Joel McLaughlin

Joel McLaughlin is a senior at Wichita State University working on a Bachelor of Science in Criminal Justice and a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology. Going to school full time, he has maintained a 3.7 or better GPA through 6 semesters and has been placed on the Dean's Honor Roll for the Liberal Arts and Sciences department. With a semester and a half to go until he has finished both degrees, Joel is eager to be done so that he can start his career in law enforcement.

As a child all he wanted to do was be a police officer, even organizing an interview with a detective and a tour of his local police station. He was on his way to becoming a sheriff's deputy in California when he hit some financial difficulty and decided to join the military. He served honorably for four years deploying to both Iraq and Afghanistan. Upon reaching the end of his contract he decided to move to Kansas, where his fiance lived, and start attending school to attain an education in fields he felt would serve him best in a career in law enforcement.

As well as going to school full time, Joel also works full time at a convienience store where he became an assistant manager after only one month on the job. His success in the military, at school, and in his current employment can be attributed to his strong desires to succeed and to be the best employee that anyone has ever had. He will begin the hiring process with the Wichita Police Department soon and plans on getting into the June academy once he has graduated in the spring.