Capstone Reflections

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How I entered the Law Enforcement Profession

During the summers of college, I had nowhere to live. My parents divorced in the summer before my freshman year, which lead me to couch surf at my friends and grandparents house for 3 months (note: I firmly believe my grandparents couch, which they donated two years later, could beat any bed despite it being from the 1970s). Fortunately, my RA shared a job posting on campus that included employer-sponsored housing. I jumped at the opportunity despite already having a full-time job at Whole Foods. That summer I worked about 70 hours a week, and absolutely loved the self-growth.

Anyways, the position was a 24/7 front desk employee for the dorms which operate more like hotels during the summer. I worked the graveyard shift, which meant I had to problem solve A LOT before being forced to make the rare late-night phone call that would surely wake up the person on call. I enjoyed the position a lot as the guests were mostly very nice. My favorite memory was training a fellow employee and checking in 100+ guests from countries other than the United States who did not speak English between 1am-5am. After my first summer, I was offered a student supervisor position. The office job resembled being an administrative assistant more than supervisor. I candidly spoke with the director of the department, who recommended I reach out to the University Police Department about a possible position. Although law enforcement was not exactly my passion at that point, I headed her advice and ultimately started there in 2018 as a training and logistics specialist.

At first, it was my duty to handle the logistics and technology of the Campus Police Academy for all of DC, which AU was hosting that year, but I started to study the lessons and built bonds with the recruits. Ultimately, I became their primary tutor for everything from D.C. Criminal Code to Defensive Tactics.

With each Academy session I retained my responsibilities and added some more:

      • 2018-01 (May – August 2018)
          • Logistics Coordinator and Primary Tutor
      • 2019-01 (December – March 2019)
          • Exam Writer and Secondary Instructor
      • 2019-02 (May – August 2019)
          • Administrative Coordinator and Master Scheduler
      • 2020-01 (December – March 2020)
          • Primary Instructor for D.C. Code

Some of my key accomplishments included:

      • Wrote over 25 Exams with a total of 1500 questions that proofed recruits meeting training objectives
      • Evaluated and re-organized the curriculum
      • Contributed to improving the 57% graduation rate in 2018-01 to 100% in 2019-02 and 2020-01
      • Coordinated guest lectures from the U.S. Department of State, National Capital Region Threat Intelligence Consortium, D.C. Government Agencies and Campus Partners
      • Taught ALL of D.C. Criminal Code in 2020-01 including over 40 Hours of Instruction and 150+ criminal codes
      • In 2020-01, I was the top-ranked Academic instructor for Consistently Engaging Audience according to an anonymous survey of recruits

My favorite memory was getting pepper sprayed with a highly concentrated law enforcement-only blend of oleoresin capsicum and completing a 2-minute obstacle course after.

Working at AUPD was an experience that I am eternally grateful for. It led me to intern at the Metropolitan Police Department, George Washington University Police, and consult on security training for a large hospital system. My coworkers took the job very seriously, but always made time or a laugh or friendly conversation. My responsibilities grew exponentially while at AUPD, which allowed me to try new things and learn more than I could ever imagine.

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The Kennedy Political Union

I joined the Kennedy Political Union (KPU) in January 2018 after constantly hearing from my roommate how awesome the organization was. I applied without telling or requesting him as a reference. If I was going to be accepted in this selective organization, I wanted to do it on my own terms. I later found that the most influential members had a similar attitude.

KPU is American University’s Speakers Bureau. It is completely controlled and operated by students. It is annual budget includes $190,000 and typically another $100,000 through cosponsors. I went into the organization having very limited event planning skills and left with a reputation on campus as being the “event guy.” Perhaps it was earpiece that I totally didn’t just wear because I thought it looked cool (I swear it was actually connected to a radio). Or maybe it was because our events brought out the most students and added the college experience.

Secretary Condoleezza Rice and Dr. Phillip Zelikow discuss their book, “To Build a Better World”

As the Deputy Director and Lead Event Producer, it was my responsibility to coordinate and delegate all logistics for our events, which ranged from 100 attendees to 2500+ attendees. I probably spent around 20-250 hours planning each event depending on its size and VIPs. It’s funny that so much preparation went into a 90-minute experience. However, it was passion and long hours of planning felt more like entertainment.

In my capacity, I routinely worked with AU’s Presidents Office and other Campus Partners. I unofficially joined AU’s event planning network, which comprised of full-time employees from Audio Visual, Facilities, Scheduling, Catering, Athletics, etc. The people in this network were always very supportive, especially to me even though I was a student. In the position, I learned the importance of having solid relationships with coworkers and supporters, especially in a time-sensitive industry.

