I realized in 1974 that studying crime was my passion, when I read the book Helter Skelter, after the Charles Manson murders, and I was riveted by the book. I just felt like that was what I wanted to do with the rest of my life. My name is Carla Abodalo, and I'm a professor of criminology at Albright. My area of expertise are the violent crimes, which really bode nicely with students. They tend to be the most popular subjects that students are interested in learning. I thoroughly enjoy teaching the domestic violence course, and I also enjoy teaching my criminal profiling course with the emphasis being on serial murder. What I love about the curriculum is the courses the students to have to take, were very carefully selected to give them a wide breadth of knowledge in the area of crime injustice and criminology, both from the perpetrator standpoint and also from the victims, which is essential as well. I didn't have a traditional pathway to academia, I brought a lot of experience to my position. So what I find that really helps students to be successful is taking those experiences that I had, and combining it with the academic perspectives and material. When students have the opportunity to see real life outcomes, and apply the academic perspectives that bodes better with them than simply reading about concepts that are more difficult for them to grasp. When some students enter Albright, they're not exactly sure of the direct career path that they want to take. And I always ensure students that that's not a bad thing. I get to know the students, sit down with the, and I say, where do you envision yourself in five years from now? What are the goals that you have in mind? And then what I tried to do with them is best fit the curriculum and to tailor the courses that they select outside of the required coursework. And I think it's very important because then that sets them up for success. What I expect of my students in class is honesty, good communication, and a good character. I think if a student possesses those three qualities, they can achieve anything because in this field of crime, injustice, a good character is essential. One of the most gratifying things that I love about being a professor is having the ability to push students to success, and having them recognize their highest potential. A former student of mine wanted to do an internship. And they had applied for a local internship and had secured it and I said, well, that's really wonderful. But I encouraged the student to apply to the FBI internship. She acquiesced, and she applied for the internship and I'm so proud to say that not only was she the first student that Albright ever had to be accepted for the FBI internship, but she did such an amazing job during the internship that the bureau actually offered her a job. I always tell students, live your life to make a difference. And stand up for something. It doesn't matter what it is, but make it something that you're passionate about. Because if you are passionate about the cause, you'll be successful in any endeavor you undertake.
