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For that feat, Smith was awarded a Breaking Traditions Award last month from the Michigan Department of Education. A recent Lapeer East High School graduate, Smith was one of 34 students statewide who were honored with the merit award in the field of law enforcement. She received the award for being successful in a career and technical education program area that is non-traditional for her gender, said Michigan Superintendent of Public Instruction Mike Flanagan in a news release.

"I want to help people and protect them," Smith said. "The award felt really good to get it. Women go through a lot more than men because they're smaller and have to do more to keep up."

Smith was a law enforcement student at the Lapeer County Education and Technology Center in Attica Township where she studied fire service, EMS, law enforcement, corrections and security. In addition, Smith is certified in first aid and CPR for infants and adults. She was nominated by Donald Hammond, her teacher.

"She is the kind of person who is focused and thinks ahead," Hammond said. "She's a nice person and had the highest GPA of second-year students. She's very slight and has been studying martial arts."

To qualify for the award, a student had to: be completing a career and technical education program non-traditional to gender; be enrolled in a state high school during the 2007-08 school year; be nominated by a school employee; have satisfactory academic, citizenship, and disciplinary history; and made significant contribution to the student's specific career and technical education program.

Smith plans to attend Mott Community College in the fall to study criminal justice and then transfer to Oakland University to complete her undergraduate education, then eventually attend a police academy.

The classes she took at Ed Tech were most beneficial.

"It was a lot of notes and learning about fire and EMS," Smith said. "All the notes you take you take with them to your college classes. The hardest part is the legal part because there's a lot that goes into it and there's different rules, like if you arrest someone you have to read them their rights."

On the way to receiving the honor, Smith place third in the regional Skills U.S.A. competition in Bay City and sixth place at the state competition in Lansing this year. Last year, she placed second at the regional competition and seventh at the state level. Smith is active in the Lapeer County Sheriff's Department Explorers program Post 200 and earned the Top Female Fitness Award at the State Explorers Academy in 2007.

"Explorers do more and do physical activity. We get to go on ride alongs and deputies tell you how to write tickets," she said.

Smith is the daughter of Christie Al-Ghanem and Nedal Al-Ghanem and Vaughn Smith.

Jennifer Decker can be reached at (810) 664-0811, Ext. 8125 or jennifer.decker@lapeergroup.com.