Carissa Ferrell

Carissa Ferrell is the youngest of three children to a father in law enforcement and a mother in social work. In high school, she spent a lot of time participating in choir and varsity discus for the track and field team. She was also very active in police ride-along and police-community events where she found my passion for criminal justice. In 2018, Carissa graduated from Tippecanoe High School and pursued a Bachelor’s degree in Crime and Justice Studies at Wright State University. During her sophomore year in the CJS program, she was able to study abroad in Ireland for a semester and learn about criminal justice internationally. Currently, Carissa is an intern at Kettering Police Department and is also in the hiring process to become a certified police officer for KPD. Carissa says that the CJS program has had a major impact on her life and career goals because it showed her all the possibilities and opportunities there are in the career field. Whether it be local or federal law enforcement, there are also routes for Carissa to take into more analytical or investigative jobs with many different job functions. Her time in Wright State’s CJS program opened her eyes to the versatility and flexibility of the criminal justice career field not only for specific work but location as well. Doctor Lahm came to be her best resource and advocate at Wright State and is someone Carissa strongly encourages all CJS students to utilize both during school and post-graduation.