Ryan Clark

Ryan Clark earned an associate of applied science degree in 2023. He majored in criminal justice and is currently a trooper with the Nebraska State Patrol (NSP).

Clark credits the criminal justice instructors for the hands-on experience they taught him, but he said it’s what happened beyond the classroom that made the real difference.

“They gave me a lot of opportunities to go and make relationships with local law enforcement and they actually got me lined up with my internship with the Nebraska State Patrol,” Clark said. “That was a big step in me applying for and getting a job with the Nebraska State Patrol.”

Clark said he knew he wanted to work for the NSP while studying at CCC and the internship opened his eyes to how many opportunities were available at the agency. Now that he works for the NSP, he said he thinks of further opportunities but keeps them in the proper place.

“I have a lot of goals, but I need to learn this job right now and become well-rounded in this job before I take on anything else,” said Clark. “I would like to eventually maybe get on the SWAT team, maybe work with a police service dog or maybe aviation.”

Michael David, criminal justice program director at CCC, believed Clark would be quite successful while observing him in class, the Criminal Justice Student Association and during his internship.

“Ryan’s hard work and dedication to his studies is what made him a great criminal justice student, which resulted in his employment with the Nebraska State Patrol,” said David.

Clark is a 2021 graduate of Kearney High School, which is right across the street from CCC-Kearney. Given his positive experience and what it led to, he is hopeful many KHS alums will do the same.

“I would definitely recommend that they go across the street,” Clark said.