Since I'm not working in dispatching anymore, I don't see any harm in telling you all a bit more about myself. My name is Daniel Hernandez. I'm 21 and in college. An old soul in a young body, born into the wrong generation I've been told all too often. I'm managing. I live in Marfa, TX and attend Sul Ross State University in Alpine, TX. Nice to meet you. Now that that's out of the way...
Very shortly after I left my job at the sheriff's office, the day after really, I submitted my resume to a job posting I had seen in the newspaper. The position was for a part time staff person for my State Senator, Jose Rodriguez, out of El Paso. I waited for a call, an email, yet nothing came. I came back to my position at campus police and also inquired about an internship with my US Congressional Representative, Pete P. Gallego. I was awarded an internship on the spot, and have been working at that office for the last month.
Just days after I started the internship, an officer in our congressional jurisdiction was shot and killed in the line of duty. I worked on getting details for my supervisor and Congressman Gallego in Washington. How could this have happened? It was such a small community, and it was never, ever expected. I suppose nobody is exempt.. We worked the kinks out and the Congressman was able to make it to the funeral and pay his respects to the fallen hero. It was a somber occasion. I stood with my supervisor on one side of the room, looking more like security detail than an intern in my black suit, silver shirt, black tie, black slacks and my cowboy boots. My supervisor and I joked about that later. One thing I could not help but notice was how terribly sad the dispatchers were. I set them apart from everybody else, wearing their black uniform polo's with black tape over the embroidered badges. I would have given anything to go sit between them, and tell them it was going to be okay, that Bubba was in a better place, and that his service would never be forgotten. I wondered which one of them was the one working the night of the LODD. I regret not asking. The funeral service was over shortly thereafter and we were on our way to the nearest airport to get the Congressman back to D.C. for the next day's session. I was glad I was able to attend the funeral of the fallen hero, I just wish there was more I could have done.
I sit here now a blessed man, haven been given opportunities others might only dream of. I was recently awarded the position to staff the State Senator's District office in my hometown. It's a part time position, just 20 hours a week, but the pay is great and I am still able to attend school and finish out what I have left to get my degree. I turned in my resignation at campus police and they weren't thrilled to see me go. However, my supervisors wished me luck, and said they would work me to the bone until my last day on Friday! I hope they were kidding.
Although I feel like I'm getting further from dispatching, I don't think it's all a bad thing. I feel like dispatching is almost in my blood, it's become a part of me, and it's something I get excited even thinking about. I think jobs like these, outside of dispatching, and getting my degree may contribute to more success in the long run. My dream for a long time was to get into emergency dispatching. Now that I've had that experience, my goal is to become a supervisor at a mid-size to large comm center. I would love nothing more than to feel that I am making an impact on lives every single day I wake up. You know when people say that if you find a job you love, you'll never work a day in your life? That's what a position like that would be to me. And I want nothing more than to get to that point in my life. I'm going to make it, someday. By the Grace of God, the love of my family, and hard work and dedication. Oh and don't forget the "soundtrack to my life as a movie" music.
