Los Fresnos News

TSC Hosts Law Enforcement Expo

Los Fresnos United students and law enforcement officers during the expo. Photo: Tony Vindell/LFN

by Tony Vindell/LFN

A Law Enforcement Expo day was held to let students know about the jobs available once they graduate from high school.

Texas Southmost College organized the event held in February at the Jacob Brown Auditorium.

Law men and women from more than a dozen agencies were on hand to answer questions.

Among them were police departments from the Brownsville, Harlingen, San Benito, Houston, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Border Patrol and Marshals Service, the Army/Navy, and the Marines.

Their representatives said the job market looks bright and many of the students wrote their names on a sheet for follow ups.

A group of about 12 students from Los Fresnos High School attended the field day and some of them said they were interested in working for the state and federal agencies.

Nathan Samano said he would like to work for the US. Customs Service, while Ariel Aguirre was undecided about what to do after high school.

The starting salary for a U.S. Customs officer is $33,000 a year and goes up each of the next 12 years.

Entry level salaries for a Houston police officer is $42,000 and increases to $65,000 after a year. The goal of the department as the nation’s fourth largest city is to hire 375 new officers this year.

The salary for a TSC police officer is $34,000.

Belinda Eurostar, a criminal and court system teacher at Los Fresnos United, said she brought 13 students to the exposition.

“I have been teaching for five years,” she said. “They are learning more about the law enforcement job market as most of these students are interested in working for the federal agencies.”

Brownsville’s Lopez High School student Alberto Cervantes said he would like to become a state trooper while Jesus Castillo’s hope is to be a Border Patrol agent.