The Montgomery County Community College Municipal Police Academy graduated classes 1003 and 1101 Tuesday evening. One of the classes, which met in the evenings, spent 42 weeks at the academy and the other, a day class, spent 22 weeks at the academy.

To open the graduation ceremony, class 1102 lined the walls of the Science Center Theater, and as Frank Williar, director of the academy, said, they were not taking place in the evening's ceremonies, but bidding farewells to their comrades.

Williar then looked around the room and added, that at the moment, “I have the third largest police department in Montgomery County.”

Williar honored the veterans in the two groups, asking them to stand, and he also asked the veterans in class 1102 to step forward.

He also recognized some unique individuals in the two classes: a member of the day class drove to MCCC from Cecil County, MD, every day, and a member of the evening class drove 102 miles from New Jersey for 42 weeks.

There were also cadets who became parents during their time at the academy, as well as one who got back from his honeymoon just before graduation.

Lt. Berchard Suber of the Pennsylvania State Police, now retired and a current instructor at Valley Forge Military Academy, spoke to the classes. Suber has been teaching municipal police officers since 1988.

“They have training, and they have commitment,” said Suber of the class.

He added that they are prepared for the field and the work ahead of them because of the instructors at the academy, “people from the real world teaching real world application.”

Valedictorian Sgt. Jared Pierce of Class 1003 spoke of individual values. He said each department has a set of core values and “even though the words differ from one organization to another … they are generally the same.”

“Mine were issued to me in the Air Force,” he continued. “Integrity first, service before self, and excellence in all we do.”

“'Good enough' is no longer good enough,” he concluded.

In his closing remarks, Williar told the classes, “You have worked hard for this evening.”

He reminded them to “be absolutely unbiased and honest.” And then gave them a piece of advice, “Do this job as though the [members] of your family are standing right behind you every day, and you’ll never go wrong.”