Stonington ― A local woman who is a 2019 graduate of Stonington High School was among three new patrol officers sworn in during a ceremony at the police department on Monday.

“I applied other places, but I think I always wanted to serve the community I grew up in,” Julia Rich said.

Rich, 22, of Pawcatuck, was sworn in alongside Austin Beebe, 21, of Groton and Andrew Bailey, 33, of Westerly.

“I grew up with my father being a police officer,” she said. “I was always really inspired by his work.”

Rich comes from a long line of police officers. In addition to her father, Ledyard Police Chief John Rich, both of her grandfathers were also police officers, and she made the decision to follow in their footsteps while still in high school.

She holds a bachelor’s degree in criminal justice from the University of Tampa in Florida.

Bailey, a former engineering technician for a medical device manufacturing company, said he has thought about being a police officer for several years, but until recently the timing was not right for his family.

He recently bought a house in his hometown of Westerly, where he lives with his wife and teenage son. He said that has allowed him the opportunity to go to the police academy.

“Now that we’re settled, I’ve been able to pursue that,” Bailey said.

Beebe, a recent graduate of Western New England University in Springfield, Mass., said he has been interested in a career in criminal justice since he began watching crime shows on television with his mother as a young child.

Last May, he accepted a position as a community service officer with the Waterford Police Department, which gave him more insight into police work.

“I got to see how much more there is to a police department than can be seen from the outside,” Beebe said.

He said the opportunity to serve the community was a big part of his decision.

“You just get to help in any little way, even if it’s a minor issue. That was a huge thing for me,” he said.

Deputy Chief Todd Olson said Monday that the three officers will begin attending the Connecticut Police Academy on July 7. After their six months at the academy is completed, they will complete three months of field training in Stonington.