Christi Crews

Christi Crews champions peace. Once focused on a law enforcement career, the TCC student at Southeast Campus now plans to enter the diplomatic corps with the U.S. Department of State. All because of war and related heartbreak.         

"On Dec. 1, 2005, a very dear friend passed away in Operation Iraqi Freedom in Fallujah, Iraq," she said, recalling how an improvised explosive device (IED) took the life of Marine Lance Cpl. Robert A. "Robby" Martinez. 

"This shifted my career focus. I chose the Middle East to further the cause which took his life. I want to know the inner workings of the conflicts in this region and hope to work towards resolving the struggle." 

She plans to transfer to either the University of Texas at Austin or Wellesley College in Wellesley, Mass., this spring to major in Middle Eastern Studies and become fluent in Arabic, which she's studying at the University of Texas at Arlington. 

First, however, she will spend two weeks in the Middle East, leaving for Tel Aviv on Jan. 1 as one of an elite group of U.S. students accepted into George Mason University's Environmental and Geopolitical Conflicts in Israel & Palestine program. 

They will explore sensitive areas such as the West Bank and Golan Heights, studying water issues and other divisive matters. Afterward, the students will write proposals on how to defuse the tensions. 

As a change agent for peace in the Middle East, Crews said, she will remember TCC. "The faculty are amazing. The curriculum is challenging. The schedule of classes is flexible. TCC has created a solid foundation for my future endeavors." 

-- By David House