![\"dierenfeldts\"](\"https:\/\/www.missouriwestern.edu\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/133\/2017\/01\/Dierenfeldts.jpg\")
<\/a>He wasn\u2019t a student very long before he met Dr. Greg Lindsteadt, associate professor of criminal justice. Dr. Lindsteadt didn\u2019t think Dierenfeldt should stop with an associate degree, and he encouraged him to continue his education beyond the associate degree. Dr. Lindsteadt also suggested he begin to pursue research projects.<\/p>\nDierenfeldt took Dr. Lindsteadt\u2019s advice and continued his education and research. And then he continued his education and research some more. In 2016, he earned his Ph.D. in criminal justice and this past fall, began his career as an assistant professor at Pennsylvania State University Wilkes-Barre.<\/p>\n
\u201cGreg Linsteadt and Joanne Katz fostered and facilitated those research opportunities,\u201d he said. \u201cThey put me on the path and opened the doors, and it is a debt I will never fully repay.\u201d<\/p>\n
Dr. Dierenfeldt, a Bethany, Missouri native, said he was \u201cheads above\u201d his cohorts in his doctoral program at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock, thanks to his research experiences and several of his courses at Missouri Western.<\/p>\n
In 2007, about a year before he enrolled at Missouri Western, he married Cindy Peters \u201905\/\u201915, who had graduated with a bachelor\u2019s degree in chemistry\/natural science and was working as a chemist for IVX Pharmaceuticals.<\/p>\n
Cindy, originally from Linn, Missouri, returned to Missouri Western to earn a Master of Applied Science in Forensic Investigations and today is a forensic chemist for a private lab. Prior to moving to Pennsylvania, she worked for the Missouri State Highway Patrol crime laboratory.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy goal was to work in forensics. I liked science and math, but also crime theory. If I could use science and math to solve crimes, I knew it was a good fit for me,\u201d Cindy said. \u201cI\u2019m constantly learning about new drugs or different ways to analyze, and each case is different. I\u2019m solving a mystery.\u201d<\/p>\n
Although the couple attended Missouri Western at different times, Cindy said their \u00a0experiences were similar.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe professors (for both degrees) helped me a lot,\u201d she said. \u201cThey were easy to approach, and I had a lot of one-on-one interaction.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cStudent success was their top priority,\u201d Rick said of his and Cindy\u2019s professors.<\/p>\n
Cindy said she really enjoyed a research class that was taught by Dr. Lindsteadt as part of her graduate program.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe made it interesting, and it was a real research study,\u201d she said. \u201cHe did a good job of opening my eyes to research and different opportunities.\u201d<\/p>\n
Both also appreciated the opportunities they had to present their research results and attend conferences.<\/p>\n
Cindy attended an American Chemical Society meeting in San Diego and presented at a criminal justice meeting in New York. Rick not only presented twice at national conferences as a student, but published two articles in peer-reviewed literature.<\/p>\n
\u201cI will always miss police work, because of the opportunities to effect meaningful, positive changes in people\u2019s lives,\u201d he said. \u201cBut now as a researcher and a teacher, I can have an effect not just in a particular jurisdiction, but regionally and nationally.\u201d<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
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When Rick Dierenfeldt \u201911 enrolled at Missouri Western, he had a plan. At the time, he was working full-time as a police officer, and he wanted to earn an associate degree so he could get promoted. It was a good plan, but it didn\u2019t quite work out that way. He […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[23,56],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.missouriwestern.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3880"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.missouriwestern.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.missouriwestern.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.missouriwestern.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.missouriwestern.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3880"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.missouriwestern.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3880\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4384,"href":"https:\/\/www.missouriwestern.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3880\/revisions\/4384"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.missouriwestern.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3880"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.missouriwestern.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3880"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.missouriwestern.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3880"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}