10/22/13
ENG 1101
Section 81344
Final draft Profile Essay
Jack of All Trades with a Badge
Sitting in his office, Officer John James had the air about him of someone who had been a school resource officer for some time, even though he's only been working there since the beginning of the school year. When asked what he thought of his new job, he simply replied, "It’s definitely not as easy as I had thought it was." With his coffee mug in hand, he patrols the halls of Dearing Elementary school, knowing that if something terrible were to happen the all responsibility would fall on his shoulders, yet this seemingly doesn't faze him at all. When asked what he thought of this reality he says "I've been in worse situations in worse places." John James, a large man of 38 years and a little less than a high school education has served many years on multiple police forces. He started as a city officer in Thomson, Georgia, and then after years of training became the K-9 officer for the county. After a few years of not being able to adequately support his family with the money he was making, he left Thomson and became a highway patrolman for Taliaferro County. Then, after renewing his training, he became the K-9 officer there and had been there until the past year when, as a result of immense budget cuts, they had to let go of many officers, including him. This change of future led him to apply for a job as a school resource officer for one of the counties best elementary schools. This alone is an amazing background but when asked if that was all, his reply was humble yet unexpected, "I wish I could say that it was, but I've done a lot of searching to find something I could do well."

There is a lot more to this man than just his resume. Before his children were born, he drove big rigs across the country, but was never home much and decided that he needed to stay close. So, after quitting his job and taking a greyhound back from Wyoming, he tried his hand at carpentry with his father. "There are three churches in this town that I and my father built with our own two hands." But, again it just wasn't something he saw himself doing for the rest of his life. So with the determination to help people he became a firefighter. But after too many close calls it began to take an