Past, Present, and Future

Have you ever considered how hard it is to analyze your life from the past, to where you are now, and where you want to be? I don't think it's something that we think about frequently, nor do we attempt to analyze the process unless we are directed to do so. Well recently, I given an assignment to compile a paper and a power point for my capstone course at the University of Phoenix. What daunting task it was.. I hate thinking about my past, especially because there are soooo many things I wish I had done differently: I should have listened to my parents, I should have stayed in school, I shouldn't have become pregnant at 17, I could go on and on. However, I know that I can't change my past, but what I have learned is... We can brighten our futures and make-up for losses. I never graduated high school so for me to be receiving my four-year college degree is surreal. I would like to share with you my assignment that briefly discusses where I've been, where I am, and where I want to be going.
Frequently many lose sight of the skills and strengths they have attained over time. Although they may be using their skills and strengths daily, without evaluating where they have been, where they are, and where they are going, they might not be giving themselves credit for all their accomplishments. Even though some believe that college is a wast of time, money, and energy, a high school drop-out, who was pregnant at 17, discovered that enrolling in college would change her perspective on life, and she would later become an advocate for strenthening personal development through promoting lifelong learning.

Breanna was very impressionable as a child and had many aspirations to do noble things. However, after her parents' divorce, she began possessing much animostiy toward her peers because of the outside perception of their perfect lives. She was extremely inferior to other teens her age so she sought-after acceptance elsewhere. Breanna made the choice to separate from her parents at 16, drop out of school, and become more independent. Her desire was to create a family of ehr own so that she could play house and fulfill her perception of a perfect life. She had everything planned out, she would find a great guy, never have to work, she would stay home cooking, cleaning, and mending clothes; living happily ever after.

Unfortunately, after she became pregnant at 17, she was left with a harsh reality check. Raising a son and supporting a family would be far from easy working odd-end jobs in fast food restaurants. She never considered the possibility of having a career or even the importance of an education. When she delivered her son, still as a child herself, the amount of emotional and financial responsibility weighed on her heavily; creating much stress, but producing an enlightening experience. She learned that the only person her son could depend on was her, and the only person she could depend on was herself. If she did not improve her situation, their quality of life would decline.

In attempt to recover from her past misconceptions of reality, she had to realize the importance of an education, she had to develop goals, and she had to consider potential career pathways that would lead her down the road toward success. By doing this she learned to start completing tasks for herself and focusing on what she needed and wanted inlife instead of trying to live up to everyone else's expectations. She attained her General Education Diploma (GED), at the age of 18, at an adult education program with above average scores, which gave her an extra boost of motivation to increase her potential in the career maket. Breanna's behaviors were always impulsive, on top of her diagnoses of Bipolar and Obsessive Compulsive Disorders when she was younger. She had a difficult time dedicating herself to a path that would lead her to success because of the multiple fascinations with fasle senses of reality. Breanna's only experience, prior to attaining her GED, were in the fast-food industryy. She learned the importance of product presenation and maintaing a clean facility. Although some managers may say they emphasize teamwork in these types of organization environments, Breanna believed otherwise. She did what she was told and when she was told to complete a task, she focused on her responsibilities only. Lacking professional competence in the areas of communications and teamwork, Breanna decided to improve her profession growth and development. Even though her decisions remained impulsive, when she set her mind toward something, she had the determination to see her goals through to the end.

When enrolling at the University of Phoenix, only 19 years-old, Breanna went in pursuit of a degree that would lead her toward Police Psychology. Her father helped instill a great deal of patriotism for their country, along with promoting the need for respect and discipline. On the other hand, her mother was always very compassionate, supportive, and extremely ethical; always holding a higher set of standards. The dynamics from these two individuals have had a direct impact to the pathway she chose.Law enforcement is a stressful career and with out frequent psychological evaluations, an officer can potentially become a liability for the department. Police psycholoists are frequently responsible for all angles of a police department, from officer trainings to forensics. "Police Psychologists also provide services with critical incidents, excessive force issues, shootings, police suicides and psychological issues, fitness-for-duty evaluations, and also with special unit evaluations" (Maggio, 2010, para. 5). A s a Police Psychologist, Breanna hopes to create officer trainings to improve community relationships, to effectively handle crisis situations, and assisting officers when dealing with stress and anger management; promoting more effective officers with better representation within their communities.

After enrolling at the University of Phoenix, Breanna continued to pursue her dreams and attained a job at a Mental Health facility. While working there she provided support while learning about the different mental health diagnoses, correlating with the medications prescribed, and effectively dealing with problematic behaviors. She later married and became a stay-at-home mother, but continued to volunteer within the communtiy while pursing her degree.

While completing classes at the University of Phoenix, she developed a deeper understanding of critical thinking and communication skills. When developing communciation skills she learned how to find reliable research and use valuable information, through determining credibility and relevance. She also developed confidence in oral communications that later promoted her leadership skills. Breanna was considered a social butterfly in grade school and although she knew how to talk, the University of Phoenix taught her how to organize her thoughts, words, and deeds. For example, in her Written Communications Course she learned to use her socialization skills to her advantage by learning how to focus on key points to convey a message, relying on credible methods of research.

The learning team expereices at the University of Phoenix also encouraged the use of teamwork. Her experiences with teamwork forced collaborations, effective communication, and the use of conflict management skills. they also promoted opportunities for leadership. Once she found herself in the leadership position on a frequent basis, she found teamwork to be more difficult when antoher team member posssesed leadership qualities. This taught her how to be flexible in all areas of a team and that constant sympathies for other team members can lead to dysfunction, whereas being supportive encourages action (The Maryland Family Development Committee, 2010, p. 81).

