Eric Graham

Please describe your position and what you enjoy most about it.

In my position at the Hannibal Police Department I take care of every aspect of electronic equipment, everything from computers, printers and servers to wearable cameras, in car cameras, and in house security cameras. I also perform forensics on cell phones and assist detectives with any online investigations.

What aspects of your HLGU experience helped you prepare for your career?

A lot of the classes in the CIS program helped me prepare for what I am doing know. Spending time finding problems and fixing them helped in my current roll. Also, having access to different software in the CIS program helped me to learn to quickly figure out the basics of different software in a short amount of time which is a huge help in what I do. I also worked at the Library on campus as a computer tech which helped me develop a good sense of customer relations.

What have you enjoyed most about your career?

The thing I have enjoyed most in my career is helping out in investigations. I have also been to some really great training over the 7 years I have been with the Police Department that has benefited the department as a whole.

Have you or are you currently continuing your education?

I have been to numerous training’s that the department has sent me to.
Cellbrite Certified (Cellphone forensics)
CAST (FBI cellphone record analysis)
Dark Web Investigation
+SMART Certified (Smartphone Technology and Forensics)
Cell Site Historical Analysis
Basic Digital Forensic Imaging
Open Source Investigations

How did HLGU shape you as a person?

HLGU gave me a good stable environment in which to grow and mature as a person to prepare me for what waited.

Please share a specific example from your career or life when the skills you gained at HLGU helped you most.

A lot of the time the way HLGU taught me to respect everyone equally has helped me every day.

What HLGU professors played a part in your success? How did your relationship with faculty help you succeed?

The willingness of Michelle Todd and Lonnie Nelson to give us the leeway to find a problem that we want to work on and give us the guidance that we needed on it played a huge success.

Do you have any tips to share with students interested in this field?

Don’t be afraid to find something you are really interested in and fail at it. I have learned more by failing at a particular path I took on a project than any other way.

What are some of your favorite HLGU memories?

Some of my best memories were all the men’s and women’s soccer games my wife and I were able to, and still do, go to and watch.

What is one thing you know now that you wish you’d known when you started in the field?

There is no one way to accomplish most tasks.