![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.gannett-cdn.com\/presto\/2022\/04\/14\/PLAL\/88a89d7e-481e-417b-b828-311db75302df-ALETA_Graduation-2227.jpg?crop=2999,1687,x0,y0&width=660&height=372&format=pjpg&auto=webp\")
<\/a><\/p>\nIntegrity. Commitment. Excellence.<\/p>\n
These three words followed an oath\u00a0recited by 20 cadets of the Acadiana Law Enforcement Training Academy at their graduation Thursday. They’re going to work at police departments and sheriff’s offices across the region.<\/p>\n
“We are a family now,” said graduate Cameron Cormier, who is joining the Lafayette Police Department. “We’re from a lot of different departments, but we’re a family of law enforcement.”<\/p>\n
His family was one of many filling the rows of seats at Thursday’s ceremony, getting up to snap photos of their man or woman in uniform when their name was called.<\/p>\n
“It’s been a very emotional day for my family,\u00a0seeing me in full\u00a0uniform for the first time,” Cormier said.<\/p>\n
His father,\u00a0Chris Cormier, is a corporal with LPD, and being an officer has long been a dream for the 22-year-old Cormier.<\/p>\n “There’s nothing else I’ve ever wanted to do,” he said. “Being from Lafayette I want to serve my community.”<\/p>\n He joined the department’s\u00a0Explorer Post 911 program when it relaunched in 2014. Teenage participants are mentored by police officers and taught about\u00a0careers in\u00a0law enforcement.<\/p>\n Cormier\u00a0started as a freshman at Lafayette High School and completed all four years of training and ride-alongs before studying criminal justice in college and joining\u00a0the academy.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n Lafayette Parish Sheriff’s Office Col. Carlos Stout congratulated Cormier and his fellow cadets in Class 167, reminding them of the importance of the hard work they will do every day.<\/p>\n “You decide: Do you want to be someone who makes a difference in somebody’s life or one who stands on the side and watches it happen?” Stout said. “There is adversity, and you can overcome it.”<\/p>\n\n Young and making a difference:<\/strong>Teen turns tragic loss of friend into call to action to increase safety on Highway 167<\/a><\/p>\n The new officers learned that lesson firsthand as they faced obstacles in the 15 weeks of the academy. Cormier leaned on his classmates and drew on his Explorer training to get through it. The training he received in high school came in handy both in the police work and in leadership.<\/p>\n “(Explorer)\u00a0grows you and helps you find who you are as a person,” Cormier said. “I would definitely support other teenagers who want to get into it\u00a0even if they don’t want to go into law enforcement.”<\/p>\n The Explorer program offers high-schoolers discipline and provides insight into law enforcement, LPD\u00a0Sgt. Robin Green said.<\/p>\n Hailey DeGuelle, 17, has followed a similar path to Cormier, starting as an Explorer four years ago as a freshman in Lafayette.<\/p>\n “Both my parents were in service, in the Air Force,\u00a0so I always felt a calling to do\u00a0public service,” she said.<\/p>\n In addition to all she’s learned about active shooter drills, mental health crises and\u00a0collecting reports, Explorer training\u00a0has helped her grow in confidence and come out her shell, preparing her to head to Texas Christian University in the fall.<\/p>\n\n Contact children’s issues reporter Leigh Guidry at Lguidry@theadvertiser.com\u00a0or on Twitter\u00a0@LeighGGuidry<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n![\"Graduation](\"https:\/\/www.gannett-cdn.com\/presto\/2022\/04\/14\/PLAL\/eb2672ea-58fd-4dcb-8f61-90d71a7aafd1-ALETA_Graduation-5663.jpg?width=660&height=472&fit=crop&format=pjpg&auto=webp\")
![\"Cameron](\"https:\/\/www.gannett-cdn.com\/presto\/2022\/04\/14\/PLAL\/d8b75d84-3b4e-4745-967f-c1adfe029a7e-ALETA_Graduation-5720.jpg?width=660&height=472&fit=crop&format=pjpg&auto=webp\")