An internship helped attract the Buckhannon Police Department’s newest member

Monica Zalaznik
August 15, 2022

BUCKHANNON – The Buckhannon Police Department welcomed a new member to its ranks this week.

Dylan Major was sworn into his new role at the Buckhannon Police Department on Monday, Aug. 15. Mayor Robbie Skinner said swearing in new members of the city family has always been one of the best parts of his job.

“We’re happy to have you on board, and you have a lot of support here,” Skinner said. “You have a lot of support in this building, and you have a lot of support in the public safety complex. This is a family. When you are on scene, you will be accompanied by fire and EMS, and everybody works together to try to help make the lives of the people who called 911 return back to harmony as soon as possible, so you’re not going to be acting alone and they’re not going to be acting alone.”

Major is working on his last semester at West Virginia Wesleyan College and majoring in criminal justice, with a minor in psychology.

“It’s great to have a Wesleyan connection here at City Hall,” Skinner said. “That adds to all the other Wesleyan connections we have. We have a few people on council who are affiliated with the college, whether they be graduates or employees. My dad worked there for 45 years and just recently retired, so it’s a big part of our community and we’re happy to have a young man who went through college here and has chosen to be a part of our community. So many of us are from here, and have lived our whole lives here, but when you choose to come here, that’s special.”

Major is from Fredericksburg, Virginia, but said he felt at home when he visited WVWC’s campus. Hedid not consider becoming an officer until he interned at the Buckhannon Police Department.

From left to right: Christine Major-Mitchell, Grace Smith, Dylan Major, John Mitchell, Susan Robinson and George Major

“I was not interested in becoming an officer off the bat, but I had my internship with the department last spring and I had an open mind about it,” Major said. “I’m very thankful every day that I have this opportunity to be here.”

The internship motivated him to apply for the open position at the Buckhannon Police Department.

“During the internship, I saw how they do things, and just all the guys and Angel, everybody that works in the department is close-knit, like a family group,” Major said. “I really like that and after three, four weeks, I was like, alright, I’m going to apply and start working.”

While he plans to learn the ropes for now, he hopes to eventually participate in undercover work.

“I’m just looking forward to growing as a person and making this place the best place it can be,” Major said. “Personally, I’d like to like get into undercover stuff eventually, but as of now, I’m just going to the new guy, absorb and soak in everything I can.”