SPOTLIGHT: Tasha Rega

Tasha Rega is determined and goal-oriented.  

“My goal after earning my bachelor’s degree was always to go back to school for my master’s degree. I enjoy the challenge of learning new things,” Rega said.  

In August, Rega earned her master’s degree in Criminal Justice Policy and Administration through Penn State World Campus. 

“A few days after I started looking at Penn State master’s degree programs this program popped up on Penn State Today as a new program and the classes fit my interests,” Rega said.  

Earning a degree while working fulltime can have its challenges.  

“I think the two biggest challenges were balancing the school work with a full time job and other family and home projects along with the academic project I had to complete in order to graduate because it took up a lot more time than the coursework itself,” Rega said. 

Rega earned her master’s degree while working fulltime as a records specialist in the Records Office within UPPS. In this role, she is responsible for reviewing incident reports for compliance with the federal Clery Act and Unform Crime Reporting (UCR) and various other state and federal laws. She also processes various other documents including the daily logs, arrests, referrals and expungements. Monthly, she audits UCR data from our records management system for each campus UPPS serves. 

While there were challenges, going back to school was also fulfilling in many ways. Rega praised her professors for their support and guidance along the way. She also appreciated the support from her classmates. 

“The most rewarding part was getting to work with people with various backgrounds and experiences. It was great getting to interact with them and learning about their experiences helped add context to the subjects we were learning in class,” Rega said. “It was also great getting to complete this program with other current and former UPPS employees. We got to bounce ideas and questions off each other and also vent any stresses and frustrations about the coursework.” 

Lt. Michael Nelson, who serves at University Park, completed this same program alongside Rega while serving UPPS fulltime.