Latest / The Shift Podcast / 15. Defeating All The Odds

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15. Defeating All The Odds · The Shift Podcast

0:00
Welcome to fight my datak, a podcast that helps bridge, the
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gap between healthcare workers and First Responders and
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everything in between. We are halfway through the month
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of February. And boy, am I living in a
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different world? Now I have a driver who is able
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to help me out with getting himself to practices and taking
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the other kids to their practices and their events.
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And it's made such a difference in my life because I am no
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longer a chauffeur on my days off.
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So that's been really great for our family and we're enjoying
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the new moments that that's creating as well.
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This week, I am joined by my friend Rose who is In law
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enforcement and works for the DA office.
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She's been doing that since 2008 and she speaks on just being
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little, but strong and kind of the obstacles that she's had to
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overcome over the way to propel herself, and get her to where
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she is in her career today. So, I hope you enjoy my candid
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interview with rose. On Caster, really.
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Appreciate you being on good morning.
1:05
Thanks for having me. So tell everyone a little bit
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about yourself and what do you do?
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So, my name is Rose Oaks and I work as a district attorney
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investigator, I am originally from Tulare County.
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I went to UC Irvine, I have my bachelor's degree in criminology
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law and Society from there, after going to college, I worked
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for an attorney for a little bit.
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I thought law school was going to be the route I wanted to
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take. I eventually relocated back to
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Tulare County to help my parents out a little bit and then I
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found my way to the district attorney's office as a secretary
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there and I got the exposure. I was in investigations, I was
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assigned to the investigations Bureau and from there I just was
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fascinated with investigations and I wanted to do it and I Had
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found out by working there that you had to go through the police
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academy because it was a law enforcement agency being
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investigated or fully sworn. And so, I did it with, in like
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months, after being there, I applied for the police academy.
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I tested, I worked full time as a secretary there and then I put
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myself through the academy on the weekends and I was in the
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police academy for 11 months. And so I gave up like my life
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because I was working full time Monday through Friday.
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I was in the academy Friday Saturday and Sunday for 11
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months straight. So it was very stressful for me.
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I was fortunate enough that I was living with my parents and
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they were very supportive of the curve decision I made and I was
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fortunate enough to stay with the District Attorney's office.
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I ended up promoting to a welfare fraud investigator,
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that's one of the unit's we have there at our office and then
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from There, I went to our criminal investigations which
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handles trial prep, and we also have specialized units within
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that Bureau. And so I'm here.
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Now I started in law enforcement back in April of 2011.
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So what that puts us for in 2022 now, so I'm 10 years in almost
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hitting, I guess that 11 Your Mark get my math is right, I'm
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sorry. I'm not good at math so that's
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why I'm not, that's not my profession but that's
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essentially what I do. I am also a wife and a mother of
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two. I'm going to be celebrating my
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10-year wedding anniversary with my husband and I have two
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Littles, I have a six-year-old daughter and I have a
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three-year-old son, so that's a little bit about me and if I can
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incorporate item at Janessa through CrossFit.
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And so that's another community that I got involved.
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Din years ago because of law enforcement because I wanted to
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continue to stay active and fit. So that's how my world connected
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me with you. Yeah, I think that's important
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to mention because I always like to say, how do we know each
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other and like, my first impression of you was like,
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dang, this girl is like strong, she's smart.
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She's like in a professional career.
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That, you know, I think there's a lot.
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There's there's, there's a lot more females in the profession,
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but to Lead, you know have like that strong sense of who you are
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is so important as a woman. And I feel like that in my
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career to you know and then for us to kind of we met in Prospect
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with the common goal of staying fit with the guys.
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Like we got to keep up with the guys.
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We don't want to be the weakest link on the team and I kind of
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felt like, that's why I did a little bit too.
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Yes, absolutely. I totally agree with you.
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I'm in this day and age like there's a lot more.
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Females in careers that back in the past it just was unheard of
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especially in your career to, you know, it was probably
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something that, you know, years ago, it was an accepted it was
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it was almost like a stigma like oh you want to do that kind of
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profession like, you're a woman. You're your job is to take care
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of house and be home and It's great because now it's accepted
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and your mother. And you are able to manage and
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hold it down. Like, you know, you you've
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balanced that life and that was something that I admire you too
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because I know your son was there with you at CrossFit and,
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you know, you would see my little daughter at the time
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because I would bring her with me and, you know, it's just,
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it's just great to see other other strong mom's, you know,
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teaching values to their kids. So young and, you know, just
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leading by Opal. And I think that's important for
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even both of our professions, you know, we we want to reach
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out to others and we want to help others because you want to
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say, hey, it is doable. You can do it and I'll support
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you. So that's something that I think
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we need, you know, definitely as women and you know, I'm a small
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frame woman and in a law-enforcement small frame,
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people in general are just targets.
