Having completed a 23-week program at Lethbridge Polytechnic, several police cadets have graduated to join the Lethbridge Police Service (LPS) and Canadian Pacific Kansas City (CPKC) Police Service.
Eight officers were celebrated on Thursday afternoon in the Val Matteotti Gymnasium for their achievements.
From new-to-justice cadets to officers with years of peace service, the new crop of eight graduates will now join their respective departments for the next steps in their careers.
“I’m feeling very good, very proud of this moment — myself and my fellow cadets. We’ve worked very hard these past six months,” said Faith Dore, an LPS cadet.
From Lethbridge, Dore says it’s an honour to know she will be serving her own community in the years to follow.
“My people are here, my teachers, my coaches, my mentors. Lethbridge is a place I can serve with my heart.”
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For Parker Grabler, an experienced corrections officer, this is a transition that has been years in the making.
“I’ve grown immensely as a person here (in Lethbridge), building a family, setting down roots. It’s just such a great, diverse and growing community. I’m really happy to be a part of it,” said Grabler.
He attended Lethbridge Polytechnic in 2017, eventually working at the jail before opting for this change in career. Even so, it was a challenge over this most recent program.
“It’s a lot of stress. Six months of hard work, academically and physically. All of those skills combined with long work days, family life and everything outside of being a cadet, it’s a lot to manage. But, once you get into the swing of things, it’s really nice once it all comes together.”
Grabler says he owes his instructors a lot for helping him reach graduation.
“The instructors themselves are great leaders and they’ve spent years and years and years of policing to build those skills and pass them on to us.”
Dore also says the effort was monumental, but she too is proud to have reached the end with her peers.
“We have a wealth of knowledge that we’re ready to bring into the community, so this is a big celebration for us.”
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