Aerial Nies is a junior in the Crime and Justice Studies Program. In December 2013 Ariel completed a highly-competitive internship with the United States Secret Service. She feels that the internship has given her a realistic look at federal law enforcement and she now knows that she can and must work her way up the ladder when she begins her career. According to Dr. Jim Adamitis, Visiting Assistant Professor and Internship Coordinator, the Secret Service experience is one of the program’s premier internships. “Wright State has to compete with a number of universities for federal internships, and they won’t even consider anyone without a minimum 3.00+ GPA,” says Dr. Adamitis. “Ariel made Wright State look good.”
From this internship, Aerial has learned that television shows have no relationship to the real work that goes on in law enforcement, which is, in her experience, as much about the paperwork as chasing the criminals. Although she has witnessed arraignments and arrests, she says most of her time is spent learning about counterfeiting and helping to catalogue the various examples. Aerial says that Dr. Adamitis has been tremendously helpful with advice on careers and which minors to pursue to meet her objectives. Ariel is appreciative of his many connections and his guidance to her in securing this internship.
Students interested in a career in the Crime and Justice field have an excellent opportunity due to the internship program administered by Dr. Jim Adamitis. The program assists students with finding an internship in various agencies in the region, including the US Marshall Service, the Federal court system and Social Services agencies, and then helps the students compile career portfolios to assist them with placement after graduation. It takes six to nine months for background checks and approval from DC for federal internships.
Dr. Adamitis personally meets with these students three times each term to work on their portfolios. Tasks for the portfolio include developing five career learning outcomes and ensuring that the students are given professional work instead of menial labor by establishing performance indicators. Students must also find 15 contemporary articles in reference magazines relating to their specific field and write a narrative assessment of their internship.
The Crime and Justice Studies internship program accepts approximately 15 students each term. Many students who take advantage of this program transition into their first post-collegiate jobs directly from their intern positions.
In addition to supervising the interns in one-on-one meetings, Dr. Adamitis also teaches full time in the Crime and Justice Studies program. Before coming to Wright State he worked to develop a similar program at the University of Dayton and has brought a wealth of experience and contacts to his position at WSU.
For more information on the Crime and Justice Studies internship program, please visit: liberal-arts.wright.edu/crime-and-justice-studies/careers/internships
Are you a Liberal Arts student looking for an internship or work for a company that would like to offer an internship to one of our students? Visit this website for more details on how to get involved: liberal-arts.wright.edu/community#tab=internship-information
