Introduction The Masers of Science in Security Administration program at Southwestern College was the beginning of my security experience.

Entering the MSSA program in January 2007 was the beginning of my journey in the security profession. After graduation from High School in 1972, I attended Youngstown State University working towards a Bachelors Degree in Education. I had always wanted to become a teacher. After the first year of classes, my direction changed dramatically. I transferred to a community college where I began pursuing my Bachelors Degree in Criminal Justice. I completed two years of studies before making another dramatic change in my life. I first entered the protection industry in August of 1976 when I joined the United States Air Force. I trained in the Law Enforcement field where I would spend the next twenty years. My experience in Law Enforcement has been one of the most rewarding experiences of my life. My goals were pretty simple back then. I wanted to become a police officer and promote through the ranks and become a leader; to teach younger troops what I had learned and mold them into excellent police officers themselves. My service to my country took me along a journey throughout the United States and abroad. The experience of living in another country was an eye-opening experience. I had to not only know and enforce the Uniform Code of Military Justice, but also know and enforce local laws and customs that were new to Americans. I can honestly say that I learned to appreciate my homeland a lot more after being in some foreign countries. I was promoted to a supervisor position to the rank of Sergeant and began training in leadership skills. I was given the responsibility of supervising a few troops and eventually became a sergeant in Quality Control. While in Quality Control, I was tasked with evaluating

other troops skills and job performance. This was also a very rewarding position as I was able to help others learn from me. I received another promotion to Staff Sergeant and assumed the duties of a Shift Leader. This position was one that I had longed to hold and I had finally met my goal of becoming a leader. I attended more leadership training and brought my knowledge and skills to the job; enhancing the training of those who worked for me. I had once again become interested in completing my Bachelors Degree in Criminal Justice. Attending school while on active duty in the military became a very difficult task as I soon learned. Working twelve hours shifts with only one day off, deployments, and temporary duty assignments made it very difficult to attend college. I would take classes every so often but never finished. Towards the end of my career in the Air Force, I was sent to Iraq to perform security duties there. Although I was not a security specialist per se, we always trained for combat just in case that dreaded time ever came. Then that day did come. This was the first time I had the experience of working in security while serving in a combat role. Although women are not allowed to serve on the front lines, our job was to provide security at a very undeveloped airfield where planes would land to bring shipments of supplies and personnel to the combat field. I was assigned as a Fire Team Leader and had three other young men assigned to my team. After arrival at our base our squadron dug foxholes and set up positions for fire teams, observation posts, foot patrols, and check points. The experience was harrowing to say the least. One I will never forget or desire to go through again. My military experience has earned me numerous awards and decorations that I am very proud of. After retiring from the Air Force in December 1995, I took a job in a completely different field. I only spent nine months as an assistant manager with a finance company. It didnt take

long for me to realize I was not happy and longed to return to my chosen career of Law Enforcement. I applied for a position of a Crime Scene Investigator with the Wichita Police Department and was hired in December 1996. My present position as a Crime Scene Investigator has also been one of the most satisfying as well as one that is extremely frustrating at times. I have had the privilege of working some very high profile cases here in Wichita, some that I have earned awards for. My dedication to duty and hard work has also earned me generous raises throughout the years. I have also received excellent performance evaluations from my superiors. The position of Crime Scene Investigator requires you to have at least a Bachelors Degree in one of the sciences, Criminal Justice or related field. I was hired with the agreement that I would finish my degree. So it was back to school to finish my degree. I already competed ninety-six hours and wasnt far from completing my degree. In the year 2005, I graduated from Southwestern College with my Bachelors Degree in Criminal Justice. Since I was in the learning mode after being out of school for so long, I decided I would work on a Masters Degree. Since Southwestern College does not have a Masters Degrees program in Criminal Justice, I decided on the MSSA program because I believe the two are closely related. Southwestern College requires that students meet expected outcomes before they are awarded a Masters Degree. These particular outcomes are indicative that the student has gained understanding of key security concepts and theories. The expected outcomes are: 1. That learner can demonstrate that they have gained breadth and depth of understanding of key security concepts and theories.

2. That the learner can demonstrate that they are recognized by their current employers as excellent candidates for advancement in their chosen field. 3. That the learner can demonstrate an understanding and appreciation of the legal and ethical implications of security professionals. 4. That the learner exhibits poise and confident in verbal and written communication. 5. That the learner can demonstrate they have and will continue to be lifelong learners. These expected outcomes demonstrates that the student is skilled, and capable of advancement, responsibility, and can communicate what he/she has learned. This portfolio will demonstrate that I have achieved these outcomes.