By Jessica Esposito
Special to the Milford-Orange Times
Jessica Esposito
Everyone in life gets asked the same question when they are in high school: Where do you see yourself in five years?
My answer today would be, “finishing my degree in criminal justice and procuring a career as a probation officer.” However, if someone told me in high school what my life would look like in five years, I would have laughed and probably called them crazy.
When I graduated Amity Regional High School in 2014, I knew I was going to go to the University of New Haven for a criminal justice degree. I chose to go to UNH because my family has a history with the school. My father, Frank Esposito Jr., graduated from UNH in 1984 with a bachelor’s degree in criminal justice. He worked for the Orange Police Department for 23 years, and after retiring in July 2004 began working at the university. He is retiring this month after working there for 16 years.
My brother, Anthony, graduated from UNH in 2015 with a bachelor’s degree in fire science and was employed between 2010 and 2013.
I knew that UNH was where I would end up because I wanted to follow in my family’s footsteps.
When school started in the fall of 2014, I was lucky enough to get a job as student worker. I had the honor to work for the late Dr. Richard Ward in the Henry C. Lee College of Criminal Justice. After his unexpected passing in 2015, I had the opportunity to work for Dean Dr. Mario Gaboury and Assistant Dean Dr. David Schroeder. I was fortunate to meet some extraordinary people and make professional friendships with the full-time faculty. I was grateful for the opportunity to work there, because in December 2017 my life would change forever.
At the end of October 2017, I thought I was getting a virus. One day in early November, I was leaving my house and heading to school. As I started driving, I felt very weak, like I was going to pass out. I turned around and had my mom called 9-1-1.
When the paramedic arrived, I was in my car, sweating with clammy hands. My blood pressure and oxygen levels were low.
I went to the hospital for tests, but we left with no explanation as to why this happened. I followed up with my primary care doctor, who determined that it was a fluke.
About a week later my legs felt heavy and like pins and needles. I went back to the doctor to run some blood tests. As you can image, I was frustrated because I had no idea what was going on, but I knew something was not right. My family was also frustrated and worried.
A few days later I got a call from my doctor. He told me I most likely had an autoimmune disorder, but more testing had to be done and I would need to see a rheumatologist.
Between then and the time I saw the rheumatologist in December, I became extremely weak, unable to lift even five pounds. I lost 25 pounds. But I was still going to school and was able to finish the semester with A’s and B’s.
On Dec. 21, 2017 I was officially diagnosed with Sjogren’s Syndrome. There is no cure for this disease, only medication to help cope with symptoms.
Over the holiday break my parents suggested that I take a semester off to focus on my health. I told them absolutely not. After talking with my doctors I decided to change my status from full time to part time. Through the many hospital visits in 2018 and 2019 and all of the symptoms, I still found the strength to continue as a student worker and take courses to finish my bachelor’s degree. In the fall of 2019, I decided to apply for the master’s investigation degree.
This is not your typical M.S. program; the courses were only seven-and-a-half weeks long. I knew it would be a lot of work, but I was determined to do it because I was not able to obtain a full-time job.
I just finished my master’s degree this month.
In the summer, as my schoolwork was coming to an end, I was getting nervous because I knew I would not be able to obtain a full-time job. One day, my father ran into Gaboury, who was concerned for my situation, and asked if I would consider teaching for the criminal justice department. My father was told I was offered the position due to my work ethic and academic achievements.
I would be reunited with my criminal justice family again. This was not where I thought I would be after finishing college. People have a plan and set goals they want to achieve, but sometimes life has different plans. We have to learn to adapt to curve balls that are thrown our way.
I am so grateful for my family that has been there for me through the good and bad times. They have been my backbone through all of it. I am also grateful for all of our friends who have been there for us through the past few years. I’m thankful to everyone at UNH who have helped me succeed these past few years, and for the amazing opportunity that I will be embarking on soon.
Never take anything for granted, because you do not know what your future is going hold.