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And so that was a reason why it was important.
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Me to be fit, you know, I wanted to go home and and so that was
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something that was important to me and, you know, and and I was
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lucky, I had a husband that was, you know, he's from the
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military. He also works in law
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enforcement, so he was very encouraging.
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I actually met him in the police academy, funny story.
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We met there and a lot of people were like, that's not going to
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work because these are those relationships never work and
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fast forward to now, you know, we have two kids and we're going
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to be celebrating our 10-year wedding anniversary.
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So, you know, it's just good to have a partner.
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I think that's another important element is just to have a
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partner. That's very supportive of your
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goals and I'm sure you have a husband, that's very supportive
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of you. And so it's just great to see
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other families and other moms having that support system
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because it's, I think it's essential for us.
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Yeah. And what would you say to other
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females? You know, that have some of the
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doubt, because of the stigma, you know, not so much anymore,
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but because of the stigma in the past, You have doubt about that.
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I know you know when I first started in my job the local air
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ambulance company that I worked for, there wasn't a lot of
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females and so when we would land at accidents they would go
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straight to talking to my partner who was a male, who a
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lot of them worked with. So I understand that but my
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partner would say, Hey, you know, you need to speak to both
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of us and so I had to kind of like demand a lot of that
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respect and just have confidence in.
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Myself. I had to learn first to have
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confidence in myself before I could feel like I could demand
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that respect from other people. So what would you say, you know,
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maybe the situation that you've had in your career like that or
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just some of the women who might be facing that stigma right now
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currently? So this is going to go back to
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the way it was brought up. I both my parents immigrated
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here from the Philippines. My mother actually put herself
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through college after I have four other siblings and my
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mother put herself through college.
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And we were we were I she actually graduated college with
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my older sister the same year that my older sister did.
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So that was embedded in me when growing up.
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It was just My parents came here, my father's father, my
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grandfather in the Philippines, he enlisted in the US Army
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because he wanted my father and his siblings to have a better
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life. So it was just something that
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was ingrained in me that, you know, you got to work hard at
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the end of the day like things are not going to be easy, that's
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just life. Like we all know that.
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And I know this cliche to say that, you know, life is not
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easy, but it's true. I grew up in early March.
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I don't know if a lot of people know where that even is like
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early. Mark is a very small town in
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Tulare County and I'm telling you like, there was drive-bys, I
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had their be drive-bys when I was at school.
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Like there's gangs all of that, that's early, Martha's best you
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with that. And so growing up, it was, you
9:34
know, family was first. That was what my parents
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instilled in me and having siblings, my older sister is 10
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years older than me. So we had arranged in between my
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Older sister. And my brother is nine years
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older than me, and I have two younger sisters.
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That one is 11 months, younger than me.
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And one is two years younger than me, but growing up.
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It was my parents just instill that look there's all this this
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stuff that we don't want you to get involved in, you know, gangs
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like drugs all of that. Like they made sure like we
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weren't sheltered because, you know, we were still exposed to
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it but they made sure. Hey, you go to school, you come
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home, you do your homework. You work hard because you know,
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you don't want to have a hard. If you want to have like a, you
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want to have a better future, you want to have opportunities.
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So that's what was instilled in me.
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So fast forward to went into the police academy.
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You know, I was fortunate enough that I worked in a law
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enforcement agency already. I was exposed to transcribing
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interviews from investigators. I was exposed to, you know,
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seeing cases come in and seeing the whole process from they're
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going forward with things going to court.
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Investigators having to do follow-up.
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So, I was exposed to that. And in what I could say, I
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actually have been in the office, like our chief.
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She actually was my mentor when I went through the police
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academy. So she always has when there's
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other females in the office that are, like, secretaries or Aids,
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she always tells them to come. Talk to me about how I got to
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where I'm at now because, you know, I Didn't I didn't want to
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be an attorney. I knew that for sure.
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Because law school, just, I was, it was not going to be for me,
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and I was working full-time and I put myself through Academy and
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I mean I don't have a military background.
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So, the academy is semi-military structured.
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I never shot a firearm and so I, my first day on the Range on the
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line at the police academy. So, you know, I guess I'm like
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that Underdog because, you know, I was, I did go to college, I
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had a degree, but the police academy is a Totally different
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animal. It is through college.
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I will say that but it's totally different structure.
