Not only did Katie Begley ’19 graduate from the Connecticut State Police Academy, but she was chosen by the class as its speaker for the August 8 ceremonies. 

“She has always wanted to serve her country and the community, and this is how she chose to do it,” said her father Mike, a retired Manchester, N.H., police captain and now a campus safety officer at Loomis Chaffee. 

Mike pinned the badge on Katie in what he said was an emotional moment. “Just very proud of her,” he said. “She went through an academy far more difficult than mine." 

Katie’s training program was 28 weeks, twice what Mike went through before he became an officer in Concord, N.H., in 1994. 

“For her to get to that point is a remarkable achievement,” Mike said.  

In her speech, Katie talked about honor, courage, and commitment as three important qualities of a state trooper. She also spoke about the bonds she and her police academy classmates developed. “Ladies and gentlemen,” she said in closing, “it is with great pride that I stand with my family, the 135th training troop. We were forged in fire and will serve with pride.” 

Serving is an esteemed value in the Begley family. Katie’s mother, Lisa, has been a nurse for over 30 years, including more than 20 at Boston Medical Center, where she worked in the aftermath of the 2013 Boston Marathon bombing. For Mike, the line from President John F. Kennedy’s 1961 inaugural address — “Ask not what your country can do for you; ask what you can do for your country.” — resonates. 

Mike said the Kennedy line played out for Katie in various leadership capacities along her journey: She served on the Student Council in middle school and then at Loomis Chaffee, where she also captained the field hockey and softball teams and co-founded the school’s athletic association. After Loomis, Katie attended the University of Michigan, where she earned three letters in field hockey and won a coveted team award as a senior, the Brian Fishman Award, which goes to “the player who displays the characteristics of hard work, passion for what she is doing, and a pursuit of excellence." Katie graduated from Michigan in 2023. 

In the 2019 Loomis Chaffee yearbook, The Confluence, she thanked her family for their “support and belief in me” and the faculty and staff for “giving me the opportunity to prove that my work ethic can surpass any obstacle.” She also chose to highlight some words of wisdom from Winnie the Pooh, including, “You’re braver than you believe, and stronger than you seem.” 

Those are fitting words for someone who went through the grueling training academy and now is part of the State Police. Katie is assigned to Troop B in North Canaan.