Meet Rafid Chowdhury
INDS Spring 2022 Graduate Highlight Series
B.A. INDS: Criminal Justice
Minor: Sociology
Degree Mentors
- Paul Dillon, Chief of Police
- Michele Wolff, Director of The Shriver Center
- Steven McAlpine, Individualized Study
Why did you choose to major in INDS?
My interest in law enforcement began when the murder of my close relative went unsolved. This injustice motivated me to pursue a career in law enforcement, so that no one else would have to experience something like this. When I first came to UMBC, I began as an Information Systems major, but I realized that many of the courses were not as relevant for my career interests. I found more relevant courses in the disciplines of Political Science, Sociology, Psychology, and Management which helped me to understand multiple facets of the law enforcement field. I decided to switch to INDS to combine these disciplines and create an interdisciplinary approach to 21st Century policing.
What are your plans for after graduation, and how do you see using your INDS degree?
I want to become a law enforcement officer with a police department in Maryland and work towards becoming a Specialized Weapons And Tactics (commonly known as SWAT) officer. My long term goal is to become a police instructor for active shooter training. In this role, I would train patrol officers in a new and more effective way to tackle today's active shooters in order to minimize casualties. My INDS degree and off-campus internship and research has introduced me to multiple facets of law enforcement, such as managing a team, interviewing, understanding criminal behavior, and training for active shooter drills that could be useful at different levels of my future law enforcement career.
EXTRACURRICULAR
During my time at UMBC, I was a Supplemental Instructions Peer Assisted
Study Session (SI PASS) Leader and was involved in the UMBC Red Cross
Club (RCC) as a Secretary and Vice-President. While at UMBC, I completed
an off-campus internship with the Montgomery County Department of
Police in Gaithersburg, MD, where I served as a Police Cadet. I also
completed an off-campus research in San Marcos, TX, where I conducted
research about active shooter drills for law enforcement officers.
For more information on Rafid's journey in INDS please click here:
Posted: March 1, 2022, 10:26 AM
