Students in the fourth year of the Bachelor of Arts Criminal Justice program are getting hands-on experience at numerous justice-related agencies and applying the concepts they've learned in the classroom to the real world. Placements are now available at over 50 agencies locally and internationally.
"The world is our oyster," says Leann Acheson, practicum coordinator and academic advisor, adding that the program's practicum opportunities are part of what makes it popular. "Once students begin their practicum, they don't want it to end. It's the culmination of everything they've learned and it really helps them network, see how interconnected the justice system is and grow as individuals."
A newer placement is at the Calgary and Area Child Advocacy Centre (formerly the Sheldon Kennedy Child Advocacy Centre), which Associate Professor Scharie Tavcer helped initiate. "We have many placements, but the Calgary and Area Child Advocacy Centre (CAC) is really stellar," says Tavcer. "It's a unique model in Canada, with all-inclusive wraparound services for children who are being abused and for their families. For students to receive all of the learning and training they get there and be able to put that on their resumes is outstanding."
Since the opportunity was formalized in 2016, two MRU students have completed placements, including Nicole Erhardt and Benjamin Reid, who were at the centre from January through April of last year.
Erhardt had the chance to work with the Prenatal Outreach Support Team (POST) during her placement. She worked closely with Cassandra Rose, the POST outreach coordinator who is also an alumna of the MRU criminal justice program. Rose graduated in 2009 and has been working at the Calgary CAC since 2015, where she supports vulnerable pregnant women in the community. She says her time with the criminal justice program has come full circle, as she is now supervising MRU students during placements. "I have a passion for teaching and supporting students while they reach their goals," says Rose, and that it's a symbiotic relationship in that students are provided with learning opportunities while the CAC gets to partake in opinions coming from fresh perspectives.
Erhardt says that she learned things she will never forget by being able to watch Rose interact with clients. "The experience of working with POST was very hands-on. We would meet with clients in their home, or somewhere they felt comfortable, and would just chat with them to see what we could help with and how." She believes she will be better off in her career because of this "once-in-a-lifetime opportunity."
Among the real-life situations Erhardt encountered and helped address were trauma-informed care, adverse childhood experiences, brain architecture and the importance of a harm-reduction approach when dealing with clients. Erhardt will officially graduate in June 2019, but is already working at Calgary Alpha House.
