ROBERTSDALE, Ala. — The field of law enforcement and criminal justice has long held a fascination for Jessica Julian, a senior at Robertsdale High School.

“I guess my desire to be involved in law enforcement goes back to my childhood,” she said. I’ve always had this desire to help people, and as the motto for most police departments is ‘to serve and protect’ I feel that fits me to a T.”

Julian has worked hard during her four years at RHS, and as a result she is able to leave campus at 11:20 a.m. each day.

“I’ll be one of the early graduates who finish up in December,” Julian said. “Afterward, I intend on entering Faulkner State Community College so that I can get as many of my core courses, such as English, math, history and such as that, out of the way.”

Should Julian decide on going on to a four-year school she would be able to get right into her major.

The daughter of Johnny Julian and Anetta Parks, Jessica has a 3.44 grade point average, which is good for a class rank of 47.

“I’ve heard that the Federal Bureau of Investigation visits various campuses where they recruit business and accounting majors,” she said. “It seems that solving white collar crime is all about following the trail of the money.”

Julian said another option was to join the military with the understanding that she becomes a military policewoman.

“Not only would I be able to get right into my field as quickly as possible, but I would gain a tremendous amount of experience,” she said. “Once I had served my hitch I would be able to take advantage of the Montgomery GI Bill, and have the government pay for my education.”

Julian said her father wanted her to attend LSU, but her personal preference at this time was Auburn.

As a veteran Julian said she would be given additional consideration for Federal jobs.

Because of her schedule Julian isn’t able to be as involved at RHS as she would like to be.

“About the only thing I’ve been able to earn was the Wallace Community College Honors Award, which is given based on grades, attendance and citizenship,” she said.

Julian recently tried her hand at modeling, and as a result she was able to keep the three dresses she modeled, earn a $1,000 for an afternoon’s work, in addition to having one of the photos used on the cover of a publication.

“Modeling is fun,” she said, “but I can’t see myself making a career of it. Still, it was good money to earn for college.”

Julian said she developed her work ethic early in life.

“I work at the Summerdale Flea Market on weekends,” she said. “I have to be there at 7 a.m. in order to help the vendors set up, watch tables when needed, and then to help them break their booths down and pack up around 3 p.m.”

Sundays, she said, are the slow days due to so many customers going to church, then eating a heavy Sunday dinner, before taking a long, afternoon nap.

As she’s no stranger to work, whether it be homework, her job, or household chores, Julian feels such a habit would help her whether she went into the military, college, or a police academy.

“Helping others can be accomplished in a variety of ways,” she said, “but one area I have a special concern about are the victims of crime.”

So often the criminals get the press, as their crime is described and the trial and sentencing are reported.

“But what about the victims,” she asked. “Don’t they need follow up from the police to see how they are doing? What about professional counseling if they have been traumatized? I believe this is a wide open field, and a special nitch for someone who is trained to deal with these type of situations.”

Who knows, she said, that special nitch might be filled by her one day.