Spider Spotlight

When not on duty, Kenny Adcock (second from l.), assists international students with everyday life in the United States. Joining him recently were Tsegahiwot Belachew of Ethiopia, Herberth Balsells of Guatemale and Bofele Kotsane of Lesotho.

A Q&A with Kenny Adcock, Sergeant, University Police

BY PHILLIP GRAVELY
Writer/Editor, University Communications

Where are you from originally?
I was born in Fort Knox, Ky., but my father was in the military, so I lived on military bases a lot. I lived in Germany for a long time.

When did you come to Richmond?
What is your role?
1987. I work patrol and do crime prevention for the University.

What did you do prior to coming to Richmond?
I was in the Marines. I signed up early—when I was 17, and did the delayed entry program. I went to a lot of countries.

What is your favorite part of your job?
The people. That is what we do. We deal with people and situations. You learn something new every day. I try to feel good when I drive home, that I have accomplished something worthwhile that day. It is always a good thing if you make somebody else’s day. 

Tell me about the work you do with international students and faculty here at the University.
We do a whole lot with the international community here. My whole family—wife and two sons (11 and 15)—does this together. You have people who are here that are not from this country and are not here very long. If you take time to show and explain to them what’s going on, I think it helps.

What kinds of things do you do?
I help them get drivers’ licenses, put together resumes, find housing, get jobs or internships, buy cars. I think I have been to every car dealership in the whole tri-cities area, and Fredericksburg. Their budgets are different, so I can help them wheel and deal and will usually start off with a vehicle safety check to make sure everything is okay.

I enjoy it because I learn so much from the students. Some have waited outside embassies for a very, very long time to even be screened to come here. Some come from hard areas. Some don’t get to go home for three years at a time because of visas or other reasons. So if we can take care of them through our family, we just take care of them. Like Thanksgiving, we pick up students from here and take them to our house, students from all different countries. We are also host parents to two students.

And you do similar work in the local community, right?
I work with Refugee and Immigration as a volunteer also, helping people become Americans. I have helped immigrants set up businesses, construct facilities, get   business licenses, that kind of thing. I started off teaching English to immigrant families. I made cassette tapes translating Chinese into English. When I was in the military, I got to go to a lot of countries, but I never took the time to meet the people. So now I get the best of both worlds.

When you are not protecting us or helping international students and faculty, what do you do in your own time?
My wife and I are really involved with our kids and Boy Scouts—both our sons are in scouts. That eats up a lot of our time. I have a large vegetable garden at home. We have a lot of pets on our property, so that keeps us busy.  That is pretty much what we do.