Three Northern Michigan University criminal justice students were recently hired as paid cadets with the Michigan State Police at the Negaunee Post. In addition, two unpaid internship positions at the same post have been filled by NMU criminal justice students.
The three students who were hired—Madison Longendyke, Katie Scholtz and Evan Durbin— completed a one-week formal training for cadets at the State Police Training Academy in December before starting work in Negaunee.
“Being hired to the Michigan State Police post was a huge opportunity,” said Longendyke. “During the pandemic there have been no internships with the lab or post, so this job is a foot in the door, and will help me learn many things within the Michigan State Police. My criminal justice degree has prepared me for several aspects of this job; to know what questions to ask and how to prepare for the tasks of this cadet job.”
Originally, the MSP only had one position slated for the Negaunee Post. However, after the interviews were held, two paid cadet positions were transferred from separate worksites, and all three positions were filled with Northern Michigan students.
Professor Chris MacMaster said that the Negaunee post commander stated he was "very impressed" with the NMU criminal justice students that applied for these positions, and encouraged the program to keep sending students his way for future job considerations.
“The transfer of paid cadet positions to the Upper Peninsula reflects credit on the work Chris has done to recruit high-quality students to fill intern and cadet positions,” said Robert Hanson, head of the Criminal Justice and Loss Prevention Management Department.
The Negaunee Post also accepted two NMU criminal justice students for unpaid internships for the Winter 2022 semester. The students, Grace Bessey and Bailey Bell, are the first NMU interns accepted by the MSP since the beginning of the pandemic in 2019.