KAITLIN SCHLUTER | arts & culture editor
Three inches and a kilt—two important factors in receiving a job with a police department. That is, at least for Sean Kennedy, the new Chief and Executive Director of Campus Safety.
At the age of 19, the Scottish native applied to a police department in Australia as a General Duties Officer and was turned away because he fell three inches below the department’s six-feet criteria.
Height was keeping him from his career but it was also his main motivation.
“I always wanted to save people for some reason. I was smaller and you have those challenges when people treat you badly,” Kennedy said.
Although Kennedy was ordered out of the line a superintendent stopped him, and filed Kennedy was filed as a “special constable”—someone who fulfills criteria but has additional skills that can be functional. These skills included a set of drums and a kilt. Kennedy has been a drummer for pipe bands since his youth.
Kennedy received the position and played for the Police Pipe Band, but his career in security had just begun.
Kennedy was born in West Berlin before moving to Scotland where he grew up for the next 16 years. Nearing age 17, his family immigrated to Adelaide, South Australia before residing in Western Australia.
His brother in California encouraged Kennedy after he was married to immigrate to America. At the time, he was reading a novel about the biblical character Jonah—a man who was swallowed by a fish for ignoring God’s call.
“I thought if I don’t go, look what’ll happen to me,” Kennedy said.
Kennedy was one of 50,000 applicants who received a green card from the government.
“If God takes you somewhere, even for watering seeds, you better well do it,” Kennedy said.
In California, he worked for Campus Crusade for Christ for nearly five years as a Security Manager. He also played the drums in his church worship band alongside his wife, Karen Kennedy, an independent Christian artist.
For two and a half years he was also a Security Guest Service Manager for Disneyland.
At the beginning of one shift, an oak tree fell on a crowd of 20 to 30 people, including children. Some people that were trapped under the large tree spoke different languages.
“It was a great challenging experience,” Kennedy said.
Bonny Legind, the Office Manager of the Department of Campus Safety has worked closely with past chiefs and says Kennedy “brings smiles.”
“He brings great motivation to us all,” Legind said. “You like coming to work because he’s so positive.”
Legind said Kennedy is personable and shakes hands with everyone he meets.
“He walked all the way over to ASB and invited them over for donuts; as well as two kids outside the office paying a ticket,” Legind said.
Administrative Assistant Christy Morgan who works in Adams Hall had not received the chance to meet with Kennedy until recently.
“Out of nowhere, he asked ‘Did you want to have lunch?’ We spent two hours just visiting,” Morgan said. “He’s got a real focus on customer service, serving students [and] staff, and building relationships with people.”
Kennedy wants to leave an influence through leadership. He admired a former colleague who led with discernment.
Kennedy said, “I would like to be seen in that way, even keeled, to leave that legacy of fairness and exceptional leadership, [to be] someone who people would say ‘I had trust in that person.’”
