CELINA, Ohio (WLIO) — On behalf of Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost, the Wright State Lake Campus Police Academy was presented with the STAR Academy Award this morning — the only program in the region to earn the distinction.
The STAR Academy Award comes from the Ohio Peace Officer Training Commission, which licenses academies statewide. Cadets must complete 740 hours of required training, but the STAR award recognizes programs that go above and beyond basic requirements.
The Lake Campus program offers expanded instruction in firearms, self-defense and specialized skills, along with classes in financial wellness and résumé building. Commander Mark Ernst says the academy’s high standards set it apart.
“We set a higher standard for our cadets, so when they leave here, they’ll be able to go on and be more marketable to local police agencies. And hopefully those agencies will be looking for those students who went through a more aggressive-style academy. I think we went through some tough times after COVID and things like that, and our communities expect more out of us now. We’re trying to up the standard so we can better serve our communities,” said Mark Ernst, commander of the Wright State Lake Campus Police Academy.
“The amount we get is just some really good, high-quality training. We have some really, really great instructors that come in, and I couldn’t applaud them any more. I’m very thankful for the people that come in here, and they’ve been doing it awhile, and the years of experience that they bring to the academy with a wealth of knowledge,” said Amanda Godinho, a 2025 graduate of the Wright State Lake Campus Police Academy.
The academy says it hopes the recognition will continue drawing more recruits at a time when agencies across the country are still working to fill openings.
