“We’re peas and carrots,” Ingrid Ortega says, laughing. She’s talking about her fellow O’Neill Public Safety Management major Linhsey Trinh. Most who know the pair would certainly describe them as close friends—joined at the hip, even—and they don’t deny it. They try to schedule classes together and look for shifts to work together as cadets through the IU Police Department.
Together, they also plan to usher in a new generation of law enforcement officers. They admit they don’t fit the stereotype. Both women are somewhat soft-spoken. They’re also petite—Trinh is only 4 feet, 11 inches tall—though physically and mentally strong. Ortega is Mexican American; Trinh’s heritage is Vietnamese. But, for this duo, all of those reasons are exactly why they felt called to work in this field.
“The big reason why I want to go into law enforcement is to serve others and bridge the gap between law enforcement and minorities,” Trinh says. “I want to have a good relationship with my community, and I want them to see a full representation of the community within law enforcement.”