CSI Chattanooga: Criminal justice internships prepare UTC students for careers

If you’re a criminal justice student at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, internships aren’t just resume fillers—they are real-world adventures in the field of your choice.

“They’re not sharpening pencils,” said Dr. Rick Dierenfeldt, a UC Foundation associate professor of criminal justice and the interim department head. “They’re getting called out at 11 o’clock at night to go to homicide scenes.”

Dierenfeldt, a former Missouri law enforcement officer, joined UTC’s faculty in 2018—and is the internship coordinator for criminal justice students. He discussed the “coolness” factor and the hands-on nature of some of the opportunities in Chattanooga.

One student, for example, interned at the Department of Homeland Security.

“The first student I sent there, his first or second day at the internship, they had him in a chopper doing surveillance on cartel,” he recalled. “I mean, who gets to do that?”

UTC senior criminal justice major Belma Kurpejovic landed an internship opportunity in the Chattanooga Police Department’s (CPD) homicide unit.

According to her, there were plenty of opportunities to learn.

“We review case files and sometimes do stats for the investigators,” said Kurpejovic, a Chattanooga native and Brock Scholar in the UTC Honors College. “We’ll go to crime scenes and autopsies. We’ll look at search warrants they’ve done and jail calls.

“Then, there’s the connections you have. You’ll make friends with patrol officers—and they’ll invite you to ‘ride-alongs’ if you want to. You also have the opportunity to work with the CSU (Crime Scene Unit) sometimes.”

She shared that her first experience with a deceased person took place during the second day of her internship. The person was dead on arrival.

It was tough to see, she said.

“It’s both interesting and shocking,” Kurpejovic said. “You get used to it. You’re like, ‘Oh, that’s interesting,’ but that doesn’t decrease the shock factor of things.”

One of the most significant learning experiences from the internship was what she learned about the police. She said she went into the internship not trusting law enforcement and felt nervous about authority.

Her perspective quickly changed, though.

“I got to sit down with them and have super in-depth conversations regarding law enforcement,” she said, “and how they’re viewed by the public and what they should do better.

“I got to see how passionate they were about everything they did. It gave me a sense of comfort to see that they are so motivated by what they’re doing.”

Graciela Williams, who graduated in May with a criminal justice degree, spent her last two semesters at UTC interning with the CPD Crime Scene Unit.

The Clarksville, Tennessee, native described the crime scene investigation process as similar to what people see on TV.

“It’s so cool to see the process from the beginning to the end steps,” Williams said. “One part that I didn’t know that’s cool is the ‘after,’ like once you go back to the scene to process and package the evidence and secure it—the chain of custody.”

Behind the scenes, Williams helped package evidence and set up chemicals to look for latent prints.

She also talked about an on-scene experience.

“It was my third day at the unit,” she said. “There was a homicide and the sergeant called me out at midnight. He was like, ‘You don’t have to go.’ I was like, ‘You just woke me up. We’re going.’”

Williams told future criminal justice students and potential crime scene investigation interns to keep it professional but don’t be scared.

“I was hesitant even though I was a criminal justice major,” she said. “But the police officers are the nicest people in the entire world and there’s nothing to be afraid of. I felt at home. They became my family.”

Recently, Williams was hired as a CPD crime scene investigator, where she will assist law enforcement by taking photographs and videos crime scenes, marking and collecting potential evidence while maintaining proper chain of custody and testifying in court.

Chattanooga native Ellee Jackson, who graduated from UTC in May with a master’s degree in criminal justice, worked as a crime analyst intern with the Hamilton County Sheriff’s Office.

She explained that a crime analyst uses technology to collect data on criminals and their activities, which is then provided to detectives and police officers.

Jackson’s responsibilities involved helping the unit’s four crime analysts and learning each person’s specialties.

“I help with reading incident reports, listening to phone calls and taking notes on phone calls,” Jackson said. “If we hear anything important or relevant to an investigation, we write it down and notify the detectives.”

