Metal badges, tactical vests and essential equipment. Going to bed that day, these officers would receive one more addition to their gear: a distinguished award.
On Sep. 23, 2025, School Resource Officer (SRO) Cameron Kolmer, alongside Kellam High School’s SRO Christopher Crescenzi, received commendation from the Virginia Beach City Public School Board and the Life Saving Award from their deputy chief for helping a student in crisis.
“I felt great [receiving the award], absolutely, but I felt weird because we don’t do it for the glory or to put it on a trophy mantle; we do it because it’s what we want to do,” Kolmer said.
Prior to the recognition, Crescenzi received a report from a guidance counselor at Kellam for a student who was suspected of harming themselves. Crescenzi called Kolmer for assistance in contacting the student.
“[The counselors] attempted to contact the student’s parents, but they didn’t answer. [Crescenzi] called me for some assistance to go out to [the student’s house] to check on their well-being,” Kolmer said.
When they arrived at the students’ home to check on them, they fortunately found them in good condition. Responding accordingly, Kolmer talked to the student, asking appropriate questions for when a student is in crisis.
“We get about 40 hours of scenario training on how to ask questions when people are in crisis. With some of those questions, we ended up obtaining that they did make an attempt on their life,” Kolmer said.
Kolmer claims that they then urged the student to go to the hospital to make sure their health was not at risk. With initial hesitancy from the student, the officers acted in time and got the student services they needed.
“[Resource officers] are important as they know what to do during those times [where help is needed]. They can help teachers and students alike to make them feel safe,” sophomore Siya Depu said.
Wanting to follow his parents’ path in the legal department, Kolmer was driven towards law enforcement for the ability to make an impact quickly. Initially, Kolmer never expected to be an SRO at all. He filled in as a temporary officer at first, but soon decided to stay.
“Never in a million years did I think I ever would be an SRO,” Kolmer said. “I filled in temporarily and then a week turned into two weeks, turned into three, turned into the rest of the year, turned into ‘Hey, do you want to stay here?’”
Though having only met Officer Kolmer this year, Principal Leslie Ittner felt proud of him and appreciated his actions.
“Even though we just met, I felt extremely proud of Officer Kolmer — proud that he comes to work every day, gets to do something he loves and gets to share his passion with our students,” Ittner said.
Despite receiving this award, Kolmer believes that his job is a duty, not a competition.
“We signed up to do this job because we want to help people, and we don’t expect anything in return for it,” Kolmer said.
