University’s Criminal Justice Career Expo Brings Together Students and Alumni

When Samantha Kiss '19 was in her senior year at the University, she stopped by the Bristol Police Department’s booth at the Criminal Justice Career Fair and began chatting with Officer Mark Kichar ’11.

She talked with him about her courses, about taking groups on tour as a student ambassador and how she loved being part of the American Criminal Justice Association. Kichar shared his own stories about his time at the University, as a student leader, in athletics, and as president of a fraternity. “She was clearly not shy; she was a strong communicator which is important in our work,” Kichar said. “I could tell she cared a lot about the field.”

By the time they finished talking, Kichar knew she would be a great addition to the force of the Bristol Police, and Kiss knew she wanted to be part of it. By May of that year, she was hired.

‘It's a wonderful experience to give back’

This April, Kiss was back on campus with Kichar, both working a booth at the spring Criminal Justice Career Fair, representing the Bristol PD. As students dropped by their table, Officers Kiss and Kichar discussed their police work and encouraged students to text them with questions and to take part in a four-hour ride-along.

“We can talk with students about what the job is like and about how great our department is but until they get in the patrol car with us, they won’t know,” Kiss said. “We want them to get a fully immersed experience.”

“It’s a wonderful experience to give back, to be able to come back to our college campus and see how it continues to change, and to see the familiar faces that stop by from fair to fair,” Kiss added.

They were two of the many alumni who were on campus to recruit students in Criminal Justice, Forensic Science, National Security, and related fields.

Bakhtawar Izzat, employer relations manager for the Career Development Center, said more than 50 local, state and federal agencies, nonprofits and other organizations were represented at the Criminal Justice Career Expo, including the FBI, the DEA, the U.S. Secret Service, the Federal Bureau of Prisons, local and state police from across many states, the U.S. Border Patrol, the Center for Family Justice, and other agencies and organizations. “It’s so important for our students to have the opportunity to make these connections,” Izzat said.

‘I have to pass that on’

In his work as a special agent with the U.S. Secret Service’s New York field office, Jahir Blanton ’18, ’19 M.S. says he “protects diplomats and world leaders as well as the financial integrity of the United States, investigating bank fraud, wire fraud counterfeit currency, internet crimes against children, and identity theft.” He also does advance work and protection when presidents, prime ministers, kings, and queens attend the annual United Nations General Assembly. “It’s a really cool job,” he says. “I love it.”

He was hired after completing his master’s degree, for a job with a salary “that was life changing. I was 23 years old making a six-figure salary,” he said. A member of the Secret Service for almost five years, he will take on a new position in June, becoming part of the team protecting a former president and first lady.

He said his undergraduate and graduate degrees at the University “totally prepared him for his work,” and says he relishes returning for Criminal Justice Career Fairs. “I played football and ran track here,” he said. “I’m a Charger for life.”

‘I want to help open the doors that were opened to me’

Blanton vividly remembers the alumni and the professors who helped him get internships and who advised him throughout his job-search process. “I have to pass that on,” he said. “I want these students to get jobs that will change their lives, the same way that happened for me.”

Blanton and other alumni spoke about how prepared University of New Haven students are, arriving with resumes full of pertinent information. “They can give a great five-minute elevator speech, and they do super on interviews. As an alum, I’m proud to see that,” he said.

Michael Cogan ’97, ’02 M.S., a group supervisor with the DEA’s New Haven office, said that when he was a student, he found it helpful to talk with professors and alumni from “different facets of law enforcement. They talked with me, answered my questions, and gave me guidance as I was searching for a job.”

“I believe it’s very important to give back,” Cogan says. “The students ask all the questions I used to ask, such as, ‘What can I do to stand out?’ I want to help open the doors that were opened to me.”