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STUDENT SPOTLIGHT: From childhood dream to police experience

Shane Ball dreamed of being a police officer as a child and now is living that dream through his hands-on experience with York Regional Police, on track to turning his childhood goal into a reality.
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Shane Ball, second-year Humber Lakeshore Police Foundations student now works for the York Regional Police Services in the student cadet position.

Shane Ball, a second-year Police Foundations student at the Humber Lakeshore campus, has been telling his mother since he was four that he wanted to be a police officer.

Ball now works for York Regional Police as a student cadet, gaining experience and knowledge from highly qualified and experienced supporting staff.

“Working with York Region police is a dream come true. I have enjoyed learning new things every day and seeing behind the scenes of police work,” he said.

“When the email came out from Arun (Dhanota), my program coordinator, it was instantly my goal to pursue this opportunity. It was a four to six intense month process of being hired,” Ball said.

“I’m so grateful to get this opportunity to meet new people and build my resume as well as gain hands-on experience,” he said.

“The next step for me is to start my application in February and hopefully get hired for the May 2025 class. My plan is to go to OCP (Ontario Police College) in May,” Ball said.

He participated in the Peel Fit challenge in the past, being one of Humber’s top two males to compete against other schools in front of recruiting teams such as Peel, York and Toronto.

Ball also had the PREP challenge against Sheridan on November 20, where requiting teams will be looking for candidates when they finish school.

“Getting the opportunity to show my fitness well-being in school has been a huge help in gaining recognition with different police services,” Ball said.