The community is losing one its best University Police officers to retirement soon.

Sgt. David Wickstrom is retiring after 25 years as a UP officer, just before his 50th birthday. He began his career here at NIU in 1978 as a patrol officer and now is a shift supervisor. He originally was a sociology student here at NIU but had planned on being a police officer since he was 12 years old, Wickstrom said.

Wickstrom has had many positions throughout the years.

“In my time here, I spent seven years as a detective doing major case follow-ups, interviews and interrogations,” Wickstrom said.

He currently is a shift supervisor for the patrol division at UP and is responsible for the supervision of the patrol officers’ actions and the reports that they write. Throughout his 25 years patrolling on a college campus, Wickstrom has seen just about everything that there is to offer.

“I wish that I’d kept a journal with me from day one,” Wickstrom said. “I’ve seen lots of things in my day.”

The camaraderie between the police officers is something he’ll miss the most, Wickstrom said. Since 1978, he has been a part of family of officers that have always been a part of his life.

“One thing that I won’t miss is missing events with my family and not being with them on holidays,” Wickstrom said. “I plan on spending more time with them, and also trying to watch every single Cubs game possible.”

Not being around for family parties and missing holidays has been the hardest part of the job for him.

“I’m also going to miss the everyday challenges that come with the job. Every day there’s something different and some new challenges,” Wickstrom said.

Change is something that Wickstrom is going to have to get used to, seeing that today is the first day of his retirement. This new change is something that Wickstrom is welcoming with open arms.

“It’s going to be a big adjustment not being here, I’ve spent half my life here,” Wickstrom said. “I have no regrets though; I’d do it all over again if I could.”