Indy Police Officer, Former HNHS Gymnast, pooch lover
Hat Tip Dani Clark
Erica (Freise) Eder daughter of Ed and Carrie Freise, a 2015 Huntington North High School graduate. She's a four-year varsity gymnast, softball player and she was also a member of the National Honors Society.
If not studying, playing in a game, or at a meet, you could find her with her youth group at the Bible Baptist Church. Growing up, Erica always, “wanted to help people.” She said she, “Was never quite sure how I wanted to do that, but I knew I was meant to help people.”
She had a hard time settling on a career because of her multiple interests. At one point she wanted to be a volcanologist, a doctor, or even a veterinarian. Ultimately, she ended up going to college for criminal justice because of her love of the show Criminal Minds.
During high school Erica had plenty of memories made. Many were with her teammates, on bus rides to and from games or meets. Her softball team had made it to the state championship where they ended up winning second in the state of Indiana. Erica also mentioned that her gymnastics teams would, “spend hours setting up for regionals,” that Huntington North
hosted. Another memory she is fond of is when she went on a mission trip to Florida. “I think that had a huge impact on me wanting to work with an inner-city population,” Erica says. “I also remember taking AP Psychology with Mr. Hedden in high school. I asked him questions about
wanting to work in federal law enforcement and he had a huge impact on me pursuing the career that I am in currently,” she said.
Erica continued her education at Indiana Wesleyan University where she earned her Bachelors of Science in psychology. If that is not impressive enough, she also earned two other Bachelor's degrees in criminal justice and honors humanities. Erica worked extremely hard and
graduated with a 3.99 GPA. That amount of hard work did not go without notice. Erica earned her way into the John Wesley Honors College. Don’t worry, she still had fun at college being a collegiate cheerleader.
After college Erica went to the Police Academy where she also graduated with honors.
She was elected as class leader at the academy and through hard work earned Traffic Safety All-Star for 2021 and 2022. Erica received extra training and certifications to be a Drug Recognition Expert and deterring impaired driving.
After many years of dedication, Erica now works for the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department. She currently is a patrol officer on the east side where she has worked third shift her whole career. Erica hopes to one day be a field training officer where she could teach new officers. Another fascinating part of her life in Indy is that she works with an event response group. This involves helping with large-scale events in the city. She would also like to work in a specialty unit designed for joint federal and local work.
Erica says, “I would like to see myself in investigations at some point in my career.”
Erica now resides in Indianapolis to be close to her job and has two dogs that are like her children that she loves very much. “Buck” is a four year-old Pitbull and boxer mix and “Mort” is a five year-old Chihuahua and Pug mix.
Although she has many people that helped shape her into the person she is today, Erica was most inspired by her grandfather. “My paternal grandfather, who we affectionately call
“Pap” is probably my hero and someone I admire the most in my life. He is a genuine, positive and loving person who worked hard to provide for his family. He has modeled Godly values in my life and is someone I strive to be like,” Erica said.
Every wonder where “someone is” what they are up to. Ever wonder if your high school or college friends have families or careers. Lets find out
Contact Dani Clark at Danitaclark2001@gmail.com or Greenbear at Greenbear@greenbeartheden.com for more info.
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