No event ever went to plan. Never. That’s a tough truth to accept. But in the event industry, those who do not understand this will always make issues bigger than what they have to be. I’ve lead events where the spotlights suddenly stopped function, and the audio went out in the middle of someone speaking. Despite my failures, I always was content with events knowing that I tried my hardest.

In one particular event where we had 2000 attendees, 30-seconds before the start of the event we realized there was no water on the stage. Our rider stated there must be water on the stage, but more importantly, it is difficult for most humans to speak to a 2000-person audience for 60 minutes without needing a sip of water every so often. Realizing this, I sprinted about 400 feet, including 3 flights of stairs, and grabbed two chilled bottles of water. I then jumped down the stairs one flight at a time to deliver the water in about 25 seconds, just in time. The only people who saw me do this was one staff member on our team and the security for the event. For me, it was just another day in the job, but the staff member who observed me thought it was incredible. Later, during our all-staff debrief, the staff member spoke about how she could feel my dedication to the organization in that moment and that it changed their perspective on how and why we do what we do.

To be honest, I rarely listened to the speakers we brought. This happened for two reasons. First, there always something to improve at events. I would rather make the experience better for attendees or speakers by opting to work on what’s next in the run of show, rather than listen to the events. Secondly, I could not in good conscious expect others on my team to work and miss the show when I get to enjoy it. While this type of “always on” mindset can quickly become toxic for a team if not controlled correctly, I believe leaders prove themselves by acting. I cared for my team, and my team knew that. Our mission was to produce the best student-run events, not to watch the show. As a staff member, its not my role to watch- that’s for the audience. It was my role to make sure the stage is set up optimally, that the lines run smoothly, that the VIPs are protected and cared for appropriately, that attendees can hear and see the speaker, and to make sure water is on the stage.

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My time as a Resident Assistant (RA) 2017-2020

On a day one of most AU students’ college careers, they will be welcomed and guided by RAs during the move-in process. Moving in about 1000 students a day on AU’s small campus is a feat that requires leadership from the frontline. When lines were longer than anticipated in certain directions, I used my knowledge of working directly in the flow to determine what was the barrier. This story begins on the Northside of Campus. Car lines were about 400-deep (about 3 hours wait). I arrived and observed the University’s top officials hurriedly walking around the area and discussing the issue. They kept saying that the we need to shorten the line but offered no solutions.

I noticed the elevators were the primary cause of back-ups. A normal-operating elevator will stop at every floor that “calls” for it. However, during move-in the elevators reach capacity typically after 1 to 2 stops. Instead of going to the destination to release the occupants, elevators continue to stop on every floor that calls it. This creates a significant inefficiency in transporting the belongings and people to their rooms.

I came up with a solution to this problem from watching The Suite Life of Zack and Cody. Zack and Cody lived in a fancy penthouse in New York City. At their home, an elevator attendant controlled where the elevator went, no matter if someone was calling it. This mode is called “independent mode.” I saw a keyhole that allowed for AU’s elevators to be switched from normal to independent mode and realized this would make the process much faster. I contacted my supervisor who pushed off my idea. He was very stressed and ignored my idea. I then took the risk and directly called Facilities Management to change the elevator mode. I explained my role and my idea. They agreed that it could make the process go much faster. Within a few minutes, the elevator technician made the switch with his key. About 20 minutes later, the 400+ car line was reduced to only 10. The process was almost working too well as staff began eagerly looking for work. The contracted lead for the moving company acknowledged that my proactive response and idea is what fixed the issue. The higher ups shrugged his comments off.

After it became operating at a steady pace, I moved over to the Southside of Campus where I found the same issue. This time, I noticed and addressed it before the people in positional leadership spots got there. When they arrived, they saw that I took over the operation. The director said, “you always seem to be finding the trouble today.” I laughed and thought to myself about the difference in perspectives we had. Again, within an hour the line was at a controllable pace.

At the end of the first day of move-in, I spoke to my supervisor and requested that my schedule change from being assigned to a particular spot to be a floater. She acknowledged that the director had already requested the adjustment. While the director did not show gratitude in the moment that we saw each other earlier, I felt more gratitude from her when she requested I take on a position with much more responsibility and leadership. I felt confident in taking the risk of adjusting the elevators because of the trusting environment of the organization. I had worked for the organization for two years prior and developed relationships with its members. I knew that this was a minor risk worth taking. My decision resulted in a much better first impression for thousands of students, something that is immensely important in higher education and business in general.

Now that I have spoken about move-in, let me dive into my other what I primarily did as an RA. I worked as an RA for two years (2018-2020) and supervised the residence hall front desks for one year (2017-2018). As an RA, I had three primary responsibilities:

      1. Promote an inclusive and welcoming environment by hosting community events
      2. Providing direct support and referrals to residents
      3. Serving as a first responder outside the University’s normal operating hours

To be honest, I struggled with the events portion of the role. This was surprising to me as I simultaneously held the role of Lead Event Producer for the University’s Speakers Bureau. However, the events we were encouraged and sometimes mandated to host felt forced and ingenuine. It was difficult to develop and host rated-PG events for a college audience.

