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Zoom Into Your Career: Caring for Communities With Lt. Rod Sanders

Zoom Into Your Career

K20 Center | Published: October 1st, 2026 by K20 Center

Summary

[This career is in the Law, Public Safety, Corrections, and Security Career Cluster.]

Lieutenant Rod C. Sanders has been a police officer with the University of Oklahoma Police Department since 2003. He is currently a patrol lieutenant on the day shift. Lieutenant Sanders is the SWAT Commander for OUPD and a member of the Joint SWAT Team with Norman Police Dept and OUPD, where he serves as a Crisis Negotiator.

Zoom Into Your Career videos were recorded during a live webinar event where a practicing professional shared about their career, day-to-day job functions, and educational pathway. These webinar recordings include the professional's Career Talk as well as a live Q&A using submitted student questions.

Topics covered by the interview include:

  • Job title and description
  • Speaker's path to their current career
  • Example(s) of education required for the career
  • Challenging and enjoyable aspects of their job
  • Advice for students interested in learning more about or pursuing this career

Standards

Educator Standards 6–12 (6th - 12th)
E.S.4.2: Introduce students to career clusters and pathways, helping them connect their interests, skills, and academic strengths to potential careers and the educational requirements needed to achieve them. Facilitate activities like career exploration projects or discussions with professionals in relevant fields.
E.S.5.1: Highlight connections between academic content and real-world applications in postsecondary settings to make learning more relevant.

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