Dallas College

Student Experience: Chase Gravis

“I’ve always been interested in how things work in the criminal justice system and I found my first classes in Sarita Stewart’s Criminal Justice classes incredibly interesting. The laws and definitions just make sense to me. I want to keep my GPA as high as humanly possible, take the LSAT and get into a good law school. I’d like to practice criminal law. I like a challenge and I’ve always been good at negotiation. 

“I was able to take advantage of having my full tuition paid for because my dad is 100% disabled as a Vietnam war veteran. My experience at Cedar Valley has been fantastic. I like the teacher-to-student ratio because you get to know the teachers and they work with you; that’s a huge benefit. I’m glad I started out at community college. Besides, you save a ton of money.” 

Chase Gravis is earning an associate degree in Criminal Justice at Cedar Valley and hopes to continue his education to earn a bachelor’s degree in criminal justice at UNT. He is a member of Phi Theta Kappa, the academic honor society for students in two-year colleges.


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Karen Kenebrew

Karen Kenebrew

Writer and mediator
“The program not only fulfilled my CE requirements but also motivated me to seek postgraduate degrees in alternative dispute resolution/conflict resolution. The instructors have a wealth of experience and are passionate about the industry, which translates well in the classroom and adds to the learning experience.”
Conflict Management
Joyce Jones

Joyce Jones

Assistant Executive Director Dispute Mediation Services
“My experience at community college taught me baby steps, which led to giant steps. Not everybody can succeed at first in a four-year university. My best advice is to stay focused. Anybody can get off track, but try to find your way back. I did.”
Criminal Justice
John Tinsley

John Tinsley

Patrol Officer Rockwall Police Department
“It was a good experience to have officers with experience tell us how it was going to be on the street. I loved my time at the police academy. Sometimes my friends and I joke that if they told us we had to be back at the academy tomorrow, we’d all show up at 8 a.m. and be happy to be there.”
Criminal Justice
Giovanna Salazar

Giovanna Salazar

Dallas College student and hopeful future border patrol officer
“I like that my professors don’t just have academic knowledge but have a working background in all different fields. It brings more interest to our classes and we get to have a much better idea of what we’ll be up against in the future in our careers.”
Criminal Justice
Chase Gravis
Chase Gravis
Cedar Valley student and hopeful future attorney
Criminal Justice
School of Law and Public Service
Updated September 10, 2026