On August 25, Student Resource Officer (SRO) Hunter Rogowski, who is a part of the Carmel Police Department, visited students in Brandy Ostojic’s Principles of Broadcast: Converged Media class for a press conference to answer questions about himself and his job.

According to the U.S. Department of Justice, an SRO is a career law enforcement officer assigned in a community policing capacity to a local educational agency. 

Before becoming an SRO, Rogowski said he used to be a teacher in Martinsville. He said a lot of his students were from broken homes, and weren’t very fortunate. He didn’t like the reforms that were placed in teaching. Eventually, he applied to Carmel and said he thought he could do more for his community as a police officer. He used to work the road, but decided that being an SRO would be a good fit. 

Despite being an SRO, Rogowski said that, surprisingly, his summers are much more chaotic than the school year. The officers carry out building inspections and have regular training. They also have multiple public events and conferences and have a very busy schedule with barely any vacation time to spare.

All of the students learned a little more about what SROs do, and learned to appreciate them and the services they provide for their community.