Since I was 15, I always knew I wanted to be in some type of law enforcement. As a child, I was involved at the Anderson YMCA, where the Athletic Director encouraged me to pursue a career in the sports industry. One day, I told him I really wanted to be a police officer. From that point on, he supported my dream and helped me pursue it.

Today, I'm a deputy with the Anderson County Sheriff's Office and also a coach at the YMCA, where in my spare time, I work with children of all races, encouraging them to pursue their own dreams.

I graduated from T.L. Hanna High School in 1985 and enrolled at Tri-County Technical College in 1986. While I was at Tri-County, I interned with the City of Anderson Police Department, riding along with one of their officers twice a week. Then, in 1988, I started working at the Anderson County Sheriff's Office.

Tri-County has great instructors who understand the difficult shift schedules in law enforcement. They understood the schedule of my occupation and were willing to work with me when I couldn't attend a class.

While I continued working towards my degree at Tri-County Technical College, I climbed in rank at the Sheriff's Office, until, in 1998, after 12 years of taking as many classes as I could fit into my schedule, I graduated from Tri-County's Criminal Justice program with an associate degree. My hard work at Tri-County and the Sheriff's Office paid off that year when I was promoted to lieutenant. Between earning my associate degree and my promotion, my salary jumped by about $10,000!

Today, I am one of nine lieutenants at the Anderson County Sheriff's Office. Since 1988, when I started at the Sheriff's Office, I have climbed the ranks from deputy to master deputy, corporal, sergeant, and lieutenant. As a uniformed lieutenant, I supervise 16 deputies, and I answer to one of four captains and to the sheriff.