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You have Joan deportment, you have PT, you have range, you
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have practice. So was completely different for
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me. And I was I had to step out of
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my comfort zone. So what I, what I would say is
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that, you know, it's just defeating all the odds because
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you have to just believe in yourself.
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Like, I think you hit the nail on the head when you said you,
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it starts with you, your confidence has to it.
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You have to have that confidence.
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And so Me. I know that having that
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confidence is knowing that I have people that support me.
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That's important for me. So when I there was actually a
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Gala work, like she wanted to go to the police academy and, you
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know, I told her, you know, one of my things that I struggled
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with when I was in like adding me was the fact that I was I was
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like, not even 100 pounds on a good book, which Kenny I was
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little and I was the smallest one in the academy and I was
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like, being strong was something that was important because you
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had to get over 6 foot tall. The wall chain link fence.
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You had a drag. I think it's like a.
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I can't remember the weight of the dummy.
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I don't know if it's like, it's like 165-pound dummy.
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Like you have to drag it. So what I told that girl that
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that wanted to had aspirations to be an investigator and wanted
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to go to the police academy. I told her look I found CrossFit
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after I became an investigator. If I would have known, if I
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would have talked to myself before the Academy, I would have
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told myself. You know what, go to CrossFit.
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It's going to give you confidence.
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It's going to make you stronger. It's just going to overall it's
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going to help you and she did she started going to the 5:00
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a.m. class and she ultimately found a different career path.
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But she was just like, oh my God, I never thought I could do
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this like and I was just like that's that's where it starts.
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You think you never can do something, but you have to get
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over that. You have to say, I can do it and
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and you just take that first step forward and you go with it
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and So that's something that that I believe is important,
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it's starting with yourself. Like if you're not going to have
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the confidence and if you're already going to have the
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negative attitude, you're going backwards, you need to, you need
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to push forward and just believe in yourself.
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Yeah. And I love that thought that you
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said to just, you know, it's not it's never the circumstances
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that were in because we all have different circumstances that
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were facing or different challenges that were Saying that
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we might think is the thing that's stopping us from going
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forward with what we want to do. But it's really like our thought
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that we have about it because you mentioned like your thought
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was I can do this like despite working full time Monday thru
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Friday. Despite you know, every
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circumstance that you had before it, you still carry with you
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that thought like I can do this and that's how you got through
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it. Yes, absolutely.
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And and it's because I thought of my mother, like she was
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working full time. She had five kids, she still
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went to college and in this, is she, this is not, this is native
14:51
to this country. So for me, I was like, I always
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think back to my mom, how, you know, what the odds are?
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All everything was against her, like she had to go through the
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whole process of coming to America.
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Everything she had to do everything legally and be Has
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she had the support from my father, she was able to work and
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she was able to go to college. I mean, I remember, she'd be
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like at school at night and before I was born, my brother
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and sister they've told me stories like, yes, you know, Mom
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would feed us dinner and we would get in a car and we would
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be wrapped up in her blankets. And mom wouldn't be going to
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class in Porterville. Dad would drive her.
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We were wait in the car and she would just go to class and then
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we would go home. And so I was thinking my mom as
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sorry I'm getting a little bit. Yeah, because she is my
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aspiration. She definitely is.
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And I you know, I think it's important that you mentioned
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that and that at the beginning you kind of mentioned like I
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think it's important that our children see the sacrifices that
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we do and the things that you know, we do to do well in our
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careers and to really pursue what we want to do because I
16:05
take that for granted, a lot of times A lot of weeks we have so
16:08
much going on that. I'm like, you know, I don't stop
16:12
and think about the things that we're doing the actions that
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we're taking the everyday that we continue to get up and do
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what we're supposed to be doing, even though sometimes we don't
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want to our kids see that and absolutely reactionary event
16:27
that for them later when things are tough for them and when
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they're going through something, and when they think that they
16:33
can't do it, they'll remember back on that, we did it.
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And somehow we made It work, you know.
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Yes, I agree. 100%. Speaking of kids, last week, we
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started my daughter in Jiu-Jitsu and you know, you've seen her.
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She's little and she was a preemie.
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We my introduction to Motherhood was okay, you're going to have
16:56
an emergency C-section. She was born like almost six
16:59
weeks early. She had to say the NICU for 12
17:02
days and so like her life was difficult.
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From the beginning, it was difficult for her.
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She was on, you know, feeding tubes oxygen, everything first
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day, she was born and so she's and she's another person.
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Like I think I had answered one of your questions about.
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Who, Who Am I who motivates you? Most?
