I am currently a cadet in the St Johns River State College Law Enforcement Academy. My graduation is scheduled for June 21, 2012. I was a teacher at a small private school for 13 years, where I taught high school math, science, and coached athletics.  I always wanted to work in Law Enforcement so I worked in private security while saving money to be able to attend the academy.   I was able to gain employment through the TEA Program in a corrections department and worked for 7 years as a correctional deputy.  During this time, my desire to improve my training was always driving me to learn more and push myself further and I always had a desire to become a road officer.  An injury in 2011 gave me time to reflect on what I wanted for my life and what it would take to get me on track for my goals.  I decided then to go back to school so that I could achieve my dream of becoming a Law Enforcement officer.

My instructors have been instrumental in guiding me and pushing me to “think outside the box” and to never settle for the easy answer. Most of all my partner has stood beside me, even when she  had to work harder while I am in school.  I never would have made it without her support.   I have never felt the need to hide my orientation at school. All of my classmates have welcomed me with open arms and there have been some very interesting conversations in how alike we all really are sometimes.  I look forward to graduation and being able to utilize my training and experiences to build a community that accepts everyone.

Out To Protect is thrilled to announce the award of a scholarship to Mr. Anthony Morgado of Fairfield, California.  Mr. Morgado will graduate from the Napa Valley College Police Academy on Saturday, June 9, 2012.  As you will read in his biography below, he came out for the first as a gay man during the police academy  and was embraced by his fellow cadets with a standing ovation.  He completed his community policing project on the LGBT youth community and helped everyone in his class to gain a better understanding of how to serve the greater LGBT community.  The academy staff praised Mr. Morgado for his strong character, amazing interpersonal skills, and personal courage.

I have dreamed of being a police officer since I was a little boy.  I was ten years old when my parents took me to San Francisco for the first time. It was during that trip that I saw an SFPD officer and ever since that time I have wanted to become a police officer.   I started my career in law enforcement at the age of 13 as a police cadet.  I was the youngest police cadet in Fairfield Police Department history. At 18, I started to get involved with Solano county Sheriffs Department thanks to a close family friend.  I optained a certificate of Criminal Justice from Solano community college and then immediately enrolled in the Napa Valley College Police Academy. During my time at the Police Academy, I came out as a gay man for the first time in my life. The support I received from my fellow cadets after coming out made academy life much less stressful.  My goals after the academy is to work for Solano County Sheriff’s Department and then return to school to earn a BA Degree.

I come from a large police family, and always expected to become a police officer someday. I started riding along with my uncle, a lieutenant with the St. Louis County Police, when I was ten years old. From the first day I was hooked on the excitement of the job – but I was only ten, and would have to wait until age 21 to apply.  When I became 13, I joined the police explorer unit for the St. Louis City Police. As one of the most dangerous cities in the country, I saw a lot of excitement from the first day. In St. Louis, police explorers are apprentices who learn about the profession, and often work in the station or on patrol with officers. At age 17, I started the first police explorer bicycle unit in the Midwest.

At age 21, just finishing my bachelors degree in psychology from St. Louis University, I decided to go onto graduate school, rather than applying immediately to become an officer. I got into the University of San Francisco, and picked San Rafael off a map as the place to call home. Still unable to pronounce it correctly, I drove straight there from Missouri, and immediately fell in love with the town.

By 2007, at age 30, I had finished my graduate degree, received my psychotherapy license, and started a private practice in San Francisco. I was also teaching psychopharmacology part-time at USF, and knew a lot about how medications help people feel better. I had a great career, but I missed the excitement of riding around in a police car.

I decided to complete the academy in night/weekend classes, so that I could hold down my business during the day. In 2010 the San Rafael Police Department’s mental health liaison, the renowned Dr. Joel Fay, retired. At this time I was eligible to become a reserve officer in California, and I was fortunate that San Rafael wanted to hire someone to continue Dr. Fay’s programs. I had a significant portion of my police training to finish, though, and with the help of the Out to Protect Scholarship, I was able to finish the police academy on December 1, 2011.

Now I return to San Rafael with the hopes of taking my mental health background to the community. Having a sizeable homeless population, there are times where it has come in handy. I’m also pursuing a research grant to bring alcohol abuse medication to some of our most seriously addicted citizens. I sincerely thank Out to Protect for helping me complete my training.

Kurt told us, “I have always been interested in law enforcement, but it was not until my first year of college when I really started looking into law enforcement as a career choice. I decided to get my EMT certification because I was old enough to be a police officer and knew it would allow me to be in contact with law enforcement professionals. My goal was to decide whether or not I truly wanted to be in a public safety career, and to meet people who would give me more insight into law enforcement. After working as an EMT for a short time I realized I definitely wanted a career in Law Enforcement. The draw of meeting new people everyday and being in different situations drew me further into wanting a career in law enforcement. I am not looking for a career where I sit behind a desk for 8 hours a day. I need a ‘fast paced’ career that will challenge me and help me grow as a person. Having so many special assignments within a department will give me room to move and grow. If employed by a large agency I would love to be assigned to an air patrol unit, since getting my pilots license has always been a dream of mine.

My current academy experience has taught me a lot about myself and I believe it has helped me grow as a person. I appreciate the ways it has challenged me, and helped me develop and hone the skills I once lacked. I value the people I have met throughout the last seven months; I believe they have made me a lot more open and feel a lot better about who I am. I truly hope I have been able to touch their lives in a similar way. I hope through my encouragement and support I have helped others throughout this experience. In the next few months I will continue to do my best to be a positive role model and help others around me as much as I possibly can. I feel extremely honored to be selected for this scholarship, and really appreciate all the help and support it provides. I will continue to do my absolute best and strive for perfection in the months ahead.”

Kurt will receive his scholarship award upon graduation from the police academy.  All of us at Out To Protect are behind him and know he will be an excellent representative of the LGBT community in law enforcement.