Hands reach forward. Compassion overwhelms the soul. Kindness shatters insecurity. Finding empathy for one another offers the greatest form of connection. Although discovering that empathy for everyone can be a challenge, it is always still worth the endeavor. In the multitude of professions that benefit from empathy, there is one discipline where the balance between compassion and understanding is paramount: Law Enforcement. While the subject of Law Enforcement remains a difficult topic for many to discuss, let alone trust, there are many who learn how to tackle the obstacles before them with a deep sense of empathy. This provides a connection between protector and citizen.

Communicate, Communicate, Communicate

Many students aspire to become a member of Law Enforcement. There are plenty of instructors who aid them in their journeys. Adjunct Professor Derek George Kephart strives to ensure Rosemont’s Homeland Security & Emergency Management students grasp the importance of empathy. He also explores how it can benefit both them and those they will be protecting in the future. As a teacher in Homeland Security and Emergency Management, Professor Kephart explores many different real world scenarios with his students. He also focuses on lucid multi faceted communication. “There’s a lot of acronyms in the federal and state governments,” Professor Kephart says with a smile. “[It] takes good communication skills, dedicated study skills, and more importantly, excellent writing skills to interact with these myriad numbers of federal and state partner agencies. How you articulate yourself, how direct you are, is very important for collaborative success in a public safety mission.”

An Expert in the Field

Professor Kephart currently works full time as a Chief Inspector in Philadelphia—the highest civil service rank in the police force. He manages many different aspects of police work. From budgeting, internal affairs, reviewing body cam footage and other work behind the scenes to planning security measures to ensure the safety of all participants in a city event, Professor Kephart brings many personal experiences to his students. “I bring a practicality, a real world experience, and I love to teach,” Professor Kephart says with deep pride in his voice. “When my students have questions, I’m able to discern what the textbook says, but also add how we do it in real life.” Understanding the balance between book statistics and real experiences is a focal point amongst the academic community. Professor Kephart ensures that his students are taught both aspects in their nuanced entirety.

Intelligence Connections

Professor Kephart works with his many connections to offer them recruitment opportunities and guidance. He opened multiple doors for his students through fusion centers. They break down agency silos and increase communication of police forces throughout the country. “I have educated students on the value of a fusion center,” Professor Kephart explains. “You have the FBI, the Coast Guard, the State Police, Philadelphia Police, and local Law Enforcement representatives. We also include in fusion centers a host of civilian analysts, and they generate reports.” Professor Kephart understands how valuable the next generation is to the future. “A lot of social media and open source information contains terroristic activity, and we need to recruit those who are experts in the social media environment. At the Delaware Valley Intelligence Center, we brought on board interns and analysts from various colleges or those looking to get into the field, to garner real world Homeland Security experience. Furthermore each geographic partner also had an opportunity to bring an intern or analyst to assist in the Homeland Security mission for their respective counties. This networking is instrumental for graduating students to enter the Law Enforcement Enterprise as well.”

Striding Down the Chosen Path

At Rosemont, Professor Kephart teaches the same ethos that resonates through the entire Homeland Security and Emergency Management program. “Dean Kolick…has a lot of personal and professional experience as well,” Professor Kephart explains. “He and Al Lopez have been very prominent in my educating career. Everyone brings a piece to the table.” Professor Kephart expands students’ compassion by exploring the importance of empathy in such a stress inducing profession. Furthermore, he urges them to follow their passions, regardless of what obstacles lay before them. “I would like [students] to go forth in their chosen path with an ethos of empathy, compassion, and getting the job done,” Professor Kephart says with excitement brewing in his eyes. “They all start out with a fire within…All those in our program, we give back, and we encourage our students to do that. Carry the educational fire, go forward, and get the job done.”

A New Hope for the Next Generation

Professor Kephart often reminds everyone, “If you get knocked down, it doesn’t matter, because you showed up…just get back up. The fire within you has to be greater than the fire all around you. And that gets you through. That’s my own personal ethos.” Professor Kephart’s own students have aided him in that mentality. “We’ve all heard the negative news about the latest generation. Students who are lost and can’t talk to each other. I’m generation X, so I was outside a lot, until the streetlights darkened. We thought nothing of drinking water out of a garden hose…each generation has their own peculiarities and foibles…Rosemont’s students have proven the negative news drumbeat of the current generation wrong. They have the fire to succeed and compassion…They’ve given me hope that each generation possesses the ability to be their own advocates and founders, and they’re certainly not a lost generation.”

Passing the Torch

Uncertainty rains down upon our country. As we as a society strive towards certain goals, connection is lost, and trust is broken. However, Professor Kephart remains positive and faithful in his community of faculty and students. As he passes his own torch of compassion, education, and empathy to his students, they will pay it forward. As Rosemont College, and many others like it in the country, move forward towards a changing future, hope still burns bright in her students and faculty. “This is not the end,” Derek Kephart ensures Rosemont. “We will begin the transition to the Villanova community. All will remember what we’ve done here…Rosemont will never be forgotten, and future students will get the same superior mentorship, education, and stalwart education that Rosemont has provided. Our odyssey doesn’t end here. Rather, our carrying the fire of resilience and learning to Villanova is just continuing the journey.”