Benny Westcott
On Tuesday, July 6, Trevor Sundquist started as a new officer at the Sweet Home Police Department.
The 22-year-old Hillsboro native was exposed to the life at a young age.
“My neighbors growing up were a family of police officers in the Portland metro area,” Sundquist said. “My family is really close with them [his parents are both in emergency medical services], so I got to do some ride-alongs with them and really get involved in that whole situation.”
He got an even closer look at a first-responder profession at Century High School, when he enrolled in a fire science program through Tualatin Valley Fire & Rescue during his junior and senior year.
“It was a great opportunity for someone that young to get into the first-responder field and see how that whole dynamic works,” he said. “I kind of thought it was important to see both sides, especially with a department that I’ll probably be working very closely with throughout my career.”
While in high school, Sundquist stayed active by playing baseball, basketball and football.
After graduation, he attended the University of Montana, where he majored in welding and fabrication technologies, a skillset he has used as a hobby rather than a career. He also played shortstop and third base for the Grizzlies’ club baseball team.
After college, Sundquist moved home and worked at Providence Portland Medical Center.
He said he worked there “to get [his] law enforcement career started” and then was “lucky enough to get this job” in Sweet Home.
“This place is great,” he said. “I’ve always loved Sweet Home and the people that I’ve been able to become friends with here. I don’t really plan on going anywhere else.”
Sundquist spent a lot of time in Sweet Home while growing up, visiting family and friends in the area. He also volunteered at the Oregon Jamboree multiple times and occasionally helped out at the senior center.
“It’s a very welcoming place to be,” he said of the town. “It’s almost like becoming a part of a new family.”
Sundquist said the most fulfilling part of the police profession for him is “being able to help all the people in your community, especially a community that you’re able to live in and become a part of. Being a voice and a light in the darkness to help people that really need help is definitely the most rewarding part of this job.”