Marina Dominguez, school resource officer at Youngker High School, was voted Roughrider of the Month by students. The award commends exemplary actions on campus.
“School resources officers like her build relationships with school staff and students, help ensure campus safety and educate students about important topics including bullying and social media dangers,” reads a Facebook post from the Buckeye Police Department.
Dominguez told InBuckeye she believes the student-led commendation came as the result of her efforts to build connections throughout the school—with teachers, staff, parents and students alike. It’s the small things that make a big difference, she said: Eating lunch with the kids, always saying hello in the hallway and being open to sharing her own humanity.
“I think it’s just being out there. Getting in the classrooms. Just rolling up there and talking to them. I think it’s letting them know you can come see me,” she said. “I explain to them, I’m not telling you this because I’m a police officer. Out of that uniform, I’m a parent, aunt, grandmother.”
Dominguez's impact extends to numerous young people in the community, not just in the school. She is also a Buckeye Police Cadet advisor for new law enforcement officers. Last week, one of her former cadets, Officer C. Moreno, graduated from police academy and asked Dominguez to pin her badge at the ceremony. Moreno was 17 years old when she attended the 2020 BPD cadet program.
"I waited a really long time for this, I worked really hard and it's always something I wanted to do so to be here right now feels a little unreal," said Moreno in BPD's recent video. "I always made it a point to tell myself, when that time does come, I know it's going to be [Dominguez] who was going to [pin my badge]. She's helped me tremendously, professionally and personally."
Watch the full video here.
