University of Guelph-Humber

If there’s one thing that sets Jeff McLean apart, it’s that he’s always been a go-getter. When he came to the University of Guelph-Humber in 2005, Jeff was always looking for new opportunities, and when none stuck out, he made them himself.

When Jeff, a Justice Studies ’09 grad, was on campus, he thought there should be a lecture series for professors to share their research, so he started one. Once he’d graduated and had his eyes set on a competitive job, he started volunteering to do it. Rather than chalk it up to a special drive or initiative, Jeff’s explanation is simple: “I don’t like to sit idle,” he says.

Growing up in the small town of Shelburne, Ontario, Jeff knew from a young age that he wanted to be a police officer. His mother worked in the town’s administration, and so he’d met and seen police his whole life.

“It’s a small town, so I knew the officers, saw how they interacted with the community,” he says. “I saw the respect they showed and the respect they were shown in turn, and I knew I wanted that.”

When it came time to apply to universities, Jeff was drawn to the University of Guelph-Humber. UofGH had only opened its doors a few years earlier, but that was part of its appeal.

“It was a new place, and I felt like it really had promise. It seemed like a place where you could shape your own experience,” he says. “Not to mention that with the degree and diploma you’re basically getting six years of education in four.”

Soon, he moved into residence, made friends, and fell into the busy life of a student. While attending a guest lecture put on by the Justice Studies Department, Jeff got an idea.

“We’d had a bunch of speakers come in from outside services like the United States’ Department of Homeland Security and the FBI, but I thought it would be good to have UofGH professors speak about their experiences and research,” he says. A lecture series was quickly born, and Jeff created a club, called Beyond the Code, to organize its events. The club no longer runs, but Jeff says the experience made  a lasting impression on him.

In between classes and planning lectures, Jeff also had time to do some travelling. When he found out that Mount St. Mary’s University in Maryland was holding a crime scene investigation competition, he scrambled to find classmates to make the trip with him. Together they were given a room where a fictional crime had taken place, and they had to build a theory of what happened.

“We had about a week’s notice before that competition, but we put together a team and headed down there,” he says. “The room is cordoned off and your team has to dust for fingerprints, take photos, and analyze the statements of witnesses to figure out what transpired. We were the only Canadian team there, but we took first prize.”

When graduation came, Jeff left for Lake Louise, Alberta where he worked in security. Over the next few years, he moved through a number of security jobs and was always eager to learn more. He attended conferences, took extra training courses, made connections and was on the lookout for his next steps. Though he had a job as a security analyst, mixing a lifelong interest in justice studies and computers, his old calling came back.

He’d grown up admiring the police officers of his hometown, and now he knew it was what he wanted to do. Jeff volunteered to be an auxiliary constable with Shelburne Police and spent his weekends doing ride-alongs with officers, learning the ropes of the job. When a position opened, Jeff applied.

“I think there were about 30 applicants for that job,” he remembers. “It came down to me and another person who’d been volunteering as an auxiliary constable too. They said one of the deciding factors that got me the job was my education at UofGH.”

Since starting the job in August 2015, Jeff has gone to police college, done in-house training and is now a constable out on the road. He says he’s where he wants to be, and he’s happy he pushed himself to get there.

“When you’re a student, the most important thing to do is ensure you get involved. The more involved you are in your education the more contacts you’ll develop and the more they can help you,” he says. “In pretty much any field the competition is fierce, so if you don’t get something the first time, keep going at it. Find ways to better yourself to ensure you get the next one.”

Learn more about the University of Guelph-Humber's Justice Studies program.