National Guard training sets high standard for CJ major

Catherine Metzger’s summer break typically peaks pretty high — actually, literally up in the sky.

The Bloomsburg University criminal justice major spends a part of her summer training in California with her Pennsylvania Army National Guard aviation unit as a mechanic at Fort Irwin, which leads her on several morale flights and helicopter training exercises.

“I chose my job because it’s different from what I’m going to college for,” says Metzger, an army specialist 91B (wheeled vehicle mechanic) and 91D (generator mechanic). “It changes up my routine a little bit, and gives me the knowledge I need for the real world. If something breaks, we have to know how to fix it and get it back up and running.”

Though her National Guard service has little to do with criminal justice, Metzger has begun to see the experience pay dividends for her future career path.

“I’m a team leader, so this gives me the opportunity to learn leadership skills and communication skills when it comes to operations,” Metzger says. “In the criminal justice field, communication most times is a key factor.”

Balancing two lives — as a soldier and college student — has been aided by BU’s support of its military community. For the past five years, BU has been designated a Military Friendly School by Victory Media. The designation signifies BU as one of the best in the country at providing support and resources to military students, such as academic assistance, retention efforts and career development.

“Working in the Military and Veterans Resources Office really showed me how much we work to reach out to military students and give them the help they need, whether it’s to help with their benefits or having problems with a class,” Metzger says. “We’re starting a Military and Veterans Learning Community here in the fall for incoming military freshman to help them even more with reintegrating back into a school setting. The university has really grown in the past few years with identifying and helping military students.”