Hancock Celebrates Public Safety & Nursing Graduations

DECEMBER 16, 2024-- This December, Allan Hancock College proudly graduated more than 175 new public servants from its public safety and nursing programs.

The college celebrated the achievements of these highly skilled graduates during several ceremonies for its law enforcement, fire, custody, and emergency medical services academies, as well as its vocational and registered nursing programs.

“One of the college’s most important missions is training new first responders and public servants,” said Hancock Superintendent/President Kevin G. Walthers, Ph.D. “These graduates are ready to go out and help keep their communities safe and healthy.”

A total of 26 cadets graduated from Hancock’s Law Enforcement Academy on Dec. 4 at the college’s Public Safety Training Complex (PSTC) in Lompoc. After completing the academy’s 872-hour training program, the graduating cadets will move on to serve with police departments across the Central Coast, as well as the San Luis Obispo and Santa Barbara County sheriff’s offices.

Hancock’s Emergency Medical Services Academy held its graduation ceremony at the PSTC on Dec. 5, celebrating 29 cadets who learned basic life-saving skills and passed a national registry test to become emergency medical technicians (EMTs).

The following day on Dec. 6, 13 cadets graduated from Hancock’s CORE Custody Academy, a rigorous six-week program that prepares them mentally, morally, emotionally, and physically for careers as correctional officers.

The December PSTC graduations came to a close on Dec. 12 as 24 cadets graduated from Hancock’s Fire Academy. Prior to the ceremony, the cadets participated in a live demonstration for their friends and family, which included the graduates running fire hoses, dousing burning cars and extricating “victims” from vehicle wrecks outside the PSTC’s multi-level burn tower.

Finally, on the evening of Dec. 12, the college celebrated one final cohort of graduating public servants - 83 students graduated from the college’s vocational and registered nursing programs at the Marian Theatre on the Santa Maria campus. The ceremony included the ceremonial “pinning” for the 34 LVN graduates and 49 RN graduates.

To learn more about the college’s Public Safety Training Complex programs, visit https://www.hancockcollege.edu/pathways/public-services.

To learn more about the college’s nursing programs, visit https://www.hancockcollege.edu/pathways/health-sciences/nursing.