Christine McNulty
Bachelor of Science in Criminal Justice
Meet Christine McNulty: Challenging Adversity to Reach her Goals
Christine McNulty knows first hand what it is like to struggle under adversity. After being diagnosed with brain cancer five years ago she knew that earning her degree was a goal she had to achieve. "It was something I regretted not completing a long time ago. I wanted to follow through on a commitment I made to myself years ago; to earn my degree."
To learn about her options for earning her degree, Christine conducted a lot of research to find out what would work best for her family, her schedule, and her personal situation. Christine was also learning to overcome the difficulties of dealing with the military and overseas deployment for her husband, a U.S. Marine for 12 years and now a National Guardsman. She had to find something that would allow her to be at home and take care of her daughter while her husband was deployed in Iraq, so she had to be very flexible. For her, online education worked extremely well.
Christine chose to attend AIU Online because of the reputation of the University and the University's accreditation. American InterContinental University is accredited by The Higher Learning Commission and a member of the North Central Association. Additional information is available at 312-263-0456 or www.ncahigherlearningcommission.org. Not only did the classes work well within her schedule; she also discovered that the University works well with military families. She was able to do her school work during the day while her daughter was at school. She learned time management skills, how to stay on top of tasks, and how to ask for help when she needed it most. "I also enjoyed working with people from all over the country and the world; people with different learning styles that were able to share their individual knowledge and collectively learn from it."
Christine chose to pursue a Bachelor's degree in Criminal Justice through AIU Online. "Criminal justice has always been a field of interest for me. My father is a retired homicide investigator and my husband is a corrections officer in his civilian life. The field fascinates me and I feel my personality will help me make a difference in the area I plan to pursue." The sociological aspect of criminal justice interests Christine as well. There are people from all walks of life and everyone has a story and sometimes those stories haven't led to the best choices for that person. "I'm interested in possibly getting into the area of probation and parole and to help people get back on track and back into society. I'm interested in helping others and I feel it is a field I can excel in."
"I think my degree in criminal justice will help me to attain a probation or parole position. The education was very specific. It provided me insights that I was not aware of before and sparked even more interest in the topic." Juvenile probation is a field Christine has a fondness for as well. She currently is employed as a substitute teacher for a middle school. "I find it interesting that you can affect so much change in a juvenile if you intervene and catch problems early on. A lot of the time these children just don't have access to a positive role model that can teach them how to behave properly and within the parameters of the law." Prior to earning her degree through AIU, Christine had worked as a wilderness counselor for delinquent children in a wilderness boot camp situation.
Through AIU Online's criminal justice courses, Christine now has a better understanding of the different facilities that are available for juveniles - different schools, residential, and group homes. She now has first hand knowledge of how the programs work and the types of therapy that can be utilized to help juveniles and adults on probation or parole. Previously, she was not aware of all the opportunities for rehabilitation for offenders. She learned how the juvenile court system works and the similarities and differences to the adult court structure. "My most memorable course was the Juvenile Justice course. The instructor was really outstanding and provided students every opportunity to learn and to apply the knowledge in class and in today's society."
"I feel much better about myself having earned my Bachelor's degree and in reaching this goal. I promised myself I would get it done and I feel so much better about myself now." Christine is eager to continue on to earn her Master's degree in Psychology with her ultimate career goal of having her own practice in family and adolescent counseling. "It took me 13 years to finally get this degree and I can look in the mirror now and be proud of myself."
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