We interviewed our security guard Mr. Hughes. We asked him a series of questions. First he told us that he had been in law-enforcement for 32 years.
He started at the Thornton Police Department a while back, and retired from the Denver Police Department as a Sergeant in the Special Operations Response Team. Mr. Hughes wants to be able to help his community and that’s why he became a police officer.
“I thought it would be a good way to continue providing service to this country, because I was in the Marine Corps.”
We asked him why he decided to come to Holy Family and he responded, “I was only retired for a very short period, a couple of weeks, I think. I found out they had an opening for a safety director and I had an interest in school safety. I thought it might be a fun retirement job, and also to be able to come and help you out. Again, I wanted to stay in a level of service, and that’s why I came here.”
Mr. Hughes has a grand plan of fly fishing when he retires from here. On his days off, Mr. Hughes likes to hike and be with his dogs. Mr. Hughes loves the students and faculty and believes our school is really safe. Mr. Hughes really appreciates how we pray and say the pledge of allegiance daily, “it ties us together and when you have that tie you want to serve people and help them when you can. Even if you don’t wanna be a cop or a firefighter, having that civil-mindedness is a good thing for communities and I think you guys have that by being students here.”
We asked him about his most memorable moments about being a cop in 32 years, and he expressed God, which he expressed by saying, “I remember helping a kid that was badly injured and knowing and seeing that the first aid efforts that I did were able to help save that child’s life.”
Mr. Hughes has seen quite a bit of chaos as a cop. Especially in Denver, there’s a lot of crime he dealt with. His unit’s focus was primarily gangs and shootings, so he’s seen quite a bit. Mr. Hughes expressed his feelings about monitoring “large civil unrests”, the BLM protests a few years ago. Even though he didn’t like the destructive aspect, he loves the constitution and the ability to exercise our rights.
He was also at Columbine, and he remembers just wanting to help as much as he could. “That’s why I think it’s a noble profession and I respect everyone who does it.”
Some advice he shared:
“I learned I need to relish life and that family is important and just being more appreciative of our time here and live your life well,” he said. “Also to keep that sense of duty and study hard, I think a lot of people don’t realize the thinking that goes on with being a first responder, you’ve got to think on your feet and always remain calm in difficult situations.”
