Twin sisters police both sides of the border
Alumni & Friends, Winter/Spring 2005
Most people do a double take when they see identical twin sisters Kathryn Parker and Amanda (Parker) Buckley. With the same long blond hair and green eyes, it can be easy to mistake one for the other. Especially now that the twins are police offi cers separated by less than a mile across the Wisconsin-Illinois state border.
“I get asked a lot by people in Beloit, ‘Do you work in two places?’” said Kathryn, a member of the Beloit Police Department. “To which I usually reply, ‘No, that’s my sister, Mandy.’”
The twin sisters have always maintained a close relationship, growing up on the west side of Beloit and later traveling together to UW-Whitewater in 1998 where they both earned degrees in sociology with an emphasis in criminal justice. According to Amanda, the trend has always been for her sister to follow “my lead.”
“Katie originally wanted to be a history teacher, but once I decided to become a police offi cer, she naturally decided she wanted to do the same thing,” Amanda said teasingly.
Kathryn agreed. “We think a lot alike and so when Mandy comes up with a good idea, I tend to agree with her and follow suit.”
Amanda graduated from UW-Whitewater in August 2001 and took a position with the South Beloit Police Department in South Beloit, Ill., that September. Kathryn graduated in December 2001, put herself through the police academy at Milwaukee Area Technical College and then took a job with the Burlington Police Department. A year-and-ahalf later, Kathryn moved into her current position with the Beloit Police Department.
As an offi cer in Beloit, Kathryn works third shift patrolling the streets, “looking for crime.” She said what she enjoys most about her job is the variety and the fact that there’s never really a slow time in the city of Beloit.
“I’m usually pretty busy, especially during the summer months, handling domestic disputes, disturbance calls, you name it,” Kathryn said. “But what I especially love about third shift is that I’m able to drive around and hunt for things out of the ordinary.”
In the smaller city of South Beloit, Amanda keeps busy traveling to all of the city’s elementary, middle and high schools as the school district’s school resource offi cer.
“My job includes dealing with criminal activity and teaching prevention programs on alcohol and drug abuse, as well as gun safety,” said Amanda. “My main goal, though, is to make the students more comfortable with police offi cers and try to make a difference at an early age. It’s very rewarding because I’ve found that the students really do care what you think about them.”
Looking back on their undergraduate experience at UW-Whitewater, both Kathryn and Amanda feel that their internships were most benefi cial to their current professional success.
“My internship with the Green County Sheriff’s Department was the best learning experience I could’ve ever had,” said Kathryn. “I had no idea what I was getting into until I did a ride along and was able to see what it would actually be like out on the streets. That experience reaffi rmed my desire to become a police offi cer.”
Amanda agreed. “You really have to like this job to keep doing it, and an internship can help you fi gure that out. It’s one thing to have classroom knowledge, but it’s another to have real experience and know that you’re ready for anything.” – Melissa DiMotto