(ABC 6 News) – Tonight was ten weeks in the making. After more than two months of training, they are finally official officers with the Rochester police department.

While many have had different journeys to get here, they’re all excited for the future.

Rochester police welcomed some new faces to the force.

“I’m incredibly proud of our new officers, they are full of just passion, purpose, drive, and determination,” RPD Chief Franklin said.

One of these officers is Nikki Cappelen from Eden Prairie, Minnesota.

While she may be new to the Med city, she’s always known that serving her community has been her passion.

“When I was 14, I joined a program called police explorers and it’s a program for the people 14 to 20 who are interested in law enforcement and I did some ride alongs with some of the officers and I just fell in love with the profession.”

Others are homegrown like Jacob Charlton who’s served in Mower, Wabasha and Faribault counties. He’s excited to be back in Rochester.

“The perspective of law enforcement definitely changes, but I’m ready for it, I’m excited to just get to know the community from a law enforcement perspective and grow as a cop and do my best.”

One by one, their loved ones pinned their badge to their uniform. While recruitment has recently been a challenge for many departments, different programs in Rochester have helped.

“Students going to college can gain some experience while working in a law enforcement agency, while going to school, and then they can work their way up to becoming a full-fledge police officer,” RPD Chief Franklin said.

These new, full-fledge police officers said no matter where they are from, they are ready to serve.

The next step for these officers is to undergo four months of one-on-one field training on the streets with an officer to further prepare them for the job.