Pacific Index

Officer Patrick Tullis shares his thoughts on working at Pacific, and what he does when he’s not wearing the vest

On Labor Day, Officer Patrick Tullis sat down with me in the CPS office located between the Drake and Dunaway House to share some details about his work and personal life. This is where I informed him that I had just consumed my first energy drink ever. In turn, Officer Tullis informed me that he drinks one to two energy drinks per day, and while I applaud him for that, a simple iced tea is all I’ll be having from this point forward. 

Originally from Evansville, Indiana, Officer Tullis moved out to Portland in October 2017. When posed with the comparison of whether or not he liked Oregon over Indiana, he told me that both states are almost like two different worlds, from rolling hills of corn, to mountains and that Western feeling, there’s really no comparing them. 

So, what brought him to Forest Grove?

The aspiration that led to Officer Tullis’ job at Pacific seemingly began his senior year of high school when he found himself alternating between career options. Only when his father, a manager for a security company at the time, offered Officer Tullis a job at a hospital, was he able to find his calling. This career field paved a rather curvy one to Pacific University for Officer Tullis. “I combined all of this experience over the last thirteen years, and coming over here to Pacific, my wife used to work for CPS,” he says. After finding out that Pacific was hiring, he declared, “You know what? I’ll give Pacific a try.” After a year on campus, Officer Tullis says, “I absolutely love Pacific, it’s like a second family for me… or really like a third.” 

Officer Tullis has been working for the university for around a year and month now and, since starting as a CPS officer, he says, “You’re always learning something, even if you think you’re not going to…things are always evolving and you always have to adapt.” He approaches his job with an open mind, able to adapt to the students and any problems that come up. He shares his desire to build rapport with students, connecting with them through thoughtful and open conversations. To form these connections, he shares that he aims to adapt to new environments, break the ice with new people, and bring down communication barriers. Officer Tullis, above all else, doesn’t want students to see CPS and be intimidated by the uniform. “We’re approachable,” he says. “We’re not the boogyman.” One thing that gets overlooked, according to Officer Tullis, is that CPS officers are there for students, and although he can’t help you with your homework, he’s still open to conversation and getting to know you.

So, what does Officer Tullis do during his free time? You heard it here folks, Officer Tullis loves PC gaming, noting that he’s really into the Fallout series. He also expressed a love of table-top gaming, like Warhammer 40000. 

Officer Tullis loves to be outdoors. He spends some of his free time deer and elk hunting, as well as hiking and spending time on the coast. Officer Tullis expresses his love for his family as well, who loves to go to the river and grill. 

 “You might have bad days, and there’s nothing I can do about it, but I’m going to try to help as best as I can,” he says. “You might not see us, but we’re here to help you get where you need to go in life.”