Officer Louis Cortez serves as the campus school police officer at Hope Street Academy. His family recently gained national attention from the "Cortez Family Light Show" they host at their house during the holiday season. He has served as a Topeka Public Schools police officer for a year, transitioning from a 25 year career for the Topeka Police Department. Interacting with students is one of Officer Cortez's favorite parts of this job, and he says it gives him a chance to mentor and support students in a unique way.
Officer Louis Cortez works at Hope Street Academy as campus police officer. His role is to create a safe environment for students to learn. He has served in this role at Hope Street since the beginning of the 2018-2019 school year, but worked in law enforcement for over 25 years with the Topeka Police Department. His family recently gained national attention for the Taylor Swift-themed light show at their house over the holiday season. Cortez's son, Louis, designs a new light show each year and raises donations to give to TARC. This year they raised over $2,300 to donate, and even heard back from Taylor Swift herself, saying how impressed she was with the holiday light display.
Cortez says that his role at Hope Street is quite a bit different than the role he had within the TPD.
"My role here has much more interaction - getting to know the kids, making a connection with the kids, mentoring them," he said, "Letting them know that we are here to help them out."
While his role at Hope Street is different, he says that it gives him an opportunity to create positive interactions with students and show them he is there to support them.
"I'm here to serve as a presence for their safety and security," he mentioned, "I think one of the hardest parts was stepping out of the mindset of a street officer to a more 'user-friendly' version for the students."
Cortez says that his inspiration to become a police officer came from his uncle Peter, who was a police officer in Dallas, TX.
"He would come home and visit and tell us stories," he recalled, "and just from his stories I knew I wanted to be a police officer too."
Cortez is also a Desert Storm veteran and followed in his family's footsteps by serving for 25 years in the Army Reserves, in which his uncle Louis and uncle Junior also served.
Cortez says that it has been a positive experience serving in Topeka Public Schools and he enjoys getting to know the students at Hope Street.
"I know each kid has a different way of learning and they're here because they want to better themselves," he said. "I'm here to help them with that."
He says that one his favorite part of his job is getting to know the students personally and figuring out how to help them with whatever they may be going through.
"You get to talk with the students, and they ask you for advice. Each kid has their own trials and tribulations of going through life, and I want to help them as much as I can," he said. "If they make a bad choice, figuring out why it was a bad choice and help them to get back on the right track. I want to let them know we are here to help them succeed, not to set them up for failure."
An important part of Cortez's job is bridging the gap between supporter and authority for students. He believes that positive interactions with police officers will show students that officers are here to help and support them, not to simply catch them and get them in trouble.
"Each person remembers the last contact they had with an officer, and that will affect the next interaction they have with an officer. So if I have a positive contact with a student here, I hope it carries over to the street officers outside of school."
Cortez hopes to change students' views of officers from the negative stereotypes that are often portrayed through television and movies.
"Not all officers are jerks and want to hassle people," he says. "I'm here to help."
A piece of advice that Officer Cortez would like to give to his students is how to achieve goals, even if they may seem unattainable.
"If you have a goal, go for it," he said. "Have a plan, take baby steps. Make a plan of where you want to be five years from now, and figure out how you're going to get there. Do you need an education, do you need a driver's license, do you need to stay out of trouble?"
Many of these factors are important to students after they graduate, and Cortez plays a role in helping them navigate the steps they need to take in order to reach their goals. He believes that school has an important connection to success, and he is in a unique position to serve as a mentor as they work towards their goals.
"Whatever goal they decide on, I explain to them how school correlates to that goal," he explained. "I want to show them that they can change their behavior here while they're in school, to then become a positive and productive citizen after graduation."
Cortez has enjoyed his time at Hope Street and thanks the leadership at the school for helping him transition from the TPD to TPS. Though his job is relatively similar, he said his "clientele" is different.
"They are much more receptive and open towards me," he said. "I'm walking amongst them. I'm not constantly looking for something to 'get them' on."
He appreciates the relationships he is able to build with the students of Hope Street and will to continue to show them that he is there as a positive role model.
"They can talk to me. My job is to make sure they have a safe learning environment, make sure they complete school and let them know that if they run into any issues they can come to me for help."
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