jeanna martin mauldin pd 20200412_083107.jpg

CONTACT: LISA GARRETT, lgarrett@tctc.edu

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                     4/27/2020                                      

                                                                               (By Lisa Garrett)

MAULDIN -- The smiles on the faces of Mauldin Police Officer Jeanna Martin and her fellow officers rival those of the kids they have been visiting with drive-by birthday parades that serve as substitutions for in-person celebrations during the COVID-19 pandemic and shelter-in-place restrictions.

"The kids love it, the parents are excited and they usually are videotaping it. Everyone waves and smiles.  It’s good to see these homebound kids smiling," she said.

“We, along with the fire department, acknowledge their special days with our sirens and lights and wish them a happy birthday via the PA system," she said.

Martin, a 2015 graduate of Tri-County Technical College's Criminal Justice program, worked at the Greer PD for two years before joining the Mauldin PD last year.  She recently completed her bachelor's in criminal justice and sociology through Arizona State University.

Careers in law enforcement run in her family -- her sister is an officer in Florida and her great-grandfather, Deputy Luther Allen Martin, is in the hall of fame at the SC Criminal Justice Academy.  He died in the line of duty in 1928.  But criminal justice wasn't her first career choice.  After graduating from Crescent High School in 2010, she embarked on a cosmetology career. But a few years later she made the decision to enter college. “I enrolled in Tri-County's criminal justice program and fell in love with it.  They are a great group of instructors whom I still talk to today.”

She says the curriculum and the instructors, who all have real-world experience outside the classroom, prepared her for law enforcement.  Other highlights are the annual trips to Washington, D.C., and the ride-along experience with area law enforcement officers.  CRJ students also connect with instructors and get to know them personally.

“I loved my time at Tri-County.  They were the best two years of school for me and I would go back and relive it if I could," she said.  She is considering returning to Tri-County for paramedic training to complement her degrees. She also says a master's degree is on the horizon “because my dream job would be to teach at Tri-County one day.” 

For information about the College’s Criminal Justice program, contact Dr. Chris McFarlin at cmcfarli@tctc.edu.

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