CENTER VALLEY, Pa. \u2014 Keyon Moore explored a few majors before finalizing his current degree path at Penn State Lehigh Valley. With an interest in computer analytics in high school, Keyon planned to pursue those studies in college, honing in on cybersecurity.<\/p>\n
\u201cI thought that\u2019s what I wanted to do,\u201d he said. \u201cI thought I\u2019d code games and learn all these analytical things. But I fell out of love with computers, and that put me in a dark spot; I didn\u2019t know where to go from there.\u201d<\/p>\n
Moore said he chose Penn State Lehigh Valley for the close-knit campus community, proximity to home and affordable tuition.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy brother went to Penn State Lehigh Valley and I felt comfortable,\u201d he said. \u201cFrom the moment I stepped onto campus, I thought, \u2018Everyone here is amazing.\u2019 It just felt like this was where I needed to be.\u201d<\/p>\n
After taking “Intro to Criminal Justice” in his second year, the direction for his educational path became clear, Moore said.<\/p>\n
\u201cI have family in the military, in law enforcement, in law,\u201d he said. \u201cI learned a lot in that class and it really pushed me to pursue this.\u201d<\/p>\n
Moore said he credits Debra Dreisbach, assistant teaching professor and criminal justice program coordinator, for keeping him engaged every step of the way.<\/p>\n
\u201cI commend her for investing in me,\u201d he said. \u201cSince my first [criminal justice] class, I\u2019ve been looking at internships and job opportunities. I\u2019ve never felt this passionate about something in my life.\u201d<\/p>\n
Moore said his interests in the field led him to his present work with Promise Neighborhoods of the Lehigh Valley (PNLV), a violence prevention-led, community-based, nonprofit organization in Allentown dedicated to helping children succeed in school, families remain healthy and stable, and neighborhoods to be safe and thriving. As a Community Outreach Member, Moore said his role is to \u201cdisrupt, intervene, protect and support the residents of our community.” The organization also actively responds to acts of violence in the community, offering immediate services, resources and emotional support to those affected. \u201cOur team canvases nearby areas, speaks with community members, and works diligently to prevent future incidents of violence from occurring by fostering a sense of trust, awareness, and unity,” Moore said.<\/p>\n
PNLV\u2019s core initiatives include youth development and education programs. Its mission and outreach are driven by building strong relationships with community members and law enforcement. Moore said his criminal justice studies have informed him of the critical need for law enforcement officers to build positive relationships with the community.<\/p>\n
\u201cFrom the perspective I gathered from the organization itself and local law enforcement, I\u2019ve learned that it\u2019s not always about stopping crime. The main priority is to reach your community and one of those goals is to ensure safety,” Moore said. “The law enforcement officers I\u2019ve noticed in the Lehigh Valley do a lot of hands-on, dirty work and are committed to helping our communities when it comes to gun safety and drug concerns. They prioritize community relations by going to local events and parks and building relationships. That\u2019s really important.\u201d<\/p>\n
Moore\u2019s passion caught Dreisbach\u2019s attention within the first few days of class.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe [Moore] was answering every question. He\u2019s incredibly enthusiastic and just stood out,\u201d Dreisbach said. \u201cHe was involved and very interested.\u201d<\/p>\n
Moore was set to transfer to University Park, but said he opted to continue his studies at Lehigh Valley.<\/p>\n
\u201cI love this campus and the connections it\u2019s provided me. It\u2019s like home. I didn\u2019t want to leave it and go three hours away. I wanted to be here, with these people in my community. Everything I need is right here,” Moore said.<\/p>\n
Now in his third year, Moore continues to build his knowledge in the field and look toward the future.<\/p>\n
\u201cDown the line, I want to get into forensics or criminal investigation,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
He visited the Pennsylvania State Police barracks in Bethlehem and said he is very interested in pursuing an internship with the office. \u201cIt was an ‘out-of-body’ experience. I don\u2019t think a lot of people take the time to ask these officers questions to learn more about it,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Dreisbach said she feels Moore\u2019s drive and passion will take him far.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s like a ball of energy \u2014 he\u2019s the star of every class. I think he\u2019s going places,” Dreisbach said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"CENTER VALLEY, Pa. \u2014 Keyon Moore explored a few majors before finalizing his current degree path at Penn…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":5990,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[14],"tags":[153,155,154],"class_list":["post-5989","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-bethlehem","tag-bethlehem","tag-bethlehem-headlines","tag-bethlehem-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5989","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5989"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5989\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5990"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5989"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5989"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5989"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}