A ten-year veteran of the New Castle County Police department, Officer Nicholas Heitzmann, a senior in the Criminal Justice degree program, has dedicated his life to serving his community at home and abroad.

Most people instinctually run away from danger but Heitzmann has proven himself as someone who does not run when the going gets tough.

A veteran of the U.S. Army, Heitzmann served with the legendary “No Slack” 2^nd Battalion, 327^th Infantry Regiment of the 101^st Airborne.  In 2003, he served as part of the initial invasion forces in Iraq where his unit routinely faced extremely heavy combat as they fought to liberate four cities. After returning home and ending his military service, he still had the desire to serve his community. That’s when he joined the New Castle County Police department.  He has since served in the Patrol division and in the Special Operations division as a member of the Mobile Enforcement team. Heitzmann is now serving as an evidence detection specialist in the Patrol division.

The “No Slack” creed still drives him.  Now a single father to three daughters, ages 6, 8 and 10, he is committed to setting a positive example for his daughters and demonstrating the value of education. Heitzmann jump-started his college career through the College of Online and Experiential Learning, receiving 48 credits for prior learning from his military, corrections officer experience and police academy trainings.  After just two years, he has only six courses remaining to complete his bachelor’s degree and become the first member of his family to earn a college degree.

On his decision to start college at 33, two weeks after a major car accident where his police cruiser was stuck by a dump truck, he said he wanted to teach his girls that in order to achieve life’s goals and aspirations it requires hard work. “Not only physically,” he says, “but mentally and intellectually, too.”

True to the “No Slack” motto, he dusted himself off and earned a place on the Dean’s List in his first semester.