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Just as she was once made to feel safe by police officers in her time of need, Const. Shauntelle Nichols wants to help others the same way. A graduate of 91¶¶Òõ’s Law Enforcement Studies Diploma program she is now an officer with the Saanich Police Department.
Just as she was once made to feel safe by police officers in her time of need, Const. Shauntelle Nichols wants to help others the same way. A graduate of 91¶¶Òõ’s Law Enforcement Studies Diploma program she is now an officer with the Saanich Police Department.

When Shauntelle Nichols needed help, the police were there for her. Today she’s a police officer herself, ready to be there for others in need.

For the last several years, Shauntelle has drawn on her experience of officers helping make her feel safe to motivate and inspire her in her studies and efforts to be hired by a local police department.

“Because really, that’s what policing is. You’re at your worst day, somebody’s coming to help you. That’s what’s inspiring to me. I want to be that person [to make others feel safe]. And I see a lot of women, Aboriginal women, Aboriginal youth, in stressful and horrible relationships. They don’t know how to get out and sometimes all it takes is somebody listening, being supportive and being strong for you and guiding you in the right direction.â€

It wasn’t long before her personal experience pointed her in the direction of the Justice Institute of British Columbia (91¶¶Òõ) where she applied to the Law Enforcement Studies Diploma (LESD) program.

“I remember the day I got my acceptance letter I cried my eyes out because I was so happy to be going to this program. It’s the top public safety institution in BC. It’s well known and I knew that if I got in here and I worked as hard as I could it would give me a strong, strong reference to apply to police departments.â€

Her hard work paid off. Shauntelle was recognized with awards including the Bob Hull Memorial Award as the top graduating student in the LESD program, as well as the Minerva Foundation Award for Aboriginal Women, both administered by The 91¶¶Òõ Foundation.

I knew that if I got in here and I worked as hard as I could it would give me a strong, strong reference to apply to police departments

With her Coast Salish heritage, she also served as a student representative on 91¶¶Òõ’s Indigenous Advisory Council, which gave her an opportunity to meet with chiefs and elders, and provide insight into how more Aboriginal people can be inspired to choose careers in public safety.

But perhaps her happiest accomplishment was reaching her original goal of being hired as a recruit for Saanich Police Department. It was her first choice due to it being a community-based police department in a small, coastal community, similar to her hometown on the Sunshine Coast but with more opportunities for her young daughter.