About a decade ago, Christina Greenwalt attempted to join the police force while living in her hometown of Houston, Texas.
As a single mother of a 6-month-old son, her best friend swayed her against pursuing that dream. She sacrificed the career she wanted in order to spend time with him - a decision she's thankful for today because of their strong mother-son bond.
Now, at 41, Greenwalt can put "officer" before her name. Since April, she's been with the Jefferson City Police Department, trading accounting work for law enforcement.
In 2012, Greenwalt moved to Eldon with her son, Christian, who is now 11, and her husband, Bryan, when his job with the National Guard caused the family to relocate. With the full support of the men in her life, Greenwalt decided to finally become a police officer.
She graduated from the Missouri Sheriff's Academy in March.
"I love being outside, and I love helping people," she said. "It's a cliche, but I get a huge satisfaction from helping people."
When researching departments in the area, Greenwalt said JCPD was at the top of her list based on officers' retention and years of service, the department's treatment of officers, and the size of the department. In her nearly four months at the department, Greenwalt said she's found camaraderie within her 17-officer squad.
"I do have to say that everyone has accepted me with open arms," she said.
Formerly, Greenwalt was a communications operator in Houston for 10 years after working for smaller agencies. That experience aids her today as a police officer, she said. Multiple calls don't stress her out. She's able to handle a situation for what it is and resolve issues quickly.
"I really feel that my work as a communications operator molded me that way," Greenwalt said.
In her training with JCPD, Greenwalt, who studied criminal justice and accounting at Houston Community College, has seen a bit of everything. She was introduced to patrol the first four weeks, and then spent one week with detectives. The next week she worked with the Community Action Team (CAT), which focuses on high-crime areas of the city, and her training concluded with two weeks in the traffic unit.
The most meaningful experience so far in her time with JCPD was finding a missing 6-year-old boy with autism.
"When we found him on the side of the highway, there was this feeling while kneeling down, opening my arms and having him let me carry him. He didn't even have shoes on," she said.
Greenwalt is now one of eight female officers with JCPD, which has 88 officers in total. Being a female officer has several advantages, she said, particularly in terms of communication. Subjects, whether suspects or victims, can be less reluctant to speak with her, particularly children and men who typically try to come off as tough guys.
She's also bilingual, fluent in English and Spanish. That's already been helpful for the department in some instances, and other agencies have utilized her skills as well.
Greenwalt said she wants to join CAT someday.
"They have several avenues they can work," she said. "They deal more with productivity as far as drug encounters. It's about servicing our community and making our community safe."