Kalamazoo Valley Police Academy Graduation Slated for May 9

Twenty-two people - 17 men and five women - will walk the stage Thursday, May 9 as graduates of Kalamazoo Valley Community College's 97th Police Officer Training Academy.

All of the recruits were sponsored by local agencies and will begin serving their respective communities following graduation. Graduates include:

Jason Alvarez - Kalamazoo Department of Public Safety
Brittany Cooper - Kalamazoo County Sheriff's Office
Heather Crooks - Grand Beach Michiana Police Department
Jack Dillon - Bridgman Police Department
Kyle Gabrielse - Kalamazoo Department of Public Safety
Autumn Hannink - Allegan County Sheriff's Office
Steven Harthorn - Kalamazoo Department of Public Safety
Jason Higley - Cass County Sheriff's Office
Reagan Kreiner - Benton Charter Township Police Department
Nathan Larson - City of Portage Police Department
Hunter Levandoski - Gun Lake Tribal
Taylor Lewandowski - Branch County Sheriff's Office
Tre'von Mills - Portage Police Department
Logan Nierenberger - Kalamazoo Department of Public Safety
Gavin Ruh - Kalamazoo County Sheriff's Office
Kelsey Showers - Cass County Sheriff's Office
Ryan Soper - Baroda Township Police
Ryan Streelman - St. Joseph Public Safety Department
Stephen Stuifbergen - Mattawan Police Department
Jarvis Tarnowski - St. Joseph Public Safety Department
Jacob Taylor - Branch County Sheriff's Office
Dalton Turner - Benton Harbor Department of Public Safety

"Kalamazoo Valley's Police Officer Training Academy is recognized as one of the leading police training facilities in the state of Michigan. We consistently graduate well-trained and well-rounded recruits," said Karen Rivard, director of Kalamazoo Valley's Law Enforcement Training Center.

Rivard, a retired detective from the Kalamazoo Department of Public Safety, took over the program in 2023. She is the first female to lead the college's Law Enforcement Training Academy. Rivard was joined this year by Jennifer Higby, also a retired detective from the Kalamazoo Department of Public Safety, as her associate director. The two women bring more than 50 years of law enforcement experience to the program.

Graduation takes place at 1 p.m. in the Dale B. Lake Auditorium on the college's Texas Township Campus and is open to the public. The Hon. Michael McKay of Van Buren County's 7th District Court is the guest speaker as chosen by the recruit class.

The Police Officer Training Academy is a 16-week, full-time program, typically scheduled Monday through Friday, 6 a.m. - 6 p.m. In addition, some training occurs on nights and weekends as needed.

The next academy begins Aug. 19. For more information, visit www.kvcc.edu/police.