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Officer Davis during GSSI's
"Cadette STEM Series" program |
City of Edwardsville Police Officer Joy Davis didn’t know it at the
time, but a little Girl Scout misadventure would help her to discover her
calling. “One hike, one of my friends
and I decided we didn’t want to go to school the next day and came up with a
brilliant (or so we thought at the time) idea of rubbing poison ivy all over
us. The poison ivy led me into my
career,” she explained.
First, however, the poison ivy lead to a miserable rash and a “face so
swollen I looked like Mickey Mouse,” as Davis put it. She ended up being sidelined from school for a
whole week – and also regretting her decision.
One morning while she was watching
her classmates board the bus, a police officer stopped to ask her why she
wasn’t joining them. “Not that it wasn’t obvious,” Davis added.
“I informed him of my ‘brilliant’ plan to get out of school and how I
wished I could take back time and change things. This officer sat with me a while and talked
about choices. He even took the time the
next day to stop back with donuts and OJ and continue the talk.”
She was impressed that the police officer would stop to talk to a
young girl about making good decisions and also inspired. “After that event, I knew that I wanted to be
a police officer … not JUST to apprehend criminals, but to talk to kids about
the choices that they can and will make in life.”
Today, Officer Davis is a 20-year law enforcement veteran who works
with kids as a School Resource Officer and D.A.R.E. spokesperson. Along with her experience with that
compassionate officer, she credits her experiences in Girl Scouts for helping her
realize how much she enjoys helping people.
She remembers realizing her
leadership skills when she was asked to provide a week of programming for sons
who came to day camp with their volunteer mothers. “I jumped at the idea and quickly put the
skills my leader had taught me to work,” she said. “We went fishing, hiking, exploring and even
cooked a whole meal in the ground. The
boys had a great time and I had a great experience.”
She also recalls enjoying service projects – including earning the
Girl Scout Silver Award. For their project, girls from her troop made
improvements at Camp Pokanoka in Ottawa, IL, where they spent as much time as
possible. The camp had a popular clay pit site that was
difficult to access, so the girls built a trail to make it easier for future
campers.
After she went to college, Davis returned to camp as a resident camp
counselor and even stepped up to maintain the camp when the ranger got
sick. “What an opportunity! I once again jumped into action and did what needed
to be done,” she recalled.
This can-do attitude helped Davis achieve her dreams of becoming a
police officer. “There weren’t as many
women getting into law enforcement as there are today,” she said. “In fact, I was only the second female
officer to be hired by Edwardsville.” She explained that female aptitude for
multitasking and interpreting detail have been beneficial. “This makes us good analysts and good at looking
at a variety of aspects of a crime scene and remembering them.” She
also cites that being difficult to anger and having good verbal skills has
helped her on several occasions throughout her career, so that she was often
more easily able to deescalate a situation before it became violent. “As a female in law enforcement, I do believe
that we have differences that are unique,” she said.
Twenty years of experience haven’t dulled Davis’s ambitions any – she
is currently going back to school to study computer forensics. “When I got into law enforcement, I had an
associate’s degree and decided it was time to finish,” she explained. “I chose computer forensics because I see
this as the future of crime: a nameless, faceless way of creating havoc for people.” She added that technology-related crimes are
on the rise and are not only being committed using computers, but also devices
such as cellular phones and game consoles.
“What you see is only the
beginning,” she said. “This will
definitely assist me in my career today and help pave the way for work after I
retire.”
Her experiences in Girl Scouts helped Davis realize how crucial strong
adult role models are to young people and she remembers her troop leader
fondly. “Anita Niffenegger was her name
and she was so outgoing,” she recalls. The
troop camped year round, canoed fervently, cross-country skied and took a
yearly 21-mile hike. “We did everything
outdoors,” she said. “If we wanted to
climb Mt. Everest, she would make it happen.” The
hands-on, empowering experiences that Niffenegger arranged were instrumental in
building the girls’ confidence, self-reliance and leadership skills. “The guidance of our leader helped us remain
in Girl Scouts long enough that we were able to ‘blaze a trail for the future
generations’ in more ways than one,” Davis explained.
Now, as a School Resource Officer and through the D.A.R.E. program,
Davis has direct impact on hundreds of young people each year. She advises them to embrace their curiosity
to make a future for themselves. “Go to
college and after college, never stop learning,” she advises. “Be open-minded and embrace new ways of doing
things!”
She also stresses that kids need to learn to be themselves and to be
accountable for themselves. “Be genuine,”
she tells them. “Take responsibility for
your actions.” She believes that helping
others is vital. “Most importantly, be a giver and not a taker. Volunteer
within your community because it is YOUR community.”
Davis thinks that organizations such as Girl Scouts help young people
gain new experiences and grow as people.
“They help to develop a sense of self, respect for others and gives
youth an opportunity to leave their mark on the world and make it a better
place,” she said. “The lessons they can
learn are lessons they will carry with them their entire lives. It’s about courage, confidence and character;
it’s blazing a trail for future generations to see. It’s lending a helping hand when no one else
will and seeing what needs to be done and getting it done. That’s what Girl Scouts taught me!”
