A local Army recruiter who volunteers with students at the Delaware Area Career Center was promoted earlier this week.
Sergeant First Class Dominic Bloomfield is a recruiter for the U.S. Army and has been volunteering for the past two years at the Delaware Area Career Center, where he helps the law enforcement program students with their physical fitness requirements.
“I want them to understand the emphasis of being physically fit and to understand that if you are going to go into that field that the person to your left or your right is depending on you not only to be physically capable, but mentally capable to handle situations that may be stressful physically or mentally,” Bloomfield said.
DACC South Building Director, Kris Lucas, said that she has a special history with Bloomfield and instructed him more than 13 years ago when she was a teacher at Franklin Heights High School. Lucas said Bloomfield was a “gangly and unfocused young man” as a student in her classes.
“He had a lot of good qualities but wasn’t tapping into them,” Lucas said. “I took an interest in him because I knew he had so many capabilities that he wasn’t reigning in.”
Lucas said she worked with Bloomfield to help improve his studies and said that at his high school graduation ceremony, he specifically asked for her to give him his diploma.
Lucas said she kept tabs on Bloomfield because she knew he was going into the military; but lost track of him for about 12 years. Then two years ago, she was standing at the front door of the DACC South Campus greeting students and was approached by an Army Recruiter who asked if he could help train the police students.
“I didn’t recognize him by sight but he has a distinct voice,” Lucas said. Lucas said as he introduced himself she saw ‘Bloomfield’ on his uniform and asked if it was him and said he gave her a hug when he recognized her.
Lucas said since Bloomfield started volunteering he has become like family at the DACC and has spoken and given various presentations to several other programs besides law enforcement.
“He’s important to the kids and to the staff,” Lucas said. “He’s become a mentor to all these young, formidable students. He’s just got so many powerful qualities of a leader.”
Lucas said seeing Bloomfield go from being her student to mentoring a new generation of students has been a fulfilling experience.
“I would not have been able to excel or push so hard academically if she wasn’t my teacher,” Bloomfield said.
Bloomfield was promoted on Monday to Sergeant First Class and asked Lucas if he could have his pinning ceremony at the DACC because of the bond he has with the students and staff.
“I was so honored he chose this place,” Lucas said.
Bloomfield said he earned the promotion by completing three leadership schools, finishing at the top of his class in two of them and earning the title of honor grad at the third school. He said he was so emotionally overwhelmed at the ceremony and by the showing of the support from the DACC that he could only muster a very short speech when presented the promotion.
“I’m not one to get emotional, but not a lot of people in my family have exceled so to be one of the first in my family to be positively progressing in life was really overwhelming,” Bloomfield said.
In addition to volunteering at the DACC, Bloomfield also speaks and recruits at all the high schools in Delaware County.