The general education course, United States Consitution, shared the importance of history through modern day events. Previously, Breanna never had the desire to learn about history, but the more relevant the practical experiences were, the mroe passionate she became about history, law enforcement, and the mysteries behind the justice system. mostly, she wanted to lean more about how the impact of these factors benefited the community. This class ultimately changed Breanna's program of study.

When Breanna enrolled at the University of Phoenix, her focus was to become a Police Psychologist. However, after learning about the affect laws have on society, she developed a passion for law enforcement adminstration. knowing that she may not be able to be a stay-at-home mom until she finished her PhD, especially with the economy dwindling, she changed her program of study from Human Service Management to Criminal Justice Administration. Although thsi appeared to be a big transition of focus for some, Breanna's goals remained the same in pursuing Police Psychology; only opening more doors to opportunity within the Criminal Justice field.

The core clases that had the greated effect on Breanna's potential employment included Juvenile Justice Systems and Processes along with Policing Theory and Practice. In Juvenile Justice Systems and Processes, she completed a comparative analysis between juvenile and adult courts where she learned the devastating affect the juvenile justice system can have on a juvenile's progression in society. She also learned about the possibilities and benefits of providing appropriate alternatives for rehabilitation.

The other class that provided a deeper understanind of the laws and how they are carried out was the introductory core class, Foundation of Criminal Justice. In this class, Breanna could evaluate the different systems involved in carrying out justice while developing her own interpretation of justice. her interpretation conveys that the "American justice system depends on society's interpretation of the United States Constitution; in pursuit of peace, liverty, and freedom."

Breanna also retained her certification in Family Development, which she received at a Maryland Head Start Association conference. her purpose for pursing this certification is that she believes that if more individuals can assist families while their children are in their ealy stages of developme, society can have a bigger impact on decreasing crime rates within their communities. "Head Start is a national program that promtoes school readiness by enhacing the social and cognitive devlopment of children through the provision of educational, health, nutritional, social and other services to enrolled children and families" (Administration for Children and Families, 2011, para. 2) By giving children a head start in life and providing families with rescourace needed to succeed, everyone in the community can work together to develop a brighter future.

Something that would have enhanced and improved Breanna's experience is for the campuses to offer on-ground classes for the Criminal Justice Administration program in the District of Columbia metro area. Breanna completed all of ehr general education courses at on-ground campuses in Tacoma, WA, Arligington, VA, and Fairfax, VA. Although travel time was over an hour when she was seven to nine months pregnant with her second child, the learning experience and physical interaction was worth the drive. Living so close to the United States Capitol, she believed the accommodation of switching degree programs would have not have been a problem because of the amount of interest in law and politices. However, that was not the case, and she had to choose to attend University of Phoenix Online or consider attending a different university. This was a devastating experience for Breanna, but she moved forward with one of the biggest transitions in her education.

Breanna quickly learned that her personal learning style was geared more toward visual demonstrations, practical experiences, and verbal lectures. The online program created additional work throughout the week with required discussion questions, participations points, and weekly summaries. All of these additional requirements were typically completed in one four-hour class per week. On ground Breanna could develop her oral communications skills, but when she began attendign online she had to find other outside accommodations to help her develop these skills. Although online learning may be convenient for some, Breanna believes the opportunity for learning is more fulfilling when face-to-face interaction is taking place.

Breanna's view on lifelong learning and the importance has increased her advocay for others when pursuing their education. An education is such an importanct factor in improving an individuals quality of life. With the innovation in technology constantly improving, without advancement in one's personal growth and development, individuals fall behind making them less qualified for their current jobs or potential careers.

Breanna began her classes at the University of Phoenix inn 2006 and will be graduating with her Bachelor's in Criminal Justice Administration in 2011. Although she ahs taken many short breaks in pursuit of her bachelors, she was determined to finish, despite her many life-chaning events such as: marriage, becoming a stay-at-home mom, moving cross country, and having two more children. She can look back at her experiences with satisfaction know she has accomplished what other's never though possible in her situation. No longer does she have to refer to her education as having never completed high school but can say that she has earned her Bachelor of Science in Criminal Justice Administration. No excuses should be made for not attaining an education. The possibility for an individual's potential becomes endless as he or she continues to pursue lifelong learning.

Earning a bachelor's degree was a long-term goal Breanna had since grade school. However, losing sight of ones goals can be easy to do, especially if they refuse to recognize the rewards that come from taking thE journey. Looking back, she is so happy she could make the goals and take the necessary steps to make her childhood dreams a reality. Because of the experience she has gained pursuing her degree, she has become more self-reliant and more involved with the community, which she believes are important factors when pursing a career in law enforcement. however, she wants to strenthen her professional experience in criminal justice by attending national conferences focusing on law enforcement initatives, such as the Problem-Oriented Policing and Community-Oriented Policing programs. She believes that the information retained from these national conferences would be valuable to the direction she is pursing in law enforcement administration.

Breanna has also considered pursuing her Master's in Business Administration to open even more opportunities for employment and to focus on policy analysis within police departments. However, after much soul searching, she has developed a stronger desire toward attaining a Master's degree in Psychology. Therefore her goal in teh next five years is to attain her Master's in Psychology, possibly interning with a police department, attending conferences focused on law enforcement, while preparing herself for a career as a police psychologist.

In conclusion, Breanna's first college class was intimidating because she was lacking prior professional and educational experiences. She doubted herself frequently, wondering if she would ever see her education through to the end. She battled through difficult class assignments on top of her demanding family schedule, while continuing extensive volunteer work through several organizations throughout different communities, only to find that the challenge has molded her into the individual she has become. After five years, four months, and many late nights the degree that once seemed impossible to attain is finally in her hands. She learned that by developing smaller goals within larger goals, long-term accomplishments are just around the corner.