91¿´Æ¬Íø

Keegan Bestland just graduated with his Bachelor of Science in Criminal Justice and Psychology, but he isn’t done with 91¿´Æ¬Íø Moorhead quite yet. Keegan was one of the first students to enter the BA in Criminal Justice and Master’s in Criminal Justice 4+1 program. 

During his very first semester on campus, Keegan reached out to both the criminal justice and social work departments, in hopes of picking up a second major.

“I was originally drawn to forensic psychology, but after meeting with both departments, I was drawn to criminal justice, because I wanted to help others within restorative justice.” 

While getting his undergrad, Keegan’s academic advisor asked if he’d be interested in joining the 4+1 accelerated program, which allows students to start working on their master's degree while working on their undergraduate degree.

“I knew that getting my master’s in this way would be the most time and cost effective, so I was immediately interested.”

Over the past year, Keegan has been building his research portfolio with two different student research projects, one in criminal justice and one in psychology.

• Keegan collaborated on a qualitative research project analyzing communication within an anonymous online forum for individuals convicted of sex offenses. The study found that members frequently discussed the lasting impact of social stigma, exchanged various forms of advice and legal criticism, and often coped by attempting to redefine their identities in response to their experiences.

• Keegan also designed and conducted an independent quantitative study examining how levels of authoritarianism shape attitudes toward law enforcement. Surveying 150 students, he found that individuals with higher authoritarian tendencies viewed both police and ICE officers more positively overall, with attitudes becoming more polarized—especially in ICE-related scenarios—based on participants’ underlying views on authority. 

These projects are now on their way to being published and presented at student academic conferences. 

Keegan recently revised the Fargo/Moorhead reentry resource guide, which is a twenty-two-page guide of information given to people reentering society after conviction and incarceration. Through the process, he realized how challenging it was to navigate these resources, even from his own position, deepening his awareness of how overwhelming the experience must be for those who rely on these resources for stability and survival. 

Getting to make a difference in the community, while completing both his undergrad and master’s degrees in five years is extremely rewarding for Keegan, and the learning opportunities he’s had through the 4+1 accelerated program prepared him for his career.

Since the program is new, his professors get to learn along with him. 

“I know random errors or problems will pop up while I’m in the workforce, and this experience prepares me to handle them,” he says. 

Keegan plans to finish his master's at Moorhead, then pursue his doctorate. After school, he wants to research and work in restorative and rehabilitative justice.