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Young continued, \u201cI didn\u2019t have any skills whatsoever to be an SRO officer, but the only tool I had was prayer. So I said, \u2018Lord, if it be your will, make a way.\u2019 And He made a way for me to get this job as I went to talk to Chief Blackwell. Blackwell said, \u2018Well, Willie, there\u2019s something about you. I will give you a shot. With no tools, no skills, nothing, the door was opened. And here I am still trying to do what God has me to do while I\u2019m here.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The primary role of an SRO officer is to establish and maintain secure and safe learning environments. A typical day for Young begins as he ensures everybody is accounted for in the building, doors and parking lot are secured, and nobody is in hidden areas. However, anyone who has met or worked alongside Young can attest that he does far more than what is outlined in his job description. Young goes above and beyond the call of duty. He not only maintains a safe environment within the school building, but he himself<\/em> is a safe haven for countless individuals.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n If you step foot into Young\u2019s office, one of the first things you will see is a bulletin board hanging on the wall. On the board are countless letters, photographs, and thank you notes from students and faculty members whom Young has impacted over the last four years. Young shared, \u201cA lot of people who are having a bad day come in and sit in my chair. Sometimes I have to be a dad to them, and other times I have to be a minister to them. Whatever hat I need to wear, that\u2019s what I\u2019m here to do.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Young concluded, \u201cFirst and foremost, I\u2019m here to make sure that we all go home at the end of the day. But I am also here to make sure that they [students] see us [police officers] as a help and not what they see on television or what the media and movies have portrayed us to be. I want them to see we are actually people. We are men and women. We are dads and moms and husbands and wives, behind the badge. I want to humanize the badge a bit. I want them to see I do care, and I love them. I am here out of love.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Being the go-to person for hundreds of individuals comes at a high cost. Young disclosed that his faith in Jesus is the glue that holds him together day in and day out and on more emotionally draining days. He said, \u201cThere is a lot my faith has done for me. Without it, I don\u2019t think I could do the job that Young\u2019s sphere of influence extends far beyond safety concerns and traffic violations. His profound impact will ripple throughout generations and eternity. Thank you for your heartfelt service, Officer Willie Young. GN<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Willie Young, Tullahoma High School SRO is committed to providing a safe and secure learning environment for students. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":12,"featured_media":24623,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[4,73],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-7784","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-cover","category-tullahoma"],"yoast_head":"\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/goodnewsmags.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/DSC_0769-1-1-683x1024.jpg\")
I do and still go home and not feel like I need to self-medicate or anything else like that. Instead, I can go to church or go to my secret place, let it go, and then get up the next day and not be burdened.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n