Criminal Justice Teacher Marybelle Salinas explains her struggles while aiming to receive her Master’s Degree in Criminal Justice.
She has been fascinated by the background of the Criminal Justice Field, and what motivated her more to join was that she is a woman.
“I guess what motivated me more was just being a female and just trying to break those stereotypes of a male-dominated field and that women too can be successful in the criminal justice field,” said Salinas.
She graduated from Texas State with a Bachelor’s in Criminal Justice with an emphasis in Law Enforcement in 2004. Still, the journey to her master’s degree was an overextended challenge until recently.
“I was married, had three children, and had a full-time job, so it was kinda hard to find a balance between my life, my daily life, and finding time for school,” Salinas said.
She has overcome her work and daily life challenges and joined Jimmy Carter ECHS as a special education teacher in 2007.
“I kinda was testing the field here as far as, do I wanna teach or no? and 17 years later, I’m still here,” Salinas said.
Today, Salinas handles multiple teaching preparations, including Reading and Criminal Justice classes.
“Sometimes it’s a nice break from trading from Criminal justice to reading, but it’s been a challenge to juggle and manage both,” said Salinas.
Salinas admits that moving back and forth between her assignments has made her feel like she is stumbling at times, but she admires how students learn information from both courses that they can apply in the real world.
Even though Salinas has struggled with many challenges throughout the years, she has accomplished all her goals and has done a successful job as a Criminal Justice Teacher.