minute, maybe I can do this too." So that might be a small piece of it, but also I think society itself is changing, and females are becoming more open to different types of jobs that maybe were considered more male-driven in the past, and I think agencies are seeing the benefit of having both males and females, because the strengths may be a little different, but they complement each other so well. I'll give you a short little example, but I tell my students this, I would work with, there was one detective in particular that I worked with, and it was actually in Lincoln County, North Carolina during that time. If I worked in Lincoln County, I worked in Cleveland County, I worked with people in Gaston County, and we would go out together on cases many times, and he was very good at what he did. He was very strong, but he would say sometimes, "It's better if you speak." So sometimes women, we go to the speaking first, even in situations where there's hostility occurring, we will go straight to speaking and kind of bringing that level down to where a conversation can actually be had. Sometimes, not all the time, but sometimes men can be more prone to the physicality. So we balance each other out. And I think that agencies can appreciate that there are strengths that people bring to the table that can really benefit both males and females on the fourth or a part of that organization. And instead of seeing it as, men against women, or let's see who's better, that's not what it is. Let's see how we can work together to make it even stronger as an organization. - Yeah, wow, okay, that's great. And you mentioned some of the places you've been. You said earlier in this conversation here that you decided to come back to North Carolina. So where are you from originally in our state? - So I grew up in Lincoln, North Carolina, and I went to West Lincoln High School, which is in Bell, North Carolina. I have really enjoyed that community. It has really been a part of just what makes me who I am. Lincoln County are some of the best folks that you will ever meet. And I actually had the pleasure of being Miss Lincoln County when I was 19, which I think is so funny now, because that is completely opposite of my personality to do anything like that. But it did give me the opportunity to start a mentorship program for at-risk youth during that time, so that was something that was a really good experience for me. But Lincoln County folks are some of the best folks out there. - Yeah, wow, you've got such an interesting background, Valerie, this is fascinating. I can go another 15 minutes here. Before our time completely finishes up, let's go back to your roots there. A one quick thing, how's your mom handling all of this now and where you are, you're not an attorney? It's okay. - Well, you know, my mom actually passed in 2018 from uterine cancer. - Oh, I'm so sorry. - No, no, that's fine. She was the most amazing woman, such a strong woman. She was an educator for 30 years, and she actually taught Spanish. My family, my father is from Mecklenburg County, North Carolina, and my mother was from Puerto Rico. So I am both, that's what I tell people. I am Puerto Rican, and I'm more like a Southern Rican. - Okay, that makes sense. - So I have both cultures, and honestly, that has been something that has really been an asset to you in this position, because we are about 14% Hispanic in Rockingham County, and when someone can understand your culture and speak some of your language, I'm not fluent, but I'll tell my students, you know, (speaking in Spanish) You know, I know a little bit of Spanish, but I need to practice, so I think that has opened the door for some of our Hispanic population to feel like, hey, she can identify somewhat with my culture, and she can understand what I'm saying when I speak in my language. So hopefully that will continue to bring in some of our Hispanic students to the program, who maybe wouldn't have considered it in the past, because like I said earlier, sometimes when you see someone, you're like, wait a minute, we have some things in common. It opens the door for people to feel like they can be apart. - Sure, oh yeah, wow. Well, this has just been great getting acquainted here in this little bit of time we've had. Thank you, Valerie. Our people will be in touch with your people about our series of programs. (laughing) - Yeah, no, I appreciate it so much, and I would like to say, and during my time here, RCC, it's a great school. Everyone who worked here that I have worked with, they really care about the students, they care about this community, and if you come here, you're going to be given such close attention and help you succeed. We want to help you succeed. So I hope if there's anybody out there who's interested in the Criminal Justice Program, contact me because I would love to help you achieve the goals that you have for yourself and talk to you about all the options that are out there. - Let's give you a direct number there in the classroom, please. - Yes, so my email is Bowers, B-O-W-E-R-S, V as in Valerie, 41-27 at RockinghamCC.edu, and that really is the best way to get me because I am in class pretty much all day long. So you can email me at any time, and the phone number is 336-342-426-1, and my extension is 2145. If you leave a message, I will get back with you, but you'll probably get me a little quicker if you email. - Okay, Valerie, thank you for sharing all of these. Good stories with us and the information. Continued all the best there in that program, and perhaps we will talk again sometime. Thank you. - Thank you so much, it was a pleasure. - Here too, thank you. Have a good weekend. - You too, bye-bye. - All right, I hope you were getting all of that information there. Just finding out more about the criminal justice program there at Rockingham Community College and the opportunities that are available right here at RCC. That's Valerie Bowers, and she is an instructor in that program doing a great job. Let me remind you, you can go to the website to get more information about what's happening right there. Yes, we are proud of Rockingham Community College and all of the good things happening there. Just this week, the opening of just yesterday, the Workforce Development Center. That's been several years in the development and construction and all of that, and now it's officially open and just continuing to grow and build and so many positive things happening at RCC. Get more information at RockinghamCC.edu. [BLANK_AUDIO]