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Something Bigger:
DaiCha Jones
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She just graduated with a Bachelor’s in Criminal Justice from Wayne State this past May, and 22-year-old DaiCha Jones has already got her hands full - with 24 kindergartners in a public charter school on the eastside of Detroit. Within the first few weeks of the school year beginning, DaiCha was already attached to the little ones she calls her “babies.” DaiCha is a corps member with Teach For America, a non-profit organization that equips recent college graduates to work in the schools of low-income communities with a mission to raise achievement among students.
How does a CJ grad wind up teaching? DaiCha found herself in the Criminal Justice program at Wayne State because she had an interest in eventually pursuing law, and her cousin told her that Criminal Justice would be a good place to start. DaiCha admits she wasn’t even sure why she was in college until a few years into her program, when she began to find inspiration in her classes. DaiCha remembers reading speeches by Martin Luther King Jr. and being provoked by his challenge to “make a career out of humanity.”
“I realized I’m part of something bigger, that this world is bigger me,” says DaiCha. “Throughout my college years, I became less concerned with being a criminal defense lawyer and had a growing desire to be influential in my community.”
For DaiCha, being influential in her community means investing in the education of high-risk children. “It always comes backs to children. I always think if we can get some good kids we’ll eventually get some good adults.” At Wayne State, DaiCha learned that community has an incredible impact on the children we have. “In my classes with Professor Klahm, over and over our evaluations always came back to parenting and education in our communities.”
Born and raised in Detroit, DaiCha possess a growing passion for the city. She is still heading towards law school, but now she’s got the value of education burning in her bones. These days she’s considering a Master’s in Education in addition to a law degree and she’s dreaming about engaging in public policy.
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Seizing Opportunities:
Chanese Brown
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Little did Chanese Brown know when she signed up for a CJ online course through WSU, that her instructor would become so influential in her career path. When the course began, Chanese read the bio about her new instructor, Alanna Coronado. Alanna is a 2008 graduate of our CJ Master’s Program and a supervisor at KidsTALK Children’s Advocacy Center, where she conducts forensic interviews with children who have been the alleged victims of severe physical abuse, sexual abuse, neglect, and also those who have witnessed violent crimes. Intrigued by Alanna’s career, Chanese emailed her to see if they could meet up. A short month later, Chanese received an email about an opportunity to be mentored by WSU CJ alumni. She jumped at the chance and was pleasantly surprised to discover that Alanna would actually be her assigned mentor.
Chanese speaks with gratitude about the way Alanna took her under her wing, spending time having conversations and allowing her to job shadow. Chanese joined Alanna for several interviews during a trial where Child Protection Services and the Detroit Police were involved. This experience gave Chanese a real feel for where she wanted her career path to head.
Chanese says, “My mentor really helped me to narrow down what it was in the field of Criminal Justice that I actually wanted to do. By spending time with her, I realized that I wanted a career like hers – working with high-risk children and families or in a domestic violence agency of some sort.”
Even though Chanese graduated in May 2013, she and Alanna still keep in touch. Alanna keeps Chanese informed about opportunities to volunteer and interview for jobs, and they have on-going conversations about issues Chanese is facing. Alanna expresses, “Chanese is very hard-working and dedicated. She was also a student of mine and did exceptionally well in the class. She is a bright young lady with a very great future ahead of her and it was a pleasure to work with her.”
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