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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Vera L. Jones

Verna L. Jones, M.S.W.

Executive Director Under 1 Roof
“The most important things I learned in Eastfield’s Social Work program was integrity and making sure that you have good follow-through as well as the importance of the social work code of ethics — you rely on these ethics as a social worker.”
Sociology
Veronica Alejandro

Veronica Alejandro

Dallas College student and hopeful future police officer
“I want every day to be a new challenge and I want to help people – but not from behind a desk. My criminology classes have all been good and I like the life experience my professors bring to the classroom.”
Criminal Justice
Kristine Farmer

S. Kristine Farmer

Employment Litigation Case Manager Fish and Richardson, PC
“My paralegal classes really gave me the fundamental foundation of what it means to be a paralegal. I had always been the only paralegal in a small law firm and I got a much better understanding of how paralegals are utilized in much larger firms. I got a lot of practical information, particularly in legal research and writing, on how to write persuasively. The overall quality of instruction was really just exceptional.”
Paralegal
Sheila Grace (Isom)

Sheila Grace, M.S., LPCI

Counselor Gateway Foundation In-Prison Treatment Center Brownwood
“How did I get to Eastfield’s Substance Abuse program? To be honest, I was in recovery myself. When I got to Eastfield, I did not even know what a semester hour was — I just knew I wanted to do something that would help someone else escape the horrors of addiction.”
Social Work
Chase Gravis
Chase Gravis
Cedar Valley student and hopeful future attorney
Criminal Justice
School of Law and Public Service
Updated July 28, 2026