Leigha Hermann

Law and Society & Psychological Science

New Holstein Police Department

HOW HAS YOUR INTERNSHIP HELPED BUILD SKILLS AND CLARIFY YOUR CAREER GOALS?
This internship allowed me to materialize the information that I learned in the classroom. I can finally take the theories and skills from the semester and apply them to situations in the work-force.

HOW DO YOU APPLY YOUR LIBERAL ARTS SKILLS IN YOUR INTERNSHIP?
Liberal Arts has taught me to creatively problem solve, which is an important skill to have when working as a police intern. Each situation you encounter is unique and knowing how to respond to people’s individual needs is paramount.

WHAT IS THE A TYPICAL DAY LIKE AS AN INTERN, ANY CHALLENGING OR EXCITING ASPECTS?
My typical day begins at the police station, where the officers and I are briefed on the activity currently going on in the city. I get paired with a police officer and we leave in the squad car for patrol. This can include anything from using the speed gun on a busy road or running license plates to responding to emergencies. The most challenging part of this internship for me is having to stand on the sidelines when we are called to an emergency. I am a very hands-on person but most of the time I have to either stand back or stay in the squad for my own safety. It’s difficult to do when you want so badly to help. We have a lot of exciting days (and nights). I witnessed several high-risk drug arrests and traffic stops, domestic incidents, and investigations. The most suprising and frustrating thing, to me, was the restrictions that police officers have when dealing with the public. Officers are under very strict guidelines that they cannot violate and, unfortunately, there were times when we had to allow potentially dangerous individuals to walk free because there was nothing else they would allow us to do. I really enjoyed the days I spent in court. I want to be a lawyer in the future, so I learned a lot from those experiences.