 Good afternoon, everyone. It's Bernice here, your Community Outreach Specialist, and I'm bringing you another special video, like always, because again, I say that at the beginning of the day, but today I'm going to be talking to our Community Outreach Assistant, Ashley, and just to talk to you guys about the hiring process that she went through, because she is a civilian, like myself, so it's a little bit different for the certified side, but just stay tuned, hopefully it'll answer some questions you guys message in all the time about this, so here's your chance. Let's find out, the nitty-gritty, how long it took, how much paperwork is involved. It's not that much, okay. Okay, let's figure, should I step down to make myself the same height as you? Or should I just be honest about, like, uh... Let's not. Alright, okay everyone, so I have Ashley with me. You've already met her previously, she's a Community Outreach Assistant, so she works in the office with me and a couple of others. We technically fall under the Community Relations umbrella. There is a handful of us, again, not as many as you guys think that there are, but... Small crew. Yes, very small crew, but, you know, the love runs deep in our crew, basically. So, Ashley, let's first of all, I feel like I have to be honest about... Come on guys, I'm really short. She's really, really, and we're both wearing heels today, and her heels are taller than mine. Alright, we're just... Yeah. I'm just going to come back down for you. Okay. Thank you. We've adjusted. Okay, so, Ashley. Yes. Hey. Tell the people a little bit about yourself, first of all. Okay, so a little background. I went to Florida Atlantic University. I mean, the OWLs are okay. I went to FIU. So, went to Florida Atlantic University, graduated two years ago. I have a bachelor's degree in criminal justice. Very cool. Graduated, stayed in Miami for a little bit, and then recently, a couple months ago, about two months ago, decided it was time to come home. Born and raised in Pasco County. We're in Tampa. Weren't you born and raised in Tampa? I was technically born in Tampa, but I was raised in... Born and raised in Tampa. I was raised in Pasco. Oh, I guess. Okay. Sorry, I'm born and raised in Tampa. You've rep Pasco. I've rep Pasco now, but I'm just saying, like... I will rep Pasco. 813, always. I have 813. Oh, I just assumed it's... Okay. Anyways. Side conversation. So, yeah, I have a bachelor's degree in criminal justice, stayed in Miami, then recently decided it was time to come home. So, I always have had a love and passion for law enforcement. So, also with that, I do love being out in the community, being around people. So, I went on the Pasco Sheriff's website and saw... Side note, do you have anyone in the family in law enforcement? Or you just have always loved law enforcement? I do, in New Jersey. That's really cool. Also have an Air Force family as well. Okay. So, a little bit of both. Okay. So, you went on PascoSheriff.com slash Careers. And there was a posting for a community engagement assistant position. And I was like, ooh, what is that? So, I read a little bit about it and I was like, well, that's perfect. I love being around people, the community, and also have a love and passion for law enforcement. So, I was really looking to mix the two. So, I applied. I'm not going to lie, it is a lengthy application. It really is. But, if you're committed enough, you will finish it. Exactly. So, about, I want to say a week later, the sheriff's secretary had reached out to me, asked me if I was interested in coming in for an interview. So, of course, I did. So, when I came in, it was a panel interview. So, I met with about four to five people. I was nervous. I did not. Were you really? I don't know if it seemed like it. I was nervous. You kind of did come in. I mean, little nerves here and there. But once I get in my groove, then we're good. You were good. I didn't sit in on Ashley's interview. I was busy that day. But I said hey to her when she came in because you guys know I've known Ashley. So, it was kind of like, hey. Hi. Bye. So, after that, they let me know. They let me know that they would be in contact with me about a week, either way, whether they wanted to or did not want to move forward with me. Either way, they do at least give you a courtesy call, which is really nice. Yeah. So, they gave me a timeframe about a week. So, actually two days later, got a call that they wanted to move along with me with the process and everything. Bring you into the fam. The fam. The fam, bam. So, from there, the steps were I had to have a physical done. I had to pass a drug test, a psych evaluation. Also had to turn in six references. You either can turn them in in person or they could submit them online or send them directly to the office. And it's not like, just so you guys know, it's not like you list references. You have to actually reach out to people and have them fill out a questionnaire about you. Yeah. So, whatever references you put when you apply, those are the ones you reach out to them and they actually have to fill out a form. So, I had to turn that in. I also, what else was there? So, psych test, drug test. Oh, transcripts. Transcripts. I had to have official transcripts sent here. English. That was, I think that was it. It. For everything, you know, prior to coming on. Yeah. So, after I got all of that in, then I had an orientation which took about half of the day. So, it's a lot of paperwork. It's a lot of paperwork. So, all the paperwork. And after that, I was sent off to my fam. And she's been with us ever since. Boom. And it's truly, I've been here almost two months now and it's crazy. I feel like I just started. But I love it. I feel like every day you are exposed to something new. I am. Especially in our, so Ashley's position, she gets to float. So, she helps out with like the social media stuff, video editing, media requests, legislative stuff. Like, she is the charity store. She really, truly floats. So, she's kind of. I'm the go-to. Exactly. Her position is kind of, it's kind of, it's great. It's actually. If you want to be well-rounded. There you go. That's what it is. In community relations. I couldn't think of those words. Ashley's position is it. Not that anyone needs to come to try to take her position because she is holding on to it strong. Not going anywhere. Nope. And she decorated the entire office for Christmas. Yes. So, I put a tree up. It has blue lights, shared caution tape all around. It's really cute. Yeah. And there's some stuff on the ceiling that I put up. I had to climb on a chair. I don't, yeah. Because she's short. Yes. Yes. But, yeah. So, that's pretty much it. And now I'm here and I absolutely love coming to work every day. So, for anyone that's looking to apply, would you say that the application process is daunting or is it just pretty much the same as any job that, you know, you, you want a position, you see it. It's not too, too extensive. I mean, I've had, I've seen applications where, you know, you apply, it takes 10 minutes to do it and boom, that's it. This is not it. So, again, this is something, if you're committed to it, you will make it happen and it'll be worth your while. But it's not something just that you could do, just that if you're not really into it, it's not for you. Then you're going to probably get halfway through and be like, ah, okay. But it's not the worst. So, for all of you guys that are looking, we constantly update with new positions on the certified and civilian side. And again, this is more, this is tailored to the civilian side. But certified, it's not, I'm not going to speak on that because it is a lot different, but it's not too different when it comes to like the application process. So, I mean, maybe I'll get someone that's new that's in the FTO program to go over that at some point soon. So, I'll put in the description below the link to our careers page, but if you don't live here and you want to move to Pasco, you know, we can make you Pasco proud. But if you do live here or you live close by, apply, come join the fam. And that's it. So, what do they have to do? What are the three things? Like, comment, subscribe. I love it. And we will see you tomorrow.