By Ashley Martin
Dragon Echo Staff
Dragon Student Response Team is an organization that allows students who aspire to be police officers to gain real-world experience protecting the school, helping the community, and competing with other teams who are trained in law enforcement tactics.
Dragon SRT members work all the home varsity football games. They patrol the parking lot to make sure cars are safe, and they provide assistance to fans as needed. SRT was started five years ago by Mr. Mike Claude, the previous law enforcement teacher.
Ms. Monica Hill is in her second year as the head of SRT. As a law enforcement teacher she believes the Student Response Team has had a positive impact on the community. She enjoys working with all the members and learning more about them and their differences.
Ms. Roya Dinbali is in her first semester as co-sponsor and advisor for SRT. She said she also believes that SRT has been well-received by the community. She enjoys getting to know the members on a personal level and having one-on-one interactions with them.
President/Captain Kevin Venegas is a senior and enjoys the opportunity SRT has given him to become a better person. To be a role model and leader to other Student Response Team members, he said he works to be organized and to put 100 percent effort into everything he does. He said he wants to become a state trooper after high school. He believes that SRT is something that can help everyone. Kevin won a first place award at state competition last year, which made him happy and proud.
Vice-President/Co-Captain Josh Lopez, also a senior, enjoys how SRT teaches the students based on real-life scenarios. He participated in the foot pursuit competition last year. He believes Student Response Team members can put in more hours and work even harder if they want to continue to improve. He wants to become a police officer when he is older. His leadership in SRT defines him, and he strives to be a motivator. One thing Josh said he enjoyed most about competition was the real-life training they experienced beforehand.
Sophomore Taylor Gates has been part of SRT since her freshman year. She wants to become a peace officer or Federal Bureau of Investigations agent after she graduates, and she said she holds herself to high standards.
Taylor said SRT is shaping her into a hard worker who is steps closer to achieving her dream job. She has never participated in the competition, but this year should be her first year. “Practicing for competition is fun,” she said. “It’s a real-life simulation.”