“Policing requires street smarts, but there are many times I need to look beyond the more obvious answers. Having the degree makes you think,” said Officer Dan Delaney.
Delaney, who earned a bachelor’s degree in police studies through EKU Online in 2013, currently works for the city of Newport, Kentucky. He notices the difference his education makes, especially in areas like investigation and reconstruction.
“Our chief is big on promoting that we go above and beyond what the city requires,” Delaney added. “It makes us better role models to the youth in our community.”
Delaney first enrolled at EKU in the Fall of 1996. He sat out a semester and went to boot camp for the Marine Corps reserves. He came back, but he didn’t stay. He began a career in law enforcement. He had been working for 11 years when he decided to complete his degree.
“For me, it was a pride thing. I love Eastern, and I wanted to finish what I started there,” said Delaney.
He also wanted to set an example for his three children. “I wanted my kids to see the value in taking advantage of opportunities when you have them,” said Delaney explaining that it would have been easier to finish college in the 90s before he had a job and a family. The online program at EKU made his goals possible.
“The greatest thing was the flexibility and being able to go online when I had a moment, whether it was 2 o’clock in the afternoon or 2 o’clock in the morning working the night shift,” he recalled.
Delaney remembers talking about balancing life, work and school with his colleagues. Several of them had enrolled in an on-campus degree program elsewhere. “They didn’t get the help I got. They had the opposite experience I was having,” he says, adding that advisors like Treva Macy and Allison Smock communicated with him regularly and kept him on track.
He also remembered taking a statistics course from Dr. Wanju Huang. He was nervous about it, so he put it off until his last semester. “I shouldn’t have,” he says now. “She was amazing. She would stay on the phone with me until I got it, whether it took 5 minutes or 50 minutes.”
Delaney cannot name everyone who helped him along the way, but he sincerely appreciated their support. “The advising staff was top notch. The financial aid staff was top notch. They were all really helpful. Everyone I worked with was absolutely phenomenal,” he said.