Officer Dan Llorens, some may know him as the officer who never misses a waving opportunity when he sees you, or the one who brightens your day in the morning with his music peacefully playing and echoing throughout campus. Although those attributes are very valuable, it is crucial to look behind the scenes and under the surface in order to identify additional qualities of someone that aren’t as visible as others. Not only does Officer Llorens exhibit great enthusiasm for life day to day, he is also a man of his word, who is devoted to his family, to God and to his job.
Officer Llorens started working at Wesleyan in 1999. Llorens said, “My younger brother originally started this part time job and he asked me to work a basketball game one day for Wesleyan. At the time I was working as a detective in the special victim’s unit and honestly, I did not want to do it. But, it ended up being a ball and a few years later it turned into a 5 day out of the week job.” Llorens certainly became a very important part in the Wesleyan community and overtime meaningful relationships were formed. He said, “It definitely became much more than a job, I worked it a lot and it became more important to me. I enjoy coming to Wesleyan every day and why not have a job that you find fun.” One of Llorens’ biggest strengths is his ability to put a smile on the faces of people around him.
Not only does Officer Llorens work around children at Wesleyan but he also teaches a program called Teen victim impact program for the courts in Gwinnett also known as “It won’t happen to me!”. Llorens said, “The founder Bill Richardson created this program after we worked a fatality over in the Snellville area. A girl had her license for four days and was killed in a car accident because of a small driving error.” This shows the importance of awareness and it sends a great message to high schoolers at Wesleyan and other schools around the world.
One of the most talked about subjects currently in our country has to do with the amount of school shootings there have been recently. The hours of Officer Llorens and other officers worldwide increased as more traumatic events happened. Llorens said, “After the shooting incident in Connecticut those hours went from 2 to 10 to 8 to 6. As the world changes so do we.” Police officers can’t maintain the same set of rules and standards for the rest of eternity because as time progresses people change and the ways of life change.
Llorens said, “Then I realized the great responsibility that we had, and it wasn’t so much the realization of the great responsibility but the realization of the expectation of the people here in the Wesleyan community.” The awareness of these expectations formed a certain list of standards law enforcement officials had to pass in order to be able to work at Wesleyan. Llorens said, “Usually in the department you just send out an email attaching all PD users and whoever answers first gets to work the job. But I really prayed about every person I hired, and I tried to bring up a reliable group of people. I didn’t want a police officer here with less than 15 years of experience, I didn’t want anyone working here who wasn’t a Christian since this is a Christian school in name and philosophy and I wanted officers here who were family men with children.” Going off of these guidelines Officer Llorens was able to create a structured and positive environment. A place that was and still is full of safety and love from those around.
A very positive and encouraging feeling is the feeling of being welcomed. Llorens said, “I feel as much part of the community as anyone who works here or who goes to school here or who has kids here.” The image of a police officer at a certain location reduces the chances of criminal activity. Everyone should feel safe at school, but recent school shootings have threatened that mindset. “A police presence on campus is to ensure the safety and security of everyone here on campus”, Llorens said.
Officer Dan Llorens: enthusiastic, caring, authoritative and a man who deserves to be recognized in the Wesleyan community. Thank you for everything you and your entire team of officers does for Wesleyan.
