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The Albany Police Department held a graduation ceremony Tuesday evening for the 27th Citizen's Academy.

The 10-person class included a city leader looking to understand the police force a little better and a recent high school graduate looking to jumpstart her career.

Although it wasn't required for his new job, Dougherty County Coroner Michael Fowler completed the course.

“I really wanted to see what the APD Citizen's Academy was all about and some of the duties of law enforcement and what they deal with on a day to day operation,” said Michael Fowler.

By shadowing police officers and attending the classes, he discovered the daily challenges their job brings.

While fowler used the Citizen's Academy as a tool to understand the agency that he works with on the job, one of his classmates used the course as a means to possibly get a job.

“It's a start and being that it is with APD and I’m majoring in criminal justice, it's a lot of help,” said Tanisha Green, Citizen’s Academy graduate.

Tanisha Green, 19, graduated high school in May and as she attends Albany Tech, she'll use this experience to build her resume, in hopes of someday landing a job with APD.

“I may have to do patrolling a couple of years and then from there, I’ll work my way up to a crime scene investigator,” said Green.

The student says the course gave her a vision to strive for as she finishes her degree.

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