Criminal Justice students at the Career and Technical Education Center – Albany Campus received a quick introduction to boot camp on Thursday as members of the New York State Police visited the campus and spoke about careers in law enforcement.
With the assistance of the troopers, students in Gerald Place’s Criminal Justice program performed a series of physical fitness tests – from timed push-ups to stomach crunches and more. They then met with the troopers in a classroom setting who spoke about what it takes to join their ranks and the decisions the students must start making now.
During physical fitness testing, students worked with partners to complete some tasks, such as push-ups where the students drop low enough to touch their partner’s hand on their chest. They also performed in groups, organizing and marching in formation.
During one point in the exercises, Trooper Joli Zhaka watched as Criminal Justice Senior Finn Wickware completed a push-up challenge while just a few feet away, Trooper Lauren Warner watched as Criminal Justice senior Dezirae Austin completed her challenge. 
Wickware, from Ravena-Coeymans-Selkirk, is enrolling in college in pursuit of a criminal justice degree and is interested in becoming a trooper—or pursuing a career as a lawyer—upon completion of college.
“I find the whole criminal justice system interesting and I enjoy helping people, so this is definitely the right area for me,” said Wickware.
Austin, a Scotia-Glenville senior, is going to SUNY Canton in the fall in pursuit of a criminal justice degree with the hopes of one day being a crime scene investigator.
The troopers—Curtis Rich, Zhaka and Warner—praised the students for their physical fitness and other skills.
“You guys impressed us with your results,” Zhaka said, adding that “Dezirae did a great job in taking leadership and organizing the march.”
Investigator Lisa MacLauchlin, though, added that it’s not just physical skills that will make their careers. Academic scores in the State Police Academy and the decisions the students make now in their personal lives also matter.
“You need to look at the decisions you make, the people you surround yourselves with or hang out with, your social media use, all of that,” she said, adding that any one of those factors could derail their plans to enter law enforcement.