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It's my kids especially there were both born early and my
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daughter like she's tiny. She looks like she's four years
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old because even though she's Gonna be 7 this year.
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She looked like a little four-year-old because she was,
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she was 4 pounds at what? 4 pounds. 6 ounces at Birth, a
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pound is just a bag of sugar was bigger than her.
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We always tell her that when you go to the store, but we started
17:50
her in Jiu-Jitsu because I started Jujitsu a few years back
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because I just saw everything that was happening to two
18:00
officers out in law enforcement and how everything is recorded
18:03
and on YouTube. And so my husband's been in more
18:07
Arch for like ever since he was a kid and he never pushed me to
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do it. He just said, hey, you know,
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it's fair when you when you make that decision.
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Well, I made that decision to join Jiu-Jitsu after my son was
18:19
born because I was like, man, I don't want to be out there
18:25
making a contact because we do make contacts at the DA's
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office. A lot of people are not familiar
18:30
with what we do, but we do make contacts and sometimes I'm by
18:33
myself, you know. And I'm wearing a gun and badge.
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I'm in plain clothes. Cause I'm wearing just a dress
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shirt and dress pants and but all criminals see are bad.
18:44
People see, is the gun and badge.
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And so they don't care where I work, they don't care what I do.
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And if I'm not a first responder, so for me, what
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really hit home was, you know what, I have two kids at home.
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What if something happens to me when I'm making contact of this
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house? I'm by myself.
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I don't, I don't essentially, you know, my radios in my car.
19:04
Sometimes I don't necessarily Carry On Me.
19:07
Day because I'm not wearing a full uniform, you know, I don't
19:10
have all of that. And so I started to just to I
19:13
had been going off and on, and my daughter would see me there.
19:17
And, you know, we finally found a school for her to go to and
19:22
she started last week. And so, it's just amazing to see
19:24
her because she actually had confidence on the mat.
19:28
It was just like, oh my gosh, she's just like, Mommy, I want
19:31
to do this. And so I think it's important to
19:34
for our children to also make their own decisions.
19:36
But Have the support of us, but I think because she saw me doing
19:41
it. She seen my husband to it.
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It made her comfortable enough to be like, okay, I could do
19:45
this too. And, you know, and in Jiu-Jitsu
19:48
is a very difficult sport that it's just in.
19:53
There's it's you're on the ground and, you know, it's just
19:57
completely out of my comfort zone.
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That was why I didn't want to do it because I was like, I'm not
20:01
good at it. And so she started there and
20:05
it's just amazing to see Like, She's Not Afraid.
20:09
Like, I think that's like something that that is in
20:13
children, that I wished. Like, I still had as an adult,
20:16
like they have this resilience and they just have this belief
20:19
like, oh, I could do that too. And so she'll see her teacher or
20:23
do something and, you know, she'll try to mimic it and it's
20:26
just amazing because they're just like so fearless and so I
20:31
just, I think that's important to like, you know, to see our
20:34
kids like out of their comfort zone and Being able to yeah
20:38
Mommy I could do it. And the best part was like her
20:42
first day my son was there and you know, he's three.
20:45
He looks like he's a two-year-old because he's also a
20:47
little but he was like, go with sister.
20:50
And I was like, this is this is exactly what I wanted.
20:53
I wanted them to to be able to be confident to do something and
20:58
you know, as a he's a three-year-old and he's just
21:00
like I could do that to Mommy. And so I just I just think of
21:05
them too, when Like, man, I can't, I don't think it can do
21:09
this. Or I don't think I can handle
21:10
that. And I just think of well, gosh,
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you know, they're willing to jump, you know, all in for
21:15
something that they've never done before.
21:17
So I think that that is important for, you know.
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I, it's like you said, like, you get so busy in the hustle and
21:26
bustle of everything. And you forget, like, sometimes
21:29
your actions, like, your kids are watching them and, you know,
21:33
and, and I'm not perfect. I know, nobody's perfect.
21:36
I am Mistakes and but that's not something that I want, you know?
21:41
Yeah, I get frustrated. The more like this morning.
21:43
I was flustered because I woke up a little bit late and I was
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like oh my gosh we gotta get going it and my daughter, she'll
21:49
stop me. She's like Mommy you know you
21:52
don't need to get upset and so it's just you know they're so I
21:56
feel like they're just so innocent still when they're so
21:58
young and that just reminds me. Okay.
22:01
You know what, I don't need to get upset, like things are still
22:04
going to get done but she Keeps you grounded, you know, and it's
22:09
weird because I'm like she's 6 years old and here she is
22:12
telling me like Mommy like it's okay.
