Wafeeq Sabir

TCC Adjunct Professor Wafeeq Sabir was a fast-food restaurant manager in Houston when one harrowing incident changed his life. He was confronted by an armed gunman, and suddenly a prophecy frequently made about the business was fulfilled.

"When you get robbed, and you will," said Sabir, who teaches sociology at Southeast Campus. "That's what everyone told me. It's not a matter of 'if' but when."

Contemplating his future, Sabir responded to a Fort Worth Police Department recruiting ad and knew he had to give law enforcement a try. His assignment to Fort Worth's acclaimed gang unit placed him front and center of escalating gang problems in the city's middle and high schools.

An author and researcher on social change, Sabir lectured parents, teachers and community leaders about the destruction brought on by street criminals. And, he used his skills as a rapper to reach students from Fort Worth to Europe.

"Society will never totally eradicate gangs, but the public is becoming more aware," said Sabir, who holds a doctorate from Minneapolis-based Capella University. Schools, he said, must become safe zones, and education can transform at-risk students.

"I like the interaction with the students," he said. "I just want to take whatever blessings God showers down," said Sabir, nearing his 25th year as a police officer. "I still have this desire to reach back into the community -- not just have these degrees and step on these platforms. I really feel I need to make an impact."

By Debra Dennis