Hello, our names are . . . Cheryl Stankiewiez and Robert Arakelian

On Mondays, the Daily Voice introduces you to a member (or members) of the UMass Medical School community—could be a new face, or maybe someone you've seen around for a while. We’ve asked our subjects to answer a few questions that might give you insight into their personalities. If you have a suggestion as to someone who might be profiled, let us know at ummscommunications@umassmed.edu.

Cheryl Stankiewiez and Robert Arakelian are police officers in the UMMS Police Department. They have both been at UMMS since January.

What brought you here to UMass Medical School?

CS: I was a dispatcher for seven years and I was looking for an officer position.

RA: This is a career change for me. I was most recently in the food and beverage industry, but this is something I always wanted to do. I was sponsored by UMass Medical School in the Municipal Police Training Academy in Boylston and I just graduated in December.

What do you love most about the work you do?

CS: The campus is big enough to be its own little community, but small enough to be personal. There’s also a little bit of everything happening each day.

RA: The work is very diverse and interesting. The days go by so fast because there’s always something going on.

What’s the question you are most asked about your job—and the answer?

CS: Do you like your job? The answer is yes, definitely.

RA: Anything interesting happen today? And the answer is usually yes. There’s always something happening.

What inspired you to enter your field?

CS: I come from a family of police officers—two of my brothers, my grandfather and some cousins. It’s in my blood and something I grew up with.

RA: It’s something I’ve always wanted to do. In college, I majored in public policy with a specialization in criminal justice, so I had this career in mind all along. I just had to try out a variety of other ones before I came back to what I knew I loved.

What is the best kept secret of your department?

CS: A lot of people think we serve just a security function. They don’t understand that we are a full police department and we’re all trained police officers with the same authority and function as those in a municipal department.

RA: We have all the training of municipal police officers and we are qualified to work in any town’s police department. Because of our training we have full police powers including the ability to make motor vehicle stops and arrests.