Scherer experiences law enforcement firsthand

Most college students do not spend their summers daily encountering law enforcement officers. However, for Jesse Scherer, a senior at Northwestern College in Orange City, Iowa, such encounters were a daily occurrence.

Scherer, a business administration major with a criminal justice career concentration from rural Clarkson, Neb., spent nine weeks of his summer interning at the Woodbury County Sheriff’s Department in Sioux City, Iowa. During his internship, Scherer took on the role of observer, spending four days on each shift in all of the offices’ six divisions: civil, patrol, jail, transport, crime prevention and investigation.

“I’ve learned a lot about the real day-to-day routine of law enforcement,” he says. He explained that most of an officer’s day is spent doing routine patrols, not responding to high adrenaline, exciting and sometimes dangerous calls. However, Scherer states that he enjoys the fact a call can come at any moment that can send officers racing across town or across the county.

Scherer believes his internship experience will serve him well in his future career. “It’s been very valuable for me to follow right behind officers all summer long because until you’re involved with a situation you really don’t know how to deal with it. You not only have to learn to deal with the task you have to perform on the job, but you must also know how to maintain control over your body and your thoughts when the adrenaline’s running high.” 

Scherer says he chose to pursue a career in law enforcement because, “It’s a career that interests me a lot. I desire to serve as well as do what I can to help people in need—I think it fits my personality well.” Scherer believes that his criminal justice classes, especially those taught by members of the law enforcement community, have prepared him well for his internship experience and for a future career.

On campus, Scherer has used his leadership skills as a resident assistant in West Hall and through his participation in annual Spring Service Projects.