A career with room to grow: how Aleeda Potter found her path in community justice 

When Aleeda Potter (Community and Justice Services, 2017) was deciding what to do after high school, her shortlist came down to two very different options: border services or culinary arts. She also knew she wanted to stay close to home. 

Loyalist gave her a way to do both: stay in her community while beginning to explore a career in justice. Aleeda ultimately enrolled in Customs and Border Services over culinary, but because Loyalist’s justice programs share a common first year, she had the opportunity to learn about other paths before committing to one direction. 

Early in the program, a careers course introduced students to professionals working across policing, border services, corrections and community organizations. As Aleeda listened, Community and Justice Services began to stand out. “It wasn’t just one end goal,” she says. “It had a million different avenues you could take.”  

Aleeda switched programs, and years later, that decision still fits. Her career has already taken her from provincial to federal corrections and through several very different roles along the way.  

An early opportunity 

Aleeda’s first step into the field came while she was still at Loyalist. During a careers class, professor Phil Howlett encouraged her to apply for an opening in provincial corrections. Aleeda initially thought she should wait until after graduation, but Paul encouraged her to apply anyway. 

She applied, graduated that year and was called to begin training for the position soon afterward. She went on to spend four years in provincial corrections before moving into the federal system, where she saw greater opportunity to continue developing her career.  

Starting out as a correctional officer, Aleeda later moved into a Social Development Officer role and is now a Black Institutional Liaison Officer with Correctional Service Canada. Each move has shown her a different side of the field. 

More than corrections 

Housing. Employment. Counselling. Mentorship. Community partnerships. They may not be the first things someone associates with a career in corrections, but they are all part of Aleeda’s work today. 

Her role involves supporting offenders as they prepare for reintegration into the community. She works with case-management teams and community organizations to identify barriers and connect people with resources they may need after release. “No two days are exactly the same for me right now,” she says. 

Sometimes that means coordinating community supports. At other times, it can mean helping mediate a concern or working with colleagues to address something standing in the way of an offender’s progress.  

The common thread is communication. Aleeda says the way someone communicates can shape the outcome of an interaction, especially in situations that are already difficult or emotionally charged.  

Learning what the work requires 

That is one of the lessons Aleeda appreciates differently now than she did as a student. She remembers faculty putting a strong emphasis on communication, reflection and recognizing stress. At the time, some of the technical aspects of justice work seemed more obviously connected to the career ahead. 

Once she entered the field, that perspective changed. Employers will teach job-specific procedures, she says, but the ability to communicate, reflect and manage yourself in demanding situations is something students need to start developing much earlier. 

Her placements reinforced that lesson while also widening her view of where the diploma could lead. One introduced her to community-based addictions and mental health work, an area she had not previously imagined pursuing. Another placed her inside federal corrections, where she saw how many different professions and departments operate within a correctional institution.  

Room to find the right fit 

Aleeda now sees that variety across the field and among other Community and Justice Services graduates. During a recent visit to Loyalist, she joined three other alumni to speak with students. All four had taken their education in different directions. 

“You can work with youth, you can work with adults, you can work with victims,” she says. “There are so many layers to community justice.” 

That breadth is what attracted Aleeda to the program in the first place, and it’s also what she wants prospective students to understand now. 

“If you enter one role or area and it doesn’t feel right, there are plenty of others to explore,” she says. “Be open to the experience and challenge yourself to step out of that comfort zone.”  

For Aleeda, not knowing exactly where she would end up was never a disadvantage. It gave her room to find out. 

Interested in a career that combines public safety, rehabilitation and helping people move forward? Discover how Loyalist’s Community Justice Services program prepares students for a range of careers in the justice sector.

Explore the Community Justice Services program