By Jennifer Gomori, POJ Editor

Richard R. Weiler Scholarship Award recipient Allison Phillips had to wait to attend the Wayne County Regional Police Training Academy (WCRPTA) because she was too young when she completed enough Criminal Justice college courses.

Phillips was in the Early Middle College Program, studying Criminal Justice at Schoolcraft College while attending Northville High School, beginning in her sophomore year. By the time she graduated high school in June 2024, she was ready to start the academy, but at age 17 the academy wasn’t ready for her.

Photo courtesy of WCRPTA Wayne County Regional Police Training Academy graduate Allison Phillips (right) receives the Richard R. Weiler Scholarship Award from POLC Director Jim Stachowski at the academy graduation May 8, 2025.

“I did not qualify for the academy until age 18,” she said. “I didn’t turn 18 until October. I was in the first graduating class to start this middle college program. This fall semester I took other related Criminal Justice courses to keep me enrolled. Then, this winter, I did the academy.”

The youngest recruit in her class graduated from WCRPTA with a 3.9 GPA. She was selected for the Richard R. Weiler Scholarship Award from among four non-agency sponsored cadets during the May 8, 2025 graduation of 52 recruits. Completing the academy also gave her the final credits needed to receive her Criminal Justice associates degree.

The $500 Richard R. Weiler Scholarship Award, which is sponsored by the POLC, is given twice yearly at the discretion of the police academy to graduates who have not been sponsored by any police agency. Qualifying recruits must pass the Michigan Commission on Law Enforcement Standards (MCOLES) certification test and meet MCOLES employment standards to become certified Michigan Law Enforcement Officers.

“According to the criteria for the (Weiler) Scholarship, she was the number one pre-service recruit,” said WCRPTA Director Erik Tilli. “She did well on all the tests for the whole academy. She was the top candidate overall in most of the skills and she's our first dual-enrollment recruit.” 

“It’s really such an honor,” Phillips said, thanking the POLC for the scholarship named for former POLC Director Richard Weiler, a retired Detroit Police Officer. “He’s just a good example to look up to of leadership and kindness and empathy.”

She was sworn in as a full-time Canton Police Officer on May 19th. The offer was conditional upon her passing the state licensing exam on May 6. “I passed the exam — our whole class did, which is wonderful,” she said.

Soon after beginning her law enforcement career, Phillips had plans to expand upon her profession in service. “I did enlist in the National Guard this last December. I leave for basic training in August,” Phillips said. “I got it delayed until I could graduate. I do 6 months of initial training and after that it’s one weekend a month until my contract is up. I’ll be a full-time police officer while I’m in the Guard. I wanted the training — I decided to that before becoming a police officer.”

As a high school senior, Phillips also completed the EMT training program at William D. Ford Career-Technical Center in Westland. In fact, she wasn’t planning to become a police officer at first. “I always thought it would be a medical route when I started the EMT program,” Phillips said of her career. “I still loved what I did, but I didn’t see myself doing it the next 25 years. (Criminal Justice) was something I had an interest in. It started when I had a ride along with Washtenaw County Sheriff’s Office. It was just a really cool experience.”

“I signed up for this (Criminal Justice) program in my sophomore year because I wanted to sign up for the military, but I wanted experience beforehand,” she said. “Throughout the program the past 3 or 4 years, I’ve really enjoyed learning about it. I had a really good relationship with our School Resource Officer Michael Brown, who is with Northville Township Police Department. He walks around the school a lot, and he’s always available at lunch to talk to him.”

Phillips excelled in academy physical training, receiving the Iron Woman Runner-up certificate awarded by the academy staff at graduation. “The PT (staff) looks at the females and the males separately and sees how they did on their PT throughout the academy and how they did with their three MCOLES Physical Agility Tests. She took second (runner-up) for females,” Tilli said. 

Phillips praised Schoolcraft College's police academy. “It’s a super awesome academy! All the instructors are very passionate about what they do,” she said. “The class was very supportive. Overall, it was a really great experience.”