Student Spotlight: Following in Her Father’s Footsteps - Toni Mascione Shines in a Degree She Never Planned to Complete

Toni Mascione ’26 CPS never thought she would earn her bachelor’s degree. After answering a lifelong call to serve her country through law enforcement, Mascione excelled as a police officer. She quickly rose through the law enforcement ranks, beginning as a patrol officer and eventually moving into her current position as director over public affairs for the Harris County Precinct One Constables Office in Houston, Texas. Now a 17-year veteran law enforcement officer, Mascione’s career was on track without a bachelor’s degree.

In 2012, Mascione’s father unexpectedly passed away, and everything changed. “He was a Villanova alum and Villanova held a special place in his heart,” said Mascione. “My decision to go back to school became deeply personal. Villanova is a way for me to stay connected to him, and also a way to bring honor to his life through mine.”

From Houston, Mascione found the College of Professional Studies (CPS) and the online bachelor’s degree program for adult learners. In 2021, she was ready to take the leap to begin her degree, enrolling in the Bachelor of Arts degree and selecting Public Service and Administration as her major. “I knew I didn’t want to get a typical cop degree in criminal justice,” said Mascione. “I plan to be a public servant for the rest of my career, so public administration was the perfect fit for my goals.”  While taking required elective courses, Mascione discovered a new passion for leadership. She worked with her advisor to add Leadership as a double major, as well as a minor in Organizational Development and Management. 

“The unique combination of courses was really transformative for me,” said Mascione, who is set to graduate this spring. “It reshaped how I approach issues of generational leadership, and how to lead the next generation. My minor focused on team culture and institutional change, which are critical elements of modern public administration. It all melded into what I was already learning about the logistics of why we do things in public administration, and also how to better organize an organization to be able to deal with challenges.”

In her career with the Harris County Precinct One Constables Office, Mascione already brings sharpened skills from the classroom into her work. In her current community outreach position, strategic planning, leadership and organizational development and management courses helped her identify critical issues within law enforcement, and make plans to alleviate them.

“One of the difficulties we face is women in law enforcement, and especially women in leadership positions within law enforcement,” said Mascione. “We need to encourage women to join law enforcement and then mentor them into future leaders so we can level the playing field. CPS courses taught me how to implement data-driven approaches to fix issues such as these within this agency, or wherever I am working in the future.” Mascione also serves as a LGBTQ+ liaison for her department, working to foster positive relationships between the police department and the Houston LGBTQ+ community.

Mascione credits Villanova with helping her maintain a work, school and life balance that allowed her to not only complete courses but also excel. “One of the hurdles anyone faces when going back to get their degree later in life is scheduling,” she said. CPS’ FastForward courses enabled her to complete courses in an accelerated seven-week format. “Villanova’s online courses fit my schedule and allowed me to still manage my stressful and demanding career. With FastForward, I completed my coursework quickly and didn’t feel discouraged that it was going to take me forever to finish my degree.”

When Mascione and her wife welcomed their daughter in 2024, Villanova professors helped her with this major life change. “It was difficult to balance it all, and if I wasn't at Villanova, I would not have had the same level of support,” she said. “There were a lot of classes that my daughter was on Zoom with me. The professors truly take a vested interest in their students, not just academically, but in who you are as a person. They are very flexible and understand that we're adult learners who have a life and family.”

One of Mascione’s goals as a dedicated CPS student was to achieve dean’s list every semester, something her father also did during his time at Villanova. She was inducted into Alpha Sigma Lambda, the premier national honor society for adult learners, and she is on track to graduate summa cum laude. “Doing well in my studies is important to me, and the key to my success is the support I’ve received from my wife and Villanova faculty who have really helped make this possible.” said Mascione. “I want my daughter to see that no matter what season of life you are in, you can still apply the highest level of effort and achieve great things.”

After she graduates this spring, Mascione plans to continue the momentum and begin her Master of Public Administration degree online with Villanova in the fall. “Villanova has had a profound effect on me, not just academically, but on who I am as a leader and person,” said Mascione. “I’m excited to continue this journey with Villanova.”