Elizabeth Silva is a police cadet at EC.

How long have you been a police cadet?
I’ve been doing this for about a year.

What made you want to get into law enforcement?
I want to be an officer and I thought that becoming a cadet would be a good experience.

What is your daily routine as a cadet?
I walk around the parking lots seeing if everyone has their permits while keeping an eye out for suspicious vehicles, people or crime.

What do you like about being a cadet?
I like that I’m always outdoors dealing with different people, the good ones along with the bad ones. I enjoy helping people out.

How long do you plan on continuing to be involved in the cadet program?
Probably another semester or a year until I’m confident in applying to a department.

What kind of background or previous experience did you have that helped prepare you to be a cadet?
You have to be dedicated and you learn a lot from getting out there and doing it.

Is there one specific thing that you enjoy most about your job?
I enjoy everything. I enjoy being out here, being in the public eye and telling people that if they need help, they can contact me.

Is there any one experience or call that you had that is most memorable for you?
I called out a couple of missing children reports for kids who had later been found.

What do you hope to get out of working as a police cadet?
I want to get an understanding of how law enforcement and different departments work.

How do you feel about a lot of the stereotypes associated with police officers?
A lot of people look at things from a racial aspect and that’s not how it is whatsoever. That kind of bothers me but I can’t force them to think otherwise. I, for one, don’t have any racial bigotry and I treat everybody equally