By Rebecca Wagner, Senior Reporter
The Northwestern Criminal Justice Department’s internship program offers students the chance to get a taste of real-life work in the field.
The internship allows students to get 48 hours of on-site supervised internship work, giving them professional learning opportunities and experiences in various settings.
Criminal justice major Kylee Harzman recently began the internship to help further her experience in forensic physiology.
“I would really like to become more of myself in a professional environment,” Harzman said. “I get very uncertain a lot, so I’d like to become more comfortable in that.”
Harzman is doing her internship under the supervision of Judge Jason Seigars, a special district court judge in Garfield County. Seigars is also an adjunct professor in the criminal justice department on Northwestern’s Enid campus.
Seigars got involved with the internship program when a student approached him and asked him about how the court system works. Since then, Seigars has worked with three students. He said that he thinks the program has been successful.
Internships can take place at a county courthouse, a police department or a sheriff’s office. Professor Kirk Rogers helps coordinate the program.
Dr. Eric Schmaltz, chair of the history department, said that, although the internship is a part of the major, a degree of trust in the student is needed. The student must maintain a positive reputation in and out of class.
“It’s kind of a privilege, really,” Schmaltz said. “It gives them a taste of maybe what they expect if they do go into the field. It’s also wonderful for the resume. It’s a career building step. It’s a way of getting more practical education in a workplace.”