Alumni Spotlight: Ashley Pumford

June 21, 2024

Ashley Pumford is an alumni of the MSU School of Criminal Justice and an Officer with the MSU Department of Police and Public Safety (MSUDDPS). We sat down with Officer Pumford to discuss her time as a student at MSU, what it means to be back as an Officer, and advice she has for students interested in a career in Law Enforcement. 

Can You tell us about life before coming to MSU? 

I grew up in Ovid, MI, which is about 30 minutes from campus. Ovid is a small town and nothing like MSU, but I love it all the same. During my high school years I was quite a nerd, I loved school. I was on the swimming team in high school which taught me a lot of the skills and traits I believe I use in my job now. Swimming taught me how to push myself beyond my limits. A lot of my coaches at the time were emergency responders, which I think really inspired me at the time to lean towards this field. 

What interested you in working with MSUDPPS? 

I actually went to college here! Go Green! I fell in love with campus and MSUDPPS during my college years, as I worked here as a student worker. I worked as a Green coat for one year, a Parking Enforcer for 3 years, and even completed my required internship within the department. The department gave me so many opportunities throughout college, and the people are amazing. MSUDPPS focuses on community based policing which I also love.  

 What interested you in a career in Law Enforcement?  

I never grew up wanting to be a Police Officer, I just always knew I wanted to work in public service. I struggled for a long time on what that meant to me. It wasn’t until my sophomore year of college, when I started working Parking Enforcement and began to interact more with our Police Officers that I realized I could see myself doing what they did. After that is when I decided to intern for the department which solidified my interest in a career in Law Enforcement.  

 What are some of the most important skills for someone to have/learn if they are interested in a career in Law Enforcement?  

I think some of the most important skills for somebody to have/learn if they are interested in a career in Law Enforcement are resilience, listening skills, and teamwork.  

You need resilience as this career is extremely difficult mentally. Police Academy alone pushes you beyond your limits, and you have to be able to move past mistakes and learn from them without getting caught up in mistakes you make. Now that I am in Field Training it’s 10 times harder as the mistakes you make are with real people and real scenarios. It can be really easy to think about what you could of done better each call for the rest of the shift, but you can’t let it get to you.  

Listening skills are also important, as this job is about problem solving and you have to be able to listen and take in all important information. Teamwork is also a huge part of this career. On most calls you are going to be working with other Police Officers, and you have to be able to communicate effectively. Decision-making can be tough at times and you have to make sure you and your partner are on the same page or a call can go downhill fast. 

How do you feel that the School of Criminal Justice has helped you so far in your career? 

I think the School of Criminal Justice helped me greatly during college! My classes prepared me for a career in Law Enforcement for sure. My career advisor, Tim Homberg, was also a huge resource to me. Whenever I had any questions, or worries, he was right there able to help and answer my questions. My other advisors helped greatly when I had any scheduling concerns with classes or needed to get into a class that was full. 

I would just like to say that this career field is not easy, every day is a struggle as you are constantly learning new skills and ideas. But this field is SO rewarding, and being able to help so many people and do so many cool things makes it worth it. I also think that if anybody has even a part of them that is interested in this career that they should do a ride along and give it a shot. It was the best decision I ever made to choose to do what I now do.