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I Didn’t Want To Be A Cop, Just Part Of The Family

MARIPOSA COUNTY — When you’re scared of the dark and don’t like mean people, perhaps a career in law enforcement isn’t for you. But Mariposa County Sheriff’s Public Information Officer Kristie Mitchell somehow found a way to make it work.

Kristie is a 1994 graduate of Mariposa County High School, and shared her experience and wisdom with the graduating class of 2016 during the 64th annual Senior Brunch hosted by the Soroptimist Women of Mariposa last Thursday.

Not only is Kristie a delight to work with (from a reporter’s perspective), she has a wicked sense of humor.

Here is an excerpt from her speech to the graduating class —

“My desire for law enforcement stayed in the back of my mind. It was always there but I was not quite sure how to incorporate it into something that I wanted.

I knew a few things for sure:

1. I did not want to be a cop — No way Jose. I do not like mean people — 80 percent of the people cops deal with are.

2. I am scared of the dark – Cops have to work at night.

3. I could never go to a call where there are kids being hurt because I would just take the kids home with me and then pretty soon we would have a farm full of kids and I am not sure how my husband would like that very much.

4. Cops are super Bad A$$, me not so much.

Kristie Mitchell - photo from LinkedIn

Mariposa County Sheriff Public Information Officer Kristie Mitchell – photo from LinkedIn

When the position I am in now came available, I thought, PERFECT, it incorporates what I am good at with my administrative background and what I had always wanted to be part of in the Law Enforcement family.

I am the Public Information Officer with the Sheriff’s Office. (I do some accounting / math too but I am trying to push that off on my co-workers; luckily they are not here right now, so that can just be between us).

I do all the public relations with our department, dealing with the press, newspapers, television news, cool things like the Today Show, Good Morning America, on-camera TV interviews, written press releases, and getting information to the community in emergencies. I am responsible for all their social media, Facebook , twitter, insta, snap chat, etc.

The Sheriff’s Office is a huge part of this community and it brings me great honor to go to work every day and represent our Sheriff’s Office and our community. I couldn’t ask for a better job. And if you see the sheriff today please tell him I said that!

It took me 16 years from the day I graduated to figure it out so it’s OK not to have a plan – for those of you stressing about it right now, worried if you have chosen the right major, worried because you don’t know what you want to do with the rest of your life. It works out.

There have been thousands of successful graduates from Mariposa who have returned to this community to raise their families, work and become part of the cycle that this town is so good at. If you choose to return you will be welcomed with open arms and if you don’t return spread some of that Mariposa character in where ever you go and whatever you do.

Congratulations class of 2016, I know that you will go on to make Mariposa proud, your teachers proud, your parents proud and most of all yourselves proud.”

Kristie Mitchell

https://www.facebook.com/mariposacountysheriff/?fref=ts

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