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Daniel Krastins is from Latvia and is a past pupil of the CBS Highschool in Clonmel Co Tipperary. Daniel is in his final year of the criminal justice course in WIT and has been a member of the Peer2Peer initiative that was set up by the Student Life and Learning team.
Since I finished my course I have:
I am in my final year of the course and I plan on joining An Garda Síochána as soon as I graduate.
I wanted to study B.A. (Hons.) in Criminal Justice Studies at WIT because:
WIT was my first choice to study this course because it is the closest to home, as well as that, WIT offers a level 8 B.A. (Hons.) degree for only 3 years of work, as opposed to the 4 years required for the Criminal Justice Studies course in Limerick, and the Criminology course in Cork. Due to these reason, the choice was easy.
Some of the highlights of my college experience at WIT include:
Making new friends for life who I never would have met if it were not for our choice of course. Taking part in the P2P programme for 2 years. Representing the class as a class rep in the final year of the course.
Peer2Peer participation benefited my college experience in the following way:
I remember when I was in my first year of college, feeling completely lost in a new environment. The P2P mentors at the time did such a good job of helping me settle in that I was inspired to join the programme myself the following year. The P2P programme allowed me to 'pay forward' the kindness shown to me by the previous mentors. It was amazing to see how much my mentees were developing as the year went on, and it felt good to see that by taking part in the programme, I was genuinely helping my group of mentees.
The P2P programme is as effective as it is because all of the mentors have been in the same situation as the first years, and can share their own experiences to help.
Why I would recommend studying in Waterford/WIT:
My main reason for recommending WIT has to be because of the fantastic lecturers and course leader. Every single lecturer I have had in my 3 years has been extremely open and accommodating. My lecturers have gone above and beyond what is expected of them more times than I can count. The lecturers at WIT often feel more like wise friends than lecturers.
The lectures are also incredibly interesting, I remember even in first year I was always looking forward to going to every single lecture. This was a complete change in attitude from when I was in secondary school. The lecturers at WIT are also captivating speakers and are very human, in the sense that they often share personal anecdotes. The lectures have an extremely relaxed learning atmosphere in comparison to secondary school.
My advice for anyone considering the B.A. (Hons.) in Criminal Justice Studies course is:
If you are any bit interested in criminology, psychology, or sociology, I absolutely recommend this course. For anybody considering a career in An Garda Síochána, this course is also perfect for that.
I also advise anybody considering this course to think about taking part in the P2P programme.