A Long Way From Sierra Leone, and Right Where He Belongs

Before becoming Trooper Cole, Abdul Bolageh Cole grew up in Sierra Leone in a household shaped by shared responsibility. Family extended beyond parents and siblings to include relatives, neighbors, and anyone who needed a place to stay. The house was busy and rarely quiet, but it worked.

“Where I’m from, you don’t just live with your parents,” Abdul says. “You live with everyone who is part of your life.” If someone needed help, people showed up without being asked.

That early sense of community shaped how he carried himself long before he imagined leaving Sierra Leone or building a life in the United States.

A Friendship That Opened the World

As a teen, Abdul trained as a sailor and later volunteered aboard the African Mercy, a floating hospital providing free medical care along the African coastline. There he met a young Wisconsinite working as a deckhand. Their friendship changed his path.

When Abdul mentioned wanting to study diesel machinery, his friend told him about Western Technical College and later sent a link. What stood out was Western’s focus on student success. “If they want that for me, I can do the rest,” Cole says.

After nearly three years of applications, fundraising, and persistence — with sponsorship from his Wisconsin family — Abdul arrived in La Crosse in early 2020, just weeks before the pandemic began.

The adjustment was significant. The food was unfamiliar, social norms were different, and the cold was overwhelming. Western staff noticed he lacked winter clothing and gathered coats and gloves. The gesture felt familiar: community in action.

He enrolled in the Diesel and Heavy Equipment Technician program, worked as a resident assistant, and served as a campus safety officer, where students often turned to him during tense moments. Western later selected him as its 2020–21 Student Ambassador, a year marked by disruption and uncertainty.

Scholarships made his education possible. “They allowed me to focus on learning and growing,” he says.

A Career Begins

After graduating in 2022, Abdul joined J.F. Brennan, working on tugboats, heavy equipment, and dive operations. The work provided stability, but he realized he missed the human side—listening, guiding, and helping people through difficult situations.

That realization led him to law enforcement. The Wisconsin State provided an opportunity! The student selection process was rigorous, including exams, interviews, background checks, and physical and psychological testing. Eighteen recruits began the academy at Fort McCoy. Twelve graduated.

In November 2024, Abdul became a Wisconsin State Trooper.

A Community That Carried Him Forward

Cole often says his story could only happen in the United States, and he credits Western for helping make that possible. Staff, instructors, friends, and donors formed a network that supported him through uncertainty and growth.

Today, Trooper Cole serves in Juneau County, bringing the same steady presence shaped in Sierra Leone and strengthened at Western. Much of his work unfolds on long stretches of highway, where patience and communication matter as much as enforcement.

He hopes to one day open a diesel service business in Sierra Leone and train young people in the skills that changed his life. He and his Wisconsin family are also developing a nonprofit and scholarship fund to expand educational access.

“My story isn’t just about me,” he says. “It’s about everyone who helped me.”

He was raised in community. When he needed it most, Western became another one.