By Avery Clayton and Anika Kakar

 “This is just something that I love to do,” Ms Tucker said in an interview about her work at Seven Hills. “I enjoy it because I love kids, and I try to make sure that what I do I try to keep everybody as safe as I possibly can.”

Have you ever seen the Seven Hills school security guard walking around campus? If so, that would be Ms.Tucker! She works hard to keep our school safe and secure, and she loves to help people.

Ms. Tucker, our school security guard, does lots of work around campus. Ms. Tucker talked about what schools can do to become safer/ improve safety. “Be aware, and be aware of your surroundings. Stop thinking it won’t happen. Just think about when it happens, what are you going to do?”

Ms. Tucker says she looks out for many things during the school day. “What I watch for is strangers. Anybody. The strange cars that are coming on campus that shouldn’t be. The cars that are coming in the driveway backwards when it’s a one-way. Kids walking or any strangers, doors being propped open.”

Ms.Tucker also mentioned that if you see anything that you think looks strange, different, harmful, or unusually out of the ordinary, to tell someone immediately. She said how it is better to have the word spread and address the situation, even if nothing is actually wrong.

While Ms. Tucker doesn’t have her own police force here at the school, she has many people around campus helping her out. “There are other people on campus that you probably don’t have a clue that’s watching other than myself. We got the maintenance guys. They’re an additional piece to what I call the security team,” Tucker said. Other officers and campus staff members help Ms. Tucker monitor school safety throughout the day.

 Ms. Tucker also travels to both campuses to ensure school safety throughout all of Seven Hills.

“I don’t just have to do this campus. I have to go to Doherty, too,” Ms.Tucker said.

Before Ms. Tucker was a police officer she worked in Cincinnati Public Schools. “Ten years I worked for Cincinnati public schools. I decided I wanted to go to something else and went to policing.” 

Ms. Tucker has been a police officer for 22 years. Policing is “a dominating male profession,” Tucker said. “It’s not a cake walk if you’re a female and especially if you’re a black female.”

When Ms. Tucker was working as an officer before working here she was a sergeant. “I was a neighborhood sergeant. I worked this area. I know this area a lot. I know where I’m going,” Ms. Tucker said. 

Police school “is a whole year process,” Ms. Tucker said. “You go through the academy for six months, and then after the academy you come out and you have to be trained for the next three months, and then after that you get to ride by yourself for another three months to see if you can even be a police officer.”

Ms. Tucker works hard to help people throughout her workday.

“I didn’t get the job to arrest people. I got the job because I wanted to help people,” Tucker said. “Working around here and working with kids brings me joy.”