Petite 5′ 1 senior aims to become first in family to finish college, become detective
It’s 1am on a chilly night in 2007, most everyone is asleep. All except for one stay up, who quickly grabs a handful of popcorn with her tiny hand. She’s watching Law and Order SVU and she just cannot look away, “it’s always the wife,” she says as a suspect is taken into custody. What started as an obsession with TV has turned into a device to be just like the hardworking people in the special victims unit.
“Ever since I was little I would end up watching Criminal Minds or Law and Order, it was part of everyday life,” Crystal Sanchez, senior, said.
It’s not just the television shows that make her want to become a detective, it’s the prospect of accomplishing something real and unique: being the first in her family to earn a college degree, and most importantly, in something that she’s passionate about.
“My brother tried to become a police officer but he couldn’t, so I’m trying to actually accomplish something for my family,” Sanchez said. “I’m looking to become the first Sanchez to be done with college and do something unexpected and rewarding in life. Being the first one in my family to get a college degree really encourages me to pursue that major, and will hopefully drive me to more success.”
Her family is supporting her decision to go to college and become a detective, Sanchez said. However, the prospect of arresting someone particularly worried some family members, as Sanchez says that she has always been thought of as shorter and less intimidating than others in the family.
“I was hoping to just do investigating and questioning of the suspect, but really I’ll have to work on all levels of the field […] even the arresting. I’ll definitely have to master taking people down, but I believe that I can do it,” Sanchez said. “It’s all about practice, so maybe later on, after I [become] prepared, I’ll take someone down. The thing is […] some people aren’t really compliant with you, so if I want to become a detective, I’ll have to take someone down.”
Her friends are also skeptical of her abilities to “take people down”, and have a hard time seeing her as a detective, according to Sanchez.
“Some of my friends started laughing at the idea of me taking down tall, muscular, and intimidating criminals,” Sanchez said. “They were saying that I couldn’t do it, but I said ‘you know what, maybe right now I can’t, but someday I will.’”
Something else besides her interest in detective work surprises her friends, family, and teachers, and that is her innate ability to be kind to others. Annette Shaffer, English teacher and long time friend of Sanchez, has noticed this trait.
“No matter who you are, she will treat you the same. She’s nice to everyone, absolutely everyone, no matter what,” Shaffer said. “She’s good to people and isn’t someone who judges others.”
Sanchez has time and time again surprised the people she knows, and makes them expect the unexpected. She says she plans to make her family proud and keep on doing so at the College of Lake County and University of Illinois at Chicago. As she uses her ambition to become the first in her family to finish college, Sanchez says she plans to use this drive to succeed as a detective.
“I’m the definition of weird, but throughout the years I’ve learned to kind of embrace that and just be myself,” Sanchez said. “As a friend, I try to make people laugh when they’re sad or depressed, and as a detective, I’ll try to give everyone a fair chance.”
As a senior, this is Max’s third year on staff and first year as magazine editor in chief for the Bear Facts program. He aspires to study environmental...