WKU News

Jordan Graves, a PCAL senior and Bowling Green native knew she wanted to pursue the field of criminology but questioned what career was the right fit for her. After an inspiring summer internship with the Bowling Green Police Department (BGPD), she knew she had found her answer.

As a criminology and health sciences major, Graves hoped to gain experience in the field while also exploring related career possibilities. When a Victim Advocate Intern position within the BGPD became available, she jumped at the opportunity. Immediately, she was drawn to the role and the idea of helping someone at a time when they need it most.

Alongside the BGPD Victim Advocate, April Fulcher, who also graduated from PCAL in 1991, Graves learns everything she possibly can about the job. Her role includes creating community resource packets to share with victims, meeting with victims’ families, and participating in council meetings dedicated to human service.

Graves shared, “I have been able to collaborate with other victim advocates, detectives, social workers, forensic interviewers, and CAC staff to keep the victims safe and provide them with resources they need.” As a result of her internship, she has gained valuable knowledge about local victim resources, the legal system, and even how to become a more effective communicator.

As a part of BGPD, Graves has had the chance to observe a wide variety of career choices. From administration and record keeping, to dispatch and patrol, she was excited to learn just how much opportunity exists in the world of criminology and is grateful for the chance to have gotten a first-hand look at other potential careers.

None of these roles, however, quite called to Graves like the one she already found herself in. “I have learned that my top career choice as of now is to pursue becoming a victim advocate or something along the lines of a victim advocate,” she said. Advocacy turned out to be the perfect marriage of Graves’s interest in criminology and passion for helping those in need.

Graves’s advice to other students is, “If you want to do an internship, go for it. It might be nerve-racking at first, but in the end, you will be full of knowledge and experience that you cannot receive in a classroom.”