For Averett University junior Kennedy Wilson, an internship was not just a résumé booster — it reshaped her career path.
Wilson, an aviation and criminal justice major from Eden, North Carolina, spent the fall semester working three days a week with the Rockingham County Parole and Probation Department, gaining hands-on experience inside the criminal justice system and discovering a new professional direction.
Her experience reflects a core emphasis at Averett: preparing students to enter the workforce with practical, real-world experience and the confidence to succeed.
Originally focused on aviation, Wilson said her criminal justice coursework changed everything after transferring from Western Michigan University to Averett.
“I knew I wanted a second major, so I started taking criminal justice classes,” Wilson said. “Those classes ended up really piquing my interest. I wasn’t planning on doing anything with it. I wanted to go fly private jets. I started taking classes and discovered that I really liked it. … Averett is what fostered that love and appreciation for criminal justice. Honestly, I’d say that now I’m more interested in criminal justice than I am in aviation, which is crazy to say. But, I was really glad that I was able to learn that now. It’s all part of the growing process. … I was very grateful that Averett had something where I was able to combine those two passions.”
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That combination is now shaping her future.
During her internship, Wilson rotated through multiple roles, observing courtroom proceedings, assisting a judicial services coordinator and riding along with probation officers. There really was not a “normal” day.
“As their intern, I came in and started learning about the probation process and how all of that works,” Wilson observed. “Probation is not something you really know about unless you’ve been around it.”
Wilson learned the very complex workings of the department quickly. The internship forced her to become a strong multitasker.
“My schedule was I’d go into court and sit in court,” she recalled. “I sat with the judicial service coordinator, learned their job, and was able to actually, by the end of it be the JSC myself on days where they were short-staffed. They’d send me down to court on my own. I got to sit in court during the morning.
“In the afternoon, I would ride around with a probation officer,” Wilson continued. “They got me a bulletproof vest. I wasn’t allowed to leave the car. However, I was able to roll the windows down, listen to what they said. Meet with the offenders in the office. I was able to basically see everything they did, their entire job.”
Wilson also observed arrests, paperwork procedures and evidence handling, gaining a full picture of how the department operates. The experience, she said, was made even more valuable by a supportive staff willing to teach and mentor.
Wilson secured the internship through connections in her hometown.
“My mom’s a firefighter, and it’s a small town — everybody knows everybody,” she said. “I reached out, and they sent me the internship information.”
The position paid $18 an hour — a rare benefit for many internships — and quickly turned into a full-semester commitment. She balanced the role with a full course load, working 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays while attending classes on Tuesdays and Thursdays.
Wilson plans to graduate early in fall 2026 and already has another internship lined up with the Danville Sheriff’s Office.
Long term, she hopes to combine both of her academic interests.
“I think the next step, ideally, would be, I want to fly surveillance,” Wilson said. “That’s my goal. The Greensboro Sheriff’s Department has a fixed wing surveillance unit that I’ve heard of. There’s also the North Carolina SBI. There’s not a lot of information out there about all of this because it’s kind of more of a secretive thing. But eventually my end goal is to fly for a federal agency. So that’s FBI, DEA, ATF.”
She believes Averett’s aeronautics program will help her get there.
“A lot of the aircraft that they fly for these agencies are the same aircraft that we fly here,” Wilson explained. “I feel like I’m set up pretty well at Averett to move into those types of aircraft. That’s a good point to know because, I know we have graduates flying every type of aircraft.”
Outside the classroom and internship, Wilson maintains a packed schedule. She serves as president of Averett’s Women in Aviation chapter, tutors on campus, teaches dance and works as a waitress. She was recently asked to choreograph a musical for the Theater Guild of Rockingham County.
Despite the workload, she encourages other students to pursue internships early.
“I would say everything you learn in the classroom goes out the window when you step into an internship. It’s great to know that background knowledge. It’s so rewarding and you’re going to have so much more fun. You learn more hands on. If you are worried about the future. Go do an internship. Also, it’s okay if you mess up. It’s not your job. You’re an intern. You’re meant to mess up. I loved my internship.”
