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IN THIS ISSUE Left Brain, Right Brain To Protect and To Serve Online Biology Taking to the Streets Chancellor’s Page Development News Factoids NewsMakers |
She packs a gun, a badge, handcuffs…and a caring attitude, dedicated to helping people every day. To Protect and To Serve Diana Medero, a college police officer stationed at City College, is a valuable campus resource, not only for helping protect students, faculty and college property, but also in her ability to guide people who seek her help. “Being a college police officer is personalized,” Medero said. “I am able to get to know and interact with the students, faculty and staff members on each college campus. I’m able to better serve the needs of the college community, unlike other law enforcement agencies with a high volume of service calls that limit them from interacting with the community they serve. It’s very rewarding to me personally, and it meets our department goals and mission statement, as well as our community-oriented policing philosophy.” Medero began her career as a police officer with the Oceanside Police Department in 1996. She arrived in the college district in 1998 to work as a college service officer, then was promoted to police officer in 2001. Before entering law enforcement, Medero was a physical therapist’s aide in Oklahoma, Alaska and California. In law enforcement, Medero says, new adventures await daily. “Unlike other jobs, you never know what each day may bring, especially since the 9/11 attack on our country,” she said. “All of us are on a high state of alert. Our main concern is to provide the same level of security during these times when there is a shortage of resources given the current state budget cuts.” Funding or not, Medero doesn’t mind going above and beyond. She frequently refers students with personal problems or who are going through various crises –– be it domestic abuse, the need for post-sexual-assault counseling or even daycare needs –– to the appropriate campus or county agencies. “It’s the personal aspects of the job that are most rewarding, getting in there and helping people one-on-one,” Medero said. Medero recently won an Award of Merit from the California College and University Police Chiefs Association. Her superiors offered this assessment in her nomination: “She devotes a great deal of her own personal time to her community work. Every event Officer Medero plans, every Rape Aggression Defense class or Child Safety class she teaches or project she participates in is done out of genuine selflessness, concern and care.” Despite all this time she gives to the job, Medero still finds time for her personal life. “My biggest hobby is my family,” she said. “I enjoy reading books and going to the movies. In the winter, my family and I go to the desert and ride our Quads. In the summer, we camp almost every weekend at local California state beaches, where I enjoy body surfing, running and mountain biking.” Medero says future opportunities exist for women in law enforcement. “I’m approached by women quite frequently who express an interest in what I do, and want to know more,” she said. “I encourage them to look into it.” If she weren’t a police officer, Medero says, she would probably work in juvenile probation. “I want to help kids turn their lives around,” she said. “I would also continue to teach personal safety to the elderly, women and children.” Thinking back on helping people in the recent past inspires Medero to push even more. “It matters just knowing that what I did may have made a difference in someone else’s personal life, whether at work, home or somewhere else,” Medero says. |
Diana Medero |
