Warning to strict professors: one of your students has the power to give you countless speeding tickets.

Erik Winger, a senior in criminology, has spent his entire life chasing after his dream of becoming a police officer.

Although he has had some barriers to overcome, he now works for University Police and attends school full-time.

While at Bowsher High School in Toledo, Ohio, Winger decided on a law enforcement career.

“He would not change his mind,” his mother Barbara Winger said.

Winger’s inspiration is simple.

“My father went to work everyday and supported his family. My mom was a stay at home mom who took care of me and my sister,” he said.

Winger, 28, started his college career in 1993 in electrical engineering. He attended with a full ride through the Evans Scholars, a charitable trust providing scholarships for golf caddies.

One generally has a better chance of getting into the FBI without a major in law enforcement, Barbara Winger said.

In October of 1996, the University Police hired him as a student safety services officer.

In April 1998, Winger put his college career on hold after getting hired as a full-time communication dispatcher – putting his college career on hold to pursue law enforcement.

It was about this time that he met his future wife, Krista, at a party.

“I was the only girl he had met that could sing Pat Dailey songs all the way through,” Krista Winger said.

In July of 1999, he was hired as an officer for the department.

With only six classes left to go for his bachelor’s, Winger decided to go back and finish school.

“I am so proud of him for going back. After being gone so long it takes a lot of courage – worrying about not being sure if you have the ability to absorb information like you used to,” Krista Winger said.

However, the couples’ careers and schooling keep them from seeing each other as much as they would like.

“Krista works days and I work evenings. She has weekends off and I get Thursdays and Fridays off. Some days we don’t even see each other. My trip into class and her lunch hour are at the same time, so I try to call her then,” Winger said.

The time they normally would have to spend with each another Winger usually must spend studying for classes. Krista Winger understands the problems school and a career cause, she will be going back to school in the summer.

“He only had six classes left. Knowing he only had a little time left helped,” Krista Winger said. “He will have extra time now. He got a new motorcycle so he will spend his time doing that. He’s pretty excited.”

Barbara Winger never doubted her son would get his degree.

“Anything he has ever started, he has planned on finishing and finished,” she said.

Winger sees only minor differences in being an officer and a student. He is like a traditional student in that he works full-time while attending classes.

One major difference is that he runs into students, in classes and on the street, that he has given tickets or citations to. So far, no one has ever noticed or recognized him, Winger said.

He realizes his position as an officer involves more than just responding to calls and patrolling the campus area.

“We have to be a social service liaison from time to time. Just yesterday (May 19), down at a hospital parking garage a guy was taking Valium because he had just lost his fiancée three hours before. He was in his car and planned on driving home. We convinced him not to drive and some friends took him home,” he said.

In law enforcement you are never completely trained, he said. He has attended 26 training courses including community oriented policing and training as a bicycle officer.

Winger has taken his dedication and focus to police work and applied it to his schoolwork. He only paid tuition for his first quarter back due to university full-time benefits and his scholarship.

“When he went back he got almost all straight A’s,” Krista Winger noted.

Family support has always been important to Winger.

“He’s only the second one that graduated from college on both sides of the family,” Barbara Winger said. “I think it’s terrific.”

Winger plans on staying with the University Police until his retirement. He enjoys the smaller atmosphere because “there are other things we can do,” he said.

One example is the Personal Protection Team, a version of the secret service, which is called on to protect dignitaries and other important people that visit the campus area.

“I think we have a lot of good officers. Everybody is willing to help out each other. There isn’t anyone here I couldn’t trust my life with,” Winger said.

He only has one regret, “not finishing school earlier,” he said. “It has been a pain in my side since starting back.”