Rather that dwelling on my struggle with hosting events, I thought about what the purpose of hosting events. I realized that the purpose was to check in with residents and encourage inter-personal relationships. With this, I worked to build unique relationships with my residents. I brought in my peers who were officers in clubs to speak about their experiences. I strayed away from hosting corny events and moved towards hosting events that were relevant in American culture and student life in the particular week.

In my time as an RA, I basically trademarked “let’s go a walk.” When residents were struggling or causing disruptive behavior, I naturally told them that they had to go on a walk with me around campus or an area they felt comfortable doing so. The walks helped residents decompress because the environment was far less intimidating than an office or dorm room. Typically, we would walk to a coffee shop about a ½ mile away from campus and back. The 15-minutes was a perfect amount of time for residents to get everything off their chest and for me to advise.

When most people think of an RA, they envision someone showing up to their door at 1am to tell them to quiet down. While I did respond to noise complaints, I was more frequently called to emergencies. Although I don’t have the exact numbers, I probably responded to 5 medical emergencies, 5 drug violations, 5 residents in crisis, and 15 alcohol-related illnesses. No one really knows what hey are going to do in an emergency until they are directly in one. As someone who wants to go into emergency public service, I was fortunate to get a glimpse of what its like to be a first-responder as a RA.

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Essay on Leadership Growth

Over the past four years, I have grown immensely as a leader. I am thankful I have had the SPA leadership Program support me throughout my time at American University (AU). When I entered AU, I thought “leadership” meant being in charge. I learned that this type of leadership only occurs in certain circumstances and by far is not a modern day definition. Leadership is a process. This means that just because someone has positional leadership does not mean they are a leader. In my time at AU, I have been in situation where the positional leader lacked motivation and was not effective. Rather, the person’s subordinates lead the team within.

Still, it is important to have a single-person being the coordinating of activities.  When no one steps up and does this, teams tend to miss deadlines, produce poor quality work and have difficulty communicating.

The SPA Leadership Program is fascinating and unique group. The program attracts high achieving students who want to make change. Now don’t get me wrong, most of us enter with the idea that leadership is position and a “power thing.”  However, over the past four years, each of us has developed our own definitions and moved away our misguided thoughts. We were guided in our development through the theories we examined and put into practice.

In my first year at AU, I was limited in my campus involvement to just SPA Leadership. To afford college, I worked full-time overnight at Whole Foods. This left me exhausted during the day. I was lucky if I had enough energy to attend class. The SPA Leadership Program gave me a foundation. It kept me involve on campus and in social-educational group. The social action group was the first group project I had at AU, and by far the longest I have ever had in an educational setting. In the group, we built bonds through our successes and conflicts. We all learned how to work with each other, and developed synergy that I miss.

As my finances grew more stable due to a new scholarship, I became much more involved on campus. Once I secured my first campus job, I ran with it and in some ways am still feeding off it. My first job at AU was working the front desks of the Residence Halls. Through it, I meant staff members from different departments including AU Police and Student Activities. Fast-forward 3 years, and I now have had 4 internships and was the Deputy Director of the university’s speakers bureau. This program gave me the tools and support to keep chasing the next opportunity.

I am forever indebted to the SPA Leadership Program for being a critical part of my development at American University.

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Statement on Leadership

Over the last century, leadership theories have been developed and tried by those in the business sector, public service and beyond. After studying these different theories, I personally relate to authentic leadership the most.

From an intrapersonal perspective, authentic leadership incorporates self-knowledge and awareness. Without this deep understanding of one’s self, leaders would be ineffective at captivating a group to reach higher. Instead, the leader’s own goals would be the group’s goal, whether it’s a negative or positive one. This could cause the group to sway from the common good and cause their project to be swayed.

Similarly, from the interpersonal perspective, both leaders and followers are involved in all parts of the group. This is where authentic leadership varies from the common definitions of leadership in the past. Authentic leadership requires that all members of the group be proactive in the decision making, and that the leader is not better than their followers.

From the developmental perspective, authentic leadership closely relates to the skills-approach of leadership. Authentic leadership is not something that people are born with. It is not a trait, rather it is a process that must be learned and worked on. In this way, authentic leadership mostly resembles a pattern

To me, authentic leadership is the basis of any leadership program geared to public service, and beyond. There is a great emphasis on being ethical and responsible in the process. No matter if a leader’s power is positional or personal, authentic leadership focuses on doing what is ethically right, and highly empathetic.

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