Andrew Tower (left) and his father, Anthony Cozza, stand under the Blue Water Bridge in Port Huron in November 2020, a month after Cozza’s retirement. Luie Escalera III.
By Willow Symonds
Staff Writer
Andrew “Drew” Tower felt comfortable at Washtenaw Community College due to the “small size and friendly student environment.” The short distance from his home to campus also allowed him the flexibility to commute while working part-time.
In the fall of 2011, he took the Introduction to Criminal Justice class.
“The subject fascinated me […] and I found a good group of friends during class,” he told The Voice. “We had diverse backgrounds. We talked about our classes, our interests, our pasts, and where we saw ourselves in the future. We formed a great bond throughout our journey at WCC.”
His favorite classes were taught by instructors with work experience in the criminal justice field.
“For example,” he explained, “I had police officers, judges, and attorneys teach many of the classes I took. […] The instructors had interesting stories to draw from in support of the class material.”
Tower graduated with honors in December 2012 with a Criminal Justice Associate’s Degree.
With his newfound credentials, he worked jobs in this field, such as a police cadet in the Novi Police Department, an intelligence operations center technician for Schoolcraft Community College, and more. He held these jobs before and during his transfer to Eastern Michigan University in summer 2013. A year later, he graduated with his Bachelors in Criminology, Cum Laude, and he became a Trooper for the Michigan State Police.
Today, his job title is customs and border protection officer.
The Department of Homeland Security created the U.S. Customs and Border Protection branch (C.B.P.) in March 2003 in response to the 9/11 terrorist attacks.
Tower’s father, Anthony Cozza, retired last year as a Supervisory Customs and Border Protection Officer after 30 years of service.
“I feel honored to follow in his footsteps,” Tower said.
Tower began working as a C.B.P. officer three years ago, and he says that every hour of the workday is different.
In the same day, he could interview and inspect people traveling from Canada and also search vehicles, merchandise, and luggage referred for closer examination. When they find illegal drugs and weapons, they seize these objects and arrest the travelers who’d attempted to smuggle prohibited goods across the border.
Tower said that he is, “still learning and probably will be until [he] retires.”
Sometime in the future, Tower hopes to work overseas in any of the countries C.B.P. allows, such as Ireland, Aruba, the Bahamas, Bermuda, or the United Arab Emirates. He would like to expand his job knowledge and take the opportunity for him and his family to experience life in another country.
He credits WCC for where he is now.
“It was a good balance of learning and fun,” Tower said. “I had really cool instructors and great friends I made there, and I have […] a college experience that I look back fondly on.”
