A Sit-Down with Tyler Eddins

Q: What is your name?

A: Tyler Eddins.

Q: What is your job title?

A: Security Officer.

Q: How long have you been working at Colonial Forge?

A: Going on two years if you count the intern, if you don’t in a year and a half. 

Q: What are your days like?

A: It’s been great for the most part. My best days are boring, when I’m kind of just in the halls watching kids and making sure they’re going to class. Every now and then we’ll have an exciting day, which means that I’m probably chasing somebody around or breaking up a fight, or doing some searches and then writing referrals, and all the mess that comes with that. But those are few and far between. Usually they’re pretty quiet days and the kids are great.

Q: What is the most stressful thing about working here?

A: I would say that 97% of the school student body is very good, well meaning, wonderful kids who want to be here. There is about 3% that want to cause issues for others, so I would say having to write referrals and interact with the same kids in a negative way all the time and not seeing any breakthrough. That’s probably the most frustrating.

Q: What is your biggest struggle here?

A: There are kids that will get under your skin and push your buttons and, you know, you want to yell or scream or just immediately take them to their assistant principal and be done with them and get them off your plate. It’s the easier thing to do. And while that may make you feel a little bit better in the moment, it’s not the right thing to do and it doesn’t get to the root of the issue. Even when a kid is being disrespectful, or getting in my face, it’s keeping composure and just listening. This kid is going through something that I don’t understand, and it’s my job to get to that and to understand, or to get them to someone who can. That’s not always the easiest thing to put in the forefront of your mind, but I like to think I do a pretty good job.

Q: How was that experience, working with the volleyball girls?

A: That first year I was here I was announcing for them. I got to work very closely with the coach and the team and I was just kind of there for all their high highs at home and their low lows at home. I was there and so it was really nice working with them again this year and to kind of take a step back. I wasn’t announcing, one of our old announcers that came back and did a great job, But it was nice that the girls didn’t treat me like I was the place holder announcer. They’ll still come up to me in the hall, even the seniors that aren’t playing anymore. They’ll come up to me and call me by my first name cause they knew me as an intern which is a little weird.

Q: Is there anything you would like to add about your experience at Forge or a certain memory you had?

A: I had been working with the soccer teams and other spring sports to take tickets. And so for that my schedule is a little bit spread out. I don’t get to spend time with one singular sport every game. There was one girl on the soccer team who appreciated me being there every home game to the point where she asked me if I could come see one of her away games in Mountain View to cheer them on, and I think that was really sweet. That meant a lot to me because it meant that I have made an impact on kids, even just seeing them a couple minutes out of a day. I’ve made them feel comfortable and want to share an experience in a moment that they’re going to have.

I think we won that game, and I think I’m gonna take credit for us winning.

Q: Is there anything else you would like to add?

A: The one piece of advice that I would give all of the kids would be you’re going to be fine. I understand that high school feels like it’s your whole life because right now, it is. But every grade is not going to make or break you. Every referral no matter how little or big is not going to make or break the rest of your life. You should be trying to get good grades, you should try to not be in trouble. […] While it sucks now, it’s not the rest of your life and you’re going to be fine. And I think a lot of kids that I see in the hall that I have to help get them counseling or just sit and talk with them to kind of get to the root of their issues. I think it’s something that they forget and it’s hard to remember because it was really hard for me to remember in high school. Just remember to breathe.