Fighting a Stereotype with a Clich�
You Can Make a Difference
By Deena Roberts, Professional Security
Officer
LOOKING BACK EIGHT
YEARS AGO, I never really expected or planned to be a part of the security profession. Even with my mother entering the field years before that, it didn�t cross my mind that I could, or would, do so as well. Next thing I know, I�m being rushed up to the main office of her security company, jumping at the opportunity of a hiring window opening.
Taking the required tests and being issued a uniform may seem like mundane procedures to some, but I felt excitement. I was so proud to go home and try on the uniform and show it off to my family. I felt a part of something, a figure of respect and just felt downright snazzy with all the metal shining on my shirt and my shiny belt and shoes reflecting the light.
The opportunity to write for this magazine is another thing I didn�t expect, and another thing I�m honored and excited to do. I stand behind ASSIST and other organizations that lift the heads and brush off the shoulders of the security industry. By even one example, by one crossed path, by one single encounter, a person�s perspective can be altered in a positive or a negative way.
I find encouragement and confirmation in witnessing security companies all over the grand state of Texas taking seriously their profession, causing more and more of those positive encounters, and ultimately working toward opening the eyes of those who stand both inside and outside our circle.
As a supervisor, when I train a new officer to work at our posts, I spend every hour with them not just going over formalities, rules and duties, but also setting an example with my demeanor and attitude. I may not be able to control the actions of others, but I can control my own and thus influence theirs.
�From now on it�ll be everybody, less one...�
- Harper Lee, To Kill a Mockingbird
BEING HIRED BY THAT COMPANY all those years ago felt exciting and promising, but a small part of me still heard echoes of all the stereotypes and not-so-nice nicknames I�d now stepped into the path of receiving. And with only a moment�s apprehension about those things, I plunged into the challenge of creating a brand new path both for myself and for my profession, putting my perfectionist, stubborn and competitive natures to good use.
I�ve always been this way, and my husband often teases that it�s an �obsessive-compulsive need� to strive for perfection. But unlike those who only care about making a paycheck or those who are oblivious to the effect they can make on the people and environment around them, I purposed within myself to put my best effort into any post I am assigned, each one becoming as important to me as my own home.
Oftentimes different posts will entail various duties, but I still hold to the awareness of the uniform I wear and my ultimate purpose as a security officer: to follow through with the tasks required of me, keeping the client and/or the client�s property and business secure. And ultimately, little by little, I know I�m changing that stereotype that so many others before me have created.
I do have to take a moment to admit that my initial hiring company grew to leave a bad taste in my mouth, running the company with disrespect, disorder and dishonesty. I felt grateful that my post kept me away from my supervisors and fellow employees, who all felt like a secret club to which I�d been begrudgingly inducted yet excluded from. I maintained my demeanor and professionalism, but the fight of swimming upstream and refusal to compromise who I was as a person came close to causing me to seek another profession.
Then along came a contract change and with it, a new employer, who I later learned was an ASSIST associated company. Through them I�ve learned that security officers do have the ability to maintain a straight spine, crisp uniform, sharp eye and most of all, respect. That not all security companies are like the one I�d been initially exposed to.
�Ambition is the germ from which all growth of nobleness proceeds.� - Thomas Dunn English
I WANT TO ENCOURAGE those of you who may be feeling weary of the river�s waters pushing against you, or you who see no shape taking form in the rock you�re chipping at day after day, or you who sometimes honestly wonder why you bother with integrity and kindness when no one is looking or seems to regard with any thought the example you exude: You most definitely make a difference, and even if only to one person, remember that a single ripple in the water always continues on.
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