Olivia Davis went from not expecting to attend college at all, to graduating with a Criminal Justice degree and considering law school.
“UCCS was close to home, but far enough away from for me to be in my own space,” she said. “I was happy just going to college because it was something that I never thought I would get to do, and being able to go to any college in Colorado was especially nice because I haven’t lived here that long and I felt like an out-of-state student. But since I’ve been here since high school, I had the benefit of in-state tuition but also felt like I was going to an amazing school out of state.”
Navigating university and its requirements was overwhelming for Olivia at first, especially as a first-generation student.
“I had no idea what I was doing,” said Olivia. “But my grandparents helped me pick colleges to consider and explained to me what the FAFSA was, the difference between a grant and a loan, all those things.”
With her grandparents’ help and then getting a student job in the Financial Aid Office, Olivia became very familiar with the processes and ended up being the one to help others learn about them.
“In the Financial Aid Office, I can see how it can affects people’s lives so I was grateful to have a little bit of guidance,” she said. “It’s nice working here and seeing the light come into students’ eyes as they understand, and seeing the supervisors and counselors that I work with go to high schools and explain it to students.”
Other than her classes and job, Olivia spent much of her time on campus in the American Criminal Justice Association, which provides guidance in the furtherance of criminal justice studies through academics, training and competition.
“It was a very fun group to be with because it helped me immerse myself in the criminal justice area a little bit more with the hands-on activities we did,” said Olivia. “A lot of the things we do are to prepare for competition, like crime scene investigation, where we go through a mock crime scene and assess it like CSI would. There’s also an agility course that we often do at police academies, and a firearm class. It’s more law enforcement focused than criminal justice, but still a good experience to have and learn about criminal justice through.”
The association has also been a way for Olivia to hone leadership skills as she’s been the club president for the past semester, a skillset that she didn’t expect for herself.
“At first I was just going to the club meetings, practicing, having fun with people, and then I got to go to competition and actually experience it,” she said. “Now, I get to take that competition experience as a president and apply it to the new students coming in. I like the leadership aspect of it because I like to learn new things, but also pass on that knowledge to other people in a helpful manner. For me, a lot of what I’ve been doing is trying to restore it and sharing my knowledge. Our former advisor retired and half the team graduated, so I’ve been bringing in new members and preparing them for competition. Our new faculty member, Katy Hudson, has been so helpful.”
“I did enjoy the leadership aspect, which is a very weird thing for me to say,” she added with a laugh. “I was the most shy person ever at the beginning of college and did not like being in the spotlight. Now I’m a little more comfortable with public speaking and taking charge.”
Though Olivia enjoyed her classes and learning about criminal justice, she’s looking forward to learning more about herself and discovering her identity outside of a busy college career.
“I was doing over 15 credit hours every semester and then also working, plus participating in the American Criminal Justice Association, so I’m excited to I explore myself as a person too along with new hobbies and interests and figuring out what I want to do long term,” she said.
One long-term path Olivia is considering is the within the social work realm of criminal justice and working with vulnerable populations, like underage individuals in need of guidance.
“I met a donor who used to be a criminal justice professor at the Donor Celebration and we had a great conversation where I shared my interests, and he suggested looking into something like a guardian ad litem job,” she recalled. “Essentially, it’s like a lawyer who represents children or minors in court who may not understand the system or what’s going on.”
“I ultimately chose criminal justice based off of hardships I witnessed in Missouri, where I grew up, and the help that criminal justice provided,” Olivia said. “I want to provide that same help.”