Brooke Walter

Hey! My name is Brooke Walter from the Northland Career Center in the Law Enforcement/ Crime Scene Investigation program. I enjoy working out and going for walks. 

Favorite Essential Element: Adaptability and flexibility. One of the most important elements in my opinion on the framework. It is a skill used daily by many and on occasion can save lives. Think about the last time something didn’t go your way and changed at the last minute. What did you do? Did you freak out and run or did you adapt and change something in order to make the best of the situation? Adaptability and flexibility are skills I use in my own daily life. Adapting has helped me view situations differently and taught me to work with what I’m handed while also being able to adapt to last minute situations or changes.

My future looks like: As someone who wants to go into Law Enforcement in the future, learning how to adapt to stressful situations now, will truly benefit me. Adapting is important within Law Enforcement because you never know what situation you are going to end up in and how the situation is going to pan out. You can’t predict how others will react and handle certain situations. Some people react by running away, and some address the situation in an improper manner(what we know as fight or flight). Therefore, it is best to be ready for anything and be able to adapt to any outcome. 

Something unique about me: Being able to adapt has given me the opportunity to also help others. While in my Law Enforcement/ Crime Scene Investigation program, a student had a seizure abruptly in the middle of class one day. Instead of sitting there and staring, I jumped into action and started adapting to the situation. Getting all the other students out of the room, so my instructors could tend to her without any distractions. I then went to her side to see what I could do to help. If I wouldn’t have adapted and reacted the way I did, my instructors would have had a harder time contacting parents and getting her the help she needed.

 Advice to Members: A piece of advice from me to all of my fellow SkillsUSA members is to roll with the punches. If something happens that wasn’t planned, adapt and make the best out of it. If something is wrong or negative, make it a positive. Trust me it will truly change your outlook on life. Life is too short to fixate on what went wrong and the negative, always find the positive.