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February 16, 2005
THE DISPATCH
When Nicole Smith crossed the stage at South Davie Middle School Auditorium Tuesday night, she tool her place among the thousands of law enforcement graduates trained by Davidson County Community College.
Though she joined the ranks of DCCC’s law enforcement graduates, she represented the first female graduate of the first Basic Law Enforcement Training (BLET) class offered at Davidson County Community College’s Davie Campus.
Davie County Sheriff Allen Whitaker spoke at the graduation.
Smith, 21, finished the 612-hour course with an “A” average, and she hopes to work as a police officer. “I really like to interact with the public,” said Smith, who studied criminal justice for a year at Western Carolina University before enrolling in the BLET program at the Davie Campus.
“I can see myself walking a beat and getting to know the peole in my patrol area. I think I would like that and be good at it,” Smith added. “ I am not a sit-behind-the-desk person; I like to be out doing something different every day.”
With her aunt retired from the Winston-Salem Police Department and an uncle who retired from the Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Sheriff’s Department, Smith says she was already familiar with law enforcement.
“I found that I especially liked the firearms training, the defensive driving and the physical safety maneuvers we learned, although the physical training was tough,” she said.
As the only female in her BLET class, she was determined to hold her own, and she did, according to Pat Hennelly, who supervises the BLET program for DCCC.
Smith says she relied on her determination and strong will to achieve to “get through it.”
BLET offers students skills required for entry-level employment as law enforcement officers with state, county or city governments, or with private businesses. They study criminal, juvenile, civil, traffic, and alcoholic beverage laws. In addition, their course work includes investigative, patrol, child custody, and court procedures, as well as emergency responses, ethics and community relations.
Successful graduates receive a curriculum certificate and are qualified to take certification examinations mandated by the North Carolina Criminal Justice Education and Training Standards Commission and/or the North Carolina Sheriffs Education and Training Standards Commission.
A BLET course will begin at DCCC’s Davie Campus in April. Call Pat Hennelly at 249-8186, ext. 360.
Submitted by DCCC |
