Friday, May 22, 2009

A Special Visit to our School

(This entry was submitted by Ms. Julie Capodanno, Woodbury's English as a Second Language teacher.)


Sergeant Ed Alicea from Glassboro visited Woodbury Junior - Senior High School on April 22 to share his life story including multiple moves from New York to Puerto Rico, attending twelve different schools before graduating, and being a former gang member.

Sergeant Alicea has served the Glassboro Police Department for over twenty years. During his tenure he has been a DARE officer for over twenty (20) years; a School Resource Officer, and an undercover narcotics officer. He is a certified instructor in several areas: Firearms, Honor Guard, Suicide Bomber Identification, Prevention, Terrorism, Cults, and the Occult, and Gangs. Sergeant Alicea currently teaches at Police Academies throughout the State of New Jersey.

In addition to his law enforcement career with the Glassboro Police, Sergeant Alicea served twelve years – traveling the world -- with the United States Marine Corps. His duties include Machine Gunner, Platoon Sergeant, Nuclear, Biological and Chemical Warfare Instructor, and Presidential Honor Guard for President Regan's visit to Glassboro in 1986. Sergeant Alicea holds a BA and is currently working on a Masters in Home Land Security.

Sergeant Alicea spent over an hour sharing his story with Ms. Capodanno’s ESL students and other students outside of the program; the message was simple: You can always turn your life around and be a positive influence for others.

No comments: