Brandywine

Penn State Brandywine welcomes new campus police officer Sanjay Bridges

MEDIA, Pa. — Sanjay Bridges recently joined Penn State Brandywine’s Office of Police and Public Safety as a campus police officer. Bridges first became interested in law enforcement during elementary school.

“I grew up in the early ’90s while the O.J. Simpson trial was happening,” said Bridges. “I spent a lot of time watching the trial and it peaked my interest. There were just so many facets of it.”

As Bridges grew up, his interest in law enforcement did not go away. That curiosity followed him through middle and high school — and eventually, it followed him to Penn State.

“I did two years at the Schuylkill campus and two at University Park,” he said. “Initially, I started by majoring in criminal justice and wanted to go to law school, but then I interned at a law firm in Philly for four summers. It was a good experience, but it also helped me realize that law wasn’t for me.”

Although Bridges didn’t see himself as an attorney, he was still interested in criminal justice. He decided to pursue police work — and never looked back.

After graduating from the police academy in 2009, Bridges spent several years in campus security at Villanova University, eventually earning the rank of sergeant. After that, he worked part time at Penn State Brandywine as a security guard — and accidentally began to apply for a full-time position at University Park.

“I started the police application for University Park, realized what I was doing, and stopped,” he said. “But I got a call from an admin at University Park asking if I planned to finish my application. I thought, ‘Sure. Why not?’”

While working as an officer at University Park, Bridges was busy on and off campus. In addition to his duties at the University, he taught a Rape Aggression Defense Class, gave presentations on drug and alcohol safety and ran community education programs.

“I’m the guy who loves to get out in public and interact with everybody,” he said. “And now that I’m back at Brandywine, my goal is to interact with students as often as possible.”

As Bridges settles into his new role at Brandywine, he looks forward to a change of pace, but also a chance to see a new portion of Penn State.

“This is an opportunity for me to stick with the blue and white,” he said. “I have a lot of fond memories of Penn State from my student years. It’s nice to be back on the Brandywine campus in a more long-term sense.” 

Sanjay Bridges, campus police officer at Penn State Brandywine.  Credit: Michael McDade / Penn StateCreative Commons

Last Updated July 21, 2017

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