Student Stories

Being a Criminal Justice major is great because, right now in America, everything is changing. We need properly trained officers and law enforcement officials. And that really appealed to me: to be a beacon of change in this new development of law enforcement. It inspired me to choose Criminal Justice.

In my first year, I was taking a criminal law class with Judge Cooper Smith, who was a judge here in Burlington for 25 years. He really helped us examine the law through an officer's lens. He even took us down to the courthouse for a few hours each week and let us examine case files. We are really exposed to our field through our classes.

I went to the Career Fair five times while at Champlain—that's how I got my first internship. It was a great way to get started on my career and get me connected to my industry. Champlain's Career Collaborative also did a great job preparing me for interviews, writing résumés, and learning how to apply for government positions.

The Accounting major is currently a little small, but that doesn't take away the experience. There's nothing quite like being Facebook friends with your professors. The connection that professors and students have goes beyond the classroom and Linkedin. Nicole Morris and Cathy Duffy (and Jen Vincent even though she isn't Accounting), are such great professors who help you with any questions you may have. Pat Boera in the Career Collaborative is also a major blessing, encouraging students to gain experiences related to their career paths. All of the faculty and professional staff want to see you succeed and do well, and they are more than willing to help.

The Upside-Down Curriculum has tremendously benefitted both my education and my career. I've taken part in numerous live client projects and several internships during my time here at Champlain, which have only helped me to develop myself as a professional while also being a student.

I am involved with the International Business Roundtable. It's great to partake in weekly discussions about current events, and I leave every meeting having learned something new and heard numerous different perspectives on a scenario. Additionally, each fall and spring semester, the organization takes a trip to Montreal. We visit different consulates and engage in discussion with them! 

Stiller Women in Business is another organization that I was involved with. I joined my first year by just attending events. In my second year, I transitioned to a Finance role and then to the role of President in my second and third years. My favorite event was the semi-annual networking event! It was great to have professionals and students mixing and working on their networking skills. 

I'm interning at the Burlington Police Department for my whole senior year. I have mostly focused on creative narratives for our bi-weekly "substat" meetings where we discuss any incidents we've had with individuals involved with substance use or serious mental health challenges. The goal of these meetings is to identify those in our community who need help, and then do outreach to gauge their interest in treatment, but also to let them know we're here, we care about them, and we want them to succeed. 

My internship has given me lots of opportunities to see how law enforcement and social work go hand in hand.

I may be biased because I'm an RA, but the sense of community in the first year residence halls is the best. I'm still friends with people I lived with my first year, and again as a Resident Assistant (RA) of that same hall when I was a junior. I hang out with my residents, and they come cheer me on at hockey games.

Social Work is one of the smallest programs at Champlain, and I love it. The small classes are extremely beneficial because we can go through real-world experiences and ask any questions we have. We are also encouraged to go into the field early and often. My third year, I took a job in the Emergency Department at the University of Vermont Medical Center doing crisis work, and I already felt prepared at that point.

I knew I wanted to do something in the business world, but I wasn't quite sure what. With the Upside-Down Curriculum, I was able to take a few marketing classes from the start and realized I really liked them. Marketing is perfect for me. It involves a lot of creativity and talking to people.

I could talk all day about my experience with the Office of Diversity & Inclusion, or the ODI as students call it. Champlain feels like home, but the ODI is like going back to your own room. There's a lot of support for all students from all different types of backgrounds, which I really love. If you ever go there, you will be laughing within 10 minutes. It's so fun.

My first year, I lived in Lyman Hall, and I loved it. I'm from a city, so all the old houses I'd ever seen were in museums. When I pulled up on move-in day, I thought, "This is great. It's like living in one of my books."

I'm a Communication major, specializing in Media Production with a minor in Public Relations. Communication has been great because you can explore so many different classes—from PR to Video Storytelling to Graphic Design—and that has really helped me set a solid foundation of concrete, interdisciplinary ideas and strategies that aid me in the working world. I have a lot of interests: I love media production and graphic design, and I love event management. I have those skill sets, so when it's needed at my job, I can say, "I can totally help you with that."

All of my professors at Champlain have been so supportive. Nancy Kerr, my advisor, has been my rock. She is by far the best Faculty Advisor I could ever ask for. Not only does she really care about her students, but she also knows how to get the job done. She knows the curriculum inside and out. She knows who her students are, who her advisees are, what they like, and what they don't like. Nancy and my other professors have been great resources.

The Core curriculum has been really helpful because it helps me meet people outside of my major. It was awesome to meet people from a wide range of majors—from Psychology to Secondary Education to Digital Forensics, Law, and all of the Business majors.

Also, the fact that our Core curriculum is very discussion-based is really amazing. I learned so much, perspective-wise, on what it's like to come from different parts of the country, what white privilege is, the ins and outs of LGBT awareness, and more. The Core curriculum does a really good job at tackling issues and bringing awareness to students.

CIE is a growing community of entrepreneurs. The program offers the ability to collaborate with other like-minded individuals on campus and provide a space for them to work together. At least once a month, a guest speaker—usually a business owner from the Burlington area—will come to talk about their experience in the field of entrepreneurism. 

CIE also hosts events such as the Elevator Pitch and the Champlain branch of LaunchVT.

An entrepreneurial mind-set does not necessarily mean you need to go out, abandon your career, and start a business. The mind-set of an entrepreneur can be utilized in a corporate setting just as much as in your own startup. Entrepreneurism within a company is often referred to as "intrapreneurism," and it's just as valuable a skill.

I have had three internships over the last three years. My first was as a Research Assistant at the Leahy Center for Digital Investigation. Next, I worked as a software engineer for a small web firm out of Easthampton, Massachusetts. Most recently, I worked as a Security Engineer for Workday, located in Pleasanton, California.

I am a big believer that it takes time within an industry to learn the intricacies of running a business. All three of my internships taught me different ways of building a successful business.

Core is unconventional. It's broad and interdisciplinary, while also combining specific subjects into a semester-long learning experience. It forces you to think about a singular subject through many lenses, expanding your perspectives and the things that you believe are normal, fair, or unjust. One of the best things I did for Core was a project studying the effects of running on the body and mind. This exploration took me into science, psychology, philosophy, and history. My culminating project was to train for six weeks to run a half-marathon!

I'm involved in the Hiking Club, CHAMP, and Club Volleyball. I enjoy them because they're just fun! You get to hang out with like-minded people outside of typical events. Plus, hiking in Vermont is beautiful. I had never played volleyball before, but always wanted to try. It's the same for other clubs I've been to, like Climb Champlain and Parkour Club.

Pursue what you're passionate about beyond your major. Champlain makes it easy to push past the boundaries of a traditional education. I'm a student in the CCM division, but I've taken classes in all four divisions. I made it a priority to make my education what I wanted it to be, allowing me to explore topics I'm passionate about.