After 10 months of maneuvering through obstacle courses, fending off assailants, being pepper sprayed, and of course attending lectures and hitting the books, 13 recruits graduated in August from the Chandler-Gilbert Community College Law Enforcement Training Academy.

The cadets began the program last October, and have now earned their Arizona Peace Officer Standards and Training Board (AzPOST) certification, making them eligible to serve as certified law enforcement officers.

“Class six started with 32 recruits and 13 will graduate this month.  This is a tribute to the commitment and dedication of the men and women in the class,” said CGCC Law Enforcement Training Academy Coordinator Jonathan Terpay.  “All of the recruits worked extremely hard and together as a team to accomplish this difficult goal in becoming certified law enforcement officers. Nine of our 13 recruits have already been hired by various agencies throughout the Valley.”

Graduate Tashina Forsen was recently hired by the Mesa Police Department.

“I was in the Army for four years and did a tour in Iraq. When I got out, I really missed the camaraderie, so I decide to look for something similar,” Forsen said.  “I went on a few ride alongs with the Tempe Police Department and found that I really enjoyed it, so I decided to look into law enforcement.” 

 

Pictured: CGCC Law Enforcement Training Academy graduate Tashina Forsen scales a fence during physical fitness training.
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CGCC has been named for the fifth year in a row to the President’s Higher Education Community Service Honor Roll, the highest federal recognition a college or university can receive for its commitment to volunteering, service-learning and civic engagement.

Honorees are chosen based on a series of selection factors including the scope and innovation of service projects, percentage of student participation in service activities, incentives for service, and the extent to which the school offers academic service-learning courses.

 

CGCC student Linda Lloyd recently spent a day last semester preparing meals at Paz de Cristo Outreach Center as part of a service-learning assignment for her sociology class.

 

“This experience gave me the opportunity to get a sense of the challenges faced by a non-profit social service agency in today’s dire economic climate,” Lloyd said. “Paz de Cristo performs an amazing service in feeding the homeless and working poor with a very small staff bolstered by a large number of volunteers who are vital to the success of the agency.”

 

For nearly 20 years, CGCC students have participated in service-learning, providing thousands of hours of service in the community each year.

 

 

Pictured: CGCC students volunteer at the Paz de Cristo Outreach Center.

 

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