Governor Hochul: “4,000 individuals applied and had hoped to be sitting right where you are at this very moment. Less than 1,200 were processed, and you are the elite — the very elite — 181 who made it here. That's less than one percent. That's extraordinary.”

Hochul: “I'm asking you to dive deep into your soul and show that compassion. When you go to a crime scene, people need you, not just to protect, but to make them feel they're going to be okay because you care about them.”

Earlier on Oct 17th, Governor Kathy Hochul joined Superintendent Steven G. James in honoring 181 new State Troopers as they graduated today from the 215th session of the Basic School of the New York State Police Academy. The ceremony was held at the Empire State Plaza Convention Center in Albany. Today’s graduation increases the State Police ranks to 5,183 sworn members.

VIDEO: The event is available to stream on YouTube here and TV quality video is available here (h.264, mp4).

AUDIO: The Governor’s remarks are available in audio form here.

PHOTOS: The Governor’s Flickr page will post photos of the event here.

A rush transcript of the Governor’s remarks is available below:

Good morning. I want to thank our Superintendent, Steven James — fairly new on the job with 32 years of experience living the life of all of you as a member of the State Police. Let's give him another round of applause and thank him for his lifetime of service.

My partner in government, our Lieutenant Governor Antonio Delgado, I want to thank him for everything he does representing us so well throughout the entire State of New York. Let's give him a round of applause as well. I know we're also joined by the NYPD Interim Commissioner Donlon, I want to welcome him to Albany for this important occasion.

We also have our great representatives, Trooper Matthew Weinholtz, the class representative, Lieutenant Phillip Hurst, the officer in charge of Basic School, congratulations for presenting this outstanding class to us and always reminding us of the presence of God in our lives and protecting us as we wake up beginning of the day and close our eyes at night.

I want to thank Reverend Christopher Carrara for his leadership of not just the Church, but also for what he does for our State. Please, let's give him a round of applause as well. You'll be hearing from Imam Abdul-Rahman Yaki. I want to thank him from the Islamic Center. You'll be hearing from him in a few minutes — Imam Yaki, as well.

We have many elected officials here. I want to give them a special shout out to, particularly my partners in State government for what they do every single day. But, my friends, this is not about all of us. It's not about the people on the stage. It's about every one of you, and today is a day you're never going to forget.

Yes, you look very somber. I hope there's festivities waiting for you when you leave here today, but you've been through a lot. For some of you, it might be the culmination of a lifelong dream. Perhaps, you grew up in a law enforcement household, had a parent, an aunt or an uncle who served, and you said, “I want to do that someday.”

For others, it just came later in life. You decided you wanted to go through the rigorous training involved and put yourself out there because there's something within you that drove you to this place today, and I honor that extraordinary spirit of public service.

But also, this is available for all to apply to. In fact, 4,000 individuals applied and had hoped to be sitting right where you are at this very moment. Less than 1,200 were processed, and you are the elite — the very elite — 181 who made it here. That's less than one percent. That's extraordinary. Your class number is 215, built to survive. Yes, you have already survived a great deal to be in this audience today.

You made it through grueling training, the early morning wake up calls, the late night legal studies — all of you could probably pass the bar exam because you have to know so much about our laws. And today it all pays off as you join the most prestigious law enforcement group, one of the very best in the nation.

The New York State Police, I'm so proud to say, are the best of the best. Let's give all of our members sitting here and all those out there protecting the streets, let's give a round of applause to the New York State Police.

As I reflect on some of the rigors I just mentioned, the early hours, the incredibly challenging workouts, I've spent a lot of time in vehicles with members of the State Police detail. I was Lieutenant Governor — since 2014, every single day, they're at my side, taking me to all corners of the State, and you get a chance to see them as people.

You tell stories, you talk about your favorite sports teams, we get into some arguments back and forth, that's all good, and even to this day. But when I asked them what was the toughest part of being a member of the State Police after the training — what was the hardest about the training — it wasn't anything I mentioned, it was the separation from their families.

