SacPD Academy 3 – The Recruits Graduate

On January 19th, family and friends came together at the Sacramento  Convention Center to celebrate the graduation of the 33 recruits of Sacramento Police Department’s Academy Class 08-BR1.

 

 

These are the final blogs from our recruit bloggers (L to R) Rick Diaz, Andre Bell-Watkins, Amber Madrigal and Chris Ciampa.  We hope you learned from and enjoyed their blogs.
Now they begin their next challenge – field training.

 

Chris Ciampa

The graduation ceremony on June 19th was a moment I will remember and treasure for a lifetime. What a feeling to march into the Sacramento Convention Center following the Sacramento Fire Pipes and Drums wearing a “real” Sacramento Police uniform. It was an emotional time, where emotions would vary by the minute from, excited, sad, relieved, nervous, and back to happy.

Overall, it was a feeling of great accomplishment, knowing the journey and life of service and dedication to the community our class of 33 recruits is now embarking on. Most of us will begin a field-training program in the upcoming weeks, in which we get on the job training in the field. Field training is not easy; we have to prove our physical and mental toughness to training officers, sergeants and fellow officers. We must bring a positive attitude, a willingness to learn, and “can do/will do” mentality everyday. As our corporals said, the academy has taught us the basics, and now field training will put all of that training to the test, and expand upon it greatly.

I am ready for the challenge; I did not work this hard, sacrifice so much, and dedicate my life, only to fall short in FTO. I have a lot to learn, and a short amount of time to do so, but I know my FTO’s will be ready to push me to the limit, and ensure I stay safe, serve the community, but most importantly, COME HOME EVERY NIGHT!

At this time, I would like to extend a HUGE thank you to my wife. She has been the rock at home, keeping everything in order with the family, so I can follow my dream and only worry about one thing, becoming a Sacramento Police Officer. We DID it! Now for the long days, nights and shift changes that come along with FTO. JThe happiness and pride of this career have already changed our lives, with the people we have met, and the law enforcement family and support system we have joined. The ride is just beginning!

08-BR-1 signing out for the last time! Thanks for following along and sharing in my life changing experience.
Respectfully submitted,
Officer Ciampa, C. 08-BR-1

Andre Bell-Watkins

The graduation ceremony was taken very seriously and also, very lightly.
How could we have sat there perfectly poised and well-mannered when the
nature of our relationship from that point on was about to change?  More
than that, the nature of our job description was about to change.  Say ‘see you later’ to the recruit and get ready for the formation of an officer. With me being recruited by an outside agency, I am going to miss the friends
I made who work for Sac PD, Davis PD, Grass Valley PD, Placer County
Sheriff’s Dept, South Lake Tahoe PD, the State Controller’s Office, and
Roseville PD.  I truly don’t believe I’m saying good-bye to them.  More
like, “See you later.  Talk to you soon.  Berkeley is not that far.”

One week after having packed up and moved to Berkeley I can say that I am
looking forward to getting through the field training program.  This program
is the next hurdle that the academy prepared us to overcome.  Depending on
the agency, the field training program can last up to 8 months.  In this
program we are paired with veteran officers who ensure we bridge the gap
between the academic setting and the field experience we will gain.  After
finishing with a class of 33 recruits, it would be great to see all members
of our class having successfully made it through their respective field
training programs by the end of the year.

With this being my final blog entry I have to use this as an opportunity to
thank the Academy Staff for providing us a stressful, sleep-deprived, but
proper environment for learning.  From the Lieutenant down through the
Commander and the Corporals, your dedication to our training is not taken
for granted by any member of Class 08-BR-1.  Thank you.

Respectfully submitted,
Andre Bell-Watkins

Amber Madrigal

We did it! On Thursday, June 19^th the class of 08-BR-1 walked across that stage at the Convention Center and accepted our badges from our loved ones. It was amazing to see all of the people that showed up to support all of us. The sound of the cowbell, bullhorn, and the poster of a donut filled the room with smiles. After the ceremony all recruits went to greet their family and friends that had came to support them on this wonderful occasion. After some hugs and pictures, all of the recruits went into a meeting room where we received our ammunition. We filled up our magazines, and for the first time outside of the range we were able to carry a loaded firearm. It was a weird feeling, but gave me a great sense of accomplishment. I would like to thank all of the family, friends, police/sheriff department employees, and the academy staff for your support during the last six months. Now it is time for the next step of the journey! Thank you all for reading.

Rick Diaz

Hello Sacramento!  This is Rick Diaz submitting my final blog.  The last 72 hours of my life have been surreal.  My dreams of becoming a peace officer have FINALLY become a realization.  WOW! Dreams do come true if you set your goals, and are patient, determined, work hard, and overall NEVER GIVE UP.  The past several years have been a roller coaster ride for me, especially the last 6 months. I graduated from CSU Sacramento last December and now six months later I have graduated from the Sacramento Police Academy.  Reading the last sentence sounds as though everything was easy to accomplish, but it was not.   It definitely had highs and lows.

So how does it feel to graduate from the academy and become an officer?  It feels GREAT!  I knew that the police academy was going to be hard, but I never knew how difficult it was going to be mentally and emotionally.  There were times during the academy when I doubted myself.  I can recall waking up at 4:00 in the morning, standing in the shower and thinking whether or not I could continue on.  For me, the academy was a very difficult challenge and I had several situations in which my back was against the wall.  Despite all of this, I continued to tell myself “I MUST DO IT”.   I MUST DO IT for myself, my family, my girlfriend, my friends, and for everybody else that was supporting me.  I could not let myself or my entire family down.  This was the fuel that kept my engine running.

Last Thursday night was one of the greatest moments of my life.  It felt great being on stage walking with 32 friends in which we all became part of the law enforcement family.  I was so happy that I didn’t want the night to end.  Nights like these only happen once.  Looking at the joy from my family was an emotional and glorious feeling.  I will always remember June 19, 2008.

I would like to give thanks to my parents Willy and Rafaela for all their support and love.  I love you Mom and Dad!  I would also like to thank the Mariscal family and the Ringer family for their tremendous support and love.  Finally, I would like to give a special thank you to my girlfriend Cate Ringer for being next to me during the good times and bad times.  Without her support and care I don’t think I would be here today writing this blog.  I love you Cate!   

Also, I would like to give thanks to everybody else that has been part of my life.  Without their support and influence I would not have accomplish my goals.  I’ve received tremendous help from friends, classmates, professors, previous coworkers, and previous bosses in order to accomplish my goals.  A huge THANKS to all of the corporals and the entire academy staff for their help, support, training, and words of wisdom.  Thank You!

As for me, my journey is far from over.  I still have 6 months of field training to pass.  Field training is the final chapter from the academy.  It is going to be tough, but I have the tools, the training, the support, and determination to succeed.  Well Sacramento, it has been an honor and a pleasure writing these blogs.  Thank you for reading them, and I hope that my own life experiences are helpful to future recruits and to the general public.  Have a wonderful summer and take care.  Good luck 08-BR-02!
Respectfully Submitted,
Officer Diaz, R.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, July 2nd, 2008 at 9:41 am and is filed under SacPD Academy. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.