{"id":128023,"date":"2020-10-26T16:52:45","date_gmt":"2020-10-26T22:52:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/communique.uccs.edu\/?p=128023"},"modified":"2022-09-22T09:32:21","modified_gmt":"2022-09-22T15:32:21","slug":"protecting-serving-and-learning-adrian-vasquez","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/communique.uccs.edu\/?p=128023","title":{"rendered":"Protecting, serving and learning | Adrian Vasquez \u201917"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Following in the footsteps of his father, a Colorado State Trooper, Adrian Vasquez ’17 knew he had a penchant for public service. Following high school, he enlisted in the U.S. Air Force where he served for a decade, never thinking a college degree was the right path for him.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Since then, his outlook has changed drastically. Service was still his goal, but Vasquez \u2014 armed with life experience \u2014 realized a degree was necessary to build a career in civilian law enforcement.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI remember thinking I had all this training on tactics and more. I thought all the experience and training should be enough, but I had to look at the requirements for success for the field of my choosing. Education is definitely on the list,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

With his new perspective, Vasquez sought out and earned a degree that allowed him to kick-start a career in the Colorado Springs Police Department.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI\u2019m a Colorado native and I really wanted to put on this uniform and serve our community,” he said. “For a long time, I was able to do that while working as a patrol officer, then a narcotics officer.\u201d  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

From 1995 to 2011, Vasquez served his community by combating crime and removing drugs from the streets of Colorado Springs. His experience prepared him for leadership roles within the department, but further education was essential as he tested for promotions.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cFormal and self-education are both important,” Vasquez said. “They help you speak well and understand the \u2018whys\u2019 in certain situation, but higher education makes you think more broadly and more open-minded. It brings other thinking to the table.\u201d  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Vasquez enrolled in the Master of Criminal Justice program at UCCS with the goal of becoming a Lieutenant. He acknowledged the difficulty of working in the field while seeking a degree, but said support systems at UCCS fueled him.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI felt it was exceptional. If you\u2019re a working student, you need the support of your professors, and I found they were very supportive,” he said. “They were also very well informed and educated on the classes they were teaching.\u201d  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Not the average student, Vasquez brought a host of criminal justice knowledge to his studies, but he found he learned in unexpected ways.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cFor the most part, my fellow students were not police officers. They brought a perspective to me that was important to hear regarding constitutional rights and how officers act in the street. It was critical for me.\u201d  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

While studying, Vasquez frequently had to leave class to take calls and handle emergency situations.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt was a balancing act to get to classes, but every professor was completely understanding. I remember having to take a murder call and left without saying anything, but they never batted an eye. They had an understanding of what I was responsible for.\u201d  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Vasquez said his professors were also able to help him take away valuable information that would fuel his service. \u201cFrom non-police-related ethics information to the theories and sociological perspective, I learned a lot while studying at UCCS.\u201d  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

His studies paid off, and following his graduation, he has been promoted multiple times, now to Deputy Chief overseeing CSPD\u2019s patrol operations.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cLaw enforcement is such a complicated and diverse career field, and that\u2019s why getting your degree is important,” he said. “You\u2019re exposed to so many different thoughts and perspectives on policing.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

With all his education and experience, he\u2019s found himself giving advice to those aspiring to careers in public service. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI can\u2019t think of a career where a degree isn\u2019t desired or beneficial to you. Why not proactively make your way there and check that box off to help you succeed in whatever you\u2019re trying to accomplish? It\u2019s easy to hope somebody is going to see something in you, but most of us have to put in work to be as successful as we can be.\u201d  <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Following in the footsteps of his father, a Colorado State Trooper, Adrian Vasquez knew he had a penchant for public service. (More)<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"author":18,"featured_media":128024,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[1,427],"tags":[370,369,39],"class_list":["post-128023","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-all","category-alumni-stories","tag-alumni","tag-alumni-success","tag-college-of-public-service"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/communique.uccs.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/vasquez-ss.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p1mBpJ-xiT","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/communique.uccs.edu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/128023","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/communique.uccs.edu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/communique.uccs.edu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/communique.uccs.edu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/18"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/communique.uccs.edu\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=128023"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/communique.uccs.edu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/128023\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":142805,"href":"https:\/\/communique.uccs.edu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/128023\/revisions\/142805"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/communique.uccs.edu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/128024"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/communique.uccs.edu\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=128023"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/communique.uccs.edu\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=128023"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/communique.uccs.edu\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=128023"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}