By sandi carpello
Staff Writer
FARRAH MAFFAI Melissa Michalak, who is the first female police officer to be sworn in on the Milltown force, smiles while at home in the borough last week.
MILLTOWN — Melissa Michalak was never one to go shopping with mom.
The 22-year-old borough native would much rather spend her time at a North Brunswick shooting range, firing her newly purchased .45 Glock pistol.
"I don’t really like girlie things. I hate going shopping," she said.
The resident of Lincoln Avenue decided the right path for her would be to become a police officer.
But not just any police officer.
Michalak broke new ground last week when she was sworn in as the first female officer in the Milltown Police Department’s 106-year history.
"I’m excited," she said. "I want to do the best I can."
At 5 feet 10 inches, with blond hair and striking blue eyes, Michalak said she has often been pegged for a fashion model. Yet, the die-hard sports fan, who has a predilection for war movies and weight-lifting, said she has no interest in stepping on the fashion runway.
Michalak’s desire to become a police officer was initially sparked while attending a state-sponsored Trooper Youth Week in Sea Girt during her junior year in high school.
The highly competitive program, which accepts only 40 out of approximately 800 state applicants per year, encompassed rigorous boot camp-like procedures, military drills and inspections, and frequent regulating by drill sergeants.
"I liked the structure and the discipline," she said.
After graduating from Spotswood High School in 1998, where she was a star athlete in varsity basketball, track, and cross country, Michalak continued on her path toward law enforcement. She spent two years at Norwich College, a military school in Northfield, Vt., where she was among only six females in a freshman class of 306.
Michalak, who says she can do 80 push-ups in less than 2 minutes, said discipline is what allows her to achieve her full potential.
"[Without discipline] I wouldn’t give 100 percent," she said.
Her strict fitness regimen includes running 3 miles daily, weight-training roughly five days a week, and following a strict diet where she eats six small meals throughout the day.
Prior to joining the police department, Michalak was employed as a security guard at Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital, New Brunswick, where her responsibilities included restraining patients with drug-related behavioral problems.
Working in a male-dominated field is not always easy for a young female.
After being hired as a guard at the hospital, "I felt like I had to prove myself," she said, noting that her male co-workers did not take long to realize that she was just as capable as they were.
Women police officers make up only 10 percent of the 740,000 sworn law enforcement officials in the United States, according to the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial.
However, Michalak said she does not expect to encounter any gender-related issues with Milltown’s police squad.
Milltown Police Chief Raymond Geipel said Michalak’s gender had no bearing on decisions made during the lengthy application process, which includes an interview with borough officials and both medical and psychological testing.
"She was one of the better candidates," Geipel said. "It doesn’t make a difference who I’m hiring, as long as it’s the best candidate."
Michalak, who is a cousin of borough police officer Christopher Witt, was sworn in by the Borough Council Nov. 25 alongside Christopher Johnson, 27, of Somerset County.
Each will have a starting salary of $27,000 a year, said Geipel, whose department has 15 officers. The two officers are replacing others who have left the force recently.
Although Michalak’s parents, Jerry and Joyce Michalak, say they are a bit worried about their youngest daughter being out fighting crime on the streets, they cannot help being proud of her.
"Everything she set forth in her life she accomplished," said her mother, Joyce, a lifelong Milltown resident.

