Tony sat on his brown leather couch watching reruns of Magnum PI while drinking a beer and eating some pizza. He was half watching and half thinking about the conversations his coworkers were having earlier. They were talking about different skills that they have and Timothy McGee, his friend, was talking about his degrees from MIT and John Hopkins relating to computer crime and cybersecurity.
This in turn made him think about his own degrees, that's right he does have more than a Bachelors in Physical Education thank you very much. He also has a bachelors in criminology. He at one point started a masters program for a masters in criminology but then he was sent undercover for the Mob and had to stop.
He sat up and decided to go on his laptop and look up programs. He wanted to continue his education and get that degree. He found a few local programs but noticed that GeorgeTown University and George Washington University had specific programs to help local law enforcement continue their studies in criminal justice. He decided to apply for the Masters of Arts in Criminology program through George Washington University as it is ranked number 2 for criminal justice programs. He chose the George Washington program based on the classes available and he knows one of the professors from his time as a Cop.
He started to fill out the application, having to update his resume and find his old Ohio State transcripts. He was able to fill out what little he was able to from the last program of criminal justice he took years ago before he moved to DC. He reached out to his former coach and the trainers at FLETC to write letters of recommendation.
By the time he finished it was midnight and he decided he wouldn't tell anyone until he knew he was getting in then start with Gibbs and the Director. He figured Tom Morrow would need to know and Gibbs should know incase of classes and exams.
The next few months passed with waiting to hear back. They continued with classes and he got emails back about the individuals he reached out to by submitting their letters of recommendation. One day while filling out more reports and the senior field agent paperwork Tony's computer let him know he got an email. He opened it and saw it was from George Washington University telling him that he was accepted for the program and gave him the name and contact information for his faculty advisor. He reached out to schedule his classes for the first semester. He will be taking for the Fall Semster:
SOC 6230: Sociological Research Methods
SOC 6258: Deviance and Control
SOC 6238: Sociological Theory OR Elective
He also reached out to The Director and emailed him to set up a meeting. He will be meeting with Director Morrow tomorrow morning. He couldn't stop the smile from his face even if he had tried. He made eye contact with Gibbs when he saw him tilt his head questioningly. He mouthed the word Later to him before getting back to work. When they were done for the day Tony followed Gibbs home.
"Good email earlier?" Gibbs asked starting the fire for cowboy steaks.
"Yeah great email. I have something to tell you actually." Tony said, grabbing two beers from the fridge and putting the rest of the pack in to cool.
"Let me get the steaks going then you can tell me" Gibbs said, seasoning the meat. He went to the kitchen to throw together a salad all while grumbling about it.
"So a while back Kate was talking about how I couldn't be that smart because I only have a degree in P.E. while McGee had multiple degrees and how a beat cop couldn't be better than her with her psychology degree and profiling. So I thought about my schooling. Did you know back in Philly I was working on a Masters degree?" Tony said, sitting back on the couch next to his boss and friend. He saw Gibbs shake his head out of the corner of his eye. "So I looked up some schools around here and found some good ones that work with military and law enforcement. A few months ago I applied for my Masters of Arts in Criminology at George Washington University and was accepted into the program today."
"That's awesome Tony. I know I don't say it much but I am proud of you. You are doing this for yourself right. Not just to get back at Kate or McGee?" Gibbs said, putting his hand on Tony's shoulder and squeezing it to show his support. He got up to fish the steaks while Tony left to get the plates.
"I am doing it mostly for myself. I wanted to complete my Masters before but I went undercover and could not continue. I might need some time off for exams though Gibbs." Tony said, cutting into his steak with his pocket knife. They sat for the night talking about the classes that Tony had this morning and the meeting he had in the morning with Morrow.