De Anza College police officer Ben Rodriguez will be retiring after 24 years of service to the college. A retirement reception was held for Rodriguez on June 11. Rodriguez’s family, friends and fellow officers, as well as De Anza staff were all in attendance.

Open microphone took up a majority of the time, with several administrators coming forward to share their memories and gratitude for Rodriguez.

“He is the kind of leader that we value,” said Martha Kanter, chancellor for De Anza-Foothill Community College District.

People shared stories about his ability to handle problems on campus before they escalated and his sensitivity to students.

“His philosophy is to handle issues behind the scenes,” said Kanter.

Rodriguez became an officer in Santa Clara County nearly 33 years ago, where he served for 1 1/2 years. He then worked at West Valley Community College for seven years before coming to De Anza in 1985. 16 years ago, Rodriguez became the director of De Anza security.

There is currently no one in line to fill his role as director. Fellow officers say that they hope whoever becomes director next will carry on Rodriguez’s philosophy on community policing.

“The next director should show integrity first,” said Lief Nelson, a police officer at De Anza. “Ben always did everything with integrity.”

When asked what his final thoughts for De Anza were, Rodriguez said, “I hope that I’ve been fair and I will miss the people.”

He will officially retire on June 30, and Rodriguez will be remembered with much respect and admiration.

Stacy Lane is a staff reporter for La Voz. Contact her at [email protected].