Kids & Sibs Weekend!

Well...the countdown has begun! We are getting close to the end of the term and summer vacation is quickly approaching! 

So far this term has been busy, mostly with Intel work and projects. Last week we completed a serial sexual assault case project. We were given 10 victim's reports and we had to analyze each and break each report down in terms of location, behaviors, time elements, victim description, and offender descriptions. We then had to create a briefing book with our analysis and findings. My partner and I easily put 40-50 hours into the project. Some of the nights we were in the lab from 7pm-4am! 

Right after we turned in that particular project we were given another project! This one deals with drugs and we have to construct a link chart. This project is due the Wednesday of finals week, so we have about three weeks to complete it. Again, I expect to put in some long nights.

This past weekend we had a special weekend on campus- Kids & Sibs weekend. It comes once a year and is a blast! Kids & Sibs weekend is when siblings of Mercyhurst students are invited to spend a weekend on campus. My youngest sister came and spent the weekend with me and we had so much fun! We checked in on Friday and were given a bunch of snacks and two matching official Kids & Sibs weekend T-shirts! 

We then went out to dinner in Erie and went to Starbucks for a drink and to talk. We ended the night by watching a movie. Saturday we took the bus to the mall and did some shopping. We then returned to campus and grabbed dinner at the Egan dining hall. Surprisingly, my sister liked the food! haha

Sunday afternoon we went to Panera for lunch and then my parents met us there and we went to the mall. I am glad she was able to come down and I know she enjoyed her stay at the Hurst! Can't wait until we do it again next year!

Below is a picture of two stuffed animals we made on Saturday during the events on campus:

Anyway, I'm currently at work study typing this blog so I better get back to work! 

Thanks for reading!

Ryan

Law Enforcement Intelligence

Hello Again!

Happy April Fool's Day! It's hard to believe today is April 1st! We have one more full month of school and then it's summer vacation. We had Major Day and Laker Live-In over the weekend. Major Day is when prospective students are invited to come to Mercyhurst and learn about the various majors the school offers. Each major holds a discussion/information session for those students who are interested. We had a great turnout this year.

Students who attend Major Day are also invited to spend the night (Laker Live-In). Each prospective student is paired with a current Mercyhurst freshman to spend the night with. The prospective student is then able to get a better grasp of life on campus - especially life in the dorm rooms. The school hosted a few musical groups last night as well as a comedian.

Well we are approaching the middle of the term and Easter Break is coming up! The first half of this term has flown by and midterms are approaching! I have on midterm on Wednesday and another the following Tuesday. Yikes.

This term I am taking a Law Enforcement Intelligence class and so far it is awesome! Mr. Grabelski teaches the course. He was a homicide detective with the LAPD. That is one thing I value in the Intel Department - our professors have real-world experience. They come from the field and what they are able to teach us from their own personal experiences is wonderful.

So far we have completed two projects and we were assigned our third one last Friday. For our third project we are analyzing a serial rapist case with ten victims. We have to analyze each victim's statement and pull out the important information and organize it into an Excel chart. We've done several examples in class and it is challenging but intriguing.

Our new Intel building is coming along! They have made tremendous progress on it so I thought I would post a picture I took a few days ago.

Thank you for reading!
Ryan

The new Intel building!