NOC Enid President Leadership Council and Criminal Justice Students attended Oklahoma County Drug Court with Judge Stoner in early April.
NOC Enid President Leadership Council and Criminal Justice Students visited Noma Gurich at the Oklahoma State Supreme Court in early April.
NOC students visit drug court, state supreme court
NOC Enid President’s Leadership Council and Criminal Justice Students from Tonkawa/Enid traveled to Oklahoma City and met with Oklahoma Supreme Court Justice Noma Gurich and Oklahoma County District Judge Kenneth Stoner on Thursday on April 11.
The trip was led by NOC Vice President for Enid Jeremy Hise and Criminal Justice Instructor Troy Cochran.
The students attended a docket of drug court with Judge Stoner spending about 30 minutes speaking with the students prior to the morning docket and an hour having lunch and answering questions afterward. The meeting was eye opening, interesting, and educational.
Judge Stoner was appreciative of the NOC students and their visit.
“I was delighted to have such bright and curious students visit my courtroom and observe one of our Treatment Court (Drug/DUI) dockets,” he said. “As Oklahoma is wrestling with our addiction and incarceration crisis, it was hopeful to see young leaders have an interest in more humane and effective approaches to criminal justice.”
After the docket, the students had lunch with Stoner at the Devon Tower.
“I sincerely enjoyed my conversation with the students, they had so many intelligent and insightful questions,” Stoner added. “I hope it was a meaningful experience for them and perhaps we can host more students in the future.”
In the afternoon Justice Gurich spoke with the students about education and career opportunities, answered questions and provided a tour of the Oklahoma Supreme Court.
Justice Gurich commented, “Democracy works best when students understand and appreciate all three branches of government. The Governor and members of the Legislature are often the subject of news reports and interviews, while judicial ethics prohibit members of the judicial branch from commenting on pending cases. Typically, citizens are more familiar with the important work judges perform in the local district courts. Often, appellate justices and judges are the least well known.”
“I appreciate that faculty of NOC reached out to me so that the students of NOC had the opportunity to meet judges and justices at the Capitol,” she added. “The students were genuinely interested in learning about the Supreme Court and asked excellent questions. My hope is that face to face meetings with judges and justices may inspire and encourage students to dream big dreams. In fact, some students may become legislators or other government leaders. Some may even become the judges and justices of the future. This is in all of our best interest.”
Criminal Justice instructor Troy Cochran added, “I’m so grateful that many of our community partners are willing to meet with students and let them observe and have real-world experiences in this field,” Cochran said. “This helps our students greatly diminish the myths that are portrayed in the public.”
Vice President Hise added, “Judge Stoner and Justice Gurich provided an amazing and highly educational experience for our students. The investment of their time and sharing of their knowledge and expertise was certainly impactful. Watching Judge Stoner and his team in action was impressive and it is clear to me they are why this treatment program is so successful.”
Northern Oklahoma College, the state’s first public two-year community college, is a multi-campus, land-grant institution that provides high quality, accessible, and affordable educational opportunities and services.
NOC serves nearly 4,000 students through the home campus in Tonkawa, branch in Enid, and NOC/OSU Gateway Program in Stillwater. Of these students about 80% receive financial aid and/or scholarships. 75% of NOC students complete their degree with zero debt.
The college is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission and offers associate degrees in three general areas: Arts, Science and Applied Science; the Accreditation Council for Business Schools and Programs; and the Accreditation Commission for Education and Nursing.
For more information about Northern Oklahoma College please call (580) 628-6208 or visit the NOC website at www.noc.edu.
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