Online Student Success - Pursuing a Career in Criminal Justice

Steven Zembruski began taking online Criminal Justice classes at Bay State College this fall, but he is not a rookie when it comes to earning a college degree.  

In 2012 Steven graduated with a bachelor’s in Sociology from Assumption College. After graduation, Steven worked as an EMT and ended up taking a job as a dispatcher for the Holden Police.

“It wasn’t what I had in mind when I started college,” said Steven. “And it didn’t exactly line up with the course work that I had taken, but the job made me realize that I had a passion for Criminal Justice.”

Following that passion is how Steven found himself in his current position as Community Service Officer at Babson College campus in Wellesley, MA.  As Community Service Officer, Steven and his colleagues work to provide a safe environment for the College’s students, providing dispatch services, off-campus escorts, and fostering the relationship between campus safety staff and the College’s students, staff, and faculty.

“I started at Babson at an exciting time,” says Steven.  “We recently got accredited – the highest ranking a police department can be ranked in Massachusetts. I was able to help out with the accreditation and it was an honor to be a part of.”

And within this great department is a solid rank structure.  Steven knew that in order to advance in the department and in his own career, he had to get some education that was more in line with the path he was on.  That’s how he started researching Bay State.

Working 5 days a week and not wanting to add any additional time to his commute, Steven knew he needed an online program.  Bay State’s online degree in Criminal Justice seemed to fit the bill, but his number one priority was making sure he could get as many transfer credits as possible from his time at Assumption College and experience in the Police Academy.

But once he had his transcripts together, the process of getting enrolled and getting used to the online learning system was quick and simple. Now he’s on an accelerated path to earning his associate degree in Criminal Justice.

“Criminal Justice is changing.  It’s a dynamic field that is becoming more and more technology based, so the online courses just seem to fit. I’ve even been able to use the social work knowledge I gained from earning my bachelor’s and apply it to courses like Juvenile Justice.”

As with many online students, Steven has never been to either our Boston or Taunton Campus, but that doesn’t make him any less part of our community.  Thanks, Steven, for letting us stop by for a visit!