Robbie Hamrick

If you've lived in Atlanta for a while, chances are you've heard of Robbie Hamrick. He was one of the Georgia Bureau of Investigation officers who helped solve the Atlanta missing and murdered children case in the early 1980s. He later served as the GBI's director.

Hamrick was played by actor William Lynn in the 2000 made-for-TV movie "Who Killed Atlanta's Children?" Less publicized are his years of supporting the Georgia Sheriff's Youth Homes program. He takes pride in noting that two of the orphans who grew up in that program recently graduated from medical school.

A graduate of DeKalb College, Hamrick earned a criminal justice degree at Georgia State.

College is a place where some go to find themselves. Not Hamrick. "I knew from when I was a teenager, or maybe before, that I wanted a career in law enforcement," he said. He didn't need GPC to become a policeman; he just used it to become a better one. The college was affordable and accessible.

"They had a criminal justice program, and I loved close by," he said. "T. Krutzer Garman was the department chair in those days, and he taught most of the courses. It was the best thing I could've done."

Hamrick said some of the most valuable lessons were peripheral, such as "the interaction with a broader selection of people than you got on the job. You might ask what that has to do with law enforcement, but it gave you a broader view, better chemistry."