Distance education program fulfills dreams, meets goals for MSU police officer
What began as a dream of joining the military led Chantel Solis to Mississippi State University as a police officer. Now, she also is pursuing another goal of obtaining her bachelor’s degree in interdisciplinary studies.
Solis, 25, was born in California but moved to Mississippi as a 6-year-old. She fondly calls the move as “a summer trip that never ended.”
In high school, she joined the JROTC and achieved the rank of second lieutenant, enjoying the program so much that she hoped to pursue a military career. However, as a high school junior, she underwent heart surgery, which ended her chances of enlisting.
At the urging of her mother, an assistant jail administrator for the Oktibbeha County Sheriff’s Office, Solis took part in the Explorers Academy offered by the Sheriff’s Office to learn about law enforcement careers. The experience led Solis to a voluntary one-week stint at the Southeastern Law Enforcement Explorer Academy in Gulfport, where she trained in various aspects of law enforcement, including vehicle stops, handcuffing techniques, radio procedures and more.
The experience defined a new career path for her, and she found that law enforcement was a natural choice, given her desire to serve.
“In the military, you serve and protect your country. In law enforcement, you serve and protect your community,” Solis said.
At MSU, Solis now serves as a patrol officer and co-instructor for CPR and first aid, as well as an instructor for self-defense classes. She also volunteers as a co-instructor for the Rape Aggression Defense Systems training offered to the public at the Sanderson Center.
“I want to see females be more confident in themselves—for them to understand that they don’t need a man to defend them. They can do it themselves,” Solis said.
Motivated by “being the change” in someone’s life, she enjoys opportunities to help educate students on campus.
“Students, being on their own for the first time, they want to spread their wings and try new things,” Solis said. “Sometimes they aren’t aware of certain laws or make bad choices. I see it as an opportunity to help educate them about things to help them be safe and feel more secure.”
Solis is working to finish her bachelor’s degree through MSU’s Center for Distance Education as she continues her role as a police officer. She said she chose the interdisciplinary studies degree program because of the transferrable hours she already had accumulated at an area community college.
“It just helps for a person who is undecided to get that degree under your belt,” Solis said.
Her studies include emphasis in the areas of criminology, sociology and general business. For her, criminology helped intertwine her first-hand knowledge with the academic side of law enforcement. Solis said sociology helps her better understand the reasons people do the things they do, such as why people commit crimes or become repeat offenders.
Solis suggests the interdisciplinary studies program for anyone wanting to complete a bachelor’s degree.
“I felt like the people I graduated high school with were passing me by. Soon, I too can say I have finished my undergraduate degree.”