Patrick Conlon ‘08CPS
While attending St. John’s University in 1990 as a criminal justice major, Patrick Conlon ’08C, made the heroic decision to serve his country in the U.S. military and put his education on hold. After two major deployments to the Middle East, Patrick returned to the states and moved with his wife to Albany, NY where he cared for his ailing father. He felt his dream of graduating from St. John’s University would never be achieved having moved away from New York City, “I was extremely disappointed that I never finished my criminal justice degree that I started at St. John’s so long ago.”
It wasn’t until 2005, that Patrick discovered his goal of attaining his criminal justice degree from St. John’s College of Professional Studies was still possible: “My brother explained to me that through the Online Learning program, a degree at St. John’s would still be attainable. So, I made the phone call that allowed me to now be a graduate of the University.”
Having left college 15 years ago, Patrick was unsure whether he would be able to keep up with the younger students in his class and decided he would begin one class at a time: “I enrolled in one online class to see if I was capable. Not only was I capable but I aced the course. I found that my fears of falling behind were irrelevant. The doubt in my ability to excel was abolished; I was officially back in St. John’s.”
Patrick feels a degree from a renowned University, like St. John’s, has its benefits: “You can go anywhere in the country and people know of St. John’s. That is definitely one of the things I love about having graduated from there. When people ask me where I got my degree from and I can respond with ‘St. Johns University,’ I feel a sense of pride. I have always viewed a degree from St. John’s as a huge achievement.”
What Patrick values most about the University is the small community feel, “The thing I love most about St. John’s is that you feel like you are a part of something. It is a place where you want to contribute; a place where the professors know who you are and expect great things from you.”
Patrick sees law school in his near future and is currently studying for the LSAT while working as a Field Technician for Verizon Telecommunications. Having met his goal of attaining his degree from St. John’s, he is very optimistic about the direction in which his life is heading, “This degree is opening doors that would normally not be available. After completing a degree which I thought would be forever out of reach, I know the future holds great things for me.”