By Sophia Chang
Daley, 24, adds two bachelor's degrees in journalism and criminal justice as well as special recognition by St. John's at graduation, to a long list of achievements that include a recent master's-level internship with the New York Police Department. She also juggled a full course load on top of her full-time duties as the TimesLedger Newspapers editorial assistant for the past six years and tapped her knowledge and experience to teach some of her classmates the basics of journalism. Daley, who spent her early childhood in Astoria and now lives in Auburndale, said her path to success started early on while she was just a junior in Francis Lewis High School's prestigious Legal Studies program.”My high school had the Executive Internship program and they recruited us,” she said. “I had a choice between the Supreme Court in Manhattan, the TimesLedger and trial court. So I took the TimesLedger.” At the end of her internship at the TimesLedger, Daley was offered an editorial assistant position, and in the past six years grew to know the in's and out's of the newspaper business while studying the craft at St. John's. “It was a great job,” said Daley, who put herself through college with the help of some scholarship aid along the way. “I was thinking of going into journalism in college, so I thought I would get one leg up.”One fateful day during her junior year, Daley enrolled in an organized crime class taught by William Gardella, a former NYPD detective who was the arresting officer in the infamous Son of Sam serial killer case. “The teacher made such an impact in my life,” she said. Inspired, she took on a second major, criminal justice, and decided she wanted to join New York's Finest. Initially, Daley's parents had their doubts and fears.”They're not keen on their little girl being a cop,” Daley said. But after finishing 18 class credits in one year and completing a selective graduate-level internship in the Police Department's Office of Management and Analysis Planning, her parents are fully supportive, she said.Daley is now aiming to enter the Police Academy this summer. And no matter what future achievements lie in store, Daley will always stick close to home. She wants to someday work in the 114th Precinct, keeping the peace in her old stomping grounds of Astoria, before moving on to become the city's first woman police commissioner.Reach reporter Sophia Chang by e-mail at news@timesledger.com, or by phone at 718-229-0300, Ext. 146.
