NJ, NY Students Find Inspiration At Port Authority Youth Police Academy

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They stood in perfectly straight lines, eyes forward, arms at their sides.

“Yes, sir,” came the chorus, loud and unified, when asked if they understood the day’s packed agenda at Newark Liberty International Airport.

And with that, all 42 of them filed out in formation, heads high, shoulders square, feet in sync.

This wasn’t a drill. It was the latest class of the Port Authority Police Officer Anthony M. Varvaro Youth Police Academy, now in its fourth year, and bigger than ever. The program, run by the Port Authority Police Department (PAPD), gives high school students from across New York and New Jersey a hands-on introduction to life in law enforcement. For many, it’s their first real glimpse of the discipline and respect inherent in a career they’re set on pursuing.

“We’re a protective, defensive and responsive force, and we like to give them a strong foundation in what that means so when they do come to the recruit class, they know exactly what to expect,” said PAPD Lieutenant Lawrence Jackson, who leads the academy. “We get a little better doing it every year, and I think this is the best year we put together.”

The program is named in honor of PAPD Officer Anthony M. Varvaro, who helped launch the academy and died in 2022.

The Port Authority partners with high schools across the region, with guidance counselors identifying students who show a particular interest in law enforcement and connecting them with the Youth Academy. After talking with parents and passing a background check, they’re welcomed to the program. This year’s class was double the size of last year’s.

The real challenge, Jackson said, isn’t recruiting. It’s building a weeklong schedule packed with meaningful experiences. He aimed to give the students a taste of all angles of law enforcement, from crime scene investigations to hazmat operations to fitness and nutrition, encompassing all aspects of patrolling and protecting the region’s most critical transportation landmarks including airport terminals, vehicular crossings, the seaport’s complex of marine terminals and roadways and PATH stations.

Behind Newark Liberty’s Building One, the Port Authority’s administration building at the airport and itself a lesson in the agency’s rich history, students hopped on the seat of a PAPD motorcycle, opened the nozzle of an Aircraft Rescue and Firefighting hose, and donned the Emergency Services Unit’s bulletproof vests as they learned about high-angle rescues.

Jackson stood to the side as eager students explored gadgets and equipment with help from enthusiastic officers.

“The youth is where it all starts,” he said. “If you get them early, you can show them that there’s more to the police than just getting called when something bad happens. We want to show them that there’s another side to the police.”

Port Authority Police Superintendent Edward Cetnar echoed that sentiment.

“Programs like this are essential to building lasting connections with the communities we serve,” he said. “As we expand the program, we’re giving more students the opportunity to see themselves in this line of work, to understand the discipline, the service, and the pride that comes with wearing this uniform.”

For the students, the experience seemed to be transforming a developing interest into a wholehearted mission.

“For sure, I’m going to be a Newark police officer,” said Newark native Abraham Ehiosa, whose interest in law enforcement was sparked as a child seeing Port Authority police officers patrolling Newark Liberty.

“I just noticed how they present themselves in public with a serious demeanor no matter how chaotic it was,” he said. “It’s been great here seeing what the Port Authority is all about.”

Oscar Cantor-Flores of Queens plans to join the armed forces after high school before applying to area law enforcement agencies, including PAPD.

“I grew up all around law enforcement and had friends in the NYPD that inspired me,” he said. “It’s been great talking with the instructors and learning the path they took to get here.”

While he said keeping his neighbors safe is important, it’s the community-building aspects of law enforcement that he finds most attractive and most rewarding.

“That’s what I feel like the Youth Academy is about, inspiring kids that there’s a better goal in life not just in law enforcement, but all around it too,” he said. “I want to help out the youth, a younger me sooner or later, and inspire them to go down a good path.”

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