Alumni spotlight: Yevgenii Kisarauskas. BA Justice 2013, MA Criminal Justice 2018, headed for a career in law enforcement

Yevgenii Kisarauskas, B.A. Justice 2013, B.A. Psychology 2016, M.A. Criminal Justice 2018, started out as an undergrad at Montana State University, but transferred to UAA after a year because they didn't have a criminal justice degree program. At UAA, he took a course in criminology from Dr. Troy Payne and really liked his teaching style. “His enthusiasm was contagious,” said Kisarauskas.  It was through Dr. Payne that Kisarauskas came to know about the excellent graduate Justice program at the University of Cincinnati. Dr. Payne received his PhD from the University of Cincinnati (UC) in 2010. This summer, Kisarauskas received his M.A. in Criminal Justice from UC.

Yevgenii Kisarauskas

Kisarauskas, who was born in Russia in 1990 and emigrated to Alaska with his parents in 2000, wasn’t ready to finish his undergraduate education at UAA with a B.A. in Justice in 2013. He decided to turn a minor in psychology to a full degree and completed his second B.A. in 2016. After graduating, he took a year off from school to work as a substance abuse counselor in Sitka.

In fall 2017, Kisarauskas entered the University of Cincinnati master’s program with a full scholarship. He gives the UAA Justice Center program credit for providing great preparation for graduate work.  At UC, Kisarauskas excelled with a 4.0 GPA.
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This fall, Kisarauskas is looking at positions in law enforcement on the west coast. His goal down the road is to work for the FBI or Federal Marshals’ office.  For now, though, he’s looking at sheriffs’ offices and police departments where he’ll begin the career in law enforcement that he’s always wanted.