CHRISTIANSBURG, Va. – School resource officers across the nation work day in, and day out to keep the people in schools safe.
Town leaders in Christiansburg surprised resource officers across the town for School Resource Officer Appreciation Day.
Officer Adam Abdelaziz is the Christiansburg High School SRO, and he said he has the best job in the world.
“The job itself is the reward,” said Abdelaziz. “I’m fortunate. I’ve done a lot of things in this career. It is the only job where you really know you are making a difference.”
He said while his role is to protect the children, he is also there to be a positive place for students to come.
“If we can build good relationships now, if people see us, they don’t just see me just as Officer Abdelaziz, they see me as Adam,” said Abdelaziz. “If they can continue to see that, and understand that we are human, we are going to have a better response in the future.”
He said as a kid, he was what many would deem a problem child.
“I had an SRO in particular who really played a pivotal role in my life, even though he probably didn’t realize it at the time and thought I was just a knuckleheaded kid that was probably destined for disaster, which I was,” Abdelaziz said.
Officials at the school said it is vital for school resource officers to have relationships with the students, and that is exactly what they have here in their school systems.
“I could not be more impressed with Officer Abdelaziz,” said Shane Guynn, principal at Christiansburg High School. “He has been here for not even the full year but the second he walked into this building his immediate impact could be seen and felt.”
Officer Abdelaziz said for him, it goes beyond himself.
“A few years ago I met this guy named Perry Hodge, who was a resource officer in Pulaski,” said Abdelaziz. “He was my boss, and he was the best resource officer I’ve ever met in my life. Being able to come here and try to do half of what he did, is a huge responsibility and it’s a way I feel like I can honor his memory.”
With how much the students love him, it seems Abdelaziz is doing a pretty good job.