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Jacqueline Robles, the new police chief at Holyoke Community College, was sworn into the role during a ceremony Monday with of the audience waving Puerto Rican flags and cheering.
The event, which took place at HCC's Leslie Phillips theater, had local government officials like Holyoke Mayor Joshua Garcia and State Sen. Adam Gomez, D- Springfield, present as well as police officers from the city's department.
Holyoke’s new police chief, Brian Keenan, was in attendance.
Robles said she feels honored to have been selected.
"I realize that there is a lot of work to do and I can't wait to dive in,” Robles said. “All while, like I mentioned, I just want to empower people, particularly young girls, Latinas, Latinos. It's just been an honor. This is a role...I've been waiting a long time for, so I'm just excited to have been given this opportunity to serve."
Robles worked for 22 years as a member of HCC's campus police team prior to her appointment as police chief. The campus is designated a Hispanic serving institution meaning more than 25% of the student body identifies as Latino.
George Timmons, president of HCC, said he’s excited to be working with Robles as her appointment represents a “new era” in policing at the college.
“Kindness and inclusion are things that we really value here at HCC and our commitment to student success. The fact that she understands and has had her own hardships, and she's from our community and she knows our community, we couldn't be more excited for her appointment,” Timmons said.
Robles said she is ready to do the work in the midst of the Trump istration revoking international student visas recently.
"Everyone should be treated with respect,” Robles said. I have to hold my personal feelings back and focus on what the job entails, but I definitely would make sure that individuals are and will always be treated with that dignity and respect that we all deserve."
President of HCC's student senate Jessicalee Heredia said she feels Robles and the istration will do a good job protecting student's safety in the wake of international students being deported.
"Do I have worry at this institution specifically? No,” Heredia said. “They've been great with a rapid response wraparound. There's constant resources and information posted all around campus. Here, it truly is a safe and inclusive space, so I can come here safely and know that I'm in good hands."
Robles said her first priority is to get the police department accredited and work with the student body on their needs around safety on campus. She succeeds Scott Livingstone, a retired police chief from Amherst, who has been serving as interim police chief at HCC since October 2024.
