The Melissa Linville Criminal Justice Scholarship

This scholarship is named in memory of Melissa M. Linville, a former beloved Crimcheck team member and friend, in order to honor and extend her legacy of charity, good works, and selflessness. During her life, Melissa touched countless lives through her service and compassion to others, her sincerity of heart, and the joy she brought to everyone surrounding her.

Crimcheck is honored to announce the 2022 recipients of the Melissa L. Linville Criminal Justice Scholarship. The 2022 scholarship was awarded to two recipients, Mecca T. from Pembroke, NC, and Jessie D. from Bisbee, AZ.

This scholarship was established for two purposes: to foster and support education leading towards a Criminal Justice career path and to reward deserving applicants who are excellent representatives of this field. The 2022 scholarship was awarded to two recipients, Mecca T and Jessie D.

Mecca T.

Mecca K. T. is a full-time Lecturer in the Department of Sociology & Criminal Justice at the University of North Carolina at Pembroke. Mecca has worked in a variety of capacities in the criminal justice field. Her first introduction to the field was as a Case Manager at a halfway house in Newark, NJ. From there, she has worked with juvenile and adult offenders including individuals with mental health conditions. Her roles as a Probation Officer and Court Services Supervisor equipped her to venture into the field of education where she discovered her passion for teaching.

Mecca has 14 years of teaching experience, teaching various courses on both undergraduate and graduate levels including 11 years of experience teaching online and hybrid courses. Mecca has presented at several higher education conferences including the most recent Western Society of Criminology Annual Conference. Topic: The Importance of Incorporating Field Experience into the Curriculum of Criminal Justice Majors. Her areas of interest include: police- community relations, innovations in pedagogy in criminal justice, and minorities working in the criminal justice field.

Mecca is currently working to obtain her PhD in Criminal Justice from Capella University so that she can bring her experience, research, and academics to the classroom to give her students the best quality education possible.

Jessie D.

Jessie currently works as a Teller Supervisor in a bank where she sees a fair number of scams, fraud, elder abuse, tax evasion, and money-laundering behavior. While her current role is to gather information and to report to either her internal department, law enforcement, or both, she would like to play a role in the actual investigation process of these crimes.

With a passion for helping people, Jessie wants to stop those who take advantage of our most vulnerable. So, she is pursuing her Bachelor’s Degree in Criminology and Criminal Justice from Arizona State University so that she can fight financial crime as a Fraud Analyst. She also has the long-term goal of working for a governmental body such as FinCen- the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network.

Eligibility

Crimcheck offers an annual $500 scholarship award to a student who is currently enrolled, or recent high school graduates who are pursuing post-secondary education with the goal of a career in the criminal justice field. Established in 2014, this award recognizes outstanding achievements in academics as well as a desire to make a positive difference in the world.

This scholarship is open to:

• Students who are currently enrolled in post-secondary education or high school seniors/recent high school graduates who are pursuing post-secondary education in the criminal justice field
• A minimum cumulative GPA of 3.0
• Must be full time or part time student enrolled in classes for the current year

What Are We Looking For?

Crimcheck will review essays for the following :

• Ambitiousness and desire to be a part of the Criminal Justice field
• Demonstration of knowledge and commitment to a career in the criminal justice field
• Demonstration of leadership and willingness to learn

Click here to learn more and apply.