I was raised in the Los Angeles area and was a member of the Harbor Division LAPD Explorer Post. I learned there early on that giving back to the community is very rewarding. Becoming a Reserve Officer was a natural progression from being an Explorer.

I have been a Reserve Officer for fifteen years. During that time I have worked in many assignments and each has its own challenges and rewards. The Los Angeles area has so much to offer us. As we work as Reserve Officers in various communities, not only do we provide additional support to the regular Officers in the area but we have the opportunity to interact with the great people who live in this City. Each shift brings new insight into ethnic traditions from around the world. This makes my job as a Reserve Officer interesting, challenging and rewarding.

In my paid job, I'm an administrator for the Auto Club of Southern California. I work at a large facility and have a lot of responsibilities there. The training that I received from the department aids me in this job and in life in general because the ability to make well thought out decisions in a very short time frame and the people skills that are taught to us are skills that everyone can utilize.

Being a Reserve Officer isn't something that everyone will want to do. It is something that people who want to give something back to their community, people who love a challenge, people who want to be twice a citizen will want to do.

Working as a volunteer, which is what Reserve Officers are, requires that you like what you are doing and that you are willing to give a lot of time to the effort. I volunteer for other groups also, like my alma mater, the University of Hawaii, and the Los Angeles Area Council for Exploring. How do I manage to get it all in? Well, they always say to give a job to the person who is busy with lots of projects and they will make time to do it….that is the description of a Los Angeles Police Department Reserve Officer.