Graduate Spotlight: Switching Gears to Criminal Justice Studies

Nikki Ninmann had intended to be a nurse.

Several years ago, she began nursing school and was working at a local hospital. But, each day as she worked with patients, especially those who came in with injuries due to a criminal activity, she became more interested in what happened before they arrived and after they left her care.

“I realized I enjoyed I really enjoyed the criminal side of things,” she said. “I decided to look into schools and see if a criminal investigation degree was something I could obtain. Obviously, it all worked out.”

Nikki had jumped the first hurdle. She found a course of study she was passionate about. Now, she had to balance that with being a single mom of two, a full-time employee at a local grill and full-time student.

“It certainly was not easy,” she said.

Her job at the restaurant gave her a certain amount of flexibility with her schedule. Nikki said she choose Bryant & Stratton because the school gave her the same ability to work toward her degree day or night. Most importantly, she could attend school and continue to care for her children without making too many changes to their daily schedules. Bryant & Stratton offers criminal justice online programs as well as on-campus which helped Nikki with scheduling.

That’s not to say that balancing it all wasn’t challenging. Nikki said squeezing study time into her already packed schedule was a challenge.

And, it was worth it.

“The best part was learning. I really enjoyed school and am really happy I chose to follow through with this degree,” she said. “All of the professors were great, as well as all my classmates.”

Nikki earned her associate degree in Criminal Justice Studies and is currently working as a paralegal. It is just one of the things you can do with a criminal justice degree. Her ultimate goal is to continue her education and become a private investigator.

She has a powerful piece of advice for other students, especially working moms.

“Follow your hopes and dreams and work hard, work with everything you have,” she said. “Never give up, even when it gets hard.”

If you are interested in studying criminal justice, check out the available programs at Bryant & Stratton College or contact the Admissions office for more information.