SPEA Excellence
Kelvin Bush
Undergraduate, Criminal Justice Program
Training and preparation. Kelvin Bush got a taste of both during his four-year career in the U.S. Marine Corps and while attending the Indianapolis Police Department's Field Officer Training program. In fact, throughout his life Bush has sought out opportunities to train and prepare — today as a student in SPEA's criminal justice program.
"I'm just going to go to school until I get tired of going," says Bush, who transferred to SPEA after earning an associate's degree in public safety from Ivy Tech Community College. "I feel like the sky's the limit."
After deciding that a career as a police officer wasn't for him, Bush turned his attention to the fields of corrections and security, working as a corrections officer at the Indiana Women's Prison and as a security guard for IUPUI and then Eli Lilly and Company. Currently working full time as a production technician in manufacturing at the pharmaceutical company (a position he accepted after Lilly outsourced most of its security personnel), Bush hopes to one day return to working in a security department. With his varied background in public safety, Bush is well suited for this type of work — and admits it's something he truly enjoys.
"I've had an interest in public safety and security for the past 15 years," Bush says. "I've always loved the training aspect of it — whether it be preparing for an emergency, preparing for war, or getting prepared to help out in a natural disaster."
Bush learned about SPEA's criminal justice program through one of his Ivy Tech instructors, admitting transferring to IUPUI from the community college was "smooth as can be." For now, Bush is attending school part time - one of his three jobs, he says, in addition to working full time and caring for his two young daughters.
"I'm starting off slow, taking just two or three classes a semester," says Bush. "One benefit of working for the company I work for is that they support continuing education and they have tuition assistance, which is a real plus."
With just a couple of SPEA classes under his belt, Bush says his experience so far at IUPUI has been rewarding. He's been impressed with his professors and acknowledges the flexible scheduling has been a real asset for someone with work and family commitments. Although Bush doesn't have a specific timetable for completing his bachelor's degree, he hasn't ruled out continuing his "training and preparation" with a SPEA master's degree.