The Good Ones

By Sean Gaines (Freshman) and Cora Myers (Junior

In a school where kids must go through security every day, security guards are constantly interacting with students. This year the Obama community was introduced to two new security guards: Officer Clay and Officer Irish.

“I like it here, the kids can be a little sassy but I like everybody. I like it here,” said Officer Clay when asked about how she likes it here at Obama. She continued by talking about the process of becoming a Pittsburgh Public Schools security guard. “It’s a lot of paperwork, gotta get clearances, they gotta run your background and fingerprints, and once that all comes back they choose a school for you, and that’s how I ended up here,” she said. The district places security guards in schools based on the size of the school, and their need for guards. “It depends on how big the school is and how many kids are at the school.” 

Although Clay had no prior connection to Obama she is excited to be working here. When speaking, her kindness and bright personality show through. Obama is lucky to have her.`Officer Irish however, has always been part of the Obama community. He attended Schenley high school, where he was taught by teachers like Ms. McKrell, Ms. Gallo, and Mr. Ehman. He has also coached the USO football team for the last few years, which was one of the main reasons he moved to Obama. Irish played football at Schenley, and won defensive player of the year. After high school, he continued his career on the gridiron at St. Francis. Although football was his main sport, he also ended up managing professional basketball players. Through that job he met people like Tim Dunkin and Vince Carter. 

While speaking with Officer Irish, anyone can tell that he truly cares about the Obama students and community. He considers himself a community mentor and leader. His coworkers agree. While interviewing Officer Irish, his coworker and friend, Officer Foster, pitched into the interview. She described Officer Irish in few, yet powerful words: “He’s humble, respectable, and funny.” He is “one of the good ones.”