Georgette Hill, Municipal Police Academy Director, began her time at Montgomery County Community College as a Criminal Justice student in 1984 and later completed the Municipal Policy Academy in 1993. She was a Whitpain Police officer for 26 years and has worked in the academy for 16 years. Photos by Eric Devlin
For 40 years, Georgette Hill has been an integral part of Montgomery County Community College. Beginning as a Criminal Justice major in 1984 through her work today as the Director of the Municipal Police Academy, Hill has championed the Montco Family while guiding the next generation of law enforcement.
鈥淚鈥檝e always had a connection to Montco. I love Montco,鈥� she said. 鈥淭here always seems to be a connection.鈥�
Hill, a Springfield High School graduate, originally from Flourtown, started at Montco to pursue her associate鈥檚 degree before transferring to Temple University. As a student, she was a forward on the women鈥檚 basketball team for the 1984-85 and 1985-86 seasons. During her time at the College, she always knew where her future was headed.
鈥淭he reason I came here for a Criminal Justice degree back then was because of the College鈥檚 reputation for its Criminal Justice program,鈥� she said. 鈥淭hey were top notch. Any law enforcement officer knows to get their associate鈥檚 degree from Montco.鈥�
After transferring and earning a bachelor鈥檚 degree in Criminal Justice, she came back to Montco once again. This time to enroll in the Municipal Police Academy.
鈥淚 put myself through to get a police job, she said. 鈥淭hen in 1993, I was hired by the Whitpain Township Police Department and started serving Blue Bell.鈥�
She served the department for 26 years as a patrol officer, during which time she worked as the Drug Abuse Resistance Education, or D.A.R.E., program instructor for nine years with the Wissahickon School District.
In 2003, she attended St. Joseph鈥檚 University to earn a master鈥檚 degree in Public Safety Management and walked at graduation in 2006.
鈥淚 did that to broaden my horizons,鈥� she said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 great to have a degree in Criminal Justice, but I didn鈥檛 want to be pigeonholed.鈥�
The College hosted the Whitpain Police Association car show for many years starting
in 2001 and Hill worked with the College to organize the events. In 2008, Hill was
hired by the College as an instructor for the police academy, which led to the beginning
of a 16-year journey at the College that continues to this day.
In 2019, she retired from police work with the intention of teaching part-time and spending more time with her husband, four stepchildren and five grandchildren.
鈥淭hen the pandemic hit, and everything stopped,鈥� she said. 鈥淭he police academy鈥檚 previous director retired.鈥�
Hill credits the help of Jane Molt, retired Administrative Assistant, as well as Bob Sands, Part-time Instructor, and Stephen Salera, Coordinator of Public Services Training Programs, for their assistance during the transition.
Hill worked tirelessly to organize a schedule and help the cadets finish the program. She scheduled the firearms range, emergency vehicle training and contacted the 65 instructors in the academy to help the cadets successfully complete the program in August 2020.
With the continuation of the pandemic restrictions, the following class dealt with unique challenges including social distancing orders and working out of the educational gymnasium in the Health Sciences Center. After that, the next class left the gym for a slightly larger classroom. Eventually the cadets moved back to their normal classroom setting.
鈥淚t was an adventure,鈥� said Hill.
Hill was hired as the permanent director in December 2021. As director, her focus is on producing the best police officers she can through proper training, she said.
鈥淵ou need integrity, good morals to be a public servant,鈥� she said. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 what the job is. That鈥檚 the thought process. Those qualities are what we expect.鈥�
As she looks back fondly on 40 years since she started as a student at the College, Hill said she鈥檚 learned to expect the unexpected.
鈥淣othing surprises me. Anything can happen,鈥� she said. 鈥淓specially with the pandemic. I was going to retire and teach part-time. But this is my niche. I can鈥檛 figure a better position than this one. To have an impact on future law enforcement is what鈥檚 most satisfying for me.鈥