BUDA — Johnson High School student Kallina Rodriguez, a Texas Campus Crime Stoppers Student Ambassador, received an award of recognition from the Buda City Council Tuesday, April 15.
According to its website, Hays County Crime Stoppers is an “independent non-profit organization comprised of diverse, active, and dedicated community representatives. Hays County Crime Stoppers has developed a combined effort by local media, businesses, civic and social clubs, law enforcement agencies, and the public to combat crime in our communities.”
Graduating this spring, Rodriguez has been a student ambassador since her sophomore year of high school after submitting an application and completing an interview with a panel of judges. She was the first student ambassador from JHS in Buda, one of three in Hays County and one of 12 ambassadors in the state of Texas.
“You can support law enforcement and stuff and you can report crime [and] things going on within your campus without anybody ever knowing who reported it and to me, that was really intriguing,” said Rodriguez, recalling the reason for joining. “I’ve always been interested in law enforcement and so, it was just something that I was like, ‘Yeah, let's start this on our campus, how can I join and where can I be involved?’”
In order to become a student ambassador, applicants are required to create a project that is then presented at the annual Campus Crime Stoppers Conference.
“These Campus Conferences are planned months in advance and we help to facilitate those conferences to just [decide] topics for what is to be discussed at the conferences and any sessions that we might have as far as speakers,” said Rodriguez. “The project that we are required to do for each year was based on our campus and it’s based off a theme that they have for us. For example, in 2024 it was, ‘What does Crime Stoppers mean to you?’ So, we then go about doing the project and presenting it at our conference. We also help facilitate our Crime Stoppers on campus..”
These conferences are some of Rodriguez’s best memories, as she explained it inspires her to look past the fear of being involved in crime prevention at a young age.
The organization in schools is Campus Crime Stoppers, which is geared specifically toward students and offers an opportunity to report issues, such as drugs, threats and other dangers to the community.
“I learned that it can be difficult, but people truly do want to help and truly do want to make our campuses safer and Crime Stoppers is a great way to do that,” said Rodriguez. “I have learned that people really do want to contribute in any way they can and one thing that has shown this is when we get tips, a lot of the rewards that are supposed to be sent out, we’ll email them like, ‘Hey, your cash is here to be picked up. You have until this time’ … The cash awards are not being picked up, which, to me, shows that people aren’t doing this for the money. They’re doing it out of the goodness of their heart and for the goodness of the community. That’s one thing I learned, that people are willing to help and want to help.”
On Tuesday, April 15, Rodriguez was awarded with a recognition from the city of Buda for her work with Campus Crime Stoppers.
“[The award] just shows to me that these adults in the community are willing to just celebrate the idea of Crime Stoppers and support it, which we want the support of the adults in our community,” said Rodriguez.
Rodriguez plans to attend Texas State University, focusing on aviation with a minor in criminal justice.
“First, I’d like to potentially help Crime Stoppers get started on Texas State [University] campus,” said Rodriguez. “To me, it goes back to the safety of our community and our campus. I think these ideas of doing things for the good of our campus and community, rather than for surface level, like cash, will definitely stick with me in college.”
“Reporting does not mean snitching,” Rodriguez concluded.
To learn more about Hays County Crime Stoppers, visit www.callcrimestoppers.com.
