DELAND, Fla. — DeLand Police Department school resource officer Javon Kelly holds DeLand High School near and dear to his heart. 

“I feel great waking up in the morning coming here and doing this job, interacting with the kids,” Kelly said. 

After all, he was once a student there. 

In the years since high school, Kelly remained committed to his goals, and his passion for law enforcement started at a young age. 

He said he always knew he wanted to make a difference. 

“Growing up in this area, there wasn’t a lot of police relationship with the community or with the kids or with the parents or anything of that nature," Kelly said. "So, I feel like me growing up and wanting to be a police officer/detective, I feel like I wanted to be the one who makes the change to bridge the gap with the community."   

DeLand Police Chief Jason Umberger has been on the force in DeLand for close to eight years and said he looks for candidates like Kelly. 

“Upon my hiring, one of my focuses was trying to recruit qualified minority candidates to the police department and we’ve had some great success doing that,” Umberger said. 

Kelly is one of 10 African Americans on the force. As African Americans make up about 14% of the force, that number mirrors the Black population in DeLand, according to the latest U.S. census data.

“Our strength is in our diversity, but it’s really in our unity," Umberger said. "In order for an organization to be strong, efficient, and productive, it needs to be unified."

As for Kelly, he plans to stay on for a long time, and bring his positive attitude every day.

“At the end of the day, I want to make sure the kids go home with a smile on their face,” he said. 

If you are interested in a career in law enforcement, the DeLand Police Department holds an open house recruitment day every fourth Saturday of each month.

For more information on how you can get involved, visit the DeLand Police Department website.