Now serving the Hockley County and Cochran County area, Mikayla Whitus has followed her family’s tradition of becoming a game warden.
Whitus grew up in Central, Texas where she saw her dad, uncle and dad’s cousin become game wardens. Whitus knew she wanted to become one too but sports took over and sent her down another route.
“I went to Texas Tech and graduated with a kinesiology degree and I couldn’t find a job,” said Whitus. “I got a job working in probation and that got me back into law enforcement.”
Whitus went back to school and got her masters degree in business administration. When that didn’t work out, Whitus then realized she needed to focus and just stick with being a game warden.
In October of 2024, Whitus then went to the Game Warden Training Center in Hamilton, Texas. The program lasted for eight months, which is the longest lived in academy in the country. Whitus trained on basic peace officer academy training and trained on parks and wildlife procedures.
“We were in the classroom a lot. They put us in different scenarios of what could happen. From Sunday night to Friday evening we workout a lot,” said Whitus. “On the weekends we can go home, but until then it’s a lot of mental and physical training.”
Then in May of this year she finally graduated from the program. Whitus, going forward, put her mind to becoming the areas new game warden and got the position shortly after graduating.
“I think that hunting and fishing is super important in our culture and I want my kids in the future to have the same opportunities that I did,” said Whitus. “So I went for it.”
Whitus will be seen enforcing fishing and hunting laws around the city, along with regular police officer activities. Whitus shared her excitement to be in Levelland and watching the next generations become game wardens as well.
“I’m very excited. I want to stay and really get to know people,” said Whitus.
Whitus will also be attending the Casting with Cops this coming Saturday. The event will take place at Lobo Lake from 8 a.m to 2 p.m.