This Texas Tech Police Department corporal and part-time student understands commitment and keeping his goals in sight.
Jeff Bain sees himself as someone who doesn’t mind looking a challenge straight in the eye and refusing to blink.
That determination is part of what spurred his desire to pursue a larger role with Texas Tech University’s Police Department, and it also has underscored his ongoing quest to complete his bachelor’s degree at an age when others don’t necessarily have college classes on their radar.
As you might imagine, these two significant life commitments – vocation and education – require a deft gift for discipline, time management and being able to comfortably say “no” to other worthwhile opportunities knocking at the door of his life.
He is playing the long game, thinking about future chapters of his story that are yet to be written.
That is then, but this is now.
“I always wanted to get my bachelor’s degree at least,” he said. “Coming to Texas Tech obviously opened the door for the opportunity to be an employee and take classes and earn it that way."
Jeff is a third-year student in the Davis College of Agricultural Sciences & Natural Resources. He is a Plant & Soil Science major with a concentration in viticulture and enology.
Progress toward the finish line is slow, but steady, and that’s what matters most in long-distance events. Texas Tech has provided Jeff with the means and opportunity to while balancing a challenging career in his mid-30s.
He typically takes one to three classes per semester, and he said it could be another three to four years before he finishes. However, the smaller academic loads allow him to make sure his police department responsibilities come first, and he has maintained a 4.0 GPA throughout.
“It’s obviously going to take me quite a bit longer, depending on how fast I am able to take classes,” he said. “But I am also enjoying not overwhelming myself with class and work and being able to manage everything to where I am right now.”
This fall 2025 semester, Jeff is taking only one class because he is also working overnight shifts with the police department. The fall is naturally busier for other reasons, including Texas Tech home football games, which require everyone with the Texas Tech PD (and representatives from numerous other law enforcement agencies) to ensure as safe an environment as possible at Jones AT&T Stadium.
“It’s all hands on deck for football,” he said, “every single officer within the department. Basketball games require quite a few of us as well, and there are a lot of events over the course of a year that keep us busy.”
Since joining the police department as a dispatcher in 2017, Jeff has worked his way up to the rank of corporal. He said he felt called to pursue a larger role within the department as an officer in the fall of 2017 following the tragic death of Texas Tech Police Officer Floyd East Jr.
Jeff was not on duty that night, but he was a dispatcher at that time, and the two often worked the same shift.
“After we lost Officer East, it really made me want to continue further into law enforcement,” he recalled. “I had the idea at the time that I wanted to go to the police academy, but that’s what really gave me the push.”
Jeff started as a patrol officer in 2018 and was promoted to patrol shift supervisor and corporal in 2021. He has spent a lot of his time working the night shift on campus, which spans from 10 p.m. to 8 a.m.
As is the case for anyone who works in law enforcement, campus police officers also risk their lives. For example, Jeff was involved in a critical incident earlier this year that resulted in injuries to two fellow officers.
“There was a lot of adrenaline involved that night,” Jeff said. “I looked at my heart rate while we were on an unrelated traffic stop and it was 65, but as I got out of the car and engaged that scene, it went up to 160. It’s all part of the job. You compartmentalize, focus on the situation at hand, and that’s your priority.”
Incidents such as those remind Jeff how dangerous the job can be. There is a lot of territory to cover across Texas Tech’s sprawling campus and a lot of demands to which officers respond.
Consequently, there is no such thing as a “routine” day.
Every day, Jeff provides a briefing to other officers, giving updates from the previous shift and making them aware of incidents that could need additional attention.
Officers then get their assignments for the day and begin patrolling campus. Jeff patrols as well, making traffic stops and going on calls in addition to reading and finalizing necessary paperwork.
“Corporal Bain plays a crucial part in leading patrol operations, mentoring and training officers and maintains professionalism within the department,” said Texas Tech Police Department Assistant Chief Amy Ivey. “He is very passionate about Texas Tech as a whole and community engagement with our campus community. We appreciate his professional qualities that reflect core values of the Texas Tech Police Department and his desire to continue his education.”
For Jeff, the opportunity to serve others makes everything worthwhile.
“One of the things I really enjoy is helping people,” he said. “I remember we have parents who have sent their kids hours away from them, and I am here and able to help them. I want to keep them safe on campus while they are learning and growing here as young adults.”
Jeff grew up in Arlington and attended Tarrant County Community College, where he earned a welding certificate and a small business associate degree. However, several friends were attending Texas Tech, and once he visited them in Lubbock, he fell in love with the campus and the community.
It also didn’t hurt that his wife’s (Ryan) grandfather was the first president of the Llano Estacado Winery, which was founded by several Texas Tech professors in 1976. As it turned out, Ryan had moved to Lubbock a year earlier and began working at the winery.
That’s also part of the long game. Jeff’s personal aspiration is one day to open his own vineyard. There’s no hurry here. It’s a dream out there on the horizon made more tangible by his classes – and by being someone a little older than most of his counterparts.
So, do any of his classmates notice?
“I’m sure they do since I’ve been there in classes for a while,” he said. “But if I put on a hat, I look 10 years younger, so I try to always wear a hat.
“But the students in the Davis College and in Plant & Soil Science have been more than welcoming. I think they knew I was in my 30s, but they just accepted me as one of their own and didn’t mind at all. It’s definitely been great being able to go to class and not feel out of place.”
Along the way, other doors have opened as well. Jeff also serves as an ambassador for the Honors College, one more enjoyable commitment on a full calendar.
“The Honors College reached out to me,” he said. “In high school, I did fine. I went to class and never realized I was Honors College caliber, but they saw the grades I was making my first few semesters and what I had done at community college and they invited me in. I went to the interview and realized I am this caliber. I have thoroughly enjoyed it, especially the camaraderie with Honors College students.
Finally, and just as importantly, Jeff is part of the Staff Senate. He sees it as a way to serve as a voice for other staff members. His term as an (Equal Employment Opportunity) rep for service and maintenance ended in August, but with no one running for one of the vacant positions, the incoming president asked Jeff to stay around.
“That’s how I am in the fourth year of my three-year term,” he said with a smile.
Staying busy is just how Jeff likes it. He puts his work with the police department first and academic obligations next. If he needs some flexibility, he is typically able to get it.
“If I need something, the police department is there,” he said. “I prioritize and just make sure nothing conflicts with the most important things. The thing about Texas Tech is there are plenty of opportunities, and departments are very welcoming when it comes to someone bettering their education. They will work with you and are definitely open to the idea of helping people out.”
