This space is amazing. It’s very comfortable. I think something like this was needed.
Sometimes, Maximiliano Jimenez Salinas just needs to get out of the dark.
As a student in Milwaukee Area Technical College’s Criminal Justice Studies program, he hears about violence and deviant behavior almost every day.
Such lessons, along with learning how to put your life on the line for others, how to comfort victims, and how to protect and serve, can exhaust the body, mind and spirit of any student training to be a police officer, a firefighter or a paramedic.
“These are stressful careers,” said Salinas, who serves as president of MATC’s Criminal Justice Student Organization. “They can take a toll on you.”
In response, MATC recently opened a dedicated relaxation-study area for students in the college’s Protective Services programs. The space, called Responder Commons, is on the lower level of the Oak Creek Campus. It includes desks, comfortable chairs, televisions and an area where students can exercise, do yoga, pray, meditate or simply think good thoughts.
“This space is amazing,” Salinas said. “It’s very comfortable. I think something like this was needed. It’s a real safe space for students in these programs. The whole room has that vibe. By dedicating this space, the college shows that it really cares.”
Studies have shown that criminal justice students can experience high stress levels, driven by academic pressure, fear of failure and emotional exposure to graphic material such as crime scene photos and victim stories.
“Protective Services programs have some unique stressors that other areas do not,” said Connie Prange, lead faculty in the Criminal Justice Studies program. “We want this to be a relaxing space where they want to go. We want this to be a warm, welcoming environment that’s casual and not as sterile as a classroom might seem.”
Responder Commons also will help the college create a sense of community between the three Protective Services programs, said Doug Braun, a Criminal Justice instructor. “Thanks to this space, students won’t have to sit in their cars and just look at their phones between classes,” Braun said. “They will have a better place to go.”
The Criminal Justice Student Organization has held meetings and presentations in the space, Salinas said. During a criminal justice career fair at the Oak Creek Campus in late April, Salinas was in the commons serving up pizza to students and representatives from law enforcement agencies.
Salinas, who was elected president of the student organization in February 2026, received his General Education Development (GED) certificate from MATC in 2023 and started in the Criminal Justice Studies program the following year.
“I was looking to do something productive with my life, something where I could help the community,” Salinas said. “Getting my GED was the first step to get me moving in that direction.”
The college developed Responder Commons thanks to $315,000 in grants awarded for several projects to benefit Protective Services students.
Transforming two classrooms into the new space cost about $165,000, Braun said.
Additionally, a $150,000 Core Industry Grant through the Wisconsin Technical College System is being used to construct an outdoor fitness area at the Oak Creek Campus, and to create two new Criminal Justice Studies courses: Cyber Crimes and Criminal Forensics.
Construction of the fitness area is scheduled to start in July and be completed in early September, Braun said. The aim is to improve student performance on the physical tests required by the state for police academy entry and completion, Braun said.
The two new courses, which are currently taught as parts of other classes, are scheduled to be available in the fall of 2027, Prange said.
Criminal forensics is notable since law enforcement has shifted the processing of crime scenes and evidence to civilians, rather than having sworn officers perform those duties, she said. Cyber crimes are experiencing the same shift, she said. Departments now have civilians tracking those kinds of crimes instead of sworn officers.
The two new courses will be electives, but Criminal Justice Studies students will be required to take at least one of them, Prange said.
Learn about MATC’s Protective Services programs
About MATC: As Wisconsin’s largest technical college and one of the most diverse two-year institutions in the Midwest, Milwaukee Area Technical College is a key driver of southeastern Wisconsin’s economy and has provided innovative education in the region since 1912. More than 35,000 students per year attend the college’s four campuses and community-based sites or learn online. MATC offers affordable and accessible education and training opportunities that empower and transform lives in the community. The college offers more than 180 academic programs — many that prepare students for jobs immediately upon completion and others that provide transfer options leading to bachelor’s degrees with more than 45 four-year colleges and universities. Overwhelmingly, MATC graduates build careers and businesses in southeastern Wisconsin. The college is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission.