NEW YORK (CNN)  -- Among the New York Police Academy's new graduates is Long Island native Cheryl Walter.

Harvard University alum Cheryl Walter is a new member of the NYPD.

Walter, the class valedictorian, not only holds the best combined academic and physical scores among the cadets; she is also a Harvard University graduate with a master's degree in forensic psychology from John Jay College of Criminal Justice.

With those credentials, Water said, many others, including her parents, expected her to join the FBI.

"Once I moved to the city after graduating college, I got to know some police officers in the NYPD, and I just fell in love with the city, I fell in love with the officers, with the camaraderie and the opportunity," Water said.

She said she was drawn to public service as a teenager, when she would watch then-Secretary of State Madeleine Albright. "I just loved her story and the fact that she held such a position of power as a female," Walter said. "I considered the careers such as being a veterinarian and ... the military, all over the place, but throughout, I always wanted to enter law enforcement. It's just a field I find very interesting."

Interesting or not, it isn't always easy to be a police officer in New York. The starting salaries are about $25,000 a year, and New York Commissioner Ray Kelly says about 16 percent of the academy's cadets drop out, in part because they can't make ends meet. In addition, there's the stress of the job.

"It is a challenge to make it in New York City on the starting salary," she said. "But I knew what I was getting into when I entered this field. I like working with people, I like going on the street, not knowing what's going to come up, and, you know, trying to do a little bit of good ...

"I'm just doing what I want to do and what I love to do."

In her first month as a part of "Operation Impact," a program that floods high-crime areas with police officers, she's made six arrests. The charges ranged from marijuana possession to auto stripping to a suspended driver's license.

"I want to learn as much as I can within the first year," Walter said of her Bronx-based job. "That's why I picked a busy command."

She added, "I love it, I'm having really good time."

"I'm just doing what I want to do and what I love to do."

Sad how so many women are getting into careers that just don't jibe with the femininity (and calling) that God intended for them.

Do you really think God intends for ladies to work in Law Enforcement? If so, He would have given them more strength, and less beauty.

Matthew

And since law enforcement is such a manly job, most women who join the police force are lesbians (and you can tell by lookng at them too).

This is one of the ugliest, finger-pointing, judgemental things I've ever read.

She obviously isn't blessed with the same Catholic ideals and standards she's being held to in this thread, and is just getting along the best way she knows how.  

It's obvious she's displaying charity with her desire to fight crime and help people.  I wonder how she would respond if she saw how she's being bashed by those who don't even know a thing about her besides this small article.

If we're going to pick random people to bash for their decisions in life, it's better to go after murderer's and child rapists than someone who displays courage and charity.

And whose to say she can't make a good law enforcement officer?  A woman might be able to negotiate with criminals in a way that a man might not.  I'm not saying she's better suited for the job overall than a man could be, but her talents could certainly prove very useful in certain situations.

And I see absolutely no evidence in the article that she is a lesbian.  I have a female cousin who is in law enforcement who is clearly not a lesbian.  I'll admit that she does look a little manish in her uniform, perhaps thats why female law enforcement appear to be lesbians?

One of my favorite pearls of wisdom:

God forgives always, man sometimes, nature never.

Thanks for the pearl, I really like it.

This reminds me of someone near and dear to me who is not Catholic.  My acupuncturist is a lesbian, and a Buddhist.  I go to her because she came highly recommended, and has some of the highest credentials possible for her field (including some western medicine education and working side by side with real doctors).

She never pushes her agenda on me at all, in fact, she encourages me to pray "according to my own beliefs" during sessions.  I called her for advice the night I miscarried, and she just drove over to my house.  Gave me some chinese tonic herbs to build my strength, and also an hour long acupuncture session until my pain and bleeding subsided.  She did all of this at no charge.

Whatever her errors in judgement may be, I pray that she makes it to Heaven simply based on the wealth of charity and kindness that she exhibits in caring for people.