22:15
And so so just reminds you of like okay it's like what you
22:18
said like we get so busy like oh my God I gotta do this, I gotta
22:21
do that. I got get it here, I got to get
22:23
this done and I'm on a time crunch.
22:25
I got to do this but for them they're just like they just have
22:29
this faith that we're going to be able to get it done.
22:31
I guess because they see us doing it and they just don't
22:34
think that it's not going to get done.
22:37
They're like oh it's not impossible long he's still going
22:39
to get done. Just relax.
22:41
Yeah and I love what you said too about our kids, you know, we
22:46
can learn so much from them and early and I'm in kind of a
22:51
different stage right now just having three teenagers and I've
22:54
really had to let go of that thought as well.
22:57
Like they aren't going to do what I want them to do.
22:59
They have their own agency to make the decisions that they
23:02
want to make. So I have to continue to remind
23:04
myself to support whatever it Is that they do and kind of guide
23:08
them in that way, but it, when it comes down to it, they're
23:11
bigger than I am already. They don't have to listen to me
23:14
when I say go to bed at there. But you know, so it's kind of
23:18
that like give and take and really kind of figuring out the
23:22
communication between your kids, but absolutely like, I feel like
23:26
they sometimes they are just the best of me like where I'm weak.
23:31
You learn so much from them and what they do, and how they
23:33
think, and how they are growing up in this world that so much
23:37
Different than the world that we grew up in.
23:39
Yes. Absolutely.
23:41
You know I I totally agree. It's I'm actually afraid of when
23:47
my daughter is a teenager because she already has.
23:52
She's very strong opinions and she likes to share them already
23:55
and, and it's funny because a lot of you are like, a lot of my
23:59
friends are like, well, yeah, she's mini you, like, you are
24:03
not afraid to say what you think.
24:05
And so she's naturally. And be like that.
24:07
And I'm like, oh no, my husband always tells me he's like, you
24:11
guys are totally gonna bump heads when she's older because
24:14
she's so opinionated and she stands.
24:17
No, she stands for her opinions. But then I'm like, oh, I know,
24:22
and I'm like, I tell them. Well, you're just going to have
24:24
to deal with her because you're the only one that knows how to
24:27
tame that attitude. And so she's just, you know, he
24:31
is she's very confident in making decisions.
24:34
And with my son, his personalities coming out.
24:37
And he is very stubborn and so they have, you know, they have
24:42
different personalities and she's just, you know, but she's
24:46
very good at guiding him and so I'm very, very lucky.
24:51
Like I I wasn't going to have another one after my experience
24:55
with my daughter and having her in the NICU like that was
24:59
completely foreign to me and I know you have a you have a
25:02
similar experience, your children were in there, your
25:04
twins were in there longer. I couldn't even imagine.
25:07
It was rough enough for me for 12 weeks.
25:09
I mean 12 days but so we weren't and I had a co-worker that has
25:18
only one money daughter. Tell me, you know, that was one
25:22
of her biggest regrets like he's like, you know, later on in
25:25
life. My daughter asked me.
25:26
How come she didn't have a brother or sister?
25:28
And she said, I just couldn't, and she was like, you know, your
25:32
she's like, I know you're scared to have another one but, you
25:34
know, you can do it and So I just, you know, I just let that
25:40
happen, you know, if it was going to happen or not happen, I
25:43
just put my faith in God. Like, if God wanted me to have
25:47
another child, then than we would, and we tried Andrew, you
25:52
know, we were blessed with my son and his birth story was
25:56
really difficult to, because I had an appointment and my doctor
26:00
was like, it's happening again. What happened with her daughter
26:03
and basically, My Placenta was Going faster than the baby and
26:08
there was potential test Detachment like Risk.
26:13
And so it was happening again with my son so that when I was a
26:17
little bit more prepared, she's like, okay, we'll schedule a
26:19
date, we went in, but for him, I was actually put under general
26:25
anesthesia because I I could feel everything whether we're
26:28
trying to do the C-section. So for him, I was asleep.
26:32
And and so I we did find out the gender we didn't find The gender
26:37
with either one of my kids. And so when he was born, my
26:43
husband was like you need to put the baby on her.
