Every South Carolina state trooper plays an important role in the education of the public. But Corporal William Safford takes it a step further — by volunteering as a substitute teacher on his days off.

“I was extremely nervous the first time I taught,” Safford said of his first time substitute teaching, which came immediately after he got off a night shift patrolling. “You don’t know what you’re getting into off the bat. I wasn’t sure how the kids would respond to me.”

Safford began volunteering in 2023 as a teacher in Aiken and primarily teaches at the elementary school level. Since then, he’s taught in classrooms from kindergarten to high school level and was one of the reasons he was nominated for the Henry C. Harrison Humanitarian Award in 2024, which recognizes current and former Highway Patrol troopers for their civic excellence.

“There is normally a lesson plan or something the kids have to do,” he said, explaining how he knows what to cover in class. “However, those lesson plans don’t necessarily cover the entire block, so we’ll try and come up with things to do.” 

Although Safford is still relatively new to teaching, he has already discovered a few tips and tricks to keep the children entertained and engaged once the lesson plan is complete. 

“I have this game that I learned to play, in which you clap your hands in front of you, and you slowly increase the speed,” he said. “The person you’re playing with has to pass their hand through your hands without hitting it. I found that kids, for whatever reason, especially that younger age group, love to play that game. They’ll line up, and I’ll clap my hands slowly so each of them gets a turn. They get a huge kick out of playing that game.”

Trooper by day, and educator on his off days, Safford’s heroic side with the Highway Patrol isn’t exactly hidden. He doesn’t go out of his way to tell the children about his career, preferring to build a relationship with them first.

 “If they ask, I’m more than happy to tell them,” he said. “They experience me as Mr. Safford, the substitute, before finding out that I’m also Corporal Safford, the state trooper. They already have that idea of my personality and character prior to finding that out. It allows them to understand that law enforcement has a personal side as well.” 

He recalled a first-grade class he had that was rambunctious, and one of the students asked what he did for work outside of substitute teaching.

“I told them that I was a state trooper, and they immediately became very interested in it,” he said. “I made them a promise that if they behaved, I would have a surprise for them.”

The class settled down and finished the day’s lesson. And in keeping his promise, Safford surprised the children by showing them his official badge. He left such a strong impression that when he taught the same class four months later, they immediately recognized him.

 “As soon as I came in the doorway, everyone started yelling, ‘Storm Trooper!’” Safford said, referring to the fictional soldiers in the “Star Wars” franchise. “It was very cool to see that, even though I’m with these kids for a short amount of time, it leaves a lasting impression.”

That lasting impression is what keeps Safford motivated, both on the highways and the classroom. 

That was the case when a fight broke out between two boys during recess one day, Safford recalled. After administrators intervened, Safford took a moment to speak privately with one of the boys.

“I told him that when we let other people’s actions affect our response, then they’ve gotten under our skin and won,” Safford said. “He came up to me later that day, and thanked me for the conversation I had with him. I was able to teach him how to respond and handle things as a human being.”

That lesson, Safford said, is applicable to children as well as adults.

“At the end of the day, nobody should talk to anyone in the way that some people do,” he said. “I’m just trying to be an example and, hopefully, develop them to a point that we have less of that in the world.”

Safford, a father of two, enjoys teaching people about the importance of compassion, respect, and understanding. He even encourages his own children to join him in performing small acts of kindness for others, such as providing directions or helping someone pick up something they dropped. Through this process, he wishes to create a happier, healthier society.

That strong emphasis on mutual respect is due, in part, to his sense of duty and service. That same sense of duty led him to join the South Carolina National Guard where, as a Staff Sergeant, he serves in a role that requires him to give instruction and guidance to members of his unit regularly.

“It was something that I had always wanted to do,” he explained. “The military had always appealed to me, and the National Guard allows me to have that military service, but also affords me opportunities on the civilian side.”

With more than 14 years of service in the National Guard, and 10 years of service in the Highway Patrol, Safford is just happy to create change.

“At the end of the day, there’s a job that needs to be done,” he said. “Both with the Guard and Highway Patrol, you’re not just there for yourself. You’re there for the other soldiers, and the other troopers. It creates a sense of camaraderie, and there’s nothing like it that I’ve ever experienced.”

With his hard work as a trooper, a guardsman, and an educator, there’s no doubt that Safford has touched many lives, and he looks forward to having a positive impact on many more — one traffic stop or class period at a time.