Eight police recruits are one step closer to becoming Brownsville police officers.

They graduated from South Texas College's training academy and now have their TCOLE certification.

A dream that puts STC's police academy graduate Luis Ramos a step closer to being a sworn in as a Brownsville police officer.

"It was such a big relief after we got the news that everyone passed the TCOLE," Ramos said. "Because we started as eight, we finished the academy as eight. It was such a big accomplishment for all of us, the Brownsville Police Department and also for STC, for making that accomplishment as a whole."

The academy kicked off in April. The recruits are a part of the first class since STC received its training academy license from the Texas Commission on Law Enforcement.

STC Public Safety Department Chair Victor Valdez Jr. said this group of graduates is a huge accomplishment for the training academy.

"So this is the first class that we were and will be submitting to TCOLE that we have taught a police academy class. So it's really exciting for us," Valdez said.

Being a part of the first class means trying out some of the hands-on training offered in their courses.

"Doing the building searches and the firearms training, the instructors over there had such a passion basically and just teaching everything they wanted to portray in us. So building searches and firearms training and driving on the course was such an amazing experience," Ramos said.

An investment that for Brownsville police shows was worth it for all 8 cadets to get their certification.

Before they can be sworn in, the graduates will have to continue training for the next two months.