Mark Schilthuis has learned about police work up close and personal while at Shippensburg University of Pennsylvania.
As a junior, he served an internship with the Chambersburg Police Department, where he was assigned to a squad and assisted the Special Emergency Response Team or SERT in their training and in being familiarized with police weapons and tactics. Last summer he served a second internship with the Lancaster County Youth Intervention Center, a shelter and detention center for juveniles.
“I was able to observe juvenile court hearings and was exposed to the duties of a juvenile probation officer and his involvement with youth. I was also able to engage in the juveniles’ daily routines,” he said.
At Shippensburg, Schilthuis is a member of the Criminal Justice Club, club tennis, Christian Fellowship and the Mock Trial team, an experience that has enabled him to apply what he has learned in the classroom. “I played the role of a prosecuting and defense lawyer. Through my mock trial experience, I was able to build public speaking skills, a healthy work ethic, good communication and lifelong friendships.”
During one of his spring breaks, Mark traveled to Atlanta, Georgia, where he volunteered at "Safe House Outreach" a homeless outreach center, where, he said, he “was exposed to true poverty and homelessness while serving those in need.”