This content was originally published by the Longmont Observer and is licensed under a Creative Commons license.
During the weekend of Dec. 7, Longmont Public Safety welcomed a total of 10 new graduates to its ranks. Seven of those graduates graduated from the police academy while the remaining three graduated from the firefighter's academy.
The police graduates completed 22 weeks of intensive law enforcement training at the Adams County Sheriff's Office Flatrock Regional Training Center. All of the recruits sent from Longmont graduated along with 72 other police officers and deputies from around the state.
These officers have now returned to Longmont and begun several more weeks of in-service training and will soon begin their Field Training Program.
Longmont's police recruits include Vijay Kailasam, Laura McCarthy, Jason Brown, Savanah Vowers, Mikenzie Terry, Mackenzie Navarro and Alicia Lilly.
Meet our newest police officers:
Vijay Kailasam
Kailasam had a rough childhood and was inspired to become a police officer because of his past. He was inspired to join LPD because his philosophy aligns with that of our police department.
"This academy really made you check to see if this is something you really wanted to do, cause if it's not, you're not going to make it through." As an officer who made it through, he hopes to fulfill his duty to be there for the community and is interested in exploring the different divisions within the police department.
Laura McCarthy
McCarthy enjoyed a forensic science class in high school and from that point on kept looking at different aspects of law enforcement to follow as a career path. The academy taught her to expect the unexpected and it is the unexpected that also drives her passion for being a police officer. She looks forward to each day challenging her in a different way.
Savanah Vowers
Vowers wanted a job that was bigger than herself, selfless, to give her a purpose in life and one that provided something different every day. At a middle school career fair she discovered that policing could provide all of those things for her and thus her dream began. Through her journey in the academy, she discovered that mindset and perseverance were crucial to doing this job well. Self-growth is also important to Vowers and she is interested in discovering where this journey will take her.
Mikenzie Terry
Terry is a third generation officer, following in the footsteps of her father and grandfather. As a part of her sociology capstone, she interned with the Longmont Police Department and it was through that internship that her decision to become a police officer solidified. She chose to apply for the Longmont police force because they are progressive, big on community policing and are supportive of female officers being a part of the team. She looks forward to knowing that she will be able to make a difference in someone’s life on a day that could be considered one of the worst of their lives.
Jason Brown
Brown decided to become a police officer to dedicate his life to something bigger than himself after having worked in sales for a number of years and not finding it fulfilling. Although he does not live in Longmont, Brown has worked here in the business world for the last four years. He feels as though he knows Longmont and is comfortable within our community.
During the academy, Brown discovered that it is imperative “To think. Always to think. All the situations we get put in, you go into thinking that this is how I am going to deal with it but a lot of the times it isn't going to work out. You have to be constantly on your feet thinking and you have to be one step ahead of whoever you are talking to."
Additionally, he values the camaraderie among the police force and is excited to become a part of the Longmont family.
Mackenzie Navarro
Navarro also wanted to be a part of something larger than herself and to do something to help people. After going to college for psychology, she decided that she didn't want to have a 9 to 5 job and discovered her campus security group. Being a part of that group sparked a passion for Navarro for law enforcement. Since then, she is always seeking to "be better than my yesterday" and switching careers came to her naturally. She is excited to continue learning on the job and learning the ropes in Longmont.
Alicia Lilly
As a child, Lilly loved to play 'Cops-n-Robbers' in her grandparents' basement. Since then, she has held on to her passion of becoming a police officer. Hearing that Longmont is a great town from a friend who works in the community, she visited and fell in love. One of the most valuable lessons she discovered at the academy was officer safety. "Our goal is to go home every night, to our friends, our family and our loved ones and protecting our other officers as well." She hopes to impact the lives of others and being a change for others in the Longmont community. She also is excited about joining her new "family of blue."
Elizabeth Tran
Tran has previous law enforcement experience and is a certified police officer. She joins the LPD after having worked for the City of Northglenn. Her story is unique in that she is a first generation American from Vietnam and she has always felt a sense of duty to give back. She has been driven to choose between a career in law enforcement or the military. After doing a ride-a-long with a friend of hers, who is also a police officer, she decided that law enforcement was her chosen path. She enjoys the day-to-day challenge of the job and was drawn to Longmont because of their reputation in the state and their uniqueness. She looks forward to exploring all the community programs that Longmont offers.
Longmont also sent three recruits to the firefighter's academy, who graduated on Dec. 8. The fire academy lasted 15 weeks where they learned all the basics of firefighting and emergency response.
The next steps for these new recruits is to be trained in car seat installation and to begin working with their crews on calls. For the first year with the City of Longmont, recruits will be evaluated the entire time with a test at the end of that first year. That end-of-year test, in August 2019, confirms that these recruits still understand and are able to execute the basics that were learned in the academy.
In year two of working with the city, recruits learn about the streets and special hazards to be considered in the various parts of the city. In their third year, they learn to drive the engines and operate the pumps on the fire truck. In their fourth year, they are considered full-fledged firefighters and are able to begin exploring special teams such as the special rescue team, the wildlife team and go on deployments.
Longmont's newest firefighters include Kyle McAllister, Allan Sheeley and Ashlea Barnaby.
Meet our newest firefighters:
Kyle McAllister:
McAllister believes firefighting is the best job in the world and it is everything he wants to do, from helping people every day to being able to see the results of his work as they happen. It is something he has wanted to do since a young age. Of all the things he learned at the academy, the importance of hard work was, in his opinion, the most important thing. As he looks ahead in his career, he looks forward to the fulfillment the job itself provides to him.
Allan Sheeley:
After a long career in pharmaceuticals, Sheeley decided that he was not working in a career that drove his passion. Through some prior exposure to other fire-related fields, in January 2018, he decided to find that fulfillment in a career as a firefighter. The academy taught him about, "humility and understanding that you need to always be open to the education that is being brought to you regardless of how many times you've heard or done a certain thing for because there a probably very few things in your life that you can't do better, you probably can improve on it, whatever it is."
Ashlea Barnaby:
Barnaby began her journey towards becoming a firefighter differently than her fellow Longmont graduates. For the last three years she worked as an EMT for Longmont AMR. While she enjoyed her time as an EMT, she found her true passion when she began exploring what it would mean to be a firefighter. She has lived in Longmont most of her life and wanted to remain in her home community.
"I learned how much you can take on and do, how powerful your mind is, your mind can get you to do just about anything or to not do it. And putting that together with the concept of working as a team, like how important that is." She is excited to be a part of the Longmont Fire team and family and is ready to make a difference in our community.
Longmont is proud to welcome these graduates to the branches of our public safety department. "We wish them safe and fulfilling careers ahead," says Deputy Chief Jeff Satur.
These graduates are excited to become a part of our community and when asked what encouragement they want to offer to those thinking about joining either of these departments, many of them said: research the job and the city you want to work in, work out and get your mind and body in shape for the work ahead and don't give up if this is what you really want to do, it will happen for you.
If you or anyone you know is interested in becoming a police officer or a firefighter, Longmont Public Safety would like you to know that new recruitment classes will be opening up soon, January 2019 for the police department and May 2019 for the fire department. For more information please visit the Longmont Public Safety recruitment page.
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