26:45
She'll wake up and see I woke up to him telling me we have a son
26:50
and so for me it's like being a mother and you know, being that
26:57
example for my kids like, you know, right now like I when I
27:03
drop them off to school and I dropped off my son to daycare
27:06
like, you know, I'm in my uniform for work and so they
27:10
know what I do for a living their teachers, know what I do
27:12
for a living it. And and I want my my kids to
27:16
know, like, it's okay to do a profession that that wasn't
27:20
accepted in the past, like, you know, it I do it and, and I
27:24
embrace it like, you know, challenges that I faced at work
27:28
because I didn't work for troll. I went straight into being an
27:31
investigator, so I didn't work Patrol and I didn't get to
27:35
experience any of that in some Times.
27:37
I feel like did I miss out or did I, you know?
27:40
Was it, was it best for me not to have that and in the end I
27:44
think because I had the exposure as a secretary there, the DA's
27:49
office. I had I had of I just had a
27:52
different career path and investigations is completely
27:56
different from being a first responder, you know, and they do
27:59
an amazing job. First Responders are many people
28:02
that work for told. It's amazing what they're able
28:04
to do, because everything's very fast pace.
28:07
Investigations is very different.
28:08
You know, there's I worked well for far for a long time and
28:13
that's all paper. You follow Paper Trails.
28:16
I've worked workers comp. I've worked trial prep.
28:20
That's why I joined law enforcement because that was my
28:22
ultimate goal. Not just to help victims and to
28:25
help Witnesses. It was just to help pave, the
28:28
path for other other women that wanted to get into law
28:32
enforcement, just because it's still there, still astigmatism
28:36
against Women now in law enforcement even though there's
28:39
more of us in it, there are still a lot of that happening
28:43
and and for me that's why I'm like no, you know, that's why I
28:46
do his profession because I know we can do it.
28:50
I've seen amazing women in law enforcement.
28:53
My chief is a female and so, you know, it's like my best friend.
28:59
She she's an officer to she works in.
29:01
So I just think it's amazing because I'm like, there's women
29:05
that I know that Are more than capable of doing this job.
29:10
Well, regardless of their size, you know.
29:12
And so, I just think that, you know, it's just, that's, that's
29:17
another reason why I did it. You know, is because of the fact
29:20
that I wanted to be able to be that, that person that meant, or
29:25
that person that can say, you know what, yes, you can do it.
29:27
Look at me, like, you know, I didn't even think I could pass
29:33
the police academy because like, I never shot a gun.
29:37
And it was like you had a qualified candidate daylight and
29:40
you had to qualify at nighttime. I struggled shooting, it was
29:44
just not I didn't grow up doing it, it wasn't something that I
29:49
was good at and you know, I struggled passing the police
29:53
academy because of that. And now test for today, I'm
29:58
actually on Range staff at our office.
30:00
And I've been proved because I had to, you know, I was in that
30:05
purse that position again, where Like, man, this is not something
30:08
I'm good at. So what do I have to do to make
30:11
sure I can get through it. And now I'm actually in a
30:14
position where I'm like, you know what, I want to help
30:18
people. I want to help people that
30:19
struggle because I struggled, you know, and, and it again, it
30:23
just, it just goes back to me, wanting to, to just be that
30:28
person like, hey, you know what? I am having trouble with this.
30:33
I'm struggling with is and, and I'm not like the greatest shot.
30:35
That's not why I I got put, you know, that I got assigned to be
30:40
part of ranged off. It was because I was actually
30:44
told they're like rose. You're, you know, I think people
30:48
are comfortable talking to you, like, you know, coming to you
30:51
and asking you for help. And so I was like, wow, you
30:55
know, I didn't think that and, you know, but they're like you,
30:58
they just feel comfortable coming to you and I'm like, oh
31:00
yeah, like I am not here to judge anybody, I'm not the
31:04
greatest, you know, but if I could help somebody then Spike
31:08
by all means. Like, you know, sign me up.
31:11
Like, that's that's what I wanted to.
31:13
That's why I got into this profession is because I didn't
31:16
want to help. But I did want to say like look
31:18
you can come from a gang-infested like drug invested
31:22
like, you know, put new place new.
31:25
I lived, you know, I lived in early Mark, you know, you can
31:28
still make it, you know, you don't have to get involved in
31:31
that, you don't have to go down that path, just because that's
31:35
what's there. You have to look for something
31:38
that's not. Yeah and what I love about, you
31:41
know, this conversation and what I get from you to is that no one
31:46
likes to be uncomfortable and whatever positions or goals that
31:50
they go for. But you have to be like to be
31:53
able to go forward with what you want to do.
31:56
And to up level like, you have to be willing to put yourself in
31:59
uncomfortable situations where you're willing to let yourself
32:02
grow and you're pushing yourself to be better.
32:05
And then when we do that, like, when you Did that?
