MOTIVATIONAL MONDAY

This week's Motivational Monday is Jen! She has been a Police Officer for fifteen years, and in 2015 was promoted to the rank of Sergeant! She has been assigned to the Honor Guard as well as the Dive Team. Aside from all of her incredible work as a Police Officer she also has an impressive list of aquatic and land awards.

Members of this elite Dive squad are responsible for all waterborne incidents within the city! Her operations consist of article searches, vehicle recovery, and victim rescue and recovery. 

“I never wanted to be a police officer but got into law enforcement after I followed the footsteps of my father who was a Federal Agent for over thirty years. I never imagined I would have a career in law enforcement; I always had aspirations of working with marine mammals.” – Jen

“Although I was always active in sports, I began swimming at the age of 8, when my parents suggested I join the local summer team, as “something to do for the summer.” I enjoyed the sport and ended up being pretty good at. When I was ten I began swimming year around and continued competing through college. I was fortunate enough to earn a college scholarship and attended Georgia Southern University (98-00) and the University of North Florida (00-02) where I graduated with a Bachelor’s Degree in Psychology and Biology.  I love swimming, the health benefits it provides.  I am still a very active competitor and continue to compete in Masters Swimming and at Police and Fire Championship events around the country and the world. I enjoy challenging myself and pushing my body to its best performance and then pushing it even more to an even better performance.” – Jen

Jen has completed five marathons now including the Disney Marathon, Marine Corps Marathon and the NC Marathon. She also completed the Dopey Challenge, 48.6 miles over 4 days. This year Jen has also started volunteering with Special Compass, an organization that allows “differently abled” athletes to be involved and participate in athletic events. She completed my first event, assisting an athlete during the Miami Half Marathon. 

In the pool, some of her top accomplishments would include earning 19 gold medals at the World Police and Fire Games, and 11 World Records.  She also competes in some open water events and her absolute favorite accomplishment was completing the Alcatraz Swim. 

“This year I have a pretty exciting year planned. I will be traveling to Chengdu, China where I will compete in the World Police and Fire Games. I hope to this year swim around the Statue of Liberty and travel to San Diego to compete in the United States Police and Fire Championships. Professionally, I’m looking forward to taking command of the Dive Team and becoming the first female commander of a Public Safety Diving Unit in Broward County.”- Jen

Thank you for sharing with us Jen, we can’t wait to see what else you accomplish, thanks for being an inspiration!