I have been the School Resource Officer at Boulder High for the last four years. It has truly been an experience that has made an impact in my life. I have gotten to know many of you personally, whether it was during an athletic season or maybe getting caught with some marijuana on you and leaving the office with a ticket to court. Sometimes we talked about the struggles you have had in life: with people, the school, alcohol/drug issues or you just needed a place to sit down and relax. I was asked many times if I would “Taze” you and always had to say “no.” This was my favorite assignment in all my years of public service. For me, it has always been about building relationships with people at school and maybe offering a piece of real-world experience to you.  

2020 was a rough year for all of us. Nobody has been immune from the impact this year has caused. I remember the Thursday in March that turned out to be our last day as a group at Boulder High. Now it has been almost exactly a year later to the date. It flew by. I know that each of you has faced your own challenges. I do think it has been very difficult for school-age students, even though you may not have had the virus or been sick. The whole world has suffered, physically, emotionally and spiritually, but I have seen the biggest impact on students your age. Kids of all ages need structure. Structure gives a sense that we are in control of ourselves and what is happening around us.  

We have “masked up” in public, and some of us realized we needed a different toothpaste. Some have gained the COVID-19 by eating too much junk food. Some have had their sport season canceled or trimmed down so as not to spread the virus to family members. Family members died and we could not be close to them. Some of you have struggled with online learning, and some seem to have given up on finishing high school. Getting a job and helping your family to put food on the table became a necessity.  

I decided to write this to express my gratitude to you for accepting me into your school. Granted, you did not have a choice whether a cop would be in school or not. You grinded through all the bad and uncertainty this year brought. You are coming out of this last year a little smarter, a little tougher and a little wiser. These are traits that every adult should have and beginning the development of them in high school is a good jump on becoming an adult. No other generation of high school students has had their world turned upside like your generation. In those times as you get older and you feel like quitting,  just remember what you did during this year that helped you make it.  

So again, thank you for making my time at Boulder High an unforgettable experience.  

Officer Brent Biekert 

Boulder PD

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