32:07
And you allowed yourself to be uncomfortable, go through the
32:09
police academy and kind of Forge your own path and that's showing
32:13
other people how to do it, not only that they can do it, but
32:16
how and sometimes we just have to be willing, you know, to be
32:20
that person to just be uncomfortable, so that we can
32:23
help other people figure out there.
32:25
Hell Oh absolutely. I I wanted to go back to
32:31
something you had said earlier about when you first saw me at
32:35
CrossFit so I've been told that because when I'm in that element
32:45
even when I'm in Jiu-Jitsu like I am very focused because I'm
32:51
like man this is this isn't natural for me, this doesn't
32:54
come like I didn't work. Out like, before, the police
32:58
academy was like, okay, like I will work out a little bit here
33:01
and there, but when I met my husband, like, that's all he did
33:05
was work out and you know, that was his thing, martial arts, you
33:09
know, working out and, you know, he was in the military.
33:12
So that was something that he was just like, I'm like, you're
33:15
just naturally good at. He's like, no, I'm not, like, I
33:18
had to work at this. And so, when you say, like, when
33:22
you saw me in CrossFit and you're just like, oh wow, like
33:25
I've had like other people tell me that And I just think it's
33:29
amazing because it's like I'm not I'm not the greatest at it.
33:34
But being able to have somebody tell me, gosh, Rose when I saw
33:37
you I was just like, man, like look at that girl like she's,
33:40
you know, she's able to do that. And in for me it's just it's
33:44
very humbling because I'm like, man, you have no idea.
33:47
Like I have struggled with doing this.
33:50
Like I that's out of my comfort zone.
33:52
Like, I'm very self-conscious about how I look and we What I'm
33:57
doing. And and you guys have no idea
34:00
like that's what's going on in my mind, when I'm sitting there
34:03
working out and you're just like oh my God!
34:05
Look at that girl like you know she's doing great.
34:08
And then I'm here like oh my gosh like I'm having a hard
34:10
time. Am I doing this right?
34:12
Am I not doing it right? So it's just it's just really
34:14
interesting to see like the different Viewpoint of somebody,
34:19
you know, because you don't think that of yourself like
34:21
yeah, I'm sure I'm sure it's easy for us to be like, gosh,
34:25
you know, like I'm trying to So hard to do this and then on the
34:28
outside somebody's looking at you and watching their just like
34:30
past like they're doing fantastic, they're just natural
34:33
body you know and like it's just it's just it's just great to
34:37
have that key back. I think that's another important
34:39
element is, is having, you know, somebody actually tell you like
34:44
hey you know, you did great. Like I didn't even think that
34:47
you were, you're struggling or you aren't nervous and then on
34:51
the inside, you're like, man, I was so nervous and yeah, it's
34:54
just it just builds your confidence.
34:55
I think that's very important. I I agree, I think like one, you
34:59
know, as females to or people who are, you know, reaching
35:03
their goals, like we always need to be reminding other people to
35:07
that. They're doing a good job and
35:09
then to just you know I think a lot of people see what I do in
35:13
Flight nursing and I think like, oh she must always be confident,
35:16
she must never have self-doubt but that's not the truth.
35:18
Like I am a human being, I have all kinds of emotions, all kinds
35:23
of self-doubt, you know? All those things like, I felt
35:26
all of those. Those things at every step of
35:28
the process to get to where I am and I still feel like that on
35:31
calls and every ship that I work, but it just remembering
35:34
like we're all humans. We all have that so we're not
35:38
any different than anybody else. Is there's the same struggles
35:40
that we're all feeling, you know, Yes, I agree.
35:45
Like it's like you people think like, you're not, we're not
35:50
robots, you know, we have emotions and, and I know for you
35:55
it's very important. Like, you know, you have to, I'm
35:59
not saying like that we don't have feelings when we're doing
36:04
our job, but I think because we're just so goal-driven, like
36:08
that's what people see, and that's why they think.
36:10
Oh gosh, like they're not nervous like they're Not feeling
36:13
anything or like, you know, like I'm sure you've responded to
36:17
some very like horrific, you know, accidents and calls and
36:21
like, you're having to be like, no, I got to get this done and
36:24
people are like, don't think that later on.
36:27
Like that's going to affect you career.
36:28
When you respond to two different incidents, you have to
36:31
be that strong person for that family for that, for that
36:34
person, because they're falling apart.
36:37
So, I think that's something that's a gift that we have.
36:40
Because I don't think that everyone is I mean, it's not
36:45
easy to do and I don't think everyone's capable of having
36:48
that gift of. Okay.