Though a lot of her work was confidential, she shared one story about a detective who was injured in the line of duty, which became public knowledge.

“They have a radio in the office and we heard all of it unfolding,” she said. “All of the officers talking to dispatch and everything, it was wild. They caught the suspect and then we started digging into him.”

During her time at UTC, she did research with Assistant Professor Sherah Basham on real-time crime centers. Being able to work in the sheriff’s office provided Jackson with the real-world experience she needed before moving to Washington, D.C., to start a justice, law and criminology doctoral program.

“The timing was great,” she said. “I’m reading about how crime analysis and intelligence analysis can help with clearance rates and help police solve homicides faster.

“With the research, they talk about how certain findings could be translated into policy. It’s been interesting to see how we have these problems that there are studies about and what could be done about it.”

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For many students, internship opportunities bring job opportunities, and Dierenfeldt discussed several of his former students who have entered the workforce.

Nicholas Chapin

Nicholas Chapin, a 2020 UTC graduate from Chattanooga, interned with the FBI in between his junior and senior years. He continued the internship while pursuing a master’s degree in criminal justice at UTC, where he graduated in 2022.

Today, Chapin is an Operational Support Technician at the FBI Detroit Division, where he provides administrative and tactical support to his squad.

He said he would not have his current job without the opportunity to get out and work in the field during his time at UTC.

His advice to incoming or current criminal justice students: “If you know what direction you’re going in, then you need to start looking for the opportunities that are available through faculty and that are available through the relationships that the university has. You need to look for those connections and opportunities and start working toward experiences in the criminal justice system.”

Miranda Roberson

Miranda Roberson is a probation and parole officer (PPO) III with the Tennessee Department of Correction (TDOC). She graduated from the UTC undergraduate criminal justice program in 2019 and completed the graduate program in 2021.

“I am responsible for supervising a caseload of felony offenders and ensuring that they comply with the conditions and standards of their court order as well as their probation order,” Roberson said.

While working toward her master’s degree, she completed an internship with the United States Marshals Service.

“While there, I was able to make connections with both federal and local agencies, which have carried over into my current career with TDOC,” she said. “I am still in contact with some of the individuals that I met during my internship; I am able to contact them for assistance and vice versa.”

Courtney Carroll

Courtney Carroll, who received bachelor’s (2018) and master’s (2020) degrees from UTC, serves as a district pretrial services agency officer for TDOC Probation and Parole.

“I check compliance on sanctions (corrective actions) and incentives (rewarding compliant behavior) for District 30,” Carroll explained. “I send out multiple spreadsheets district-wide to ensure that all non-compliant offenders on state probation are being followed up on correctly. In addition, I send out district-wide spreadsheets to ensure that compliant offenders are being recognized and rewarded for their compliant behavior.”

Carroll’s first experience in the criminal justice field came during her undergraduate days, interning at The Next Door Correctional Release Center— a re-entry program for women who are incarcerated with the TDOC.

She was then hired at The Next Door as a residential specialist, where she supervised up to 42 offenders—transporting them to and from work, and ensuring they completed all required chores.

“When I first started in the CRMJ program, I didn’t really know what I wanted to do within the criminal justice field,” she said. “After taking a few classes, I quickly realized that I had a very strong passion for using the criminal justice field to help people. I spoke with Dr. D (Dierenfeldt) multiple times before and after classes, and he was so encouraging and was with me every step of the way.”

Carroll was hired as a PPO with TDOC in 2021 and has since advanced to PPO III.

“The criminal justice program and the professors have truly molded me into the person I am today,” she said, “and the love I have for the criminal justice field and the position I currently hold.

“I am still in contact with Dr. D. He has been nothing less of a blessing with words of encouragement or just a simple check-in to see how I am doing. I believe that the remaining contact has assisted me in becoming successful in my current position.”

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