Beyond the badge: How 1st Sgt. Robert Beckford found his calling at Sumter High
Before the buses pull in and the sun rises over Sumter High School, 1st Sgt. Robert Beckford is already walking the halls - boots quiet on the waxed floors, heart wide open, smile on display as he greets the early drop-offs.
He can hold casual conversation about day-to-day strides and struggles. Or he can do check-ins as simple as, "You good?" But if you've ever been a teenager carrying more than just your bookbag, you know how much weight that question can lift.
A somber "no" is all it takes for Beckford to turn that "no" into help and that help into hope.
It's these transformative interactions that clicked for Beckford - this job, the students, it's his calling.
"It's beyond the badge. Being an SRO [school resource officer] goes way beyond right and wrong," he explained.
Across 27 years, Beckford has donned many uniforms, from a corrections officer in a youth offender facility at 18 to a Sumter Police Department K-9 handler to narcotics to organized crime and so on. But none compared to being "Unc" in a building of more than 2,000 teenagers.
"Being in the schools, this is what my community looks like. This is exactly what my community is going to look like, and so why not be a positive role model?"
A first-generation American raised by Jamaican and Panamanian parents, Beckford was born in Brooklyn, New York, raised in Sumter by way of Shaw Air Force Base and graduated from Hillcrest High School in 1996. Inspired by family members in law enforcement and corrections, he knew the meaning of respect and the weight of expectation, which led him to start his career in law enforcement young. Though the same age as many of the offenders he guarded, he tried to show them the difference between their decision and endless opportunities that await them. Now, at 47, he continues to sharpen young minds while also getting a few pointers from the youngins himself.
That mutual respect - earned, not demanded - is the foundation to Beckford's positive approach at Sumter High. He walks the halls not to be a figure of fear but as an approachable presence. His journey from patrolling the streets to halls came after a weary prayer of wanting to fight for citizens, not with them. Over time, he's had to unlearn what he thought it meant to be an SRO. Unlearn that he's not just here to police the fights. He's there for the kids who don't have someone to look out for them. For the kids who need help finding tutoring. For the kids trying to navigate big emotions with no roadmap.
"I can't do this job without them. They may need me in their times of need, and I just want to be the best," Beckford expressed. "The positivity that you give back is going to be reciprocated tenfold."
The badge is just one piece of who he is. His presence has transformed perceptions, safety protocols and school routines. He's become a thesaurus for the best haircuts, great food spots and sources of laughter the kids tease him about hearing hallways away. Beckford can barely contain his smile when he talks of the thousands of students and staff who've become more like family.
"Security is just one small part of the job. It's the relationship-building that's even more important," he explained.
Like family, those relationships extend beyond the school day. His days beginning at 7 a.m. can last well into the night as he attends every sports game, whether home or away, learning about both the sport and the talented young athletes who play. Further than that, he leads Youth Core, which teaches teens life skills, such as cutting grass, compassion, like caring for elders, and potential careers that serve their city or country.
His fellow brothers and sisters in blue have caught on to the positive impact Beckford's had on students. They often travel to the school to witness it firsthand and provide a second positive interaction with law enforcement.
Beckford doesn't romanticize his work. There are heavy days, ones where he laughs more at school than he does at home. But he gives it all willingly because it's what the students need to see: positivity. In a world where they're often misunderstood, mislabeled or missed entirely, Beckford sees them. And they see him, too.
Not just as an officer, but also as a mentor, a mirror of what's possible when love is louder than fear. Maybe that's what the work really is - standing in the gap, offering grace and leaving students better than when you found them.
So, that simple question wrapped with care, "You good?" could be all it takes to remind someone they still are.