36:51
I still feel II. Understand, I have the emotions,
36:54
but I have a job to do and I got to get this done because that's
36:57
my way of helping you so, I think like, sometimes like that
37:00
callous, like, response, that we have, because we just got to get
37:04
something done quickly. And we have to go through the,
37:08
we have to go. It's like we're just going
37:09
through the motions, but we still have the feeling.
37:12
But I think it's just a it's a, it's a gift and a curse, I guess
37:16
you could say because we have the ability to shut down those
37:19
emotions and shut that off and do what you got to do.
37:22
And then we have to flip back on.
37:23
So it's like having a do that stress deal with that stress you
37:28
know, going from work life going to home life.
37:31
Like I think that that's another.
37:35
That's that's something I know I work on because I don't like to
37:38
bring work home. We have a rule in our house, my
37:41
husband and I have a rolling. House where we don't bring work
37:45
home because he's like no because that's just going to
37:48
ruin that's going to ruin our house.
37:50
So we like to leave that in. So turning that switch on and
37:54
off is very difficult. So like I said, it's like a gift
37:57
and a curse of the same. Yeah yeah, I definitely agree
38:00
with you with all of that, I think.
38:04
You know, it's being able, like you said to focus on whatever
38:07
the goal is, like, for me, it's focusing on, you know, saving
38:10
that patients life and doing what's best for them and making
38:14
a critical decision and that timeframe no matter what else is
38:16
going on and really trusting yourself to that.
38:19
You're making the right decisions for that for that goal
38:23
and being able to shut off. Like you said to, I really
38:27
appreciate, you know, the conversations that we had about
38:30
family life and careers and everything I think.
38:34
A lot to be learned from this conversation to everybody
38:36
listening but I just want to leave it with one.
38:39
Last question, what's a piece of advice that you've received
38:43
that's kind of propelled you to where you are either personally
38:47
or career-wise in your life? Oh gosh, that's that's a tough
38:53
one because like I said, I there there's you know, many people
38:59
that have influence and impact my career and my life.
39:05
Or like, possibly, someone who's wanting to get into law
39:08
enforcement, like maybe some piece of advice that you got
39:12
that kind of really helped you through those tough times where
39:15
you did have that self-doubt. Yeah, it was my husband when I
39:24
was in the police academy and I just wanted to throw in the
39:26
towel and just be done. He was like he was like look,
39:31
you didn't think you could do this and gone this for like you
39:34
only have a couple more weeks like suck it up like you could
39:38
do it and he was like what happened to that person in the
39:41
beginning? That was like, oh I could do
39:44
this, you know, I'm going to, I'm going to, I'm going to sign
39:47
up for the police academy and I'm going to take that test and
39:49
I'm going to get it done. He was like what happened to
39:51
that person? That That wanted you that, you
39:53
know, anytime we just because something is difficult, you
39:56
know, that doesn't mean you just okay.
39:58
I can't do it anymore and he was just like you have to think back
40:01
and have that confidence again. And so I guess that's what I
40:05
revert to like even now is gosh, like I can't do this and that
40:10
was something he told me, take that out of your vocabulary,
40:13
take out that word can't. He was like, I don't ever want
40:16
to hear you say that and that has stuck with me until now like
40:20
he's like, I don't want Hear that and it's something that I
40:24
want to instill in my kids because it's like, no don't say
40:26
you can't do something you have to say I will find a way.
40:30
Yeah yeah I like that that's some really good advice to give
40:34
well thank you for joining me Rose today.
40:37
I really appreciate your time. I really appreciate you talking
40:40
about law enforcement and kind of what you do with the da and I
40:46
really appreciate you talking about kind of how you do work
40:49
life balance in the stresses of your job because I think that's
40:51
really important. Run for for people to hear how
40:54
you kind of integrate that into your life.
40:58
Well, thank you. Thank you so much for having me
41:00
and I appreciate your giving me the opportunity to discuss my
41:04
career and my personal life. Yeah.
41:07
And maybe we'll do a competition together.
41:09
One day, CrossFit competition. Yeah.
41:13
I've only done one in my whole Prospect career and and I've
41:17
kind of stepped away from that but I all I hope to be back
41:21
soon. Okay, well good.
41:23
All right, well good talking to you today.
41:25
Have a good one. Rose you to thank you.
41:27
All right, bye. Bye-bye.
41:31
If anything in this episode motivated you to get going on
41:34
your goals and overcome your obstacles book.
41:36
A consult with me and we can talk about what working together
41:39
would look like. And I hope you guys have a good
41:42
rest of the week and weekend and we will talk with you next week.
41:45
Bye.