Watercraft Officer Sarah (Koch) Petruccu ’10.

Ask Sarah (Koch) Petrucci ’10 to describe her typical day as a state watercraft officer and she might say patrolling Lake Erie in search of intoxicated boaters.

Then again, she might also describe it as teaching kayaking classes to children, doing maintenance work on patrol boats, or handling public relations duties.

“There’s no such thing as a typical day,” said Petrucci, who works for the Ohio Department of Natural Resources’ Division of Watercraft in Cleveland. “You could be out on patrol for a week straight, and then the whole next week you could have boating education classes or safety days. It’s always switching up somehow. You’re never really bored.”

Petrucci knew she wanted to enter the law enforcement field when she graduated from BGSU with a Bachelor of Science in Criminal Justice. But, initially, becoming a watercraft officer was far from her mind. Instead, Petrucci took a job as a juvenile correctional officer at Erie County’s Juvenile Justice Center in Sandusky, where she stayed for two years. She wanted to work with youth and the job allowed her to interact closely with children inside the facility, enforcing rules, helping them with schoolwork and getting to know them personally.

It was tiring work, but not without rewards. Petrucci remembers helping one teenaged girl in particular overcome low self-esteem. The girl had no family she could count on and had spent most of her life moving between different foster homes. Petrucci spent time with her each day, offering support and encouragement. She said the girl blossomed and was eventually placed in a stable foster home.

But dealing with so many troubled youth was also a stressful experience, Petrucci said. And while she managed to have a positive impact on some of the children, she saw many young offenders repeatedly get into trouble. So she decided to enroll part-time in the Sandusky Police Academy while still working at the justice center.

“I’d see the things the kids were getting into, but I could only deal with it after it happened,” Petrucci recalled. “As a law enforcement officer you could actually be out there doing preventative stuff.”

It was a different kind of policing job that caught Petrucci’s eye once she’d completed her academy training, however. The state was seeking watercraft officers, and Petrucci – a fan of watersports since she was a child – knew it would be something she’d enjoy. There was just one problem: To get the job she had to go through six months of additional training.

“It was totally worth it,” said Petrucci, who graduated as a watercraft officer with the Ohio State Highway Patrol Training Academy in 2012. “I’m very happy where I’m at right now…Instead of driving around in a patrol car we’re on these really nice big patrol boats out on Lake Erie. There’s a lot of freedom out on the water.”

One of the best aspects of her job is getting to spend a lot of time outdoors, she said. She’s constantly working in parks, marinas, and on the lake. Her outside duties include teaching on-the-water boating education courses, attending safety events, performing search and rescue, and patrolling Northeast Ohio's waterways.

For students seeking a career in criminal justice, Petrucci recommends studying hard and learning additional skills that can make you stand out as a job candidate.

“There are plenty of students out there with associate’s and bachelor’s, especially in criminal justice,” Petrucci said.  “My advice would be to do something that makes you different from everybody, whether you excel in your grades or have a specialized minor.”

Petrucci, who earned the second-highest grade in her graduating class at BGSU, said she still keeps in touch with her professors there particularly Dr. Philip Stinson, who she sometimes contacts for advice on law–related questions.

“Don’t make college just something where you go in and get your grades and leave,” Petrucci advised other students. “Get to know your professors because they are a wealth of knowledge.”