Our Friendly Neighborhood SRO

Walking around the halls of OM, you’ve probably encountered Officer Agard, our school resource officer (SRO). He is among 13 other HCPSS officers whose jobs are to maintain safety in our high schools. Becoming an SRO takes an additional 80 hours of training and passing countless tests. The training focuses on topics specializing in issues like youth mental health. 

OM’s Officer Agard grew up in Brooklyn, New York, where he would hang out with friends and ride dirt bikes with his dad during weekends at the track. After attending Fort Hamilton High School, Agard briefly attended community college to become a teacher. “I went to school for early childhood education because I wanted to be a teacher,” he said, before realizing teaching wasn’t for him. Agard also considered other jobs like firefighting, before deciding he wanted to become a police officer. He was inspired to become an officer because he knew that he wanted to give back to the people in his community and help create positive change. As a police officer, Agard feels that he can break the mold of common misconceptions people may have about law enforcement. 

After working for the Baltimore City and Baltimore County Police Department for around seven years, he transferred to the Howard County Police Department. After about a year, Agard applied and interviewed to become a School Resource Officer within the department. He chose to become an SRO because of his past ambitions of teaching and mentoring kids to show that police officers are not always as they seem. 

One of Agard’s favorite things about being an SRO is the daily interactions with students. He has students come up to him with their personal problems, relationship problems, and school problems, and he uses his knowledge and experience to help guide them, “It’s just nice to know that they have, like, another adult in the building they can trust,” Agard said.

As a student, you may just see Officer Agard as the School Resource Officer of Oakland Mills, but at home, he has many hobbies that are similar to students. He spends time riding dirt bikes, hanging out with friends, and working out at the gym, but what people might not know is that Agard is a fan of video games and anime. “I like to think I’m a nerd,” joked Agard. He also follows football and is a big Philadelphia Eagles fan. He enjoys traveling frequently to experience different foods and places around the world.

Agard’s school days normally consist of paperwork and reports, but he sometimes likes to take a break by working out with the students in the gym classes. This provides him an opportunity to bond and build relationships with students. He considers his biggest strength to be that he is good at talking and has an easygoing personality. Agard also hopes to start a club where he can create a safe space for students to come and talk about different topics, play sports like basketball or football, and maybe just eat some pizza. 

If you’re interested in learning more, you can find Agard in his office near the cafeteria, in the hallways around the school, and most importantly, playing basketball in the gym during 6th period.