Events
College Celebrates Largest Basic Law Enforcement Training Class
RALEIGH, N.C. (March 24, 2026) – Wake Tech is celebrating its largest class of law enforcement cadets prepared to serve and protect communities across the region.
Forty cadets completed Wake Tech's rigorous Basic Law Enforcement Training Academy and were honored during a special ceremony Tuesday at the college's Southern Wake Campus.
Many members of the graduating class have already been hired by local police departments and other law enforcement agencies, including Knightdale, Angier, Chapel Hill, Wake Forest, WakeMed, Durham Tech, the State Capitol Police and the Wake County Sheriff's Office.
The sheriff's office swore in 10 of the cadets as deputies immediately following the ceremony.
"Wake Tech is a great place to learn, grow and develop," said Sheriff Willie Rowe, who served as the ceremony's guest speaker. "Thank you for choosing an honorable profession – to be a peacekeeper. Strive each day to do what is right, and, together, we will make Wake County and the surrounding communities safer places to live."
Wake Tech's BLET program provides more than 950 hours of training, weekly lectures, evaluations and multiple exams. Each cadet must also pass the Police Officers Physical Ability Test (POPAT), a timed series of search‑and‑rescue, agility and mental‑alertness drills.
During Tuesday's ceremony, several cadets were honored for outstanding achievements:
- Nathan Homer Jacob – Award of Excellence for highest academic average
- Dario Peralta Collado – Johnny Blackman Memorial Award for physical fitness
- Sandy Collins Jr. – Award of Excellence for highest firearms average
Collins, who served as class sergeant, offered words of encouragement to his fellow graduates.
"Today, we leave this academy with a great deal of responsibility," he said. "We will see people on their worst days. Let us be professional, respectful and give them our best. Above all, let us be officers and deputies of integrity."
The ceremony also recognized Bruno Barros-Nunes and Gabriela Nunes, the first married couple to complete Wake Tech's BLET program together.
"Going through this experience together was great," Barros‑Nunes said. "From having the same class to sharing homework, we were each other's support 24/7."
"I'm glad Wake Tech gave us the opportunity to pursue our career in law enforcement together," Nunes added.
Married for 13 years, the couple will begin their careers with the Wake County Sheriff's Office and the State Capitol Police.
Wake Tech was the first community college in North Carolina – and the second in the nation – to earn CALEA® accreditation for its Public Safety Training Academy. CALEA®, the Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies, recognizes best practices and professional excellence in policy and practice.
The college's Public Safety Education Campus in Raleigh provides training for first responders and other public safety personnel, including law enforcement, the North Carolina Department of Corrections, the State Bureau of Investigation and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. It also offers an associate degree in Criminal Justice Technology.
The state-of-the-art Public Safety Simulation Complex, at the Eastern Wake Campus in Wendell, offers comprehensive, reality-based training for first responders from across the county, state and other parts of the country.
Learn more about public safety training and education at Wake Tech.
