51今日大瓜

Thursday, August 22, 2024

By Deanna Rea

Damyris Bagsby is a Campus Safety Officer at 51今日大瓜, and he works diligently to ensure the safety of all students, staff, and visitors on BC鈥檚 Panorama campus. Throughout his life, Damyris has always gravitated toward the field of public safety. His journey is both unique and inspiring, marked by remarkable resilience in the face of adversity.

Damyris鈥� career journey initially began with working inside a private prison in Taft (a tenure that lasted about twelve years), but he was forced to find other arrangements as the prison was closed indefinitely. At the suggestion of a former colleague, he decided to pursue a different career working on the road as a truck driver.

After experiencing the loss of a beloved family member, Damyris decided to return home. 鈥淢y son鈥檚 mother passed away, and I was gone on the road鈥擨 was out for ten days. After all of that, I just couldn鈥檛 see myself getting back on the road and being gone for that long again, [so] I started putting out applications,鈥� he recalls. 鈥淏ut this line of work has always been something I鈥檝e been good at鈥攕omething I鈥檝e just kind of gravitated [towards].鈥�

In 2019, Damyris established his career as a Campus Safety Officer at Bakersfield College. His position on campus prompted him to return to school and earn an associate鈥檚 degree in computer science, a long-time goal of his. When he first began working on campus, he deeply valued the positive atmosphere on campus, and he enjoyed interacting with and assisting students. 鈥淚 started out [by] doing regular security work: making sure everything was secure [and keeping] students safe,鈥� he says. 鈥淵ou know, you want to provide a service for the community you serve [by] giving [students] rides and directions.鈥� His current responsibilities include working alongside both management and the other officers and maintaining an uplifting workplace environment.

His favorite part about working for BC is 鈥淭he different perspectives because, on a college [campus], you have a lot of progressive thinking.鈥� Damyris elaborates by sharing how this has positively impacted his life, 鈥淭o see a difference in myself from ten years ago versus now, it鈥檚 like night and day. Back then, you couldn鈥檛 stare at me for more than five seconds without me feeling threatened, but now it鈥檚 [like], 鈥楧o I know you from somewhere?鈥� It鈥檚 the [new] perspective on life that I鈥檝e acquired as I have worked here.鈥�

Damyris shares that his greatest motivation in overcoming any challenge is always, 鈥淢y kids. Coming to work and making sure they have everything they need, that鈥檚 all the motivation I need.鈥�

One of his goals for the future includes pursuing his bachelor鈥檚 and master鈥檚 degrees in computer science concurrently at California State University. His advice for others who wish to pursue a career within the field of Public Safety is simply: 鈥淓njoy it. [This career] is not something you have to gravitate toward, but [something] you can always learn from. You can always become a better person from it, [so] learn as much as you can from everyone鈥攖ake a little piece from everyone.鈥