I'm going to take this moment to honor the families: The moms and dads, the husbands, the wives, the brothers and sisters, and in some cases, the children, who for six months had to be part of this journey and allow them to leave. And they would talk about what it was like on a Friday when they finally were reunited with their families. The joy, the anticipation and the celebration. Then by Sunday night, it was like, “We all felt like, ‘Monday's here, we have to go back to school.’” You put up with that, yourselves.

But the sacrifice of your families is what I want to focus on for a second. I believe that these individuals are sitting here today because something happened in their upbringing: A spark of belief in this country and the State, and knew that they're worth fighting for and protecting.

Now, it might have happened during dinnertime conversations. They may have seen their own parents involved, maybe on the way to a baseball game or a softball practice — something you did taught them to be better than the rest. And I honor that in parenting. I'm a parent too, and I happen to know that if your kids screw up, they're going to blame the parents. This is your day to be proud and take the credit. To the family members who are here today, let's give all of you a round of applause. Applaud your family members.

I spent 14 years in local government. One of my responsibilities was to interview and hire members of our local police force, including a number of chiefs of police. What I looked for was not just the training, not just the knowledge that this is a very special calling, but those who also have the humility to be able to go into a situation and put that person who's looking to you for some support and some guidance, and to make them feel okay.

Whether it's the mother with the screaming child in the back seat — I'm okay with screaming children. I'm a grandma, so don't worry about the baby out there — but imagine on the New York State Thruway, there's been an accident. A mom was run off the road. It's dark, it's scary, and you pull up, and when she sees your face, I'm telling you she's going to be okay because you showed up and you give her that smile, you give them that compassion.

I'm asking you to dive deep into your soul and show that compassion. People need you, not just to protect, but to make them feel they're going to be okay because you care about them. That is what I look for in my officers. That's what I'm looking for in my State Police. So never lose that sense of humility and compassion that drives many of us to serve in so many different ways, and every trooper has a different story. You come from every corner of the State. I'm from Western New York. I spent a lot of time — I was in Long Island two days ago, I'm here in Albany now, I'll be in New York City in a couple of hours. I understand this state.

But, when you go back home and you've graduated from this academy, your former classmates in high school, your buddies, your girlfriends, they're going to look at you differently. They're going to look at you differently. And even strangers you don't know — there's going to be little girls who look at the women in this force and think, “Maybe me too.” Or a person of color back home who didn't think they had a chance to rise out of some tough circumstances. Or the rural poor kids in the southern part of our state, the North Country.

I know these areas. But when you go back home, be proud. But maybe do something else. Encourage more. Encourage more to answer that calling that's available to everyone, as I said. But it takes a truly special person. So you are also our ambassadors as you go out into your communities and show the pride you have and the dignity and the honor that you bring to your uniform.

Do that every single day and not just the 1,000 more individuals that have been hired in my three years as Governor. We're going to continue to enhance our ranks because I'm going to continue supporting law enforcement, whether it's our local police organizations who are fighting crime on the streets, to all of you.

Because there was a time in our society, not that long ago, when people talked about defunding the police, and disrespecting them, and dishonoring them. I said my first days as Governor of the great State of New York, those days are over. We have respect for you. You respect the law, your position, individuals, you are entitled to respect in return from all of us. And that is the world that you are entering now.

Let me close with this. I'm counting on you. I'm putting a lot of weight on your shoulders right now. I can do that, I'm the Governor. I want you to, number one, never forget the awesome feeling you have right now — a little nervous, I know. When you walk out of here, never lose that sense of awesomeness of being here, today — whether you're here 10 years, 20 years, hopefully 30 plus years. When you're part of this family, you're part of us forever.

Number two, know that your Governor appreciates you so deeply. And the sacrifice of the families I just mentioned. And number three, know that you are part of something extraordinarily special. And that there are those who want to be here. And don't forget those that were here, and we lost. In May, we'll gather again at the site of the Police Officers Memorial.

It's usually a sunny, beautiful day, which doesn't mask the tears as we add more names to the wall. Honor those individuals every single day with your service to your community and to your state. I pray that God keeps you safe in his hands. It gives you guidance, makes you be the very best you can be, and I know you will.

May God bless all of you, may God bless this great country, and may God bless the great State of New York. Thank you very much and congratulations.