Cyle Goldrick ’19
By Hayes Minich ‘19
Cyle Goldrick ‘19 graduated with a B.A. in Sociology-Criminology. Goldrick hails from Upper Arlington, Ohio and is currently residing there seeking law enforcement opportunities in the Columbus metropolitan area. While at OHIO, he served as the Former Vice President of Theta Chi Fraternity, Alpha Tau Chapter. In addition to his fraternal involvement, he participated in a spring internship through Roberta Roberson, coordinator for the Sociology and Sociology-Criminology Internship Program.
Parole Internship
Goldrick’s Spring 2019 internship was located at the Athens Adult Parole Authority. He had a variety of duties as intern, but mostly shadowed and helped parole officers with whatever he could. He enjoyed observing the parole officers in action and how they dealt with offenders on a case-by-case basis.
One project Goldrick assisted with was the installation of ATR, a new automated telephone reporting system. He notes that ATR is extremely useful to the Adult Parole Authority because it allows ‘low risk’ parolees to call into the system once a month instead of reporting to the office. This new system increases the amount of time that those working in the office can spend on more ‘high risk’ parolees. Goldrick was more than happy to lend a helping hand to Parole Officers by filing paperwork when officers plates were too full. He also had the chance to sit in on court hearings at the Athens County Court of Common Pleas Courthouse and tour the Southeastern Ohio Regional Jail.
Field Trips
Goldrick arrived at his internship shortly before 9 AM and left a little after 4 PM on Tuesday and Thursdays. He had the opportunity to observe office visits between offenders and their parole officer. He also took trips into the ‘field’ to offenders’ houses to conduct home visits. Goldrick explains that home visits “primarily checked on the well-being of the individual and to make sure they were complying with all their conditions of supervisions (i.e., no firearms, drugs, alcohol, etc.). “
While out in the field he “observed watching several parole officers and investigators serve warrants on individuals who had warrants out for their arrest. The sheriff’s office was also involved in serving some of these warrants and transporting them to the jail.” He was impressed with the fluidity and expertise that was needed to successfully carry out these field operations.
Changing Career Plans
When Goldrick was asked about his career plans for the future, he said “Going into internship, I had the mindset of going into law enforcement. However, after discussing with the parole officer I shadowed and completing this internship I have now changed my career intentions to being a parole officer.” While he knows he may need to start out in law enforcement, his ultimate goal is to be a parole officer.
His mind was made up when he saw the amount of flexibility a parole officer has between sitting behind a desk, conducting house visits, and showing up for court. Goldrick noted it was surprising because “everyday was a new experience.”
The Value of Listening
A valuable lesson that Goldrick learned was “it was best to listen to the offenders talk first and try to understand the situation” from their perspective. He wanted the best for the parolees and regularly helped them. He always did his best to “decide the best possible resources for them in order to help them stay out of trouble.”
The best part of Goldrick’s internship “was the versatility of the job, because you aren’t sitting behind a desk for 8 hours a day, you actually get the chance to be out in the community and listen.”
The internship program in sociology and criminology is open to all junior and senior Sociology, Sociology-Criminology, and Sociology Pre-Law majors. For more information, contact the internship coordinator Roberta Roberson at robersor@ohio.edu.
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