Sheron Adam’s life has taken a couple of unexpected turns over the past 30 years, but the Detroit Police Department retired corporal remains steadfast, focused and positive as she ventures into a new world she didn’t choose.
Adams joined the Detroit Police Department in April 1998. “I never had really thought about a career in law enforcement, but the Lord woke me up one night and chose it for me,” she explains. At the time, she was a track and field coach at a high school in Detroit and was thinking about a career in teaching. “But the Lord had other plans for me.”
As a police officer, Adams served in what she describes as “very aggressive units.” She was the only female officer to work undercover in narcotics and ended her career in the child abuse unit. “Never once did I wake up and say, ‘I don’t want to go to work today,’” she reflects. “I had a very rewarding career.”
As the years passed, Adams started thinking about life after law enforcement. Her goal was to retire when she reached 30 years with the Detroit Police Department but that was too young to stop working.
It was around this time that she heard about an accelerated degree program with Cleary University, but she was apprehensive. It had been dozens of years since she was in school, and she had two young boys and a demanding career. How could school fit with this life?
“I always wanted my degree, but it skipped away from me and before I knew it, that degree was on the back burner,” she recalls. But Cleary sounded feasible, she learned, and it was time to start thinking about her next career.
Classes were held in Detroit police headquarters, just a walk down the hall from her office. “Cleary set up the ideal opportunity and location for police officers; this was a no-brainer to go back to school,” she notes.
“I remember my orientation day when Dr. Regina Banks-Hall (Dean of Graduate Studies) told us to close our eyes for a moment and then open them. ‘That is just about how fast you will have your degree,’ she told us, and she was right.” That one year went by very quickly, and before Adams knew it, she had completed her BBA.
One week later, she started working toward her master’s at Cleary. The decision to continue her education was not planned, but as she watched a fellow officer receive her master’s hood at commencement, Johnson said right then, “I’m getting one of those too.” One year later, she completed her master’s degree!
On April 28, 2024, as Adams was leaving her home to have her hair braided for the Cleary graduation ceremony on May 3, her life drastically changed in less than 20 minutes. A tragic accident left her paralyzed. Adams was three years short of reaching her 30 year goal with the police department.
Flo Jo, as her colleagues called her because she was a runner and spent a lot of time working out in the gym, was gone physically. She wasn’t sure how she was going to handle her new life and how others would view her.
“I didn’t want anyone to see me this way,” she says, so she chose a reclusive life for a while to grieve, heal, and figure out what to do next in her life. Two years passed, and another Cleary commencement ceremony was fast approaching. She was very apprehensive about attending the celebration, but, with a great deal of hesitation, she decided it was time to have the world see her again.
As she entered the tunnel that led into the arena at Eastern Michigan University, Adams was overwhelmed by her welcome. Instead of unwanted stares, “people were cheering and shouting, ‘you can do this!’” It was then that Flo Jo’s courage returned. “I was ready to handle whatever would come my way. There were no more excuses,” she said to herself.
Crossing the stage to receive her master’s degree was “powerful, impactful and emotional,” she describes. “I was expecting applause and flowers at my retirement from the police department,” but instead she received a bouquet on the commencement stage from Detroit Police Chief Todd Bettison along with enthusiastic cheers from her fellow graduates and every single person attending the ceremony. “It touched my heart deeply to feel so much support,” she says.
“Cleary has helped me in so many ways,” she reflects. “Cleary opened a door that showed me what the next chapter of my life could look like after I completed my degree, and now, Cleary can offer me another path. I hope to pursue my doctorate from Cleary, and I expect to be one of the first students enrolled in the program when it begins,” she says with confidence.
After she obtained her bachelor’s degree, out of curiosity, Adams checked out the job site, Indeed, to see if she was marketable, and she happily was surprised by the number of job opportunities that came her way. “My degree from Cleary was very valuable,” she learned. Adams especially is proud to announce that she was able to join Zeta Phi Beta Incorporated, a national and highly respected sorority that requires members to have a bachelor’s degree. “Thanks to Cleary, I am a proud member of this sorority that has been a lifelong dream of mine!”
In looking into her future, Adams chooses to fill it with positive thoughts. “Every day, I am fighting to regain any part of my life; I am focused on healing and finding myself again. And when the Lord sees fit, I will make my way back home to Mississippi where I was born,” she says with hope.
