i didn't want to sit behind a desk i wanted a very proactive job that required me to be outside or always doing something different every day i decided at a very young age probably about five years old that law enforcement seemed pretty exciting being behind a desk or sedentary was not for me i wanted to be in something super exciting and as a child i would watch police shows and think that's what i wanted to do so i actually tailored from literally five years on my schooling and everything to become a police officer uh probably about three or four years in i knew that it was a challenging position and people try out all the time and don't make it and i wanted to push myself to that standard and see if i can do it because i felt i knew i could do that if i trained and prepared myself i started off as a patrol officer as we all do i was assigned to actually this building when it was district 3 as my first patrol assignment from there i went to several other districts and in 1994 i came to the tactical enforcement unit as the first female assigned to the swat team and there again when i was in the police academy the tactical enforcement unit sergeants came out and gave us a class and i said right then and there that's what i want to do because that would be the most exciting and most highly trained unit within the police department so that looked like something i would really want to do i remember those who have gone before us that somebody was always the first and remember their accomplishments and all that they've done because i wouldn't be here let alone other women wouldn't be in other fields if there weren't women that tried to be the first in any field i think it's important because it's important to have females in law enforcement there aren't clearly as many as males and i think that women bring on not that men don't do a fabulous job but women bring some traits that men don't have and i think it's good to have both of the traits that the membrane and the women bring so i think it's good to get even more women involved with law enforcement just so we have more people with different traits don't be deterred by the fact that it's a male-dominated field every woman every human every man deserves to be here if you're capable to do the job do it push yourself things are going to be difficult as in every job don't quit once you get pushed down keep striving to a higher standard because we need you out here [Music]