The historic Atlantic City Boardwalk has three new faces walking the beat this summer, marking a major expansion of the Stockton Atlantic City Summer Experience.
Starting July 1, Stockton University criminal justice students Hannah Ellicott, Ryan Rafter and Josh Llancari officially stepped into their roles as Class II police officers with the Atlantic City Police Department (ACPD). The trio represents the first cohort of law enforcement participants in the university’s five-year-old “Live-Work-Learn” program, which provides students with local employment, career readiness, and free housing right by the beach.
For the students, landing a spot in the prestigious Tourism District Unit required immense discipline. To qualify, they had to balance end-of-semester exams while enduring a grueling nine-week, 12-hour-a-day, seven-day-a-week training regimen at the Cape May County Police Academy.
“It’s a great opportunity to work on the Boardwalk,” Ellicott, a senior criminal justice major from Fredon, said. “I’m really excited to get started. I’m not nervous. It’s been a great experience and a great privilege.”
Watching her first day on the job was her father, Mitch Ellicott, a retired Sussex County Sheriff’s Department detective lieutenant. “I’m very proud. I know she put a lot of work into it,” he said, donning his own uniform. “She kept her nose to the grindstone and got it done.”
For Rafter, a Kenilworth native currently enrolled in Stockton’s accelerated 3+2 dual-degree program, the deployment is a literal childhood dream come true. Meanwhile, Llancari, a junior from Wildwood, highlighted the unique perks of the program, noting that living in a Boardwalk residence hall just five minutes from his shift—completely rent-free—was an opportunity “you can’t beat.”
The integration of the ACPD into the summer experience has been in development since last summer. Alex Marino, director of academic operations for Stockton’s Atlantic City campus, collaborated with Atlantic City Police Chief James Sarkos—a 1999 Stockton graduate—and Jacquelyn Suarez, commissioner of the New Jersey Department of Community Affairs, to secure financial backing for the initiative.
Sarkos views the partnership as a vital pipeline for future recruitment.
“We wanted to offer an opportunity where Stockton students can stay in Atlantic City in this beautiful dormitory on the Boardwalk and get real policing experience,” Sarkos said. “Most of our full-time officers start as Class IIs. If they are interested in pursuing a full-time career with us once they graduate and get their degree, we would love them.”
The students are also following in the footsteps of their instructors. Stockton Criminal Justice Instructor Rick Mulvihill, who taught all three students as well as Sarkos years prior, began his own 26-year policing career walking the exact same Atlantic City Boardwalk beat.
The Stockton Atlantic City Summer Experience has evolved into an economic powerhouse for the region. Over the past five summers, the program has:
- Partnered with 24 local employers, including regional casinos and AtlantiCare.
- Employed more than 1,000 students in seasonal positions.
- Generated $2 million in housing revenue for the university.
- Led to permanent, post-graduation employment for approximately 30% of participants.
“This program leans strongly into our position as an Anchor Institution in southern New Jersey,” Brian Jackson, Stockton’s vice president for Community Engagement said. “It allows us to grow our relationships with our employer partners, sometimes introducing them to our talented pool of students for the first time.”
With the successful rollout of the law enforcement track, university and city officials are already looking at options to expand the program next summer, providing even more students a direct pathway into public service.
