What area do you teach?

Policing, Drugs and Society, and Criminological Theory

Education/Degree(s)

Doctor of Philosophy: Criminal Justice 2020
Department of Criminal Justice and Criminology, Sam Houston State University,
Huntsville, Texas

Master of Science: Criminal Justice 2011
Department of Criminal Justice and Sociology, Southeast Missouri State University,
Cape Girardeau, Missouri

Bachelor of Science: Criminal Justice 2007
Department of Criminal Justice, Missouri Southern State University,
Joplin, Missouri

Teaching Experience

• ​Research Methods
• Criminological Theory
• Drugs and Society
• Gangs
• Wildlife Crime
• Crisis Management
• Organized crime

Related Experience

I have seven years of law enforcement experience. I served four years as a sheriff’s deputy for the Montgomery County Sheriff’s Department in Kansas. Following my tenure at the sheriff’s department, I had the opportunity to serve three years as a Conservation Agent for the Missouri Department of Conservation. I also have four years of research experience gained from my time as a research assistant for the Law Enforcement Management Institute of Texas.

Your Philosophy of Teaching

My philosophy of teaching is focused on the process of learning and not on simply memorizing facts and figures. The ability to translate one’s mechanism of learning across different facets of a person’s life is the true measure of teaching.

Why did you decide to teach?

I have always had a profound interest in being a college professor. I know the college years can mark a great deal of personal growth for the individual. As a result, I want to make a profound impact on the next generation of criminal justice practitioners and researchers. It is my fervid belief that to make lasting impacts with society, starts firsts with educating individuals on the process of learning. Moreover, being a college professor allows me the opportunity to produce academic deliverables meant to inform society and the criminal justice field.

Organizations with which You are Involved

• Midwestern Criminal Justice Association
• Academy of Criminal Justice Sciences

Best Advice for Students

Learning does not stop when you walk across the graduation stage. Instead, it is a life-long journey that most know about but few actually travel down.