Vaqueros excel in criminal justice competition

_{ACJA Iota Kappa Chi members Noe Figueroa (left), a criminal justice junior; Kayla Navarro, a criminal justice senior; and Jair Tovar, a criminal justice graduate student; won first place in the firearms team upper division category at the American Criminal Justice Association National Conference held from March 18 through 22 in Grapevine, Texas. PHOTO COURTESY FRANKY ROMO}

The American Criminal Justice Association Iota Kappa Chi chapter at UTRGV attended the American Criminal Justice Association National Conference in Grapevine, Texas and brought back four first-place wins in different categories. 

ACJA IKC members participated in the conference from March 18 through 22 and placed in the firearms and crime scene categories. 

The association offers physical training, firearms practice and networking with other criminal justice students and professors outside of the classroom setting that prepare them for future career choices. 

Desiree Garcia, a criminal justice graduate student and president of ACJA IKC, said the association’s main purpose is to recruit members “that are thinking of going into law enforcement.” 

“We kind of just want to help them get to that point of being in law enforcement and preparing them,” Garcia said. 

Luis Vasquez, a criminal justice junior and member of ACJA IKC, said his experience was “pretty big.” 

“I was not expecting so much support, funding and people to actually be there because there were a lot of people,” Vasquez said. “It was structured and organized.” 

He said he “enjoyed” the conference and acknowledged the work put into it. 

“You can see the hard work that the students themselves do because the entire thing is being run by these students, and they work really hard,” Vasquez said. 

Francisco Romo, a criminal justice freshman and historian for ACJA IKC, said he is “proud” of being part of the organization. 

“It’s a big process and I’m just really proud to be a part of it,” Romo said. 

_{Alexis Nieto, a criminal justice senior and American Criminal Justice Association Iota Kappa Chi member, participates in the physical agility category of the American Criminal Justice Association National Conference held from March 18 through 22 in Grapevine, Texas. PHOTO COURTESY FRANKY ROMO}

During the national conference, Troy Cochran was elected the national president for ACJA, and Cochran appointed Michael Sanchez, a lecturer and ACJA IKC chapter adviser, to the national firearms committee.

Garcia said Cochran “seems like he wants to move the whole ACJA nationally into something a little more modern.” 

In the firearms team category, Romo, Vasquez and Alberto Garay, a criminal justice sophomore, won first place in the lower division, and Noe Figueroa, a criminal justice junior; Kayla Navarro, a criminal justice senior; and Jair Tovar, a criminal justice graduate student; won first place in the upper division. 

In the firearms individual upper division category, Figueroa won first place and Navarro won third place. 

Sanchez won third place in the firearms individual professional division category.

In the crime scene professional division category, Garcia, Tovar and Allison Hauser, a criminal justice senior, won first place.

Iota Kappa Chi won second place in the talent group category.

Garcia encourages students to join ACJA IKC. 

“You’re going to learn a lot of skills that you’re going to need if you’re going on this path into law enforcement,” she said.  

Vasquez said being a member of the association is “exclusive.” 

“The information you’re getting here and what you’re being taught by our advisers, you’re not going to get them anywhere else,” he said. 

To be a member of ACJA IKC, students must be a criminal justice major or minor, have a minimum of 2.5 GPA and be in good academic standing at UTRGV. 

ACJA IKC holds meetings at 3 p.m. every Thursday in the Music, Science and Learning Center Room 1.105 on the Brownsville campus. 

_{ACJA Iota Kappa Chi members Jair Tovar (left), a criminal justice graduate student; Desiree Garcia, a criminal justice graduate student; and Allison Hauser, a criminal justice senior; won first place in the crime scene professional division category, where they competed with actual police officers. The American Criminal Justice Association National Conference took place from March 18 through 22 in Grapevine, Texas. PHOTO COURTESY FRANKY ROMO}