In any police academy, the overall goal of physical training (PT) is to develop a high level of fitness that is directly applicable to a police officer's job duties.
One may call Fitchburg State University Student Officer Thomas “TJ” Farr ‘25 extreme, but his love of exercising has become his calling card in the 8th Recruit Officer Course.
“I enjoy the physical fitness the most every morning,” Farr said. “There’s nothing better in my opinion than waking up before all my buddies are up and getting a nice platoon run or a workout in. You hear the birds chirping and you just run. That’s the most fun for me, just the run days.”
The former quarterback at Montachusett Regional Vocational Technical High School in Fitchburg just can’t get enough daily exercise in.
“I wish we did more,” said Farr, who resides in Princeton.
Fitchburg State University Police Academy Director Ola Wysocki says that Farr came to the academy embracing the PT grind.
“He attended most of the voluntary PT sessions hosted by staff, unless he was at other physical fitness training with a student preparing for the MSP Academy,” she said. “His fitness is excellent and on test day it is always a joy to watch him run.”
Farr also stands out when he performs in a group workout.
“In any team training, you are only as strong as your weakest link,” Wysocki said. “Many PT sessions we try to pair different levels of fitness. Farr consistently demonstrates compassion and patience motivating his partners in team workouts.”
Those types of qualities are also why he is the guidon bearer for the 8th ROC.
A guidon bearer, or guide, is a person, typically in a military organization, who carries a small flag that represents a specific unit.“It’s pride, like the identity of our ROC,” Farr said. “The flag represents the 13 of us that are here. I thank the drill staff for having me be the guidon bearer.
“I wasn’t expecting to have any leadership role and to be elected the guidon bearer; I thought it was relatively neat. I’m proud of it.”
The guidon is always by Farr’s side or in his sight so “no one can take it.”
“We go for runs and it’s with me,” he said. “When we do PT at Elliot Field, it’s on the turf. We go to class and it’s in the back of the class. It’s with us at the range. It’s with me 95 percent of the day.”
Yes, he even runs with it.
“When we’re running I’m always in the front,” Farr said. “I’m the line leader, I guess.”
While Farr has aced the physical fitness portion of the program, education has taken more work on his end to find success.
“I had some academic troubles – I’m not the most academically-inclined individual, so that was probably my biggest uphill battle, just maintaining good grades,” he said. “But if you do the work you’ll get to where you want to go.”
Time management and a great support system have been Farr’s key to success.
“My buddy Nick Notenboom helped me,” said Farr, adding that he avoided distractions by immersing himself every semester in the Amelia V. Gallucci-Cirio Library, especially his junior and senior year. “He’s in the state police academy now, but I lived with him for the last three years. My parents were a big help as well, and even my younger sister.”
If you’re a junior or senior and want to come here for the police program specifically, I would come here because everyone is rooting for you and you are given every opportunity to better yourself through four years.
The 22-year-old Farr, who graduated with a bachelor’s degree in criminal justice in May, is nearing the end of an intensive 17-week academy after which he and the other graduates will be certified to work in municipal departments in Massachusetts and neighboring states.
The program is a one-of-a-kind model where, in five years total, graduates obtain bachelor's degrees in criminal justice, Municipal Police Training Committee certification to become full-time Massachusetts municipal police officers, and master's degrees in criminal justice.
“I didn’t want to spend too much money at school,” said Farr, about why he decided to attend Fitchburg State. “It was convenient, close to home, I knew the surrounding area and the program here there’s so much to offer. The faculty and staff here academic-wise and drill staff-wise teach you to succeed and give you all the tools you need to apply yourself and help you do great things.”
Farr says it’s been “a fun journey” from his four years of taking classes to earn his bachelor’s degree to now being in the police academy.
“You definitely grow as a person,” he said.
He’s grown leaps and bounds, including taking an impactful internship in the Community Service Officer Program with the police department on Nantucket. His three summers on Nantucket included working foot patrol, writing parking tickets and working with the public to help with those all-important people skills in the first summer. The last two summers, Farr found himself on the beaches riding ATVs, assisting lifeguards and medicals, and working massive crowds on the Fourth of July.
“I wish that every kid that comes through the Fitchburg State police program or CJ would go find an internship like Nantucket,” Farr said.
The criminal justice program at Fitchburg State is second-to-none, Farr said.
“If you’re a junior or senior and want to come here for the police program specifically, I would come here because everyone is rooting for you and you are given every opportunity to better yourself through four years,” he said.
Farr says that the transition from the CJ program to the academy forces the student officers to be more organized and disciplined.
“Understand this is real and no longer college,” he said. “In a short time, we will be certified police officers, and there’s no more, ‘Sorry,’ because there will be real life implications. It’s no longer like you didn’t pass in your homework, it’s like you didn’t write this report and now someone that’s supposed to go to court this morning, it’s all messed up. It’s definitely an adjustment and a reality check. It definitely builds you as a person.”
So does cardio and physical fitness.
“I love the whole idea of working with the public,” said Farr, who can imagine being a school resource officer at some point as well. “I also love to hear officer stories about never being outrun by a suspect.”
Whatever is Farr’s next step after the police academy, he’ll definitely hit the ground running.