Finding a Blazing New Path

One of those wonderful things about the US is that a person can change their career path whenever they feel it is needed. In my case, I spent so many years in some teaching capacity. I started when I was 16 years old as an after-school teaching assistant. Then came my passion in the German language. I was encouraged by my parents to continue in college and get a teaching degree. I thought it was my calling…my destiny in a way. So, I took the classes, took the tests. Graduated with a degree in German and Secondary Education. I almost moved from Colorado to Texas to teach elementary German, but that fell through. After graduation I went back to the place that it started all. It was a little Lutheran preschool and K-8 school that allowed me to teach some after school German language classes while I assisted in the preschool classes. I made the decision to start some more college courses. Eventually, I got a degree in early childhood education, my director’s letter for the state of Colorado, and several certificates for different programs. I worked up the food chain: as an assistant teacher, a teacher, an assistant director, and an honest to goodness director for a short period of time. I thought I felt fulfilled and found my calling. But as the years went on, I felt a change in the culture of how families viewed teachers and how administrators backed their staff. It was in 2019 when I finally reached a breaking point. It was the most toxic administration yet. I felt like they wanted to find anything to get rid of me. I felt my mental health suffering. Finally, I was angry enough to write to my boss to announce that I would not be coming back to work. It was the first time I had never quit with no two weeks’ notice before.

So, there I was, unemployed. I was scared yet I was freed. I realized I wanted nothing to do with teaching as a career anymore. The question of what intrigued me was put before me. Well, I could look at a temporary solution like a fast-food joint. Though I admit, I was too proud to seriously try it. I had an interest in policing and corrections, but that seemed a little intense to go through with. What about private security? I started to put in applications for various companies. Then one day in June, I received a message that a company wanted to interview me. I didn’t even know what kind of security company I was interviewing for. I had an address that took me, to my surprise, to a hospital that was under construction. I met with the account manager and a supervisor. I thought I didn’t have a change. But lo and behold I received a call saying that they wanted to hire me. My new job would start off as me patrolling a hospital that would open in July. Once the hospital opened, I found myself navigating a new world of patrols, screening patients and visitors, and watching behavioral health patients that needed to be watched. Then came August 2019, which was the biggest challenge in my career. I was seriously assaulted by a behavioral health patient. She went completely violent 10 minutes into my shift. She hit me, scratched me, and strangled me. I was helped and I was treated. I had a choice to make: do I say, or do I go? In defiance of the situation, I spent 10 months healing physically and mentally. All the while I continued working there. At the time I was working at two different work sites. One was a safe corporate site, and one was, of course, the hospital. The corporate location had become my primary site. Yet it was unfulfilling. It was too quiet. It didn’t provide enough activity and adventure. I wanted to go back to the hospital. So, I went back full time. I never. ked back. There is nothing like healthcare security in the security world. It is scary, it is funny, and it is even nasty. It is not a place to just check out while checking on doors. So here I am, nearly six years later, working in the same site as a supervisor. I have been through the naïve year, the COVID times, toxic managers, and surly medical staff. It is, of course, not all bad. Afterall, I would have left by now. But now I wonder what my next step forward will be. I’m not as young as I used to be. Do I continue on the path that I’m on. Or do I explore a new adventure?