One hallmark of the Criminal Justice Studies program at 农夫导航 is its social-justice orientation. This makes the program ideal for students who are motivated by wanting to make a difference in their communities. The Criminal Justice Studies program鈥檚 focus and design align closely with Bellarmine鈥檚 mission鈥攖o educate students for meaningful lives, rewarding careers, ethical leadership and service to improve the human condition.  

The program is interdisciplinary, with coursework in criminal justice, sociology, psychology, anthropology and more, giving students a holistic understanding of the origins of criminal behavior and responses to it. They can then apply a critical lens to issues of crime, justice and equity, rethinking current approaches and imagining innovative solutions to the challenges facing the contemporary criminal justice system.

 That鈥檚 what drew Tamia Stallard 鈥�21 of Frankfort, Kentucky, to major in Criminal Justice Studies at Bellarmine. 鈥淚 have a true passion for helping others,鈥� she said, 鈥渁nd being a minority myself, and knowing that the criminal justice system negatively impacts people of color, I wanted to learn as much as I could so that I could help those who look like me.鈥�  Tamia also benefited from another strength of Criminal Justice Studies at Bellarmine: the robust internship program. Each student completes a semester-long, hands-on internship in an area such as law enforcement, courts, corrections, social service or the non-profit sector. A faculty coordinator helps pair students with agencies that best fit their interests. Tamia, who wanted to work with young people, landed an internship at YMCA Safe Place Services. The organization, which began in 1974 with the founding of Shelter House鈥攁 safe place for struggling teens to stay until things calm down at home鈥攏ow provides additional services including mentoring, street outreach, truancy prevention and family mediation. 鈥淚 was able to learn not only from the youth workers and other staff members I worked with, but the youth staying at Safe Place as well,鈥� Tamia said. 鈥淚 gained a new perspective on life.鈥� The internship went so well that Tamia was hired as a part-time youth worker in April 2021, before she even graduated from Bellarmine. She became a full-time senior youth worker in June 2021.  鈥淚 provide a listening ear and advice to youth in crisis. I lead youth in life-skills activities and discussions that they can use either currently or later in life,鈥� she said. 鈥淓very day is different鈥攖hat鈥檚 one thing I love about Safe Place.鈥