Career change lets police graduate live her dream

Monday, 28 May 2007

Career change lets police graduate live her dream

“I get a lot of respect being older. If I go into a domestic situation, for example, the woman will focus on me and I can empathise with her. If I can make a difference to one person then I’m doing my job” – police constable Robyn Connal

When Robyn Connal hit her 40s she was ready for a major life change. While the Manurewa resident was content with her life and proud of her two grown-up children, she felt she was not heading down the right professional path.

“I’d always wanted to be a cop but I didn’t get accepted when I left school – they like you to have a bit of life experience first,” says Robyn. “Then marriage and children happened and life just moved on and before I knew it I was 42.

“A neighbour and a friend of a friend were both cops and I thought, ‘What’s stopping me going for my dream?’. I didn’t want to be on my death bed regretting that I’d never gone after what I really wanted. At that stage, though, I couldn’t even do one press-up.”

Robyn completed all the necessary medical checks before enrolling in Manukau Institute of Technology’s Preparation for Policing course. “I’d done some management training before which had got me used to a low level of study. The MIT course was part time so I could do it while I worked. It got all of us really motivated and built up the team spirit through lots of group work. It was an environment I really thrived in.”

The course prepares students for entrance to police, army or fire service training with literacy and numeracy support as well as a rigorous exercise programme. This begins with nutrition and dietary advice and moves on to press–ups, vertical jumps, weight training, running and swimming. There are variations in the physical requirements for men and women and age is also taken into account for police entrance.

Robyn was so committed to the exercise component of the course that she bought a house in a location that enabled her to run to and from work each day.

“I was the oldest woman in the course,” says Robyn, “but there were a lot of benefits in that. I wasn’t worried about the boyfriend/girlfriend thing. Our teacher fed us with a lot of inspiration and I felt that I was finally on the right track.”

Robyn has gone on to complete 19 weeks at the Royal New Zealand Police College in Porirua and is now a constable on the beat. “I love it. I get a lot of respect being older. If I go into a domestic situation, for example, the woman will focus on me and I can empathise with her. People are looking for a bit of comfort and direction and I can help them feel safe. If I can make a difference to one person then I’m doing my job.”

MIT’s Foundation School has four intakes each year in February, April, July and September, and offers a range of courses to help under-qualified students enter either tertiary study or the workforce.

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