Title: Faculty, School of Firearms Technology
Highest degree and school: BS, Criminal Justice, Purdue University Global
Teaching at SDI since: 2020
Sean Smith teaches Sights, Optics, and Accuracy at SDI. During the day, he works as an officer for the Ohio Peace Officer Training Commission, and prior to that spent more than 15 years in law enforcement, where his roles included working in a tactical team and as a firearms instructor under the Ohio Attorney General’s office. He has taught programs on the semi-automatic pistol, revolver, shotgun, AR-15, MP5, M-16 and similar platforms, and is also an armorer for the Smith and Wesson M&P series of pistols. Sean graduated from Purdue University Global with his BS in Criminal Justice and holds an associate’s degree in applied science with a focus on Police Science.
Sean likes SDI because he found the curriculum to be innovative, especially with an online model. He says what he likes most about teaching is “watching students grow during our time together. Guiding them to explore different approaches and while asking for nothing but their very best in return.” He also understands learning is a lifelong endeavor – assuming time and money were not a factor, he would love to finish a Masters or Doctorate in Psychology.
Sean loves the outdoors and is an avid bowhunter. He and his wife share two sons, a Silver Lab named Khendric, and a black lab named Khozzie. He also freelances as a DJ, spinning tunes for weddings and graduation parties. Sean says his perfect day starts by hiking in the dark, “silently sneaking to the perfect tree to ambush the buck I’m hunting. Climbing up and getting settled into my perch well before the sun begins to rise. Watching as the world wakes up from a birds eye view. Feeling the cool autumn air on my face, and its smell filling my nostrils. The distant caw of crows at daybreak, and soon the sound of a twig snapping, followed by the unmistakable pattern of deer hooves falling in the leaves.”