Her Story
About LaRhonda
LaRhonda R. Hamilton is a Criminal Justice Professor at Tyler Junior College in Tyler, Texas, and the Founder of World Changing Women Leaders, a nonprofit organization dedicated to empowering women through leadership development, mentorship, and community engagement. She is a respected educator, speaker, and community leader whose work focuses on bridging academic learning with real-world experience while creating intentional opportunities for women to grow into leadership roles. Through her nonprofit and professional platforms, she is committed to building spaces where women are supported, represented, and equipped to lead with confidence, purpose, and resilience.
Professor Hamilton brings more than 30 years of combined experience across military service, corrections, investigations, and education. She served over 20 years in the United States Army in a male-dominated environment, where she rose to the rank of Staff Sergeant and developed a strong foundation in leadership, discipline, and operational excellence. She later worked for over a decade in a male correctional facility with the Texas Department of Criminal Justice in investigations, further strengthening her expertise in criminal justice operations. Her professional background also includes serving as a Child Maltreatment Investigator with the Arkansas Department of Human Services and teaching Criminal Justice at Texarkana Arkansas Career and Technological Center. She is uniquely positioned in academia as the only faculty member in her department with a correctional investigations background, allowing her to bring a rare and valuable perspective into the classroom.
In addition to her academic role, LaRhonda R. Hamilton is deeply committed to student success, mentorship, and professional development. She actively connects students with professionals currently working in the field to ensure they gain meaningful exposure to real-world criminal justice careers. She places a strong emphasis on encouraging and empowering female students, reinforcing that women are not only present but thriving across all sectors of the criminal justice system. She serves in multiple leadership roles, including President of the President’s Council for the National Association of Blacks in Criminal Justice (NABCJ), Founder and President of East Texas NABCJ, and Treasurer for the Community College Criminal Justice Association. She is also a speaker, board member, and community leader whose work has been recognized through numerous awards, honors, and magazine features, reflecting her lifelong commitment to service, leadership, and excellence.
Her Interview
Ten minutes with LaRhonda
01What do you attribute your success to?
Well, you know, being a servant, a servant of my country in the Army, helped me get a servant's heart, and when I retired from the military, you know, I still have that servant's heart, and I have a passion and compassion, you know, for women empowerment, and women rights, and youth, and the right side of the criminal justice system. And, you know, that just kept nugget at me, nugget at me, you know, to do something with that, and I really thought I was just doing something. I didn't think it would become a movement, you know, or of something so powerful, but it's definitely needed, so I'm a firm believer, you know, of helping people get the platform that they need and they so desire. So through these organizations that I've started, that's the focus point behind it.
02What’s the best career advice you’ve ever received?
The best career advice I've ever received is to always face your fears head on. You know, if it's a career that you desire, if it's been a long childhood dream - my long childhood dream job was to be a teacher, and I just went all the way around the world and back again before I started teaching. So trust your dream and move forward with making your dream become reality. I started getting things for a desk that I didn't even have, buying teaching supplies, and I wasn't even teaching at that time, so just move forward toward your dreams, and don't be stagnant.
03What advice would you give to young women entering your industry?
Be ready mentally and physically, because it is a tough job, and it is male-dominating, you know, but know that you are just as good, if not better, than some of your male counterparts. You know, you have the strength within you, and you just have to believe that in order to do the job and, you know, to do it the best of your ability.
04What are the biggest challenges or opportunities in your field right now?
There's a lot of competition. There are those who didn't have ideals that I have, and once I bring them forth, you know, they're trying to steal my ideals, and I deal with that quite a bit. The things that I'm learning is not to even focus on that, you know, because I'm a God-fearing woman, and I feel like these visions that I have are visions from God, so He isn't going to let it fail. You know, so I try not to focus on those people, but just to focus on the vision and the reason behind it, because a lot of that will make you feel like, hey, I don't want to do this anymore, and I can't deal with people anymore, I just want to stop. But, you know, you can't stop when you're doing something that is definitely a vision.
05What values are most important to you in your work and personal life?
I definitely have high ethics and morals. I believe in doing whatever I do to the best of my ability, you know, going above and beyond. Sometimes it's frowned upon, going above and beyond, depends on the people that you're around, and not always received well. But that's what I thrive on, going above and beyond, and you know, I've been like that my whole entire life. I'm an only child, and I would do things that would push me through my shyness, you know, push me through my reservedness, and I still do that. I'm a speaker as well, and I stand on many stages, and nobody really knows how far I've come with speaking.
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