Luciana Nascimento, our beloved security guard, was our interviewee for the last Panther Press edition, and has just celebrated her birthday a few weeks ago, on May 10th. She is always on campus contributing her best to keep our community safe and sound, ensuring that danger cannot reach nearby. We hope to bring an unique and insightful perspective on her role as the first woman security guard at the Barra Campus, getting to know her beyond her “vigilante” persona. Many other staff at school are known by the student body, but few have the opportunity to share their personal story with the community that they engage the most!
PP: How long have you been working at the school? What did you work with before becoming a security guard at EARJ?
LN: I have been working at this post for 6 years. I was the first ever woman security guard at the Barra Campus; although selected and trained at the Gávea Campus, I was then transferred to Barra. Before, I used to work in the HR (Human Resources) sector at Prosegur, a valued transport company in which I provided assistance to security guards. Thus, I have always been involved in this field.
PP: What is it like to work as a security guard at EARJ?
LN: For us, security guards, it is such a different job, to work with children. We are generally used to working at police stations, malls, and staying behind criminals, delinquents and invaders. However, for me, it is a great pleasure to do and help in security body and to be able to proviprovide the students with security. I find it very rewarding.
PP: What is something that the school community probably doesn’t know about you?
L: Well, my name is Luciana, I’m going to be 47 on May 10th, I’m a mother of two girls, one is 15 years old and the other is going to be 27 years old, and I am already a grandmother. Moreover, I really like walking and traveling. I believe that you do not know this other me; people know Luciana, the vigilante, the security guard, not Luciana, the mother, grandmother, and housewife.
PP: What is the best memory of your childhood?
L: My best memory is of my dad and I at the Sesc in Petrópolis Nogueira. I remember him always holding my hand. So, everytime I have the opportunity, I always go back to visit the city. I can’t keep talking about it, or else I’m going to start crying.
more in relation to students, who have some greater difficulty. There were some who wanted to leave and we couldn’t touch nor hold them, but nothing really that got out of our control.
PP: How do you deal with situations of conflict or inappropriate behavior on the part of students? How do you stay calm in stressful situations?
LN: We have this type of instruction in our course, where our supervisors, who have been working here for a long time, give us this type of situation. In general, if anything escapes our control, we have to always call either the director, the assistant or the teacher who is the closest to us to ask for help.
PP: What inspired you to become a security guard and how do you understand its role in the school community?
LN: Well, what I understand this job to be is as its name already exemplifies, the priorities of our role being to provide security and being able to provide this service with excellence, in the best possible way. For me, it is extremely important to be here with you, with the students, the teachers, and with the entire faculty of the school, plus, everything we do, which we do with a lot of love. We are educated; we have a course that we take once a year with all the norms, laws and shooting training, both outside and inside the school. In these sessions, we have lectures and meetings every day on how to protect ourselves and how to act when danger is approaching. Therefore, I believe that our responsibilities begin from the moment we assume that role.
PP: What was your reaction and opinion when you saw the news and threats of violent attacks in schools in Brazil? What about the students’ concerns on the 20th?
LN: As a mother and as a professional, I was really terrified and devastated for everything that has happened. However, there’s no need to worry as we have a body of security, led by Rodrigues, Fernando, Seu Gilson. All these important members have been supporting us, lecturing us, and guiding us on how to act, and how to behave in the face of any type of incident that arrived. However, we cannot deny that this is not scary because while we think of you, EARJ students, we also think of our own children – it really terrifies me. Nonetheless, we are pretty confident that nothing will happen; for sure.
PP: Finally, if you could give advice to the students here at EARJ, what would you give it?
LN: I would say that you are the luckiest children in this world, because you have this opportunity to study in a school with a much higher level of study than what we have out there. Take advantage of this opportunity because your future is at your hands.
PP: Thank you so much Luciana for taking part of this interview!
