AVON PARK, Fla. – April 20, 2026 – During a ceremony on Thursday, April 16 on the Highlands Campus in Avon Park, South Florida State College’s (SFSC) Basic Law Enforcement (BLE) Academy Class 274 and the Cross Over to Basic Law Enforcement Class 367 graduated 25 students.
Melinda Burke, coordinator of Criminal Justice Programs at SFSC, presented each graduate with their Career Certificate. The graduates were class leader Rafael Iturrino, executive officer Gabriella Rivas, Kenneth Arias, Steven Ayuso Radinson, Nicholas Brehm, Alexandra Burrell, Luis Calderon II, Andrew Colman, Jason Gargan, Volney Glenn, Matthew Hager, William Hunter Jr., Kellas Kinman, Colin Moreno, Daniel Morrow, Daniel Otero, Marccus Palsgrove, Kyle Papp, Daniel Pepin, Kaleb Prejean, Jorden Reyna, Rebecca Stieglitz, Luke Ward, Christopher Young, and Benjamin Youngs.
During the ceremony, special awards were presented to recruits. Rafael Iturrino was honored as class leader, Gabriella Rivas as executive officer, Nicholas Brehm for Top Academics, Colin Morena and Daniel Morrow for Higher Overall Achievement for Firearms, and Daniel Pepin for Peer Leadership. An Academic Impact Award was presented to Sgt. Bryan Martini of the Martin County Sheriff’s Office, who assisted in training Classes 274/367.
“Martin County reached out to us, because they were unable to get the 15 students they sent to us into police academy training on the east coast in one group as they normally do,” said Dr. John McLaughlin, director of SFSC’s Criminal Justice Programs. “The students were able to train at SFSC after we found them housing and worked with them to complete the training faster by providing 50 hours a week training instead of the traditional 40 hours. We are happy to have worked with Martin County, Highlands County, Okeechobee County, City of Sebring, and the Town of Lake Placid, all of whom participated in the training. We were also fortunate that Martin County temporarily assigned Sgt. Martini to work with us to supervise his students and assist us in the training. With all these departments working together, we feel we raised the bar and hope to continue training with all of these departments in the future.”
Guest speaker for the graduation was Deputy Wesley Jones of the Highlands County Sheriff’s Office.
SFSC’s Basic Law Enforcement Career Certificate program trains students to become law enforcement officers in Florida. By successfully completing the program, they are eligible to take the state certification examination to become certified law enforcement officers. The program runs 770 contact hours or approximately five months full-time or approximately 10 months part-time.
The Correction to Law Enforcement Career Certificate program trains currently employed corrections officers to become law enforcement officers in Florida. Upon successful completion of the program, graduates are eligible to take the state certification examination to become certified law enforcement officers. The program runs 515 contact hours or approximately 10 months part-time.
For more information about these Criminal Justice programs, visit southflorida.edu or call SFSC’s Criminal Justice Academy at 863-784-7285.
Class 115
AVON PARK, Fla. – April 17, 2026 – During a ceremony on Thursday, April 16, South Florida State College’s (SFSC) Basic Corrections Academy Class 115 graduated 12 new correctional officers at the SFSC Highlands Campus in Avon Park.
From the SFSC University Center Auditorium stage, Michael Austin, coordinator of SFSC’s Criminal Justice Academy, called up the 12 and handed each new officer a certificate. Those receiving a certificate were class leader Nahdia Ifill, executive officer Nicholas Smith II, Vintyre Barrett, Alexis Green, Malasia Horn, Kevin Laws Jr., Jose Loreto Jr., Roselande Pierre, Clarrissa Summers, Latajah Wallace, Takayla Wilson, and Takyla Wilson.
Two cadets were singled out for their achievements during the program. Earning top honors for academic excellence was Nicholas Smith II. Nahdia Ifill was given special recognition as class leader, and Nicholas Smith II was recognized as class executive officer.
Guest speaker for the ceremony was Dr. Robert Shannon, pastor of Wings of Faith Christian Worship Center in Sebring. He started his career in Corrections in 1979 and retired from the Florida Department of Corrections as warden at the Glades Correctional Institution when it closed in 2011.
The Highlands County Sheriff’s Office Honor Guard posted the colors at the beginning of the ceremony.
This graduation ceremony was somewhat bittersweet for Michael Austin, as it was his final Basic Corrections graduation before he retires from SFSC in August.
The Basic Correctional Officer Program is 420 contact hours or approximately 11 weeks. Upon successful completion of the program, students earn a Career Certificate and are eligible to take the state certification examination to become certified officers.
For more information about these programs, visit southflorida.edu or call SFSC’s Criminal Justice Academy at 863-784-7285.
