"Providing benefits and services to America's state troopers since 1989"
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"Providing benefits and services to America's state troopers since 1989" |
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North Carolina State Highway Patrol
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Amid rows of tobacco plants baking in the hot Carolina sun more than 30 years ago, Jennifer Harris learned the meaning of hard work.
That’s what her parents, Julius “J.D.” and Judy Harris, instilled in her and her sisters as they labored on their farm in Thurmond, at the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains in Wilkes County.
“I learned my work ethic from them,” Harris said. “I got that drive to succeed in what I do. I wanted to get an education and do something with that education.”
On September 8, Capt. Jennifer Harris, then-commander of the North Carolina State Highway Patrol’s Troop D in Greensboro, became Maj. Harris — the first woman promoted to major in the highway patrol’s nearly 80-year history.
Harris, 42, is now the training commander at the highway patrol’s headquarters in Raleigh and will oversee training for every new trooper entering the force, along with annual service and promotion training for the more than 1,800 troopers and all of the agency’s civilian employees.
A desire to serve led Harris into the Air Force Reserve, which then led her to seek a career in law enforcement.
While Harris was pursuing a degree in criminal justice from Appalachian State in the mid-1980s, a professor recommended she apply to the highway patrol.
Two weeks after graduation, Harris was in patrol school.
“I was the only female (in my class),” Harris said. “I was in there with 59 males and didn’t have a roommate. That was a challenge, because you feel like you have to prove yourself to be accepted.”
After patrol school graduation, Harris spent 8 ½ years on the roads of Iredell County as a patrol trooper before her promotion to sergeant in 1998.
In the years that followed, she steadily rose through the ranks and became the highway patrol’s first female captain in 2006. In 2007, she took command of Troop D, which covers nine counties.
Despite being the first woman to reach captain and major with the highway patrol, Harris said the most rewarding part of her job comes from knowing she is helping make a difference in the community.
“Getting unsafe drivers off the highway and knowing you’ve made a difference with every DWI arrest, stopping speeders, and taking unsafe drivers off our highways — the day in and day out stuff is the most rewarding,” she said.
The highway patrol has come a long way in the recruitment of women during Harris’ time, going from just five women in 1989, when she joined, to 41 women at various ranks today.
“We need more females. I think that police agencies should represent the population it serves,” Harris said.
“I hope this shows females that are interested in law enforcement careers that the highway patrol is a career you can be successful in and that is very rewarding at the same time,’’ she said.
“It’s a challenge, but it’s a great career choice.”
Reprinted with permission, News & Record.
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1949 Raymond Diehl Road, Tallahassee,
Florida 32308 800.765.5456 |
Highway Patrol/State Police Memorial