Utah Valley University's Law Enforcement Academy marked its 1,000th graduate at ceremonies in May 2018. Daniel Lopez earned that place in the department's history.

Lopez, from Provo, said he was surprised when it was announced.

"I didn't know what was going on," he said. "I was so excited. My cheeks were just trembling. I hope nobody was able to see that."

"It is really important to highlight this young man," said Buckey Walters, the director of the academy. "This young man is a truly outstanding individual. He was supposed to deploy with his Army National Guard unit to Canada the day of graduation and was going to miss graduation, as he is an extremely dedicated individual."

Lopez was unaware of the honors he would receive until the evening of the graduation ceremonies, but Walters knew ahead of time and called Lopez's commander, who is also a graduate of UVU. He arranged for Lopez to deploy a few days later with some others in his unit, so he could attend the graduation.

Lopez also received honors for having the top average score on exams in the group of graduates.

"I was excited," he said. "Most of us did really good on the tests. I am first in my family to go to college. It means a lot to be awarded something so significant."

"Lopez is reflective of every student we graduated," Walters said. "They are all dedicated and prepared to become law enforcement officers. Approximately 54 percent of law enforcement officers in Utah County are graduates of our program. That is a great thing. We are truly Utah County's academy."

The academy has been operating for nearly 22 years and all of the instructors are full-time law enforcement officers, Walters said.