Location: Visalia Nazarene Church, 3333 W. Caldwell Ave.

Incident Date: 7/20/17

Incident Time: 1800 hours

City: Visalia

Posted by: Media Relations

Who: Sheriff Mike Boudreaux
What: Tulare-Kings Counties Basic Peace Officer Academy graduation
When: 6 p.m., Thursday, July 20
Where: Visalia Nazarene Church, 3333 W. Caldwell Ave., Visalia

Sheriff Mike Boudreaux’s second Pathways Scholarship recipient, Hector Negrete, is set to graduate from the Police Academy Thursday evening at the Visalia Nazarene Church. 

Sheriff Boudreaux started the Pathways Scholarship program three years ago as a way to encourage his Explorers to go to college and become Deputies. The goal is to put local youth back in their hometown communities as Sheriff’s Deputies after graduation from college and training in the police academy with funding through the Sence Foundation.

“I’m very proud of the program,” Sheriff Boudreaux said. “It creates stake holders in the community and in the department.”

Negrete, 21, follows fellow Pathways Scholarship recipient Dep. Jasmine Orozco who graduated from the academy in January and recently completed her field training on patrol at the Orosi Substation. 

Negrete was sworn in as a Deputy Sheriff Trainee in January and began his studies at the Tulare-Kings Counties Basic Peace Officer Academy in February. Negrete, along with seven other Deputy Sheriff Trainees, will get sworn in by Sheriff Boudreaux Thursday during the graduation ceremony.

Negrete became acquainted with the Sheriff’s Office when he was a boy in the Sheriff’s PAL Program. From there, he followed in the footsteps of his older sister to become an Explorer. He achieved the rank of Captain. 

“I’ve always wanted to help people,” Negrete said. “As an Explorer, I could start giving back to my community.” 

He was born in Delano and raised in Earlimart. He’s the oldest son in a family of five children which grew to nine children when his parents took in his four younger cousins. His father is an Ag mechanic and his mother is a homemaker.

Negrete graduated from Delano High School in 2014.

He is the first person in his family to get a college degree. In February, he earned an associate’s degree in Business Administration from San Joaquin Valley College. He said that he decided to go to college because Sheriff Boudreaux motivated him to apply for a Pathways Scholarship.

“I wanted to become a deputy,” he said. “I would’ve done almost anything to get hired.”

Negrete will be assigned to the Pixley Substation.

If you know someone, ages 14-21, who would like to become a Sheriff’s Explorer, please call the Tulare County Sheriff’s Office at (559) 636-4695.