Internship Chronicles, Chapter 47: Natalie Hicks

One fall day, a Student Prince decided to go on a little adventure. “It won’t be long before I have a career,” the Prince said, “so I’d better start preparing now.” So with some ’Berg education under their hat, and some connections in their back pocket, the Student Prince began forging their way through an internship.

We continue our web series, Internship Chronicles.

Chapter 47: Law enforcement with empathy & kindness

Natalie Hicks is a senior from London, Ohio. She is a double major in Crimology and Psycholgy. Following graduation, she has big dreams to work for the Behavioral Analaysis Unit of the FBI. However, she plans to start smaller with the first step in her professional career working toward the rank of detective.

How did you find your internship, or how did the internship find you?

I had previously done a project with Lt. Bryan White for BSC200. I knew I wanted to do my internship over the summer and it just worked out that I kept in contact with Lt. White and that the Madison County Sheriff's Office had a summer internship program!

What did you expect from your internship initially?

Initially I was afraid that I would not be allowed to do any hands-on learning because of the kinds of things that patrol deputies deal with on a daily basis but I actually got to help with a lot of things.

What really happens in your day-to-day work?

Every day is different and ever-changing which is something I have grown to love about this line of work!

What connections have you made?

I have become close friends with a lot of the patrol deputies and detectives that I got to work with. I have also had the chance to meet and work with many different law enforcement agencies while working with the deputies.

What is the most valuable thing you’ll bring back to the classroom after this experience?

One of the biggest things that the officers I worked with taught me was, "In law enforcement you have the ability to change a person’s life and take it away from them (i.e. sending them to jail or prison) but never take away their dignity while you do it." Everyone is human and humans make mistakes; forgiveness, empathy and kindness are traits that everyone should have. Bringing this back to the classroom will allow me to have empathy for those around me and give grace to those who need it. Kindness is the key to successful relationships, and successful relationships are the key to a successful future.