Sandy Seabaugh: Laurel Ridge police officer and determined scholar

Sandy Seabaugh first arrived at Laurel Ridge Community College for a job about 10 years ago. Not only has she become a valued longtime employee, she has become a longtime college student.

“I was only a high school graduate when I came to work,” said Seabaugh. “One day, Chief Jay Roy took me for a ride around the college. He asked me where I saw myself in five years.”

She said she hoped to work for the federal government. Chief Roy pointed out her resume would stand out more if she was a police officer rather than the security officer she was at the time.

“I said, ‘I don’t think I have it in me to be a police officer,’” Seabaugh responded, thinking she lacked the confidence and bearing to be an effective officer.

Chief Roy told her she would learn to hone her confidence over time. After she graduated from the academy, Chief Roy wasn’t done encouraging Seabaugh to do more. She had been a few classes short of earning her associate degree in administration of justice when she withdrew from Northern Virginia Community College to help her mother recover from surgery. The chief suggested she complete her degree. When Seabaugh said she couldn’t afford to, her boss informed her that Laurel Ridge classes were free for employees.

After that, it was on to Liberty University, which offered discounts to law enforcement officers. Seabaugh was able to take more than one class at a time as she earned her bachelor’s degree in Criminal Justice with a specialization in Homeland Security and then her master’s degree in American legal studies.

“Now, I’m working on my doctorate in Law and Policy,” said Seabaugh. “Chief Roy said he was proud of me. I said, ‘I wouldn’t have done it without you.’ I didn’t have a role model. My parents weren’t very well-versed on higher education, so I did not know what I was doing. I get so happy when I see our students at Laurel Ridge with their parents as they’re walking them through the whole process.”

From Chief Roy, Seabaugh learned the officers’ campus duties go beyond protecting students.

“We also want them to understand they can come to us if they have questions about anything,” she said. “We’re not just police officers. We’re college employees. Our main goal is to focus on students’ education and help them succeed.”

Five years ago, Seabaugh took a full-time position with Middletown Police Department, where she is now a detective. She continues to work part-time with Laurel Ridge.

When she was 10-years-old, Seabaugh and her mother came to the U.S. from El Salvador. Her father had applied for asylum years before and was able to bring them to the United States once their case was approved. A few years after her arrival, Seabaugh applied for citizenship and discovered her identity had been stolen. She was impressed with the effort officials with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security put into resolving the issue – and inspired.

“I decided I wanted to do the background investigations for people who were trying to become U.S. citizens,” said Seabaugh, who has also studied multiple languages.

The 2009 Millbrook High School graduate would never have thought as a little girl that she would be pursuing a doctoral degree.

“I probably would’ve struggled to get to where I am at if I would’ve still been in El Salvador,” she said. “The U.S. opened the doors.”

The college is a wonderful working environment, said Seabaugh, and she admires her coworkers, particularly Chief Roy, who became not just a role model for her, but a mentor.

“There’s a lot more community policing, and you get a lot of freedom to just talk to anybody, you get to learn about each student’s background,” she said. “It’s great to hear the stories and how they’re pushing through to continue their education. Sometimes, they want to give up. I tell them the first step is realizing you want to succeed and better yourself, and they’re taking the first step by coming to college. I say, ‘If I can do it, you can do it.’”